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Work underway on dementia-friendly homes

Author: Nick Griffin

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In partnership with Barnet Council, Barnet Homes marked their latest new build project this week with a demolition ceremony at the start of the construction of a new dementia-friendly extra care scheme.

For the past decade, the site of Moreton Close was a sheltered housing scheme whose residents have now moved on to new homes. Now the social landlord has planning permission to build 53 self-contained one and two bedroom apartments.

The aim of Extra Care Housing is to support adults with additional care needs to live independently. One of the key benefits of extra care is that couples, where one partner has increasing care needs, are able to stay living together.

Barnet Council is investing £15 million in the project, which is the first of three Extra Care Housing developments planned for the borough.

The new development at Moreton Close is part of Barnet Council’s wider housing development programme, which will see more than 700 new homes built on council-owned land, in the borough, over the next five years.

At least 40 per cent of the new builds will be affordable homes for rent or shared ownership. Plans are underway to build these affordable homes, with 475 in the pipeline.

Barnet Homes have already built 40 brand new family-sized homes and are developing plans for a further 320. These homes will be made available to residents via the council’s housing allocations policy.

Barnet Council’s Leader Richard Cornelius joined Terry Rogers, Chair of the Board and Derek Rust, Deputy Chief Executive of The Barnet Group at the site in Mill Hill.

Councillor Richard Cornelius said: “I am very excited to see work now progressing with Moreton Close. This model of extra care is an excellent way of giving residents the right level of support they need at different points in their lives while helping them maintain their independence.”

The Barnet Group’s Deputy Chief Executive, Derek Rust confirmed: “Our new 53 unit facility at Moreton Close will not only provide more choice for older people with care and support needs, including those with dementia, but will increase availability of affordable homes for households in housing need with frail older residents moving into facilities such as these.”