New Supported Housing Scheme Opens
Advance officially opened its new supported housing scheme on Monday 24 July. The new property consists of 10 flats accommodating 15 people in total, six self-contained 1 bed flats, three 2 bed flats and one 3 bed flat. In addition there are communal facilities and a small staff accommodation/office. The scheme is designed to accommodate a wide range of needs for people with learning disabilities and consequently it is flexible and spacious throughout. It has a lift, wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs and underfloor heating to provide a constant temperature throughout.
The £1.9m project came about due to the need to find a replacement for the Advance care home on Islip Rd, Oxford. This was a registered care home for ten people with learning disabilities which no longer met customers’ needs. Following extensive consultations with residents and their family members it was agreed to relocate the residents to a new service, Hope House, which could offer supported living giving residents security of tenure and independence.
Advance Chief Executive Julie Layton said: “We are so pleased to open this new development, which will not only provide comfortable housing for our current customers relocating from their previous home, but will also cater for people with more complex needs.
“This is made possible by working with our partners to ensure that the development is future proof and built to `lifetime homes standards’.”
The name of the scheme, Hope House, was chosen by Advance’s former CEO, Stuart Rigg who retired following a stroke in 2010. The name is symbolic of his attitude to recovery and a message of encouragement to all who face their own physical and psychological challenges.
A number of partners were involved in the delivery of this project: both Oxford City and Oxford County Councils, EG Carter the main contractors, Technical consultants Quattro (architects), Philip Banks (Employer's Agents), Sovereign HA and the HCA (grant funding). Real Life Options were appointed as the support provider before the works were completed.