Four brothers, who suffer from an extremely rare and progressive neurological disorder, are the first to benefit from a new bespoke housing development in North Tyneside, which will enable them to live together as a family and receive the specialist care they need.
Vincent (34), Russell (27), Nathan (25) and 23-year-old Damian Pearson have Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, meaning they have complex needs and require specialist care. For around eight years, two of the brothers had been living with their parents in Wallsend while the other two lived in North Shields.
The brothers will shortly be moving into a four-bedroom bungalow, part of North Tyneside Council’s £2m development at Kingsbridge, Longbenton, which has been delivered in partnership with Kier North Tyneside. The council has also worked closely with North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to commission the required care and support.
The Pearson family was consulted throughout the development of the new home to ensure it met their needs. This includes four en-suite bedrooms, a hydrotherapy bath and accommodation quarters for a carer for the brothers.
The boys’ parents, Michael and Valerie Pearson are absolutely delighted with the bungalow for their sons.
Michael Pearson said: “The boys are very excited and are really looking forward to moving in and living together again. We’re extremely grateful to North Tyneside Council, to Kier and to all the teams who worked so hard on this fantastic purpose-built bungalow.
“Throughout the process our entire family was treated in a professional and sensitive way by everyone involved. We were fully consulted in its planning and build and we’re very pleased that they listened to our input and lots of our ideas have been included in the final design which reflects the boys’ needs very well. It is a lovely place for our sons to live and for the carers who will be attending to their needs.”
The development, which is on the site of the demolished Somervyl Court sheltered housing scheme, also includes a six-bedroom respite care centre for adults with a learning disability and seven two-bedroom houses which are for rent. The six-bedroom respite care facility will provide specialist short-break accommodation for adults with a learning disability, and local family carers were also heavily involved in its development and design.
Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn said: “It’s a real pleasure to visit this lovely new home designed to meet the needs of these brothers. This is a great example of the council’s housing and adult services teams working together to deliver housing that truly meets the specific needs required to care for some of our most vulnerable families here in North Tyneside.
“To understand some of the specific needs required it was important to work with the family and develop a home which would provide the level of care they need as well as the best quality of life possible.
“It’s great to also visit the completed respite care facility which will offer vital support to families across the borough.”
Councillor John Harrison, North Tyneside Council’s cabinet member for Housing and Transport, said: “With the rising demand for housing, this work is part of our ongoing drive to create homes that our residents need – this includes families, elderly and vulnerable residents, first-time buyers and for those on low incomes.
“This was a truly collaborative project between the housing and adult social care teams at North Tyneside Council, Kier North Tyneside and the local CCG to ensure we delivered housing that met the specific needs required to care for families in North Tyneside.”
Kier regional director, Mike Furze, said: “We are proud to have delivered this bespoke project, and are delighted to hand over this specialist bungalow on the development to the Pearson family. By working in partnership with our colleagues at North Tyneside Council on their affordable homes programme, we are making a real difference to improving the quality of housing for residents across the borough.”
The development is part of North Tyneside Council’s ongoing work to create 3,000 additional homes within 10 years to meet the borough’s most urgent housing needs.
