£18m bid for special-care new housing

A bid for £18 million for specialist housing for people with dementia or other mental and physical conditions has been made for Oldham.

The new extra-care accommodation is proposed for Whittaker Street in Royton, Greenacres Lodge, and on the site of The Hollies in Werneth.

But it depends on Government approval for Private Finance Initiative credits, a form of borrowing, which could be given in August.

The council was chosen last year, along with 22 others, to bid for the new schemes.

It will make an outline business case to the Department of Health, and is one of the front runners, as one of the main strengths of the bid was its ability to bring forward an early scheme.

Oldham has 190 residents in private specialist care, a figure which is forecast to increase.

The biggest development, £11 million, would be at The Hollies, where there would be 55 units for people with dementia.

A new building next to Tandle View Court at Whittaker Street in Royton, (£6 million), would be a 30 unit, dementia-friendly development.

Greenacres Lodge, currently vacant and needing repairs, could support 10 people with mental health issues back into the community.

The Hollies, an empty, former Victorian gentleman’s house in Frederick Street, which would be demolished, has ample space and an attractive setting for a new building, according to officers.

The house and land are a charitable trust with a covenant on them, to aid the relief of the sick and poor.