Britten Court chosen as name for new Lowestoft care home

Company news

Aug 20, 2013

Britten Court has been chosen as the winning name for a new care home to be built in Lowestoft, after the community put forward name suggestions in a competition.

Care UK ran a competition in April inviting the local community to submit a name for the new care home to be built on the site of the former Roman Hill Primary School in Love Road. Over 25 entries were submitted and, after three finalists were selected, the winning name ‘Britten Court’ was chosen and approved by Waveney District Council.

‘Britten Court’ was nominated by Nicola Chilton, who works as a night care assistant at Blyford care home in Lowestoft. The name is in recognition of Benjamin Britten, a leading icon in British classical music of the 20^th century. Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft in 1913 and was educated locally before training at the Royal College of Music in London. He later returned to Suffolk and settled in Aldeburgh, where he founded the Aldeburgh Festival and Snape Maltings concert hall.

Nicola Chilton, speaking about winning the competition, said: “I am overjoyed that ‘Britten Court’ has been chosen as the name for the new Care UK home.

“It will be a wonderful celebration of Benjamin Britten and his historical connections with Lowestoft. I am looking forward to seeing the name up there once the new home is open.”

Nicola was presented with a £100 Love2Shop voucher, alongside two other finalists, Jackie Rix, a family member of a resident at The Dell in Beccles, who nominated ‘Marinus House’ and Vicki Perrett from Lowestoft, who nominated ‘Swallow Court’.

Chris Hopkinson, regional operations director at Care UK, said: “I would like to thank all those in the local community who entered the Lowestoft ‘give a home a name’ competition. I am delighted with ‘Britten Court’ being the winning name because it celebrates the legacy of an extraordinary musician.”

Work has begun on preparing the site at the former Roman Hill Primary School in Love Road, with the opening date for the new care home and wellbeing centre scheduled for late summer 2014. ‘Britten Court’ is one of 10 new Care UK homes being built as part of a £60 million investment into care provision in Suffolk. The investment is part of a Suffolk-wide plan to fulfil Suffolk County Council’s vision for older people’s care in the county by increasing the provision of nursing and dementia care for older people and building bespoke new care homes and wellbeing centres with state-of-the art facilities and services to meet growing need.

Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care at Suffolk County Council, Alan Murray, said: "The name Britten Court fits so well with the history of the town but what makes it even more fitting is the fact that it was chosen by someone who delivers care to local people. Congratulations to Nicola and thanks to all of those that entered the competition. I look forward to Britten Court opening its doors and starting to deliver high quality care to the people of Suffolk." 

Britten Court will accommodate up to 80 people in spacious ensuite rooms and will provide 24 hour nursing care. There will also be an adjacent new wellbeing centre offering a range of facilities and opportunities for older people who live in their own homes, helping them to stay active and retain their independence.

Residents of Blyford and Stradbroke Court care homes in Lowestoft and The Dell in Beccles will have the opportunity to move into Britten Court after it opens and after which the existing homes, which date mainly from the 1960s and 1970s, will close. All residents and their relatives are being closely consulted about the plans and about their choices.

For further information see www.careuk.com/care-homes/suffolk