A major milestone has been reached in the construction of a £18m care home in Flint that will provide important additional ‘later living’ accommodation in the town.

Work by contractor Willmott Dixon on the home called Tŷ Croes Atti has reaching the ‘topping out’ stage, which signifies completion of the building structure’s highest point. When complete in the summer of 2025, it will provide quality and dedicated later living housing for 56 local residents.

It also sees an existing care home in the area relocated and expanded from its current 31-bed capacity. Integrated social care and health care services will be delivered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and Flintshire County Council social services teams.

Partners and stakeholders from Flintshire County Council, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Willmott Dixon, Welsh Government and the Regional Partnership Board attended the topping out ceremony. As part of the visit, attendees signed the lift shaft to commemorate the special moment.

They included deputy leader of Flintshire County Council and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing, Councillor Christine Jones, who said:

“I am honoured to be a part of this incredible project and it was wonderful to see this impressive build taking shape.

“The care sector in Flintshire is working within an increasingly challenging environment and therefore as a council we are taking a positive approach to develop care homes that value older people and provide good, quality support that stands us in good stead for the future. I look forward to watching as this project develops and would like to thank all of our partners for their hard work.”

Tŷ Croes Atti is being funded through Flintshire County Council’s capital programme and backed by just over £11m via the Welsh Government’s Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund (IRCF) and Housing with Care Fund (HCF) capital programmes.

Minister for Social Care, Dawn Bowden, said:

“This project is a fantastic example of partnership working to deliver for people in Flintshire. It will help build the sort of community capacity we need for the new, integrated models of care we are prioritising across Wales. I am delighted to see this major milestone celebrated at Tŷ Croes Atti.”

Michelle Greene, Director of the East Integrated Health Community at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, added:

“I was delighted to attend the roof-topping ceremony to mark the importance of the new Croes Atti care home. It will help us deliver our commitment to provide high-quality integrated social care and health care services alongside Flintshire County Council social services teams, and support people in the community as close to home as possible.

"Thanks to the continued partnership working with Flintshire County Council we will be able to provide more support to people in the area."

Mike Lane, operations director for Willmott Dixon, said:

“We’re proud to be delivering such an important project which expands the high-quality health and social care services for the community of Flint. As progress continues, alongside Flintshire County Council and all our partners, to date we’ve created six new employment opportunities for local people and delivered 197 hours of education and careers initiatives in local school and colleges.”

Andy Peck, Senior Client Relationship Manager, Procurement Hub, said:

“This project is a great example of how the Major Projects Framework 2 can deliver true value for the people of Flintshire. Local supply chains have played a major role in delivering this project, bringing well needed support to the care sector. There are significant challenges in the care sector, and this type of scheme demonstrates the fantastic partnership that Procurement Hub and Willmott Dixon can deliver together.”