Plans for new extra care plus scheme progress
Plans for a new multi-million-pound supported housing development in Brierley Hill are progressing as Dudley Council seeks a housing provider to run the scheme.
The council is partnering with private developer E5 Living to create a new extra care plus scheme in the town.
When built, it will provide rented accommodation for people who require a higher level of social care support to maintain their independence as long as possible, including people with dementia.
The development in Moor Street will come at no cost to the council and allow people aged 65 and over to live independently with the added benefit of round the clock care and support available.
E5, which already owns the land for the site and has existing planning permission for an apartment complex, will fund the cost of the build with Dudley Council taking on a long-term lease agreement for the building. The scheme pilots a brand-new model devised by E5 to allow local authorities to build housing for social care with no capital outlay and within existing housing budgets.
The council is about to tender for a housing provider, which would sub-lease the building from the council and deliver the scheme to the tenants. The housing provider would be responsible for paying the yearly rent and taking over any liability.
The new development will include 100 self-contained apartments as well as communal areas and facilities. The council will reserve 10 apartments to accommodate people who need short-term care and support.
Councillor Natalie Neale, cabinet member for adult social care, said:
This new model for social care is a ground-breaking development which will see us work with both private developer and social landlord with little upfront investment needed from the council.
This development has multiple benefits. Not only will it support the regeneration in Brierley Hill, but it will also provide employment opportunities, boost our housing stock and provide a specialist level of care to help our ageing population to live independently.
We’re excited to move to the next stage in this project, which is to find a housing provider to come on board and work with us and support the long-term running of the scheme once built.
Kevin Stevens, president of the E5 Group, said:
This scheme is an exemplar for how the private sector and public sector can work together to solve one of the UK’s most pressing social care issues, which is to provide the new fit-for-purpose social care accommodation that is desperately needed.
The Moor Street extra care plus development will be the first to demonstrate just what can be provided, at no extra cost and in line with existing budgets, through E5’s new social care funding model. Our aim is that this trailblazing project with Dudley Council signals the start of a roll out of similar schemes across the country.
At previous cabinet meetings, members had agreed to the recommendations in the cabinet reports in December 2020 and March 2022 that the council enters into a long-term lease arrangement with E5 and allow plans for the new extra care plus facility to progress, subject to a housing provider being successfully commissioned.
Work on the development is expected to start on site in the second half of 2023.