• Cruden Construction menu item
  • Cruden Property Services
  • Cruden Homestyle
  • Cruden Small Works
  • Hillcrest Homes
  • Housing Excellence Partnering Scheme of the Year 2012
  • Finalists in the LABC Built in Quality Awards 2012
  • ROSPA 2012 Silver Award Winner
  • Accredited as an Investor in Diversity 2011
  • Reducing our carbon footprint by 5% annually
  • Five Times LABC Built in Quality Award Winner 2011
  • Housing Excellence Regeneration Scheme of the Year 2011
  • Investor in People Silver Status Accredited
  • 2011 ROSPA Bronze Award Winner for Health and Safety
  • Voted as a Best Company to Work for 2011, 2010 and 2009
  • Health and Safety OHSAS 18001 Accredited
  • Positive About Disabled People Accredited Organisation
  • Environmental ISO14001 Accredited
  • Quality Assurance ISO9001 2008 Accredited
  • £72m Group Turnover in 2010
  • CSCS Certified in house test centre
  • CSCS Platinum status - over 90% of our staff are registered
  • 10% of our Work Force are Apprentice and Trainees
  • Over 340 skilled and qualified construction professionals employed
  • Dedicated staff volunteering scheme, Escalate in the Community
Tuesday 13th December 2011

Belong Extra Care Village, Atherton


Belong Extra Care Village, Atherton PictureBelong Extra Care Village, Atherton PictureBelong Extra Care Village, Atherton Picture

Belong Atherton is £6.7m extra care village in Wigan for client Belong, part of the CLS Care Services Group.


Cruden Construction Ltd won this design and build project following a competitive tendering process administered by the client's cost consultant Davis Langdon. This scheme delivered an impressive mix of 72 high dependency care units and 26 extra care apartments in Atherton, Lancashire. The building is in an urban location on a 1.58 acre site and has a footprint of 2280m² with a build area of 5830m².

Briefly, construction comprised traditional load bearing masonry construction, single ply membrane roofing and traditional trussed tiled roofing with elevation treatments included facing brickwork, rendered panels, PVC and aluminium doors and windows.

Mechanical and electrical services include mechanical heat recovery system, Aqua-mist fire systems, security alarms, warden call system, telephone and TV points, security lighting, passenger lifts, controlled access gates to main car park areas and disabled buggy charging facilities. Incoming statutory services are linked to the Building Management System.

This was our second project for CLS Care Homes / Belong and it was our goal to ensure the client received a very high quality building delivered in a spirit of cooperation and partnership, on time and budget. We continued to forge close relationships with the client and consultant team ensuring that at all times we were attentive to the needs of the client.

The project was registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme and scored 37 at assessment. Paul Moore FCIOB, the schemes independent assessor commented: "Thanks to John for the warm welcome to site. Some very good initiatives: open day for labour; CSCS ID cards; Awards; Client training and many others. Excellent site. Very well done."

The scheme has been shortlisted for a National Dementia Care Award 2011 in the Best Interior Dementia Design Category.


Belong Atherton builds upon the experiences of the Belong Villages at Crewe, designed and constructed by Cruden Construction, and former schemes at Macclesfield and Wigan and continues to embrace the latest dementia research, international care models and ongoing resident consultation. A vibrant contemporary home that provides a positive future - demonstrated by its visual, operational and cultural differences to traditional care homes.

Six self-contained households of 12 people support an environment that meet the personal needs of individuals. A homely feeling with kitchen, lounge, dining and external areas in an open-plan configuration maximises independence, aids orientation and promotes discreet support. The kitchen provides the vibrant heart, enabling and encouraging residents to participate in daily living skills.

A new innovation to Belong Atherton is the way that the open-plan areas have been carefully sub-divided to create several intimate spaces without compromising the objectives. The principles of designing for people with dementia have been integrated into the design. An orientating, understandable, and domestic design throughout maximises independence and subtly compensates for impairments.

Best use of natural light and ventilation ensure a bright, fresh, environment throughout supporting this established well-being benefit to people with dementia. An inter-generational approach encourages the wider neighbourhood to use the village facilities, including a bistro, hair and beauty salon, community room, well-being suite, gym and internet café. The residents of Belong Atherton are part of the wider community neighbourhood; successful at all levels.

In a care home of this nature, the concept of open plan living areas is a departure from conventional thinking of fire safety. The lessons learnt from the previous Belong Villages have been incoporated and confirmed that the building design and the management of the fire evacuation strategy are interlinked.

As the constructor, and following on from the Crewe scheme, we produced a DVD at handover demonstrating how key controls around this complex building work. Controls such as Door Entry, Key Fob Security, CCTV, Fire Suppression and Nurse Call systems. The DVD is a lasting reference for the scheme management team, demonstrating each system in a simple-to-follow format.

We have undertaken several care schemes with Architects Pozzoni Design and this scheme at Atherton; following on quickly from the Crewe scheme continued the development of designing for people with dementia and the role of the care village as a community facility.






Other Case Studies:
< Back to Extracare