A new £13.5m care village developed by Prime in Newcastle-under-Lyme will soon be ready to welcome its first residents, as construction work on the scheme is now complete.
Delivered for award winning, not for profit operator Belong, the coming weeks will see the completion of a specialist fit out before the village opens to residents and the public in the spring.
Although the Newcastle-under-Lyme scheme is Belong’s sixth care village, this is the first time the company has partnered with a specialist developer to help realise its plans for growth. Prime worked closely with Belong to secure a strategic site in the heart of the town centre and managed the design, development and construction to deliver a high quality scheme that will offer a range of specialist services for older people.
Unlike traditional care homes, Belong Villages offer a bespoke ‘care with housing’ model, based around a vibrant community hub. Located in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme, the village will ensure residents are an integral part of their local community, while offering a number of facilities that are open to the wider public.
The site came with some challenges, namely a Grade II listed coach house that stood at its centre. The partners worked together to ensure the listed building became an integral part of the development, securing a £1.8m National Lottery grant to transform it into the Belong Heritage Gallery – a public facility celebrating the heritage of the local area and providing specialist resources and services for people living with dementia.
Bob Smaylen, development director at Prime says: “The scheme was a first for Belong – who brought us on board as a specialist development and investment partner – and also for Prime, as this has been our first major new build care home development. We‘re really pleased with the finished scheme and ultimately, what the partnership has been able to deliver.”
Tracey Stakes, chief executive at Belong, says: “Prime has provided outstanding support throughout the process which has been crucial to making this project happen. We’ve enjoyed a positive experience of partnership working with them and value the expertise they have brought to the project.”
The new Belong care village will provide 24 hour nursing or personal care for more than 70 residents plus guest rooms in ‘households’, apartments for older people to buy, rent or part-buy and amenities for public use, including a bistro, tea room, exercise studio, hair salon and nail bar and a range of function and activity rooms. The state-of-the-art complex also includes training rooms, an ‘Experience Day’ service offering supported activities on a day basis and a ‘Belong at Home’ service providing outreach care to people living in the community.
The building will officially open to residents and the public in Spring 2018.
