East Midlands Housing Group (EMH Group) one of the largest providers of affordable and social housing in the East Midlands, has secured government funding of £1.4 million to help build 50 new affordable Extra Care homes in Blaby,
The funding will help to support older and disabled people to live independently for as long as possible.
The £7 million project is being developed in partnership with Leicestershire County Council and Blaby District Council.
EMH Group has committed £4.8 million to the project, with Leicestershire County Council providing £1.3 million and Blaby District Council £100,000.
The much-needed homes will form part of a larger project of 96 homes being undertaken by Whetstone-based Westleigh Developments Ltd in Winchester Road, Blaby, and will be completed in Spring 2015. Westleigh will also be providing opportunities for training and employment during construction.
Chan Kataria, Chief Executive of EMH Group, said:
“With an ageing population and changing demographics, the need for more specialised housing to support older people and disabled adults to live as independently as possible is more important than ever. We are delighted that through a strong partnership we have been successful in bringing funding for these much needed homes to Blaby.”
Dave Houseman, Leicestershire County Council’s Cabinet member for Adult Social Care, added:
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this joint bid. It will enable a new purpose-built Extra Care scheme to be built in the county and will provide homes with care support for some of the older members of our community. The County Council is investing £1.3 million in the scheme, which represents 17 per cent of the total cost. There has been some excellent partnership working to reach this stage and we are committed to continuing this in the future.”
Leader of Blaby District Council Ernie White added:
“This excellent news comes as a result of some excellent partnership work between EMH Group, Westleigh Developments, the County Council and ourselves. We are extremely happy that this new Extra Care scheme will be built within our district, providing much needed independence, care and support for our ageing population.”
The government funds are part of a £122 million Department of Health package recently announced by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb which will see 669 new homes created in London and 2,875 across the rest of the country.
EMH Group will work with the Homes and Communities Agency to deliver a total of 74 homes in the East Midlands.