Greensleeves Homes Trust manages residential care homes for older people
Greensleeves Homes Trust
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Developments to Greensleeves Homes - Grosvenor House Project Completion – "before and after"
This recent photograph (left) shows the completely new look to the west elevation of the New Grosvenor House.
The Greensleeves home at St Leonards, East Sussex used to be a group of three Victorian houses until they were combined into “The Grosvenor Hotel” in the 1920's. This establishment offered sea-side accommodation for holiday makers for many years until its conversion into a residential care home.
Grosvenor House has an ideal location with excellent views of the sea, bowling greens and gardens. Residents with a room facing east can see the seafront and the sun rising over Hastings and those on the other side of the building can see the sun setting over Beachy Head. But, before the redevelopment, the premises had some severe drawbacks including an unusable shop front, considerable wasted basement space,
unsightly concrete fire escapes and an elevated entranceway (see photographs) making access often very difficult for residents. Also the building was in need of ensuite facilities for the residents' rooms and extensive external repairs.
Our architects produced an ambitious scheme costing over £2 million which would transform the building completely with much internal re-arrangement. The project was approved and began in mid-2004. The dining room has been moved to the lower ground floor making more room for residents' accommodation on the ground floor. The unsuitable and unsightly fire escapes had to be removed piece by piece with the spaces left being built in, allowing the number of bedrooms to increase to 33. An all-new main staircase has been formed and a large central lift fitted connecting all the levels for the first time. The original character of the property has been preserved and the exterior finish is more in keeping with surrounding buildings.
The result is a thoroughly modern residential care home with many extra facilities and public rooms making it both comfortable and spacious for those living there. All the bedrooms are now en-suite and there is a completely new entrance with easy access at street level. There is a remodelled lounge which leads out onto a private patio overlooking the bowling greens and sea front. The new dining room has extra space which can be used as an activities area and a conservatory.
The building project was completed at the end of January 2006 with some finishing touches being added since then. Grosvenor House duly celebrated its Grand Opening with a fine party on 20th July 2006. A wide range of guests joined residents, relatives and staff to make this a very enjoyable occasion.
Whilst this project was undoubtedly the most difficult the Trust has undertaken to date, it is only one of the many rebuilding and improvement programmes we have completed or have planned for the future. It does much to demonstrate Greensleeves' ongoing commitment to providing high quality accommodation and care for our residents at a reasonable cost. We must thank the residents and staff of Grosvenor House for their patience and for accepting much inconvenience during the building work: we are sure they will enjoy the new facilities and features of the home.
The rebuilding programme has been extensive with even some floors being built at new levels. The garden patios and new conservatory have just been completed along with the internal corridors and the last few en-suite bed-sitting rooms.
Developments to Greensleeves Homes - Grosvenor House Project Completion – "before and after"
The Greensleeves home at St Leonards, East Sussex used to be a group of three Victorian houses until they were combined into “The Grosvenor Hotel” in the 1920's. This establishment offered sea-side accommodation for holiday makers for many years until its conversion into a residential care home. 
unsightly concrete fire escapes and an elevated entranceway (see photographs) making access often very difficult for residents. Also the building was in need of ensuite facilities for the residents' rooms and extensive external repairs.
The result is a thoroughly modern residential care home with many extra facilities and public rooms making it both comfortable and spacious for those living there. All the bedrooms are now en-suite and there is a completely new entrance with easy access at street level. There is a remodelled lounge which leads out onto a private patio overlooking the bowling greens and sea front. The new dining room has extra space which can be used as an activities area and a conservatory. 
Whilst this project was undoubtedly the most difficult the Trust has undertaken to date, it is only one of the many rebuilding and improvement programmes we have completed or have planned for the future. It does much to demonstrate Greensleeves' ongoing commitment to providing high quality accommodation and care for our residents at a reasonable cost. We must thank the residents and staff of Grosvenor House for their patience and for accepting much inconvenience during the building work: we are sure they will enjoy the new facilities and features of the home. 
