A TOTAL of £9.8m has been granted to create an entire village for old people on Teesside.

The retirement home village of 200 houses and villages at Middle Warren estate near Hart in the Hartlepool area could be replicated across the UK.

The grant has been awarded by the Government for the village which will cost £34m in total and include a park and a healthy living centre.

There will be a mix of different tenures for the old people including rent, shared ownership and outright sale.

The Middle Warren plan has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council, in conjunction with the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, Hartlepool Primary Care Trust, North Tees NHS Hospital Trust, and the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Hospital Trust.

The developers involved older people in the planning and the project is integrated into the regeneration plans for Hartlepool.

Government community care minister Stephen Ladyman said: "This is an important and creative development and I want to see this replicated elsewhere."

Councillor Robbie Payne, Hartlepool Council Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: "This will set a new standard for helping older people to lead independent lives in their own homes."

Hartlepool Primary Care Trust also plans to use the village as a base for delivering services, including health promotion and chronic disease management and care.

The Government has provided £40.3m across the country to provide new housing for elderly people including £3m in Darlington and nearly £2m North Yorkshire.

As well as the Government money the Hartlepool scheme has been awarded £700,000 by the Housing Corporation. Other money is expected to be invested by private developers who would sell some of the homes.

A total of 1,000 new homes has already been built in the Middle Warren area in recent months.