CONSTRUCTION work on Blackburn’s new £4.8million state-of-the-art dementia care home for the elderly has been officially started.

Now the ground has been cleared at the former Blackburn Royal Infirmary’s decaying War Memorial Wing and the initial foundations laid, a ‘sod cutting’ ceremony took place yesterday.

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National social care charity Community Integrated Care (CIC) will provide 64 beds for frail pensioners and comprehensive outreach services for Alzheimer’s sufferers in summer next year, creating 100 jobs.

It will preserve key elements of the 86-year-old building erected after the First World War, including much of its its mosaic floor, crest stones, foundation stones, and plinth in a special public memorial garden.

The cutting-edge ‘Each Step’ service, based on an award-winning similar development at Blackley in Manchester, will include a 64-bed care home that will provide respite support, residential care and nursing care. It will also deliver home care in the local community, assisting people to live independently for longer.

The complex will offer the local community facilities, including a café, landscaped gardens and meeting rooms.

Yesterday’s event saw Neil Matthewman, chief executive of CIC, cut the first sod of ground at the home to ceremonially declare construction started, alongside Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Mohammed Khan and its health and social care boss Mustafa Desai.

The development is part of the borough’s strategy to modernise and improve local care services for older people.

Mr Matthewman said: “It was a great honour to officially launch construction of Each Step Blackburn, alongside our partners from Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Cllr Khan said: “It is great to see things are progressing well. I am very pleased to see such investment.”