A TOPPING out ceremony has been held at specialist new homes for older people being built in York.

City of York Council is extending its sheltered housing complex at Glen Lodge on Sixth Avenue, and yesterday work on two new bungalows took an important step forward.

The city council’s care chief Cllr Carol Runciman attended a topping out ceremony, with staff including apprentices who have been working on the site as part of their training at York College.

Cllr Runciman said: “It is great to see work is progressing to provide 27 new homes for older people – built with the help of apprentices. With York’s population of people aged 75 and older expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2030, the extension of Glen Lodge is a part of our city-wide plan to modernise accommodation for older people in which high quality services can be delivered.

“We hope to have residents moving in later this summer with access to modern facilities and more choice and control regarding the care they receive. I am looking forward to seeing the completed extension in the coming months.”

Work is also progressing on the 25 new flats being built on the site. The new extension has reached second floor level and first fix electrics are going in on lower floors.

The entrance on the existing building is also getting a re-vamp and with planning permission already granted for those changes and that work is due to start early in the summer.

York-based building firm William Birch is carrying out the work with bricklaying apprentices Danny Langdon, David Hayes and Chris Horsley working on site under their mentor Steve Bailey.

The company’s construction director Simon Potter said: “Our apprentices have been working on the project from the early stages of construction and are gaining valuable experience on a project in the community in which they live.

“They take great pride in their work and their commitment to achieving high standards of craftsmanship is more than encouraging.

“In an industry with a skills shortage we are delighted that we are able to continue to train apprentices every year and also to have great retention rates beyond completion of their apprenticeship.”

As well as the new buildings and extension, the council is stretching the amount of help and support available to residents so it is available to residents 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In total Glen Lodge is seeing £4 million of investment to improve care services for older people, and the work there is part of City of York’s wider overhaul of older people’s accommodation - along with plans for new care homes at Burnholme and Lowfields.

The Glen Lodge work is scheduled to finish in July this year with residents moving in to their new homes later in the summer.