Shenley Wood Village is a partnership between Milton Keynes Council, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), The Department of Health and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust. It follows Lovat Fields Village, which opened in Willen in 2007 and is currently over-subscribed.

Press are invited to attend as follows:

When: Friday 24th February, 11.30am

Where: Shenley Wood Village, Chalkdell Drive, Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes, MK5 6GJ

Photos: Ribbon cutting with future residents, staff and partners, residents in the gym and taking part in activities, choir singing, show apartments

Interviews: Future residents, staff and partners

Also available: Tours of village facilities and apartments, speeches from residents and partners

Contact:

Richard Tower, PR Manager
0772 055 3658
richard.tower@extracare.org.uk

Lucy Henson, PR Officer
0789 105 3062
lucy.henson@extracare.org.uk

Further information:

The first 184 apartments will be open from the end of February, and a further 116 apartments will be complete in Winter 2012. Each home has its own front door, kitchen, living room, and one or two bedrooms. Many apartments also have their own balcony or patio area.

The Charity has sought to ensure the Village is affordable for all with part-purchase homes available from £78,750 (50% share of a one bedroom apartment). Tenants with minimal savings in receipt of full housing and care benefits could pay as little as £25 a week.

Homes surround a community-based Village Centre with 18 health and leisure facilities, including a restaurant, bar, Village hall, Well-being centre, IT suite, craft room and greenhouse.

Qualified ExtraCare staff will provide care to residents who are assessed as needing help. Subject to individual needs and a full assessment, the Village will support some residents with dementia and complex mental health needs. ExtraCare's award-winning well-being service will provide all residents with advice on healthy living.

ExtraCare's Chief Executive, Nick Abbey, says: "Over 1,300 households have registered their interest in our Milton Keynes Villages - the demand is overwhelming. However, we are concerned that there are older people out in the community with care needs who may need support and haven't heard about the Village. We have reserved a number of affordable homes for those needing care and still have 18 available. The Charity is keen to help. We need people to come forward."

Cllr Debbie Brock, Milton Keynes Council's Cabinet member for Adult, Older Years & Health, said: "ExtraCare villages in Milton Keynes offer residents support in the choices they can make in maintaining an independent and fulfilling lifestyle."

Margaret Allen, Executive Director for the HCA Midlands, said: "We are really pleased to have supported The ExtraCare Charitable Trust and Milton Keynes Council to deliver this fantastic scheme, which is providing people like Marjorie and Brian with a high quality home where they can continue to live independently together. We know through our involvement in similar projects across the Midlands that as well as enhancing the lives of people living there, these villages also provide wider benefits for the surrounding communities."

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-Notes to Editors-

For more information on Shenley Wood Village, please visit /extracare-communities/locations/shenley-wood-village.aspx

Founded in 1988, The ExtraCare Charitable Trust operates 12 retirement villages and 17 smaller housing developments across the Midlands and the North, including Lovat Fields Village in Milton Keynes.

Each ExtraCare resident can expect a safe, secure future, renting or buying a spacious and affordable home with award-winning care and a wide range of social opportunities to enjoy.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.  Our vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.