Your Housing Group welcomed Cllr Les Ford, local dignitaries and key partners to a sod cutting ceremony to mark the beginning of construction work at the £8m Meadow Croft extra care development in Helsby.

All of the 77 new apartments at Meadow Croft, which are being built by Keepmoat, have been designed to meet the needs of people aged 55 or over and are available for a mix of shared ownership, rented and outright sale.

The extra care housing provision at the development will be designed to create a community where residents will be able to live an independent life in a socially supportive environment.

The onsite care and support team will provide 24/7 help and support that is flexible to meet individual needs, providing a safe and secure environment and most importantly, giving residents peace of mind.

Cllr Les Ford, deputy leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Meadow Croft has been a long time in conception; it is a hugely important development for Helsby and the local community.

“I am very pleased to see Your Housing Group beginning work on what will become a fantastic extra care facility.”

Funding for Meadow Croft includes a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and forms part of Your Housing Group’s affordable homes programme.

In total Your Housing Group has a development programme in excess of £150m and will deliver 1,433 new homes across the group by spring 2015.

Kathy Cowell OBE DL, chair of Your Housing Group, said: "The country is facing an older persons housing crisis and Your Housing Group is leading the way in developing extra care housing.

“We are very excited to be working alongside Cheshire West and Chester Council to bring extra care facilities to Helsby, to help meet the housing need and bring much needed affordable retirement living solutions to the area.”

Frank Mondino, Keepmoat’s area director for the North West, said: “As Britain’s biggest builder of extra care schemes, Keepmoat is looking forward to constructing a thriving extra care facility in Helsby.

“By locating this extra care scheme close to Helsby Community Sports Club and Horn’s Mill Primary School, we allow the residents to play a full part in village life.

“The creation of high-quality extra care housing at the Meadow Croft scheme will help to sustain around 350 construction jobs.”