February 26, 2019 2.51 pm This story is over 60 months old

Final approval for ‘flagship’ Lincoln adult care housing

Final backing for 70 new apartments

Senior Lincoln councillors have given the final go-ahead for a “flagship” 70 apartment extra care facility, which will include a restaurant, hair salon and lounge.

The plan will see the authority-owned De Wint Court on Bowden Drive flattened in order to build the new development.

City of Lincoln Council’s executive approved the move, which was also backed by the authority’s planning committee in December 2018.

The current De Wint Court site on Bowden Drive.

Extra care housing provides accommodation for older people who want to remain “self-sufficient” but also have the option of on-site care if they need it.

The De Wint Court site currently accommodates a vacant, two storey building which was once home to 37 sheltered bedsits and flats, common rooms, a hair salon and laundrette.

Councillor Donald Nannestad, portfolio holder for housing, said the move would help the authority tackle the demand for housing in the city and contribute to the council’s target of 400 new homes by 2020.

Meanwhile, council leader, Ric Metcalfe, said the project will help people to live independently.

Visual of the extra care housing communal courtyard.

“This is a fantastic multi-million pound project that is going to provide accommodation for older people and will enable people to remain much longer independently in their own homes,” he said.

“It will cater for a whole spectrum of care, from relative independence to a greater degree of dependence on services.

“Eventually quite a lot of the people there will have care packages and it will be designed to maintain that independence in the community.”

Visual of the proposed extra care facility on Bowden Drive by City of Lincoln Council.

He added that the facility will also save the taxpayer money by preventing people from going into nursing homes or requiring hospital care.

In their plans, the council said the redevelopment is intended to “bridge the gap” between sheltered housing and residential care.

The authority looked to “modernise” De Wint Court and two other sites back in 2013.

The council previously proposed a £678,000 revamp of the accommodation which saw improvements to electrics, heating, water hygiene and extended kitchen space.


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