Plans unveiled for £75m elderly care village in Shrewsbury
Plans to build accommodation for up to 250 elderly people next to a vineyard in Shrewsbury have been revealed.
Bosses behind the £75 million scheme next to Hencote Vineyard off Ellesmere Road say it would create 150 jobs, if proposals are approved.
Senescura Ltd says its plans for a 17-acre site include 182 extra care and close care apartments and bungalows; a 75-bed nursing home with an integrated specialist dementia unit; and a community centre providing treatment and therapy rooms, swimming pool and gym, lounges, restaurant, cinema room and communal gardens.
Senescura chairman Andy Stevens said: “There is widespread agreement that there is a significant shortfall in care provision for over-65s across the county and our plans will give Shrewsbury a purpose-built, modern solution of which it can be truly proud.
“At the moment if you are an elderly owner-occupier in Shropshire there is a limited choice if you are considering moving into accommodation which offers care provision.
“The Hencote Continuing Care Community will dramatically widen that choice – offering high-quality, independent living in a superb location, with graduated care on hand to guarantee that all residents get the support they need at every stage of their life.
“It represents a unique development in Shropshire. Though similar schemes have been hugely successful elsewhere in England this is one that will specifically help take some of the pressure off our really hard-pressed public sector care providers and Shropshire Council.”
The community would be run by LifeCare Residences and would be restricted to people aged over 65.
“Experience shows that the great majority of the staff will be recruited locally, where we will seek to use local firms and contractors throughout the development of the site," Mr Stevens added.
“This will be a beacon of excellence which will place Shrewsbury on the national map for the quality of its social care provision at a time when we are desperately short of solutions to our care crisis.”
Paul Harries, executive chairman of LifeCare Residences Ltd, said: “We were approached by Senescura who recognise the acute and growing needs of the elderly Shropshire population.
“They are committed to providing the highest standards of care and age-appropriate accommodation in the county. We have had over 40 years of experience in doing that, providing high quality care services to the elderly both here in England and in our native New Zealand.
“We have been looking to grow our business beyond London and the home counties, where Shropshire’s needs combined with Senescura’s vision was very compelling.”
Outline plans for the scheme will be on show at a public consultation event on November 10 at the Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury starting at 12.30pm.
“We think this scheme represents a real step forward for age-appropriate accommodation and social care provision in Shrewsbury, but we also genuinely want to hear from people in the town as to what they think of our plans,” said Mr Stevens.
“We want to welcome as many people as possible to the consultation event on Wednesday where we will be on hand to discuss the scheme in more detail.”
