A new adult social care facility in Plymouth has secured a further £469,300 to help fund features that will make it more environmentally friendly and economical.
The money has been allocated from the Council’s Climate Emergency Investment Fund (CEIF), following an executive decision signed today.
The £12 million facility, on the edge of Central Park, will support adults with learning disabilities and complex needs by offering both a day service and respite provision. It will provide a modern, purpose-built and more centrally located replacement to the current provision at The Vine in Whitleigh and Colwill Lodge in Estover.
Thanks to the additional CEIF funding, it will now have air source heat pumps, solar panels and a battery wall, triple glazed windows and utilise upgraded building materials, such as low-carbon concrete. This will help to reduce the building’s carbon emissions and mean it has a much higher energy efficiency rating than the existing two facilities.
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “This new care facility is much-needed to help support adult residents with additional needs and their families. This additional funding is welcomed, as it will help to ensure that the building is energy efficient and easy to keep warm, which is good for our clients and good for the environment, helping us to work towards our net zero goal for the city.”
The facility will contain a mix of activity rooms, bedrooms and self-contained apartments as well as different communal spaces including a sensory room, communal dining area, sensory garden and has been designed to ensure it meets the needs of those who will access it.
Planning permission was granted in July and a tender process is currently underway to procure a contractor to carry out the building work, with work on site hoped to start in summer 2025.