Key milestone for £18.9m ‘care village’ on edge of Norwich

Construction work on care company NorseCare's 80-bed specialist dementia care home and 92-apartment housing with care scheme at Three Score site at Bowthorpe started last September. The development will also feature a shop, restaurant and social club.

And, because of the relatively mild winter, builders have made better than expected progress on the 2.3 hectare site and the buildings have all been made watertight.

That means builders R G Carter and their subcontractors can get on with the next stage of the project, including work on interior walls, ceilings and floors, laying utilities and wider landscaping and providing access to the care village.

The project is on schedule to be handed over early next year ahead of the first residents and tenants moving in next year.

Karen Knight, managing director of NorseCare, which is owned by Norfolk County Council, said: 'This is a major turning point in the construction of this incredible project.

'It's taken a huge amount of planning and effort by all the partners to get to this point and we look forward to the next stages and ultimately to welcoming residents and tenants here in 2016, where they will receive the highest standard of care.'

In 2010, there were an estimated 13,236 people in Norfolk with dementia, but health experts have predicted that figure will rise to 24,204 by 2030.

The housing with care scheme will be owned and maintained by Saffron Housing.

The Bowthorpe Care Village is part of the wider Three Score development site, with Norwich City Council planning to use the rest of the 32-hectare site to create 1,000 homes, community facilities and open space.

Last week the design and specifics for the first phase of 172 city council homes was given the go-ahead by the authority's planning committee.

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