A sod-cutting ceremony took place to mark the start of construction work on the new care home for Carlisle.
The new 60-bed residential care home – costing in the region of £6m – will provide modern quality care for older adults, especially those who need to be supported with dementia and complex care needs.
The home, on the former Morton Primary School on Burnrigg Road in Carlisle, will open in 2019 and during the life of the build project this scheme will bring other additional community benefits including the creation of apprenticeships, short-term work placements and training opportunities for local students.
The new home will replace three older Cumbria Care homes in the area; Elizabeth Welsh, Petteril House and Langrigg.
Cumbria County Councillor Peter Thornton, Cabinet member for Health and Care Services said: “This is an exciting development and Carlisle will feel the benefits of this significant investment for many years to come.
“Cumbria County Council appointed Eric Wright Construction to work with them to develop the design for the building that will meet the needs of older people for generations to come.
“The new care home is part of a wider modernisation programme of care in the Carlisle area which as well as providing the home also offers a wide range of other choices, including receiving more help to live independently in their own homes and the provision of extra care housing schemes.”
John Wilson, managing director from Eric Wright Construction, added: “This unique development has been carefully designed and planned to allow older local residents to maintain their quality of life in a place that’s safe and meets individual care needs.
“We’re working on a growing number of complex care schemes across the UK as local authorities recognise the benefits that they bring to health and wellbeing. As a Group, we’ve a long history of working alongside Cumbria County Council and look forward to getting underway on site.”
This will be the second of three brand new state of the art Cumbria Care homes to open and follows on from the opening of Parkview Gardens in Barrow which opened earlier this year. Work on the site of the new care home in Copeland is due to start in the coming months.