CONSTRUCTION work has begun on a pioneering £10million residential care home at Starbeck on the outskirts of Harrogate.

Thirsk-based design, build and development company Severfield-Reeve Projects (SRP) has started infrastructure work on Belmont House, which promises to revolutionise care for elderly people from both the public and private care sectors.

The scheme, one of the largest investments in Starbeck over the last decade, will create the equivalent of 75 full time jobs.

SRP has been involved with the project since its conception for developer Lincare Ltd, Harrogate, whose major shareholders are the Harrogate-based Rycroft family and healthcare specialist Graeme Lee, executive chairman of Leeds-based Springfield Healthcare Group.

Belmont House aims to become operational towards the end of 2006 with a marketing and viewing suite ready by mid-January.

Graeme Lee, Lincare chief executive, said: "Belmont is going to be exceptional and meet a real need. There is a shortage of new-build care homes and therefore a lack of choice. This is because care home operators have had to compete with the major house builders in buying land and, with the erosion of what local authorities are able to pay for care beds, this has also affected supply.

"All demographics suggest that the number of elderly people is going to rise consistently for the next 50 years. I believe this will see a decline in the converted old Victorian establishments and emulate more of what we are going to achieve with Belmont House."

Updated: 10:22 Monday, November 28, 2005