A FLAGSHIP housing scheme for elderly people in Wensleydale is due to be given the go-ahead today.

North Yorkshire County Council, Richmondshire District Council, the Housing Corporation and the Department of Health are jointly funding the £5m development, in Bainbridge.

The scheme will replace the Sycamore Close sheltered housing complex, run by the district council, and the county council's High Hall care home.

The extra care housing scheme blends elements of both sheltered housing and care homes. It offers residents a degree of independence in one or two-bedroom flats with their own bathrooms and kitchens - but with staff on call 24 hours a day.

The complex will also include a cafeteria, a hairdresser, a treatment room, shop and lounge.

Councillor Murray Naylor, the county council's executive member for social services with special responsibility for older people, said: "Extra care housing schemes are the way forward, as they allow older people to live as independently as possible, but have all the care and support they need on hand. I am very pleased that, working with our partners, we are now in a position to provide the benefits of an extra care scheme for communities in a largely rural area like the Upper Dales."

The scheme will be discussed at a Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority planning meeting in West Burton today.