Steven Gerrard delighted to launch modern care development in Huyton

Liverpool and England footballer Steven Gerrard has helped a £14.4m extra care scheme to get off the ground in the area where he grew up, pleased to see a development that will bring more jobs to the area.

Developed by Bullock, in collaboration with Knowsley Housing Group, who are part of the First Ark Group, as well as Knowsley Council, the extra care scheme will consist of 101 one- and two-bedroom apartments that will promote independent living amongst older people with care needs, with a further 21 bedrooms for shared ownership.

Commenting at the launch, Gerrard spoke warmly of the local area, saying: “Huyton is where it all began for me and a lot of my family and friends live there so I am still there quite a bit. It’s great to see they are improving the area, and this will create many more jobs for people locally as well.”

Bullock managing director Andy Saul comments: “Bluebell Park is a very important development for us as we continue to develop and grow our extra care portfolio.

“Throughout the 78-week construction we will be working closely with the local community to implement a targeted recruitment strategy and neighbourhood investment programme. This will include delivering vocational training to local schools and working in partnership with employment and training providers to create long term employment opportunities.”

Local councillor Dave Lonergan also attended the launch, commenting: “This development is a major contributor to the delivery of the Council’s housing pledge. The development will provide quality affordable homes for people in our community who need a bit of extra support as they get older.”

While putting its residents in touch with skilled care provision where required, the Huyton site has also been designed so that its residents will benefit from cheaper energy bills, with combined heat and power boilers installed to re-use the heat used in daily electricity usage, estimated to reduce energy bills by 10 per cent.