Banking fines cash boost for ex-servicemen’s care home
A £3M government grant from the proceeds of banking fines will enable a home for ex-servicemen and women in Greater Manchester to launch a major redevelopment scheme.
Broughton House in Salford now expects to begin the first phase of the £10m project next summer, subject to planning permission.
The £3m was allocated in yesterday’s (Wednesday November 23) Autumn Statement by Chancellor Philip Hammond under a scheme to use the proceeds of Libor fines imposed on banks for rigging interest rates to support military charities and other good causes.
Broughton House, which is celebrating its centenary this year, is raising the rest of the cash from benefactors, organisations and the public.
The redevelopment will see the two-acre site transformed into the Broughton House Veterans Care Village.
It will feature:
• A 72-room nursing home with a dementia wing;
• 30 one and two-bedroom assisted living apartments for veterans and their spouses;
• A military hub including an interactive museum for the public, meeting rooms, a gym, coffee shop and advice services on employment, benefits, housing and health;
• A new memorial park with a cenotaph and remembrance walls naming all those from Greater Manchester who have fallen since World War Two;
• Gardens, allotments and an all-weather bowling green;
• A rehabilitation centre for use by residents and veterans from outside;
• Domiciliary care support services for veterans living in their own homes.
The expansion of Broughton House will create at least 50 jobs.
Ty Platten, chief executive of Broughton House, said: “It is a great privilege to be awarded this funding from the Chancellor, as it is a great privilege to provide support and care to our veterans as Broughton House has done for 100 years.
“The funding will assist Broughton House to deliver a state-of-the-art veterans care village to Greater Manchester and the north west.”
Broughton House is the last remaining care home in Greater Manchester for ex-service personnel and is one of only two in northern England.
Platten added: “As we have reached our centenary it has become clear it is time for extensive change. Further to this, it has become apparent that the number of veterans who need guidance and support outside of our core service is increasing. Across the north west, there are 250,000 veterans aged over 65 and 36,000 aged above 85.
“Our aim is to offer a diverse range of veteran services by creating the Broughton House Veterans Care Village which will meet the modern care needs of veterans from a health, social, care and housing perspective.”
