Nursing home plan for ex-hospital site

Bentleigh Cross Ltd, which is transforming the former Dorset County Hospital site in Princes Street, aims to open a 40-bed nursing home for older people needing special care in August.

The Hampshire-based company, which is in the process of creating a £10 million development on the site, has already opened a development of 68 close-care apartments and work to transform the building at the entrance to the site is under way.

The new nursing home will have a glass lobby in which prized mosaics discovered as the site was excavated will be housed.

More than 6,000 people queued around the block to see the mosaics when they were uncovered - and the discovery was hailed the finest archaeological find of the last century in Dorchester.

Tony Murley, director of development, promised to make the most of the 1,700-year-old finds and his architects have been hard at work deciding how to display them without the risk of ruining them.

He said: "We took the decision to display the mosaics vertically in a glass lobby area which, while being a private area will provide some public access.

"The nursing home should be operational in August. Then we have 42 more close-care apartments going up by spring 2004. The take-up on the first apartments went incredibly well - we sold all but two within a few months."

Mr Murley, director of operations Robin Waterer and architect Richard Addison will be talking to members of the Dorchester Civic Society in the Brownsword Hall in Poundbury at 7.30pm on Wednesday. Members of the public can also go along for free.

Society member Tom Lane said: "The talk will look at the current situation in the UK residential care market, define close-care and examine its advantages over traditional residential care.

"The development at Somerleigh Court will be illustrated with commentary on the planning process, dealing with archaeology and the problems of phased completion of the building works."