Mansell has been awarded a contract to build a £13 million extra care scheme in Bedford, for social housing landlord Orbit Heart of England through Orbit Home's Contract Framework Agreement.

The scheme will involve demolition of part of a former school and the construction of the four-storey 104-bed St Bedes extra care scheme consisting of one and two bedroom apartments for affordable rent and shared ownership for the over 55s. Two Victorian villas will be refurbished to achieve a BREEAM 'Very Good' rating and will form offices and communal facilities, including a restaurant, hairdressers and cinema which will help residents to live independent lives.

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Built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4, the development will make use of renewable technology and water saving devices.

The team has worked alongside ecologists to preserve the range of wildlife found on site both during the project and in the future with the introduction of bat boxes and nesting facilities and protection of fauna and flora native to the Conservation Area in which the facility is being built.

The contract is due to start in the summer and will complete in February 2013.

(CD/GK)