Construction is back on track for Southway's Burnage Extra Care scheme

Construction at Southway Housing’s Extra Care scheme in Burnage has re-commenced following the appointment of Rowlinson to complete the 56 one and two-bedroom apartments, aimed predominantly at residents aged over 55 with a mixture of care needs.

Burnage has one of Manchester’s most ageing tenant populations, with many living alone and often isolated in large family homes, whilst young families with no home remain on a growing waiting list.

The scheme, owned and managed by Manchester social housing providers Southway Housing, is a response to the need for not only homes, but also Extra Care facilities, to support Burnage’s older and vulnerable population. The homes will be let at Social Rent.

Construction began in 2015 but was paused following a proposed change in government housing benefit policy for supported accommodation which meant the scheme was no longer financially viable.

After this proposal was dropped, the build resumed in 2018 but had to be paused again when the contractor, Bardsley, went into administration.

Following the appointment of Rowlinson, construction is now back on site  and in addition to the housing will incorporate:
• A reception and residents’ lounge
• Communal gardens
• A community café and a treatment room

“We are proud to be part of the team bringing much-needed high quality later living accommodation to Burnage.”

Karen Mitchell from Southway Housing said; “It’s especially pleasing to be adding Dahlia House to this area, as we already have a strong age-friendly presence here in the form of the Age Friendly Burnage Project, funded by the Ambition for Ageing Programme.

“The project is a huge partnership involving residents, organisations, service providers and academics working together to improve Burnage’s services and infrastructure to enable people to live comfortably here as they age. It’s involved a lot of research into areas such as transport, social inclusion and housing. The findings and recommendations have been turned into an Action Plan to make Burnage even more age-friendly.”

David Chilton, managing director, Rowlinson said: “We fully recognise the importance of this scheme to the community and are proud to be part of the team bringing much-needed high quality later living accommodation to Burnage.’

The scheme is Southway Housing’s first Extra Care facility to be built from funding won in 2015 from the Manchester-wide ‘Extra Care’ programme, which also supports Southway Housing’s 106 Extra Care scheme currently on site in Gorton. Rowlinson is the appointed contractor both schemes.

Date published: 15/01/2021