CM New Developments

Leicester city council announced last month that it will close up to eight of its care homes over the next three years due to low occupancy. Last year (CCMn March 2012) the council said it needed to change the way its care services were provided due to declining resident numbers and increased demand for homecare packages. Following public consultation last year, the council contacted more than 350 care organisations to gauge whether they would be interested in running the homes, which currently accommodate just over 160 people. However, with next to no interest and little prospect of some of the homes being sold, the council said it may be forced to take the tough decision’ to close them. The council warned that its own care homes are more expensive to run than the equivalent offered by independent organisations.

Two Rochdale-based children’s care providers have initiated legal proceedings against Rochdale council leader Colin Lambert after he said that the borough was the wrong place’ to put vulnerable youngsters into private care.

Housing 21 has been granted planning permission for a extra care development in Ashford, Kent. The scheme will be built in partnership with Pentland Homes, Ashford borough council and Kent county council and comprises 29 one-bedroom and 38 two-bedroom apartments over four floors.

Work has begun on a £5.5m purpose-built Bupa care home in Farnham, Surrey. It will provide specialist nursing and residential care for up to 52 older people when it opens in May 2013.

A new service for people with autistic specific conditions has been opened in Upper Norwood, south London by Glen Care. Up to ten residents can use the transitional service which aims to enable service users to live independently over the course of 18-24 months.

Glen Care has also opened a five-bed supported living service for tenants with a learning disability, mental health condition or challenging behaviour in Guilford, Surrey.

The Mayor of Gateshead, Joe Mitchinson, officially opened a new dementia unit at Bondcare’s Wallace House care home in Dunston, last month. The Ravenhouse Suite can provide care for 22 live-in residents. The facility includes coloured doors, themed corridors, meaningful pictures and clear signage to help residents identify different rooms.

A 24-bed facility for people suffering from eating disorders in Rainhill, Merseyside, has been approved by St Helens borough council. Mental health provider Raphael Healthcare says it will divide the building into three separate wards to facilitate the care of children and young adults aged ten to 18 and adults between 18 to 24 years. The operator will now work with its development team to produce a realistic timeline for the construction programme and, once complete, it will create 59 jobs in the area.

Bupa Care Homes has released plans for a new £7m nursing and dementia care home in Glasgow. The purpose-built facility will have 64-beds to care for people with general nursing needs as well as providing specialist care for people living with dementia. When it opens in 2013, the care home is expected to form part of a larger development that includes residential housing, a primary school and a community college.

Housing 21 celebrated the opening of its Kingsway extra care scheme in Blackburn last month. The complex has 60 apartments and four bungalows and will provide 24-hour support. A restaurant, hairdresser and sensory garden are part of the complex which also houses a place of worship for the United Reformed Church and provides a place for Blackburn and Darwen Carer’s Service.