A £12m care home complete with a cinema, coffee shop, hair salon and roof terrace has opened to residents in Northumberland.
The 86-bedroom Beech Tree House, at Lisburn Terrace in Alnwick, has been created by Prestwick Care – part of the Malhotra Group – on a previously derelict site in the market town.
The Duchess of Northumberland praised the company behind the care home after opening the facility, which becomes the 14th home in the firm’s portfolio of residential care homes, many of which provide specialised care.
The Duchess said: “It is fantastic to see something of this scale and this standard come to Alnwick. We are very grateful to the Malhotra Group for creating a site like this and choosing to do it in Alnwick.
“It is especially heart warming, given the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves, to celebrate something really good which has been developed for the benefit of our region.
“Around 100 jobs are being created a time when we watch in dismay as familiar businesses find themselves in financial difficulties, some of which may have to close their doors for the last time.
“I congratulate them and thank them for their investment and commitment to our community in such a difficult social and economic time.”
Along with providing nursing, dementia and residential care, the home is equipped with specialist facilities to care for young, physically disabled people, bariatric residents and those with brain injuries.
Facilities include a coffee shop, cinema room and hair salon, along with a number of residents’ lounges on each floor.
Patient rooms have been designed to be functional and attractive, with stylish fittings, smart bathrooms and wet rooms and flat screen tvs.
Bunty Malhotra, CEO of Prestwick Care, added: “We are both delighted and grateful that the Duchess came to open our 14th home, which is one of our platinum facilities and our largest to date.
“We are very confident that the facilities and services, particularly for bariatric residents and for neurological rehabilitation will benefit not only the people of Northumberland but of the whole region, for years to come.”
