Older people's housing village opens

Press Release

For immediate release: 19 July 2011

Older people’s housing village opens

Residents of a £12 million 'extra care’ housing village for older people in Portsmouth have celebrated with an official opening of the development.

Milton Village in Southsea consists of three extra care schemes, each with a mix of one and two bedroom apartments specially designed to support independent living for older people. Cllr Leo Madden, Cabinet member for Health and Social Care with Portsmouth City Council, joined in the celebration and presented residents with a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion.

The development at Milton Village by Housing 21 in partnership with Portsmouth City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) provides 65 apartments for rent or purchase on a shared ownership basis. These include 12 apartments in Crane Court, 16 in Osprey Court and 37 in Brent Court, which was the final of the three to complete at the end of last year.

Tayo Bilewu, director of property development for Housing 21 said: "I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the opening of Milton Village. Together with Portsmouth City Council we’re creating environments that enable people to achieve a good quality later life by allowing them to live independently with help on hand. This is why extra care is an increasingly popular choice."

The three courts forming the Milton Village development take the number of Housing 21 extra care schemes in Portsmouth to four. The residents of Brunel Court in Nutfield Place, Landport have also held a celebration with Councillor Madden presenting a plaque to residents.

Cllr Leo Madden, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: "Offering older people the choice to continue to live independently in their own homes is really important and we are committed to helping them to do that.

"Milton Village is a state-of-the-art extra care scheme that is designed specifically for older people, providing round-the-clock support and packages of care that are designed to meet individual needs. It offers residents the chance to be part of a community and is able to adapt to their changing care needs over time."

Milton Village, which received a £4.8 million grant from the Department of Health and £1.7 million from the HCA, provides communal facilities including a hairdressing salon, laundry room, assisted bathroom, residents’ lounge, buggy store and landscaped gardens.

Kevin Bourner, HCA head of area added: "This scheme is great news for Southsea, and for local people who will benefit from high quality, affordable housing that is specifically designed and equipped to meet their individual needs.

"More people are living longer in this country, and that makes it important for us to work to deliver the right type of housing to meet the long-term needs of residents and enable them to have independent lives. This scheme is a testament to the hard work of partners involved in the project and I am really pleased that local people are benefitting from the investment we have made."

Housing 21 has also been selected as preferred bidder for the development of three more extra care schemes in Portsmouth, totalling 180 units.

ENDS

For further information, please contact Wendy Gornicki, PR & Information Officer, Housing 21 on 0370 192 4338 or email wendy.gornicki@housing21.co.uk

Housing 21’s mission is to promote independence and choice for older people through quality care, health and housing services. It provides around 124,000 hours of community care each week and manages 18,200 sheltered and extra care apartments.

Keep up to date with Housing 21 at www.facebook.com/housing21.co.uk or via our website www.housing21.co.uk

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.　 Its vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas. For more information, visit www.homesandcommunities.co.uk