Council given more time to spend £2.8 million care home funding

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Monday, 1 February 2021 11:29

By Emily Gill - Local Democracy Reporter

More than £2.8 million will be available for the development of a care home in a Monmouthshire village for the next financial year, despite concerns that it needed to be spent by the end of March.

Monmouthshire County Council has been given more time to spend £2.8 million of integrated care fund money on its new Portskewett care home.

The Crick Road development had been allocated more than £4 million from the integrated care fund, having so far spent £1.2 million.

The Crick Road project, which includes the development 271 homes and a new care home, is a project between Monmouthshire County Council and Melin Homes.

The care home will be managed by the council and the homes will be built and funded by Melin Homes.

The £2.8 million of the integrated care fund will apply only to the care home part of the development.

Cllr Paul Pavia said in a council scrutiny committee last January that if “a proportion of the project is not delivered in the next financial year, then we lose a huge amount of money”.

A Monmouthshire council spokesman said: “To date, the project has accessed £1,030,871 of this allocation to enable land purchase and associated costs in project development, with a further £161,968 being utilised whilst undertaking final preparations for construction to commence in 2021-22.

“The constraints upon the delivery of the project during the pandemic have brought about additional governance arrangements to secure the funding for the specific purpose of the Crick Road care home.

“In this regard, £2,872,861 will be available for the construction phase of the initiative commencing in 2021-22.”