Pictured above: (l-r) Mick Starkey, Sue Taylor (both S&S Architecture) Jay Hairsine (Prime Life), Gail Fielding (Yorkshire Bank), Jason Edwards (Corporate Architecture), contractor Steve Brooker and Simon Van Herrewege (Prime Life)

A new care village costing over £11 million which will create over 150 jobs is on track to open in Leicestershire in June.

Prime Life, which operates over 60 care homes across the country, is building a 137-bed care village at Peaker Park, Rockingham Road in Market Harborough thanks to funding from Yorkshire Bank's Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) in Leicester.

The care services provider will create over 150 full-time jobs and recruitment will soon begin.

Jay Hairsine, finance director at Prime Life, said work on constructing the care village began in January 2010 and is scheduled for completion in May this year.

"The development will provide a home for life that offers a full range of services from providing for people within their own accommodation through to full-time specialist care," she said.

"The project will deliver an 89-bed specialist elderly, nursing and dementia unit with a further two units each providing 24 beds of specialist care. The total provision of 137 beds is built in excess of national standards with full en-suite facilities for each resident.

"A second phase of development will then provide 32 fully serviced apartments designed with a mix of one and two bedroom self-contained units inclusive of kitchen, lounge and separate bathroom facilities. This development will also include communal areas for residents to socialise, host visitors, a café, laundry and staff provision for a 24/7 care service."

The Market Harborough area is an ideal base for Prime Life who already have a strong relationship with the Leicestershire Authorities through their operation of existing homes. Market Harborough also borders Northamptonshire and into Rutland offering further expansion and partnering opportunities for the company.

"The Peaker Park site as a whole is already proving a tremendous success with a supermarket and garage already trading as part of providing a fuller service provision to the local community," Jay added.

Gail Fielding, senior partner at Yorkshire Bank's FSC in New Walk, said the care homes were being built by Enderby-based S & S Contracting.

"Prime Life provide a fantastic standard of care for people with dementia, nursing and residential needs," she said.

"This new facility will also create jobs for the county which is another plus and Prime Life develop their sites to blend in with the local area and residents. As part of this ethos they have gifted some land to the local school.

"We are delighted to be providing the funding as part of our Investing for Growth initiative which was set up for trading companies to buy or expand their premises, hire new staff, launch a new product or win a new contract which means it was ideal for Prime Life's new venture in Market Harborough."