The new £1.3m Rokeby housing development will be opened at an official opening ceremony with former Home Secretary and Hull West and Hessle MP, Alan Johnson.
Mr Johnson will officially open the 10 eco-bungalow scheme on Friday, May 18. He said: “These new buildings not only look fantastic but I can also see they are packed with modern technology to help the people living in them reduce heating bills and keep warmer at the same time.
“It’s a great addition to the portfolio of Pickering and Ferens Homes, which appears to be a forward-thinking organisation with its residents’ best interests at heart and I’m sure those people who recently moved into the homes are delighted with their new surroundings.”
The development, on the site of the former Rokeby House care home in west Hull, was made possible through a grant of £539,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency together with land provided free of charge by Hull City Council. The additional cost was financed by Pickering and Ferens Homes.
The dormer bungalows offer ground or first floor bedrooms suitable for any resident regardless of mobility issues and have second bedrooms for friends or relatives to stay to assist during periods of ill health.
The homes are built to accommodate daily living needs as people get older such as wide doors and hallways, space for wheelchairs, easy to open windows and easy to reach switches and sockets.
Roger Elliot, Director of Pickering and Ferens Homes, said: “The new scheme is fantastic and offers the residents the very best standards of living.
“It is a real honour to have Mr Johnson along to officially open the new buildings and we hope the residents will have many happy years in the fantastic properties available.
“This scheme has been delivered with the excellent assistance of a number of Hull-based consultants and contractors. We are also pleased to say that the organization is progressing well and going from strength to strength.
“I am very grateful to Mr Johnson for taking the time to come and see the very good work that we’re doing.”
Mr David Curtis, Executive Director North East, Yorkshire and The Humber for the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “I am really pleased that our investment of £539,000 has made such a difference. These bungalows are much better suited to the needs of the residents than the care home that they replace. We have developed an excellent partnership with Pickering and Ferens and the Hull City Council that has helped us deliver this project.”
Hull City Council’s portfolio holder for housing Councillor John Black is happy the local authority was able to get involved. He said: “We are very pleased to be associated with such an innovative scheme. “We had no hesitation in offering the land for free. “After demolishing the care home it’s great to see the land being put to such good use.”