South Tyneside receives a boost in supported living accommodation
Work has finished on some ‘much-needed’ supported living homes in the borough.
A partnership between South Tyneside Council and Karbon Homes has seen the completion of 21 new supported living homes across two sites in Hebburn and Jarrow.
The homes are designed to allow residents with learning disabilities, autism and complex care needs to live more independently.
It also helps to address the lack of specialist supported housing options here in South Tyneside.
Eleven of the new homes, compromising of five bungalows and a block of six one and two-bed flats, have been built on the former Nolan Hall, on Concorde Way, in Jarrow.
The other ten homes, which are all bungalows, are located on the former Father James Walsh Day Centre site, on Hedgeley Road, in Hebburn.
Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, has spoken of her pride at being able to deliver specialist housing in the borough.
She said: “Schemes like these very rarely get built but are vital when it comes to ensuring people with additional needs have the opportunity to live independently within their community.
“We’re really proud to have partnered with South Tyneside Council to bring both of these schemes to completion, a collaboration which has helped meet the demand for specialist housing in the borough.
“We look forward to meeting the first residents who move in.”
The residents who move into the new homes will be able to live independently but will benefit from 24/7 onsite care and support should they need it.
Both schemes include staff accommodation, which will be manned by care providers commissioned by South Tyneside Council.
The schemes form part of the Council’s wider Adult Social Care Accommodation Strategy, which aims to support people who may need care and support to live independently.
Cllr Ruth Berkley, Lead Member for Adults, Health and Independence at South Tyneside Council, has expressed how important schemes like this are to residents in the borough who have additional needs.
She said: “It’s fantastic to see this specialist scheme finished and ready to welcome its first tenants.
“This is the second supported living complex we have completed in as many months and I’m delighted that we are providing these bespoke homes for people with learning disabilities and autism.
“Our residents have told us they would prefer to live independently in the community rather than go into residential care.
“These properties are far more than just bricks and mortar; they provide a place people can call home, living independently but able to access any support they need.”
The new properties will be managed by Karbon Homes and have been allocated through South Tyneside Council prioritising tenants who may others need to go into residential care.
Karbon has worked with construction partner, Able Construction, as well as P+HS Architects and Artis Consulting to bring both schemes to fruition.
The delivery of both schemes has been part-funded by Homes England, through Karbon’s Strategic Partnership with the Government’s housing delivery agency.
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