Fakenham Extra Care Living development named by local school children

An Extra Care Living development for people over the age of 55 in Fakenham has been named at a special ceremony by local school children. The scheme, which is in construction near to Rudham Stile Lane, will be called Meadow Walk.

Pupils at Fakenham Junior School were given the opportunity to enter an artwork competition. Lilly-May, aged 9, was the successful candidate and chose the name ‘Meadow Walk’ for the new scheme. Louie and Josh, also aged 9, were runners up in the competition.

Pictured: Cllr Bill Borrett, Louie (3rd place runner up), Owen Cheshire, Tracy Jones, Lilly-May (1st place winner), Ashleigh Jarvis and Cllr Andrew Brown

Representatives from Housing 21, Fakenham Junior School, North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council gathered to celebrate the official naming of the scheme on Tuesday 1 October. The winner, Lilly-May, was awarded with a prize voucher for her efforts. All of the pupils were also rewarded with some sweet treats and a £50 National Book Token for the school as a ‘thank you’ for their time and effort put into the competition.

Meadow Walk, built by Housing 21 in partnership with Norfolk County Council and Norfolk District Council, will offer independent living with access to 24/7 on-site care. There will be 66 one and two bedroom apartments available for affordable rent and shared ownership.

Bill Borrett, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Prevention at Norfolk County Council, said: “I am delighted to see Meadow Walk taking shape, our first of many Living Well Homes which will provide an effective way for people to live independently for longer with the reassurance that, should you need care, this can be provided. The careful planning and design of Meadow Walk will enable people to stay in the heart of Fakenham close to community, family and friends.

“Over the next ten years the County Council will invest £29 million to provide Norfolk with 3,000 more of these types of homes.”

The Extra Care Living development has been designed to provide fully accessible facilities for residents, visitors and the community, which include a café/bistro and hair salon. There is also a residents’ lounge, activity room, treatment room and communal gardens for residents and their guests to enjoy.

Meadow Walk is set for completion in December 2020 and the scheme’s first residents are expected to be able to move in early 2021.

Tracy Jones, Head of Extra Care South East, said: “We are delighted with the chosen name, Meadow Walk!

“It was a difficult decision with over 75 fantastic entries, but the winning name was decided with the help of Norfolk County Council and Norfolk District Council. We were honoured to have the schoolchildren at the naming ceremony and were pleased to award them with prizes for their hard work and commitment to the new Extra Care development.

“We hope to maintain a strong working relationship with Fakenham Junior School throughout the build journey for Meadow Walk. We see a great future of intergenerational work between the Extra Care scheme and the school – which is a great way of building future links with the local communities within Fakenham.”