Come and find out about independent living in Hereford

A new concept in housing to help older people live independent and enriching lives will be under the spotlight later this month.

Anyone interested in the Extra Care Housing development, planned for Ledbury Road Hereford, should pop along to the city’s Three Counties Hotel, Belmont Road, on Monday, January 17, between 10.30am and 5pm.

The partnership organisations behind the plans, together with residents already living in similar schemes, will be on hand to explain what the new housing scheme will provide, and to give first hand accounts of what they are like to live in.

The scheme, being created by a partnership between Herefordshire Council, Elgar Housing Association and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, will become a home to 99 older people to enable them to live independently.

Among the facilities it will offer residents are:

• Restaurant and Bar
• Shop and hair dressing salon
• Health and fitness suite
• Library
• Craft and hobby rooms
• IT Centre
• Woodwork Facility
• Greenhouse and Gardens

Access to the scheme will be affordable for all, offering residents a home for life in their own self-contained property. Up to 24 hour support will be available for those who require it. A Friends Social Club will also be established to ensure older people in the wider community can share the scheme’s facilities

“A facility such as this gives older people the quality of life they want and allows them to live as independent a life as they are able to,” said Sue Fiennes, Herefordshire Council’s Director for Social Care & Strategic Housing. 

“We have an increasingly older population and we need to find imaginative ways to respond to the demands this is placing on health and care resources while giving older people the opportunity to choose the housing that is right for them,” said Olwyn Barnett Cabinet Member (Social Care & Strategic Housing).

“This is another scheme where social care, housing and health are working in partnership. This is the only way forward to maximise our very valuable and scarce resources,” she added.

John Payne, Partnership Director for The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, said: “Many residents living in our existing schemes enjoy varied challenges, which include choir singing, tai chi, poetry writing and even abseiling. We hope to bring these fulfilling opportunities to the residents of the new Hereford scheme.

The information day runs from 10.30 am to 5pm on January 17 and anyone wanting to find out more about the proposed scheme should call in at the Three Counties Hotel – entry is free and there’s no need to book a place.