Work Gets Underway On New Extra Care Schemes In Birmingham

Construction work has started at two sites in Birmingham on new extra care schemes for older people.

The new apartments will provide a genuine alternative to residential care, giving residents their own home in a communal scheme with 24 hour care and support services should they need them.

The scheme at Turves Green will provide 95 apartments and the other, in Meadway, 87 apartments. Both schemes will have options for rent, shared ownership and outright sale.

Julia Godwin, development programme manager for Housing 21 said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Birmingham City Council on this very exciting project to provide new homes for people aged 55 and over.

“Living in extra care housing will enable residents to have choice and control over their lives and enjoy a range of on-site facilities and flexible care and support services.”

Housing 21 is working in partnership with Birmingham City Council on the project, with funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (formerly the Housing Corporation).

Councillor John Lines, Cabinet member for Housing said: ““This is great news. I want every citizen of Birmingham, regardless of age or frailty, to enjoy a high quality of life.

“These two extra care schemes are part of the council’s larger plans to ensure our older residents are given the chance to live an independent and active lifestyle in suitable accommodation.

“I am delighted to be working with Housing 21, who along with our other partners, are instrumental in delivering this vision”.

Each apartment is designed for wheelchair access and will have its own sitting room, fully fitted kitchen, walk-in shower and non-slip flooring to the kitchen and bathroom. An on-site team will provide care and support, tailored to meet individual needs. Communal facilities will include a residents’ lounge, restaurant, hairdressing salon and landscaped gardens.

Christine Seaton, investment manager at the Homes and Communities Agency in the West Midlands said, “The Homes and Communities Agency’s investment in the extra care facilities at Turves Green and the Meadway will provide 182 high quality affordable homes for older people. The delivery of extra care housing in Birmingham demonstrates our partnership approach, working with Birmingham City Council to commission and select Housing 21 to develop these homes, and help us deliver the City’s vision for housing for older people.

“The HCA is a national agency but we support the ambitions of our local partners to provide better places where people want to live. Our objective is that our investment provides a range of housing options that meet the needs of the whole community, and we ensure that older people have access to these homes. The new homes at Turves Green and the Meadway deliver on this objective”.

Interested applicants for the new accommodation, which is due for completion in the summer of 2010, must have a health and social care need and be on the local housing register.