Residents see retirement village

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The £37m retirement village is due to open in Birmingham in the spring

Residents planning to move into a £37m retirement village have been looking around their homes for the first time.

The village in New Oscott, Birmingham, will provide 260 homes, shops and facilities including a gym, greenhouse, craft room and IT room.

It will open in April and is the first of five ExtraCare Charitable Trust villages planned for the city.

Birmingham City Council and Midland Heart housing group are also involved in the New Oscott Village project.

The council said the village would have up to 24-hour nursing support for people who needed it and included affordable homes for rent and purchase.

Councillor John Lines, cabinet member for housing, said the aim was to help older people to "lead fulfilled, independent lives".

The popularity of retirement villages, which have been a feature in the US for many years, is growing in the UK, which now has more than 60.