Council Leader and Mayor to ‘cut first sod’ for Scarborough’s new housing and care facility for older people
Scarborough Borough Council’s Leader, Cllr. Eileen Bosomworth, and the Mayor of the Borough of Scarborough, Cllr. Derek Bastiman, are to cut the first sod at a ceremony on Monday 3 April on the site of Plaxton Court - the town’s innovative new housing and care facility for older people
Developed by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, the scheme will be named Plaxton Court after the late F W (Eric) Plaxton, former Chairman of the Scarborough-based Plaxton Group. The F W Plaxton Charitable Trust is a major funder of the scheme.
Plaxton Court is an ExtraCare scheme which will enable older people to lead independent and active lives in one of the 52 self-contained apartments or 16 ‘cottages’, with on-site care and support when needed. They can choose to rent, part-own or buy their home outright. A restaurant, hair salon, fitness suite and shop are included in the scheme and these facilities will also be available to the wider older population in Scarborough.
Due to open in Spring 2008, Plaxton Court will be managed by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT), an experienced provider of housing and care schemes for older people, which already runs a number of sheltered housing schemes in the town. The building contractor for the development will be local company Woodhouse Barry Construction. The JRHT is also connected to Scarborough through its founder, Joseph Rowntree, who had strong family links with the town and used to visit it every week.
Linking in with local and national strategies for the housing and care of older people, Plaxton Court has the support of Scarborough Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council Social Services, and the Scarborough and Whitby Primary Care Trust.
The JRHT has already had a large number of enquiries from local people who are interested in Plaxton Court and will be writing to them in due course with an update on the timetable for development. Anyone else wanting to register interest in the scheme should ring 01904 752227.
Lord Best, Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be starting a new development for older people in Scarborough. We expect the combination of high standard buildings and good quality care to be very popular. We are most grateful to the Trustees of the F W Plaxton Charitable Trust for their invaluable financial support for this project.”
