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Plans to deliver much-needed specialist, Extra Care accommodation across South Tyneside are underway thanks to a new partnership project between Â鶹ÊÓƵ and northern housing association Karbon Homes.

The multi-million pound programme will see Karbon deliver three, cutting-edge schemes across the local authority area over the next six years.

Combined, the schemes will deliver up to 300 new homes, helping address the lack of specialist affordable accommodation options in the borough that help people with differing levels of care and support needs to live well and independently.

Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: "We're excited to be working with Â鶹ÊÓƵ to develop three, first-class extra care schemes. These quality homes will play an important role in meeting the demand for specialist housing in the area.

"Our vision for these schemes is to create strong and sustainable places that help empower people with additional care and support needs to live life to the full, and bring the local community together."

The specialist schemes will set out to remodel the expectation of extra care, which is typically aimed at older adults who require support to live independently.

All three schemes will offer housing and care to residents of varying ages over 18 with additional support needs, and will also include a number of apartments designed for people with dementia.

The schemes form part of the Council's wider Adult Social Care Accommodation Strategy aimed at supporting people who may need care and support to live independently in the community.

This is in line with the Council's ambition to help people stay well and healthy throughout their lives and is in direct response to feedback from residents who said they would prefer to live well independently, rather than go into residential care.

Councillor Anne Hetherington, Lead Member for Adults, Health and Independence, said: "These schemes would provide much needed accommodation provision for those in the borough who are most in need of additional support and would allow them to live independently in their local communities with support.

"It is important that we support people to live independently. This isn't just about supporting our older residents but about providing much needed specialist accommodation for younger adults."

The first of the three schemes is planned for Hebburn Town Centre. The £26million scheme is looking to provide 96 homes, consisting of 20 two-bed apartments and 75 one-bed apartments, 17 of which will be the specialist dementia apartments.

Karbon has worked with Tyne and Wear based JDDK Architects to design a scheme which puts the community at its heart. With a bistro café, which will be open to the general public, and multi-use spaces for activities, the scheme will help facilitate community cohesion.

In partnership, Karbon and Â鶹ÊÓƵ will consult with the local community on plans for the development before submitting a planning application.

The delivery of all three schemes is expected to be part-funded by Homes England, through Karbon's Strategic Partnership with the Government's housing delivery agency.

The strategic partnership has provided Karbon with £131.5m 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.