Lottery grant awarded for Belong Village scheme in Newcastle-under-Lyme 11 November 2015

Plans for a new care village in Newcastle-under-Lyme have moved a step closer to fruition thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of nearly £1.8m.

The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the grant to renovate a Grade II listed building – the former Maxims nightclub – which is central to the Belong Care Village proposal. Having closed in 2006 and fallen into disrepair, the grant will be used to transform the building into the Belong Heritage Gallery, a public facility that will tell the story of the site’s history and bring the building back to life for people to enjoy once more.

As well as the Belong Heritage Gallery, the care village will offer a mix of specialist care services, apartments for independent living and community facilities that will be open to the wider public such as a tea room, reminiscence room, hair salon and nail bar. Plans for the site were revealed earlier this year, when local residents had the opportunity to give their feedback before the proposals were submitted for planning.

Prime is working in partnership with the not-for-profit award winning care provider CLS Care Services Ltd (operator of Belong villages) as a specialist development and investment partner to deliver the scheme in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Bob Smaylen, Development Director for Prime said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we are now able to not only regenerate part of Newcastle-under-Lyme with the Belong Village scheme, but we can also breathe new life into a Grade II listed building by celebrating its past and giving it a bright future. We look forward to getting started!”

Tracy Paine, Belong Operations Director, said: “Maxims is an iconic building in the local community, and we are absolutely delighted that, thanks to this grant from the HLF, we will now be able to realise our vision and restore access to this wonderful venue. Having a heritage gallery within the Belong village provides an exciting opportunity for us to create a dementia centre of excellence that will link the past and present through people, their memories and a shared exploration of the past.”