Through its Building Better Lives programme, Dorset Council is delivering new housing for vulnerable people in Purbeck. In the next stage of the plans for the former Middle School site in Worgret Road, Wareham, the temporary Relocatable Housing will be built in the new year.
ESS Modular Ltd is the Principal Contractor for the construction of the units. They will be on site to set up from Monday 6 January and should be complete by mid-April. The contractors have written to all residents within the immediate area to advise of their contact details and schedule of works.
There is still a growing need for social care housing in the area. These include people being discharged from long-term hospital stays, moving on from home, or currently living in housing that doesn’t meet their needs.
Relocatable, modular, housing can help with some of this short-term need. The buildings are made in a factory and lifted into position on site. They can be designed to meet specific needs, such as wheelchair accessibility.
Graham Carr-Jones, Portfolio Holder for Housing at Dorset Council said:
“This type of housing allows the council to use sites while medium and long-term plans are developed. There is a local need for housing, and we need it quickly.
Laura Miller, portfolio Holder for adult social care and health at Dorset Council added:
“Permanent housing will be developed alongside the relocatable housing, giving people the opportunity to see their permanent house being built and then move when complete, freeing up the relocatable housing units for craning off the site and to a new location.”
Currently, there are 33 local people who need accommodation in the next 12 months. This need is not something that can be met through traditional building programmes. Also, there are 41 people in Purbeck who have a need for housing in the next five years which will be addressed by longer term plans.
Plans are underway for the rest of the site, which will include a new health hub and GP Practice, dementia care home and affordable housing for key workers in the health and social care profession.
More information on this will be available in the new year.
You can find out more about the project on our Building Better Lives pages.
