£1.25m homes for people with learning disabilities completed in Market Drayton

The supported living project in Adderley Road will help adults who are currently living outside the county to return to Shropshire and be closer to their families and friends, according to scheme bosses.

The equivalent of 38 full-time members of staff have been recruited to work at the Shropshire Council-commissioned accommodation.

The site includes two supported living bungalows, four flats and a small supported living development – all with gardens and a community allotment.

New tenants are set to move into the accommodation by June, according to the council.

The bungalows and flats have been jointly funded by The Development Trust, a national charity with strong links in the county, and Shropshire Council.

It will provide 24-hour, one-to-one care, for some of the most vulnerable adults in the county's communities.

Stephen Chandler, Shropshire Council's director of adult social care, said: "I am pleased to see this quality accommodation now complete – it is already a real asset to the area.

"We, alongside the development trust, are continuing to invest in homes which enable vulnerable people to move back to Shropshire to be closer to their friends and families, and live as independently as possible."

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The development will remain in council ownership and it will work with different organisations to manage the overall site.

First Choice, a housing provider which specialises in learning disability housing, has been appointed to manage the properties, and the council has appointed care providers Betphage and Dimensions to deliver the 24-hour care and support.

The site is a former builder's yard and garage that has been out of use for some time.

Civic leaders in Market Drayton have welcomed the plans for the site.

Speaking when the plans were unveiled, Councillor Tim Beckett, the outgoing mayor of Market Drayton, welcomed the creation of the new jobs and the transformation of a derelict site.

He added he was keen for priority to be given to people from Market Drayton to use the facility.

Shropshire Council said the long-standing and well-established partnership between itself and The Development Trust had enabled the development to happen to "repatriate" vulnerable adults back to Shropshire.

It added the trust has supported the project in direct response to the shocking and disturbing findings of Winterbourne View in Gloucestershire, where patients where patients at the private hospital suffered physical and psychological abuse.