The moving dates of older people into a £19m care village have been delayed because further tests needed to be carried out on part of the call system.

Care company NorseCare's 80-bed specialist dementia care home Mayflower Court and a 92-apartment housing with care scheme, run by Saffron Housing Trust and named The Meadows, have opened at the Three Score site in Bowthorpe.

Residents from Norwich care homes Heathfield, Mountfield, Somerley and Philadelphia House, which are all closing their doors, were due to start moving into the care village from Monday.

While some have already moved into their new homes in the dementia unit – and 46 will have made the switch by the end of the week – more than 40 other care home residents face a wait before they can go into the housing with care scheme.

A spokesman for NorseCare said: 'We are pleased to report that those who have already moved have settled in well.

'However, we have adjusted our original plan because we needed to undertake further testing on the call system within The Meadows before supporting residents to move into their new homes.

'Our highest priority is to ensure that our residents and tenants can move into their new homes safely.

'Having completed the extra testing, we are happy to confirm that the remaining residents and tenants will be moving from their current homes into Mayflower Court and The Meadows next week.'

One man, whose elderly relative is waiting to move, said: 'It is annoying, because all their things are currently in boxes.

'We thought the delay would only be a day, but it now seems as if it will continue into next week.

'It seems daft that after all this time and money has been spent, they seem to have found some problems at this late stage.'

The 2.3-hectare complex also features a central hub, including a restaurant, café, hairdressers, bar and community shop.

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