Former luxury spa boss to lead Newport retirement village

The former head of a luxury spa has taken up a role running a new retirement village in Newport.

Adrian Pickard is the new general manager at Sundew Court and brings more than three decades of hospitality experience to the post.

He previously worked as managing director of the luxury spa and hotel Hoar Cross Hall, in Staffordshire, and as general manager of the five-star Headland hotel, in Cornwall.

Sundew Court is a brand new later living complex developed by West Sussex-based Untold Living which specialises in building retirement communities.

It has 16 bungalows and 61 apartments and is currently being built by Telford construction company McPhillips, with the first residents due to be welcomed in October.

As well as the new homes, Sundew Court will include a restaurant, a bar, an on-site care team, multifunction room and allotments.

Recruitment is due to begin shortly for other roles at the new village, including for a registered manager and a facilities manager, while the rest of the positions will be advertised later in the summer.

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Mr Pickard said: "I'm thrilled to have joined the Untold Living family at such an exciting time as they bring their first ever new-build community to life.

"One of the things I'm most looking forward to is building long-term relationships with residents who will be part of our village community for years to come, rather than the short-term relationships I've enjoyed with hotel guests over the years.

"That and building a team who can help me deliver on our three key priorities of kindness, hospitality and security. Our residents are moving in for a new beginning and it's my job to make sure they feel a valued part of our community.

"We're expecting people choosing to be part of our community to lead active, independent lives - even though we offer care, this is not a care facility. It was a big step moving out of hospitality although that's the sort of business we've got here at Sundew Court and I'm really looking forward to it."