Former Bletchley Park code-breaker officially opens eighth new Care UK home in Suffolk

Home news

Oct 12, 2015

The completion of the eighth of 10 new care homes built by Care UK in partnership with Suffolk County Council was marked recently when a very special resident at the home cut the ribbon during a ceremony attended by representatives from a wide range of local organisations.

In 2012, Suffolk County Council selected Care UK as its partner to redevelop the council’s 16 care homes and eight community wellbeing centres. Care UK took over the running of the old facilities in December that year and quickly started to implement its plans to replace the outdated buildings with 10 new care homes and 10 new day clubs. Care UK has brought £60 million of investment to the project.

The eighth new home that has just been officially opened is on the site of an old care home, Mills Meadow in Framlingham. The work was completed in two phases with the first phase seeing half of the new home built in the grounds of the old home, then after residents had settled in to their new accommodation, the old home was demolished making way for the phase two of the new home to be completed.

The official opening event involved 88-year-old Mills Meadow resident Liz Austin, a former WWII Bletchley Park code-breaker, cut the ribbon alongside Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for adult care and Andrew Knight, Care UK’s managing director of Residential Care Services.

Andrew Knight said: “We’re very pleased to officially open the new Mills Meadow after its complete redevelopment in two stages over the past two years. We’d like to thank the residents and their relatives for their patience while the work has been carried out, as well as our construction partner Castleoak, whose team deserves credit for their careful and considerate work during the re-build which enabled residents to continue living in their home throughout. Many of the residents have enjoyed watching the transformation of their home.”

Residents moved across to the first half of the new Mills Meadow in October 2014 and have now been joined by residents of Care UK’s Lehmann House care home in Wickham Market.

Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for adult care, said: “Mills Meadow is a fantastic care home with a great team of dedicated and caring staff. The redevelopment looks fantastic and will give residents a home they can be truly proud of.”

Cllr Stephen Burroughes, Suffolk County Councillor for Framlingham, said: “Today was a very significant moment in the evolution of Mills Meadow. I’ve been extremely impressed with the high standard of the new build and to hear from residents themselves how pleased they feel with the quality of care they receive.

“It's been at times a bit of a rollercoaster ride for everyone at Mills Meadow, right from the moment a new home was first discussed right up until today. But Sue Hill and her team have worked hard to make this a success. As the local county councillor, I know I’ll be a regular visitor, dropping in for a chat with residents and staff and making sure we all work together to maintain the great reputation Mills Meadow has.”

The original Mills Meadow care home dated from the 1980s and had 35 bedrooms. The new home on the same site has 60 en-suite bedrooms with dedicated residential and nursing suites and several spacious, light and airy lounges, as well as a coffee shop, hairdressers and cinema. It also has landscaped gardens including extensive lawns, a duck pond and the adjacent Mills Meadow Club, where day care services will be provided.

Sue Hill was appointed home manager at Mills Meadow when the first stage of the new home was completed in October 2014. She said: “The official opening event has been something we have all been looking forward to and we were delighted to share our special celebration with so many local people.”

Care UK runs 114 homes nationwide that provide more than 7,000 places.