500 People attend Newtown Retirement Village Information Day This Week
500 older people and their families from Birmingham’s Newtown viewed plans and shared views at a major community information event featuring the £22m Pannel Croft Retirement Village which began initial construction works this month. The event was hosted by The ExtraCare Charitable Trust and Birmingham City Council as part of an ongoing consultation process to help ensure the Village meets local peoples’ needs and aspirations. The event included:
- Plans of the completed Village, including details of homes and communal leisure facilities
- Opportunities for visitors to talk to City Councilors, ExtraCare support and activity staff and residents from existing ExtraCare villages.
- Feedback areas for questions and comment
- Activity areas which include free health checks, benefits advice and entertainment
If you are over the age of 55, living in Birmingham and would like to register your interest in the Village application process please phone, 0870 777 4800
Pannel Croft Village opens in Spring 2013 and will provide 180 affordable homes for rent (80%) and part-purchase (20%). Properties will surround a community-based Village Centre with a wide range of facilities including a gym, restaurant, craft room and woodwork area. Care will be available in the Village for those who need support.
The Village will create over 50 ExtraCare jobs and an additional 36 funded-apprenticeships, on site during construction with house-builders Frank Haslam Milan. Other partners who have contributed to the scheme’s development are Urban Living (£2.4m), The Homes and Communities Agency (£6.4m) and The Department of Health (£3.2m).
Councillor John Lines, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “I am delighted to be able to share our plans for the City’s second retirement village for our older people in Newtown, one of five planned for the City. The event will provide an opportunity for prospective residents, their families and friends to meet with ExtraCare staff and residents of other villages to see what village life can offer.
“The Village will not only provide new homes but provide much needed training and employment opportunities for local people in this difficult time”
Pannel Croft is the second of five planned villages across the City, a £200m development partnership between Birmingham City Council and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust. The first 260-home Village, New Oscott (developed with Midland Heart), opened in March 2010 and is now oversubscribed. A third 241-home village, off the Hagley Road in Harbourne, is awaiting the outcome of a planning submission.
Newtown Village Centre will provide a social hub for local older people – especially those who suffer isolation or have limited means. This Village Centre requires £2m funding through ExtraCare’s Smile Appeal – an appeal which is helping to fund five ExtraCare Village Centres, regenerating older peoples’ involvement in community life across the City. For more information about The Smile Appeal, please contact Alison Whittingham on 024 76 506011. alison.whittingham@extracare.org.uk
