Former Bletchley Park Codebreaker Officially Opens Eighth New Care Home In Suffolk

The completion of the eighth of ten brand new care homes built by Care UK in partnership with Suffolk County Council was marked recently when a very special resident at the home cut the ribbon at a ceremony attended by representatives of a wide range of local organisations.

Suffolk County Council selected Care UK as its partner to redevelop the council’s 16 care homes and 8 community wellbeing centres back in 2012. Care UK took over the running of the old facilities in December that year and quickly started to implement its plans to replace the outdated buildings with ten new care homes and ten new day clubs. Care UK has brought £60 million of investment to the project.

The eighth new home that has just been officially opened is on the site of an old care home, Mills Meadow in Framlingham. The work was completed in two phases with the first phase seeing half of the new home built in the grounds of the old home, then after residents had settled in to their new accommodation, the old home was demolished making way for the phase two of the new home to be completed.

The official opening event involved 88 year-old Mills Meadow resident Liz Austin, a former WWII Bletchley Park codebreaker cut the ribbon alongside Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for adult care and Andrew Knight, Care UK’s managing director of Residential Care Services.

Andrew Knight said: “We are very pleased to officially open the new Mills Meadow after its complete redevelopment in two stages over the past two years. We would like to thank the residents and their relatives for their patience while the work has been carried out, as well as our construction partner Castleoak, whose team deserves credit for their careful and considerate work during the re-build which enabled residents to continue living in their home throughout. Many of the residents have enjoyed watching the transformation of their home.”

Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Care, said: “Mills Meadow is a fantastic care home with a great team of dedicated and caring staff. The redevelopment looks fantastic and will give residents a home they can be truly proud of.”

Cllr Stephen Burroughes, Suffolk County Councillor for Framlingham, “Today was a very significant moment in the evolution of Mills Meadow. I have been extremely impressed with the high standard of the new build and to hear from residents themselves how pleased they feel with the quality of care they receive. It’s been at times a bit of a rollercoaster ride for everyone at Mills Meadow, right from the moment a new home was first discussed right up until today. But Sue Hill and her team have worked hard to make this a success. As the local County Councillor, I know I will be a regular visitor, dropping in for a chat with residents and staff and making sure we all work together to maintain the great reputation Mills Meadow has.”