Residents in Keynsham came a step closer to enjoying the brand new £8 million Hawthorns Care Home and Extra Care flats this week, thanks to Leadbitter, the building contractor for the project.

A topping out ceremony was held to celebrate the building reaching completion, through the last tile being placed on the roof.

Hawthorns is the latest of three Community Resource Centres that Leadbitter has developed in partnership with Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) Council and Somer Community Housing Trust. They form part of a £28 million pound redevelopment to improve and modernise care facilities for older people across the region.

The three storey timber frame development comprises of a care home containing 30 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and 30 extra care one and two bedroom self contained flats, together with a day centre, which includes day rooms for dining and social activity. The accommodation also comprises a consulting room for visiting health specialists, a hairdressing salon, as well as gardens for the residents.

The topping out ceremony was attended by the chair and managing director of Somer Community Housing Trust, John Bader and Angela Gascoigne, representatives from B&NES including executive member Councillor Vic Pritchard and local Councillors Adrian Inker and Alan Hale, as well as staff from Bath & NE Somerset Council, local residents and representatives from Leadbitter.

Councillor Vic Pritchard and Leadbitter’s regional director, Rob Bradley, climbed to the highest point of the building where Councillor Pritchard placed the final tile on the roof, completing the structure.

Regional director for Leadbitter, Rob Bradley said: "Hawthorns is the third in a series of needs-led new build care facilities, which have been constructed to provide exacting levels of care for those in Bath and North East Somerset. We are delighted to be marking the structural completion of this development with the topping out of the building.

"The completion of this building helps to demonstrate our commitment to the care and health sector."

Councillor Vic Pritchard said: "This multi-million pound investment by Bath & North East Somerset Council in 21st Century care shows our commitment to providing the best possible support to the more vulnerable members of our society."

"This third Community Resource Centre in Keynsham is part of our plan to ensure that resources for older people are located right across the region." 

The two previous centres constructed by Leadbitter in partnership with B&NES Council and the Somer Community Housing Trust, include the Bath Community Resource Centre in Twerton and the Midsomer Norton Community Resource centre, which were both completed last year.