A MULTI-MILLION pound housing scheme for older people has won planning approval.

Work will begin next month to construct of a well-equipped Extra Care housing development, which will replace Tanpit Lodge Elderly Persons' Home, in Easingwold.

The building, to cost £6m, will include 39 one and two- bedroomed flats, with their own easy-access bathrooms. Construction is expected to be finished by September 2007.

The standard of accommodation and staffing levels will mean that even the frailest of older people can be cared for, including those suffering from high levels of dementia.

Services provided by Tanpit Lodge will continue, and its residents will be offered the opportunity to move into the new building

Following completion of the Extra Care facility, feasibility studies will be conducted over the future of the Tanpit Lodge site.

One possible option would be the creation of a one-stop-shop for access to public services, together with facilities for the town council and other local voluntary and community groups.

Councillor Chris Metcalfe, North Yorkshire County Council's executive member for community services, said: "The care offered in our current homes is second to none.

"However, no matter how good it is, given the choice, most people prefer to live their own lives in their own home. Extra Care housing provides the very best of both worlds.

"We believe Extra Care housing will enable us to update and modernise our traditional, residential care homes, making them fit for both current and future generations of older people.

"All the people living at Tanpit Lodge will be given the opportunity to move to the new facilities, and the county council is eager to continue discussions on the proposals with local people.

"We will provide a modern replacement for Tanpit Lodge, with all the services currently on offer, but in a new, modern building which has been purpose-built for older people to receive the intensive, personal care and support that they need and want."

The project is being funded by the North Yorkshire County Council, the Department of Health, the Regional Housing Board, and Housing 21, a specialist housing provider for older people.