Rest home plans $4m revamp

A multi-million revamp is in the wind for the Carter Court Rest Home in Carterton.

Elaine Brazendale, Carter Society chairwoman and deputy mayor of Carterton, said a feasibility study has been launched to pinpoint funding prospects for the $4 million project.

Mrs Brazendale said the society would talk to key people in the community to gauge levels of support and find out what the community's expectations and needs were.

"We're looking for maximum support within our community, so we're telling people what we're doing and asking about their needs and views," Mrs Brazendale said.

"It's a really exciting time and very challenging, not least the funding. We're wanting to meet the needs of a changing community, a community that is ageing, and we need to be sustainable into the future."

The Pembroke St rest home, which is a legacy from the town founder Charles Rooking Carter, originally comprised the Deller and Doull wings built in the 1960s by the not-for-profit society.

The home is community owned and governed and has 41 beds, Mrs Brazendale said, and about 50 staff, most of whom are part-time workers.

In 2003, the society spent more than $1 million constructing the Bill Monk wing and refurbishing the administration, lounge, dining, kitchen and recreation areas at the home.

Plans were being laid for the present expansion at the time of the last redevelopment, Mrs Brazendale said, and home manager Chris Clarke has been instrumental during the past two years in the strategic planning and development of plans for the expansion and revamp.

Included in redevelopment plans are self-contained living spaces that could cater for couples and individuals who chose to remain independent, she said, which would ease the transition to a rest home for some.

The construction of ensuite facilities for each room at the home also is planned, she said, according to a flexible design that could be upgraded to hospital bed care levels.

The rest home lends itself to expansion, Mrs Brazendale said, as the property includes an expansive orchard section on its western boundary and road frontages on to two separate streets.

"It would be ideal to expand our medical facilities as well and, while we're not going into that at present, we want to retain that flexibility into the future," she said.

The society also operates a half dozen villas in Porritt Place, she said, which neighbours the rest home and contains half a dozen flats that are owned by Carterton District Council.