County Council break ground on sheltered housing development in Buxton

A ceremony took place to officially mark the first step in constructing the 73 homes at the Brown Edge Road development on Tuesday, August 30.

The cutting of the first sod was led by Derbyshire County Councillor Paul Jones, who has responsibilities for adult social care, along with representatives from project partners Housing & Care 21 and Keepmoat.

Coun Jones said: “This will be a great addition to the area and we’re very excited to get the project underway.

“Despite the difficult climate and budgets being squeezed, we’re still committed to providing high standards of care and support to help older people live independently across the county.”

The development, which received a £1m contribution from the Homes and Communities Agency, will be made up of 53 two bedroom extra care apartments and a 20 place specialist residential care centre, as well as communal facilities including a restaurant, hair salon and health suite.

Nathan Brough, regional director for community regeneration specialist Keepmoat, said: “We are delighted to be starting work.This will help to drive our ambition of expanding the choice of high quality retirement housing to ensure the older generation enjoy life to the fullest.”

The development is due to complete in December 2017, and Keepmoat is offering training opportunities to local people throughout the build.