Thumbs up for new Belong care village

Planning permission has been granted for a new Belong care village in Chester which will bring more than 140 jobs.

Cheshire West and Chester Council approved proposals for the new facility on City Road.

Belong says it will provide world-leading dementia care in the heart of the city centre, as well as a range of amenities for the wider community.

Following Belong’s state-of-the-art village model of care provision, the Chester development will incorporate six households (with 72 suites and 3 guest bedrooms in total) where 24-hour care is provided, including specialist dementia and nursing support, along with 23 one and two bedroom apartments for independent living.

Its village centre will boast a hub of facilities including a gym, bistro, hair salon and therapy rooms, which are open to members of the wider community.

Outreach services include home care and a specialist day care service known as ‘Experience Days’, which enables customers to take advantage of village amenities and the specialist dementia support available.

There will be jobs for support workers, nurses and catering staff.

Tracy Paine, operations director for Belong, said: “We anticipate making a significant contribution to the city’s provision of high quality services for people with dementia, both for people living in the village and the wider community.

“This will be our first village in a city-centre location and we are very excited about the enhanced opportunities this central location will bring for social interaction and integration with the wider community.”

The site extends to Queen’s Avenue and will involve the landscaping of surrounding areas, including the canal-side conservation area.

The village has been designed by specialists in architecture for older people, Pozzoni, to incorporate the best principles of dementia-friendly design, while integrating with the various surrounding industrial and historical architectural styles.

Planning consultants J10 Planning, based in Chester, oversaw the planning application process.

Construction work is scheduled to begin later this year, and the village is set to open in 2019.

Belong currently operates villages in Atherton, Crewe, Macclesfield, Wigan and Warrington. Belong Morris Feinmann, in Didsbury, opens in June. Belong Newcastle-under-Lyme is due to open in January 2018. Villages in Birkdale and Chester are scheduled to open the following year.