Financial close reached on new care village in Newcastle-under-Lyme 4 July 2016

Work is due to start on a new £13.5million care village in Newcastle-under-Lyme comprising a 72 bed care home and 28 apartments. Specialist healthcare property company, Prime, is developing the project for the award-winning, not-for-profit care provider CLS Care Services Ltd

Prime has been working with CLS Care Services Ltd as its development and investment partner to deliver the new build scheme, which will be the seventh Belong village – a bespoke care with housing model based around a vibrant community hub concept.

The state-of-the-art complex, which is due to open early in 2018, will offer 24-hour nursing and dementia care facilities, as well as apartments for independent living. The village, which has been designed by dementia-design specialist architects, Pozzoni, will also include a host of community facilities that will be open to the wider public.

Construction and property specialist, Pochin’s Ltd, will be responsible for delivering the scheme, which is expected to begin onsite in June.

Thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of nearly £1.8million, the development will also include the renovation of a Grade II listed building at the heart of the site. This will be transformed into the Belong Heritage Gallery, a public facility to celebrate the heritage of the local area and provide specialist resources and services for people living with dementia.

Development Director for Prime, Bob Smaylen, said: “We’re excited to have reached this key milestone. Not only are we delivering a high quality development that will bring new care services into the area but we are also breathing new life into a site which had fallen into disrepair in recent years. The investment in the Belong village will benefit the whole community and give local residents a neighbourhood they can be proud of.”

Tracy Paine, Belong Operations Director, added: “We are thrilled to see this project now getting underway. It promises to provide a valuable dementia centre of excellence in the area, allowing people to link their own lives to the past and draw on memories from around the community.”

Ciara Walsh, Project Architect from Pozzoni said: “We look forward to the realisation of such an exciting project, and the much needed revitalisation of a key site in the town centre of Newcastle. The combination of a specialist care village and the renovation of a historically significant building will create a hub for both the residents, neighbours and the wider local community to enjoy.”

Commenting on the scheme, Pochin’s CEO Jim Nicholson said: “We’re extremely proud to be entrusted with this regeneration project to return the site to community use whilst retaining and celebrating the features that make it such a historic building. Whether as a tannery or a nightspot, this site has played a significant role in the local community since the 17th century.”

Vanessa Harbar, Head of HLF West Midlands, said: “We are thrilled that, thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to provide this important investment in Newcastle’s heritage. We are keen to fund even more in the Borough and are encouraging local groups to get in touch about their ideas for projects.”