New homes for the elderly (From This is Hampshire)

New homes for the elderly

2:10pm Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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DIGGERS are preparing the foundations for a new complex for elderly people in a Basingstoke suburb.

Housing association Saxon Weald is building 64 flats in Gershwin Road, Brighton Hill, designed for older people needing personal care and support.

The development is part of the Brighton Hill Extra Care scheme. It is being funded by a £3million Department of Health grant and £600,000 from Hampshire County Council, which also donated the land – largely the site of the former Beech Down Primary School which burned down in an arson attack in November 2000.

Saxon Weald chief executive David Standfast said: “Extra Care enables people to continue to live independently in their own homes. This type of housing can be an ideal solution for couples who have different levels of care need.”

Thirty-four of the apartments, a mixture of one and two-bedroom homes, will be available to rent. A further 30 two-bedroom apartments will be for shared equity sale. There will also be a bespoke day centre to be leased back to the county council.

Councillor Felicity Hindson, county council executive member for adult social care, said: “I am delighted this scheme in Basingstoke is now underway, making the best possible use of the limited funding we have available to us.”

Cllr Cathy Osselton, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet member for housing and health, said the service would add to the extra care services already developed within Abbey Court in Popley over the last year. She said: “These facilities will make a big difference to many people’s lives.”

For more information on renting an |apartment, contact the borough housing department on 01256 844844.