Dursley News
Plans for new elderly people's home in Yate take step forward
8:30am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
PLANS for a new elderly people’s home in Yate have taken a step forward this week, as bids were opened to build and run the facility.
South Gloucestershire Council is looking to appoint an external provider to take on the project on the site of the former Frome House care home, on Cranleigh Court Road.
It wants a care company to build the 60-bedroom state-of-the-art facility, for people who need nursing or personal care and people with dementia. The winning bidder will also be commissioned to build a similar home in Kingswood.
Cllr Matthew Riddle, executive member for community care and housing, said: "At the heart of our programme of transforming services for our older residents is a recognition that you cannot provide the highest standards of quality care in the 21st century through ageing mid-20th century facilities and that’s why we are investing in and opening new state-of-the-art premises.
"This is an important milestone in our plans to provide two next generation care homes and is yet more evidence of our determination to provide the very best care for our most vulnerable residents."
The two new homes are part of the authority’s reorgansiation of care services which will see eight council-run care homes closed including Wapley Court and Woodleaze in Yate.
Families of residents at the eight care homes, some of which have already been closed, had fought the council to keep them open until the two new homes were built and ready for use.
The council said the new homes, and hundreds of extra care apartments being built throughout the district, were designed to help keep people in their own homes for as long as possible. The authority is planning to invest an extra £5.6million in care services in this year’s council budget.
For further information about the tendering process visit www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk or call Andrew Birch on 01454 865985 or email andrew.birch@southglos.gov.uk Organisations have until March 2 to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire.