'Momentous day' in Leighton Buzzard as ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of £13m care home construction

A ground-breaking event took place today (Monday) to celebrate a new £13million development that will see a new older persons home built in Leighton Buzzard.

Marigold House is the first in a number of older persons accommodation that will be constructed by Central Beds Council in the next few years and will be used to replace existing outdated homes.

The 63-bedroom care home has been designed by Concertus Design & Property Consultants and CBC says it will improve on traditional buildings of this nature through its energy efficiency, with air source heat pumps providing the main heating.

Alongside the main contractor, Farrans, the landmark occasion was celebrated by Cllr Brian Saunders, Central Bedfordshire Council’s chairman, doing the honours with a spade to symbolically break ground. Several residents from Westlands Care Home were also in attendance to see the event. Visitors, VIPs and residents from Westlands were then able to view an exhibition of the proposed building.

Cllr Eugene Ghent, executive member for housing and assets, said: “This is a truly momentous day as we celebrate the start of the build on site for our new state-of-the-art care home in Leighton Buzzard, recently named Marigold House. The name was chosen by the staff and residents of Westlands Care Home the residents of which, will have the opportunity to move to the new home when it is complete.”

“This is the first care home Central Bedfordshire Council have built and it is planned to be built to Passivhaus standards making it a super energy efficient home with outstanding eco credentials.

“Our Care is Central employees that will work here, together with Marigold House’s residents, will both reap the benefits from living and working in one of the healthiest types of building it is possible to build and, and which is also environmentally friendly.”

Cllr Carole Hegley, executive member for adult social care, said: “The major investment of over £13m in this development is a testament to the council’s commitment to tackling the challenges of providing outstanding accommodation, care and support for our growing population of older people.

"The facilities at Marigold House will sit alongside the independent living scheme the council is delivering to form a range of provision that can meet the accommodation and care needs of all our older citizens. As part of this, care homes have a critical role to play in providing a place where people can exercise their independence and receive the care, they need to lead fulfilled lives.

“The residents of Westlands that choose to live at Marigold House are a generation that have witnessed the most momentous changes throughout their long lives and they will now benefit from the newest technology, wonderful spaces inside and out and the best of care.”

Farrans regional director, Cathal Montague, said: “Today’s ground-breaking marks an exciting step forward in this important project for Central Bedfordshire Council. Our team has been here for four weeks preparing the site and we are looking forward to delivering a top quality, modern residential care facility for the people of this area.

"The construction will be to the highest sustainable standards using Passivhaus criteria to deliver an energy efficient building. This is a very important region for our business and, we are committed to working alongside local stakeholders to bring added social value to the area through apprenticeships and local procurement.”

You can get a feel for what the care home will look like when complete from a CGI fly-through video here which shows a vision of the inside and what the building and accommodation will look like when built.