A flagship 68-bed care home and eight private homes at the northern edge of Fordingbridge

Highwood is constructing a landmark 68-bed care home and eight private homes on land east of Whitsbury Road, Fordingbridge. The project is the latest in our long-standing partnership with Hartford Care, backed by Octopus Capital, and follows the successful delivery of the Alton and award-nominated Moorhill care homes last year.

Construction on the 1.2-hectare site, which sits at the northern edge of the town and in the heart of the New Forest, is scheduled to begin in February 2026, with an anticipated opening in autumn 2027. When complete, the new home will offer specialist provision for dementia care, residential care, nursing care, respite stays and end-of-life support.

The development has been designed to meet BREEAM Excellent standards and will operate as a fully electric building, using renewable energy technologies and fabric-first principles to reduce energy consumption and support long-term efficiency. These measures continue the exceptionally high sustainability benchmarks set across Highwood’s projects with Hartford Care.

The new care home will be arranged over one and a half to two storeys, with upper-floor suites set within the roofline to keep the building’s scale gentle and in keeping with its surroundings. As with all Highwood-designed homes for Hartford Care, residents will enjoy an impressive range of communal facilities, including elegant lounges, dining areas, wellbeing spaces and activity rooms, all set within beautifully landscaped grounds designed to encourage outdoor use, privacy and relaxation.