Residents celebrate £700,000 investment in two Extra Care schemes

A £700,000 project to transform and improve two Extra Care schemes in Norwich has reached its conclusion with party celebrations and special open days. 

Residents at Redmayne View in Sprowston and Green Lane View in Aylshum, invited friends, family and contractors to enjoy a tour of their upgraded facilities and a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by an afternoon of tea and cakes.

The festivities marked the conclusion of a 12-month investment project by leading not-for-profit provider, Housing 21, who purchased both schemes from Clarion as part a large acquisition project in 2023.

Tony Tench, Deputy Chief Executive of Housing 21 said: “As a specialist provider of housing with on-site care and support for older people, we are committed to investing in our schemes to ensure residents live in properties they are proud to call home.  

“Works have included an interior design-led makeover of communal areas, as well as remodelling of space to provide a modern facility for residents and the community to socialise in. In addition to this we have also installed a full digital call system which is linked to our on-site teams and has 24-hour offsite monitoring to ensure residents feel safer in their individual apartments.”  

The day’s celebrations started at Redmayne View, where over £450,000 of investment was spent on refurbishment and remodelling of the communal areas including the lounge, kitchen, salon, communal bathrooms and toilets. There has also been some internal remodelling to create a new store for residents ‘electric mobility scooters.  

Across all 40 apartments, a new digital call system was also installed so in the event of an emergency, residents can raise the alarm to be connected to on-site Care Workers within 60 seconds, or outside of this timeframe, a national call system which is monitored 24/7. 

Marcelle, who has lived at Redmayne View for three-and-a-half years, said: “Since Housing 21 came, the place has gone from strength to strength; it’s a wonderful place to live. This makeover has made a huge impact, not just for myself but all the residents here. It was very outdated, old and shabby, and it’s been completed modernised. The place looks amazing; it’s awesome.”

A special ribbon cutting ceremony was held by representatives of Housing 21 alongside Cllr Bill Couzens, Chairman of Sprowston Town Council, and Neil Shiach, Standard Bearer for the Old Catton Branch of the Royal British Legion, an organisation linked to Housing 21’s roots.  

Cllr Couzens said: “It’s a really great makeover and it’s great to see so many happy faces here. This is something we need more of is something we should be proud of.”

Later in the day, the festivities moved to Green Lane View where almost £270,000 has been spent on improvements including a full makeover of communal areas, upgraded fire prevention works and the installation of the digital call system in all 30 apartments.   

Arnold, who has lived at the scheme for five years and was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to mark the completion of the works, said: “We were offered colour schemes and Housing 21 stuck to that really well. It's like a hotel now; it’s really nice. The flooring people did a wonderful job and so did the decorators. We couldn’t ask for more. It’s the Ritz of the local area.”