A PIONEERING form of sheltered housing to take in elderly people with dementia has been given the go-ahead in Darwen.

The extra-care housing development will be the first of its kind in the borough and one of the first in the county.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is working in partnership with Wyre Housing Association to get the scheme up and running in Ellenshaw Close.

The council will seek advice from the Alzheimer's Society in the development and design of the buildings and gardens.

The £1 million scheme, funded by the housing association and the government's Housing Corporation, will feature four two-bedroom bungalows and five ground floor flats.

Chief executive Ian Henderson said: "People diagnosed with dementia often end up in care homes but this is really another option for them. They can be cared for in a safe environment and retain their independence at the same time."

Local research by the council shows that a large proportion of older people who struggle to maintain their independence in the community and who have had to be admitted to residential care homes have difficulties arising out of dementia.

The scheme will provide residents with their own flats but they will also have care staff available 24-hours-a-day.

David Lewis, owner of Accrington-based Mapleford Nursing and Residential home, which cares solely for Alzheimer's sufferers, said residents with dementia need very specialist care.

He said: "It's so important to get the right nursing environment combined with the need to preserve their dignity. It's difficult to balance the two and the extra-care homes sound like an extremely good idea."

Sunnyhurst ward councillor Sue Reid, executive member for social services, said: "I'm very pleased that another partnership initiative, extra-care sheltered housing, is to be provided, giving older people and their carers a real chance to be supported in a community letting people retain as much independence and dignity as possible."

Round-the-clock care means that residents, who pay for their place in the home, are kept in a safe environment where they can remain with their carers or partners who may be struggling to support them.