MULTI-million pound plans have been unveiled to turn a Victorian nursing home into the hub of a 21st Century care complex.

A company is to create a care village at Nazareth House, Middlesbrough, which for 20 years was run by Roman Catholic nuns - the Sisters of Nazareth. Bowood Care Homes is submitting a planning application to Middlesbrough Council to build between 45 and 50 wheelchair- accessible flats in the grounds of the home and modernise the house itself.

Occupants of the village will have a laundry, and a restaurant housed in a proposed Victorian-style conservatory.

Bowood wants to encourage a doctor to hold surgeries at the building, in Park Road North, which will be covered by 24-hour security.

The investment made in Nazareth House will secure the jobs of the existing 50 staff, whose numbers could double in size over the coming years.

The £4m project is backed by the Bank of Ireland.

Father Derek Turnham, spokesman for the Roman Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough, said: "The diocese is delighted that plans are being submitted that will guarantee the future of Nazareth House as a care home for the elderly and indeed extend the range of care services on that site.''

Bowood hopes the care village will be the first of 25 built across the UK.

"We want it to become the primary retirement and care development in the North-East of England,'' said its managing director, Simon Loveridge.

The nuns were forced to put Nazareth House on the market after they were affected by a fall in vocations to the order.