BLANDFORD'S mayor has backed a new "extra care" facility for the town.

The sheltered housing scheme is due to be built with nearly £2 million of government cash on the site of the Archbishop Wake Primary School.

The development, which will include 40 apartments, is aimed at the over-65s and is designed to help elderly people retain their independence.

Cllr Sara Loch welcomed the news, telling the Daily Echo the development would be good for the town and for the school.

"As a governor of the school I'm enormously pleased that the site is not going to be used for high-priced houses, and that it's going to help the most vulnerable people in society," said Cllr Loch.

"I'm glad that it's not going to be used for executive homes, which Blandford doesn't need," she added.

County Hall health chiefs added their voice to Cllr Loch's, pointing out that Blandford's ageing population was typical of the district's growing need for such facilities.

"The numbers of people aged 65+ in North Dorset are expected to rise from 14,000 to 18,700 by 2020.

"This indicates a rise of 33 per cent," a spokesman for Dorset County Council said.

"Blandford has also been identified locally as a Public Health Action Area, in consideration of the areas of deprivation in certain wards," he added.

Building work at the Fairfield Road site will begin next year, with health chiefs planning to open the centre in summer.

The design will include round-the-clock care, facilities for those suffering from dementia, and storage space for wheelchairs.

Meanwhile, development of the new school for pupils at Archbishop Wake continues on schedule, said Cllr Loch.

"We have a new building going up on Black Lane, which we're hoping to move into in October," said the school's high-profile governor.

The £4m development is being built on a 17-acre site on the grounds of the old St Leonard's Middle School.