Southam's MP Jeremy Wright donned hard hat and boots to see how work was getting on at the town’s new community hub this week and Mr Wright was so impressed with what he saw he hopes the completed building will serve as a blueprint for similar developments across the country.
Work started on the Tithe Lodge site last spring and is scheduled for completion next May. It will include 75 apartments for the over 55s, communal facilities which can also be hired by the public and public facilities, including a new library, a restaurant and a room to house the town’s Cardall Collection.
“This is a groundbreaking scheme and I am very proud to see it taking shape in my constituency,” said Mr Wright
“What Orbit and our councils are doing in Southam should be held up as an example of good practice across the country.”
The development, which is right in the middle of Southam, will provide tailor-made accommodation for anyone over 55, whether they are fit and healthy and totally independent or in need of 24-hour care. The apartments will be a mix of one and two bedrooms and shared ownership and rented, with priority given to local people.
“What is great about this scheme is the way the apartments and their facilities are linked to the community hub,” Mr Wright added.
“It is predicted that one in three of us can expect to suffer from some form of dementia as we age. So it is important to get people to realise just how common it is going to be and how very important it is that, while as yet we cannot cure dementia, we can at least better accommodate those affected by it.
“We can do this through schemes such as Tithe Lodge, which will allow people with dementia to live in their community with facilities which have been specially designed to make independent living as easy as possible and with care provision an integrated and accepted part of life.
“This is a huge step in removing the stigma from dementia.“