THE Government has pledged nearly £10m towards a £34m self-contained village for elderly people on Teesside.

The retirement village of 200 homes at Middle Warren estate, near Hart, in the Hartlepool area, is seen as the blueprint for similar developments across the UK.

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

There will be a mix of tenure options for residents - including rent, shared ownership and outright sale. The money has been allocated as part of the Government's Extra Care plan to replace residential homes for the elderly with self-contained homes that come eqipped with a high-level of support care.

The Middle Warren plan has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council, in collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust and NHS managers.

The developers talked to elderly people before submitting the plan, 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 it 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 such as chronic disease management and care.

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.

The Government has provided £40.3m across the country as part of its Extra Care scheme to provide housing for elderly people. More than £3m has been awarded to Darlington to remodel and build 42 homes, and nearly £2m has been granted to North Yorkshire.

Neil Revely, head of community care at North Yorkshire County Council, said that the money would be spent on creating 36 homes for the elderly in Easingwold and Stokesley. It is hoped that residential homes in both areas will eventually be replaced by the Extra Care homes.

No-one at Darlington Borough Council was available for comment yesterday