Plans are moving forward for the development of a £30 million, 83-bed Extra Care scheme in Morpeth town centre.

Northern housing association Karbon Homes, is working in partnership with Northumberland County Council to bring forward the new affordable housing scheme, helping to address the shortage of accommodation with care for residents with differing levels of care and support needs.

Karbon has now exchanged contracts with Vistry North East, who will build the scheme. It will be developed alongside the third and final phase of homes at King Edwards Park - a joint venture (JV) project called Evolution Morpeth LLP which is regenerating the site of the former St George’s Hospital, in the town.

Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: "This is an exciting milestone for the delivery of this new Extra Care scheme in Morpeth, which will help fill the need locally for high quality, affordable housing that provides residents with the levels of care and support they need to continue living independently.


"Alongside supporting the Council with the delivery of its Extra Care and supported housing strategy, the scheme will have community at its heart, with a bistro cafe open to the general public and multiple communal lounges and multi-use spaces for activities available to book."

The new scheme will consist of a mix of one and two-bed apartments, 15 of which will be designed for people with dementia and two apartments suitable for bariatric care. Residents will have access to 24/7 care available on site – provided in partnership between Karbon and Northumberland County Council.

The Extra Care scheme is to be part-funded by Homes England, through Karbon’s Strategic Partnership with the Government's housing delivery agency. Northumberland County Council is also funding a contribution to the capital costs.

The strategic partnership has provided Karbon with £165million in funding to deliver 2,200 new affordable homes across the North East and Yorkshire over the next few years, 10% of which has been dedicated to the development of new homes for people requiring additional support needs.