Work begins on £750,000 housing project

Property management company, Bernicia, is set to create five self-contained specialist housing apartments for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and autism.

Located at Mulberry House in Horden, the company is working in partnership with NHS England, Durham County Council, the Homes and Communities Agency and Positive Individual Proactive Support on the scheme.

Contained within Mulberry House, which is already owned by Bernicia and is being renovated by its own in-house construction team, the five self-contained units will sit alongside communal areas and will have support staff on site.

Mel Baynes, head of care and support at Bernicia, said: “We’re very excited about this project. Mulberry House has been vacant since 2015 and we’re thrilled that the building will be put to such good use.

“Currently there are no other schemes of this type within the area, so we are looking forward to delivering what will be a valuable asset.

“Work on the site has already started and we anticipate a completion date of Spring 2018.”

Fred Grand, commissioning and planning officer at Durham County Council, said: “We are delighted to see that work is now underway at Mulberry House, a flagship development that will support Durham’s delivery of the Transforming Care programme.

“Once completed it will deliver five units of specialist accommodation built to the very highest specification.

“The project is a great example of partnership working, and from the earliest stages has involved officers from the council, the local NHS Trust and the Clinical Commissioning Group.

“We have every confidence that Bernicia will deliver the project on time, and look forward to watching progress on site over the coming months.”