New £10m dementia village welcomes first residents

Nine residents have moved into Norden House so far after the facility opened in March

A community allowing people living with dementia to “continue living a normal life” has opened in West Sussex.

The Healthcare Management Trust said a café and hair salon on the “high street” at its Norden House care home, in Littlehampton, will help residents maintain their freedom.

The £10m project also has gardens and a holistic therapy room, and has begun to welcome its first residents.

“We are really happy to have moved into Norden House, especially as we have been able to stay as a group,” said Sister Anne Marie, who moved in with five other Sisters from St Juliana’s Servite Convent in Bognor Regis.

The facility is inspired by Hogeweyk in Holland, a village home to about 150 people all living with severe dementia which opened in 2009.

The trust says about 900,000 people in the UK have dementia

“Ultimately, we want to remove the barriers that people face when living with dementia, and allow them to keep a sense of normality,” said care home manager Annie Lewis.

“Having something like a café or a hair salon enables residents to continue to experience similar things that they did when they lived in their own home. A sense of destination and purpose can do wonders for people with dementia.”

Ms Lewis added that Norden House is “filled with love, understanding, and state-of-the-art care”.

Residents live with up to seven other people in a household, who are at a similar stage of dementia, each with its own kitchen, lounge, dining space and ensuite bedrooms.

In 2020, there were an estimated 13,870 people living with dementia in West Sussex, rising to an estimated17,400 by 2030, according to West Sussex County Council.