Member Article

£10m extra care facilities opened in Derby

The official launch has taken place of an exciting new development of extra care accommodation in Derby.

Representatives from Derby City Council, developers Radleigh Homes and Derby Homes attended the official opening of Parkland View, a new development of extra care apartments on the site of the former Bath Street Mill.

Located at the gateway to the UNESCO world heritage site and overlooking the River Derwent and Darley Park, the new development consists of 82 extra care apartments spread over four stories.

All apartments have two bedrooms, a spacious open plan kitchen, dining and living area and a fully accessible wet-room.

The development also features other facilities, including a courtyard garden, restaurant/café and shop, along with hobby and therapy rooms, laundry room and mobility scooter store with charging points.

Work on the project, which has been a unique and very complex one, started early 2014 and was handed over to Derby City Council in 2016.

Following a ribbon cutting ceremony, there were speeches from Councillor Fareed Hussain, Cabinet Member for Urban Renewal, Chris Neve, managing director of Radleigh Homes and Maria Murphy, managing director of Derby Homes.

Councillor Fareed Hussain, Cabinet Member for Urban Renewal, said:

“It is great that as a council we can invest in schemes such as this which help provide accommodation to people with a mix of care and support needs. It will not only support members of the public but form part of the river defence which is important for us as a city.”

Councillor Martin Repton, Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Care, added:

“Parklands Views is an important part of our new and innovative approach to supporting more people to live in their own homes and their own communities, preventing the need for older people to be uprooted and move to care homes or nursing homes.

“The superb 21st century apartments sit in a beautiful riverside location, close to the city centre and provide residents with the appropriate accommodation and facilities they need to lead full independent lives in the community.”

Chris Neve, joint managing director of Radleigh Homes, said:

“The story of the redevelopment of Bath St Mill into this fabulous extra-care facility is a wonderful example of the energy, commitment, mutual respect, teamwork, skill and positive attitude shown by every single person involved in this project - from the team at Derby City Council and Derby Homes to all the specialist architects, engineers and the entire building team involved on the 18-month build programme.

“This scheme has been led locally, designed locally and constructed by local tradesmen, with shows the strength of a thriving local economy.

“The building is also believed to be the first piece of new flood defence wall in the country, which is a tremendous achievement for Derby.”

The Parkland View extra care scheme has been developed by Radleigh Homes for Derby City Council and will be managed by Derby Homes.

It forms part of the ‘Our City, Our River’ initiative and the building is designed to provide part of the river defence.

As part of the ‘Our City, Our River’ initiative, Radleigh Homes’ in-house innovation team has worked closely with Derby City Council and the and the Environment Agency to incorporate a concrete flood defence structure within the fabric of the building itself.

Any new development located within, or adjacent to, the Flood Zone is now required to have an integral flood defence wall constructed within the framework of the building.

The skill in this project was to design the wall but not spoil the aesthetics of the design. The building has also been constructed with a curved corner to the north. In severe flood conditions, debris gets carried downstream and gets caught and trapped on the edges of buildings, so this will alleviate any possible problems.

It is expected that future projects within the city will also use this unique concept to deliver inner-city brownfield developments that have previously stalled because of difficult flood issues that continue to delay progress.

Parkland View is open to people with a care need. To qualify, they should be: aged 55 or over, have a care need and need for more appropriate housing. They must also have a local connection and meet the Care Act and Derby Homes allocation criteria.

For more information or to register an interest contact Derby City Council on 01332 642752 or email adrian.mcnaney@derby.gov.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Donna Hill .