A NATIONAL charity has been granted permission to build a new £3.5m specialist dementia care home in Malvern.

Malvern Hills district planning officers have given the go-ahead for the state-of-the-art 24-bed unit, to be built near existing Friends of the Elderly homes Davenham and Perrins House, in Graham Road.

The new home will be set out over two floors, each with 12 bedrooms, separate communal facilities including dining and lounge areas, themed quiet spaces and an activity room.

There will also be three outdoor areas for residents to enjoy.

Friends of the Elderly decided to build the new home in response to the growing number of older people developing dementia.

There are currently 700,000 sufferers in the UK today, and research conducted by the Alzheimer’s Society predicts that number will double within a generation.

The charity’s chief executive Richard Furze said: “There is a growing need for dementia care as both the population and number of older people developing dementia continue to rise,” he said. “In the Malvern district alone, it is estimated that 1,200 people will develop dementia between 2007-2012.”

The charity says it hopes to build the home “as quickly as possible”.