A MULTI-MILLION pound development project at a nursing home near Weymouth is set to create up to 50 new jobs.

The £4m project to extend and improve Queen Charlotte Nursing Home on Chickerell Road, Chickerell, will add 14 new bedroom suites, new staff quarters and a training room.

Jobs created by the project will include support workers, hospitality managers, kitchen staff, housekeepers, activities coordinators and a learning and training manager.

Kingsley Healthcare, the care home operator behind the scheme, said the project will 'completely modernise' the home's facilities whilst protecting the character of the grade two listed building, which has historical links to Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III.

As reported, planning permission for the scheme was approved by Dorset Council last week, amid two objections over fears relating to parking in surrounding roads and increased traffic in the area.

However Chickerell town council recommended approval of the scheme.

Included in the scheme will be a new roof terrace offering views of the Dorset countryside. Work will also be carried out to reinstate an 18th century stable block as staff quarters and a training room.

The home will also benefit from a new kitchen, laundry and sensory garden and all existing communal areas will be upgraded.

Work is scheduled to begin in the summer and be completed in 12 months.

Muj Malik, chief investment officer at national care homes group Kingsley Healthcare, which owns Queen Charlotte and two other care homes in Dorset, said: “Our teams have worked hard with planning conservation officers to ensure the scheme is sympathetic to the home’s grade two-listed character.

“The work is part of our strategy and commitment to future proof homes, ensuring residents enjoy the highest quality living environment possible.

“Last year, we completed a similar project at Highcliffe Nursing Home, near Christchurch, which has proved highly successful. This is part of our 2025 vision, to reinvest in our homes and bring the best in class care to the communities we serve.”

Mr Malik said Kingsley’s commitment to quality care was reflected in the success of another of its Dorset homes, Branksome Heights, which recently won the Bournemouth Echo’s care home of the year title.