Construction work has begun on an £11.2m old persons’ home in Douglas.

The ground was broken for work on the Summerhill View Residential Home on Victoria Road that will offer different levels of care for the elderly.

Health Minister David Ashford cut the turf on the former Glenside site, which was demolished in 2015, with contractors, designers and members of the department’s project team gathering to mark the occasion.

The build will replace Reayrt ny Baie on Albert Terrace, which was deemed no longer fit for purpose as it does not comply with the national minimum care standards.

This includes bedrooms being too small for those with mobility issues or higher than average dependency levels, en-suite toilet facilities being too small and corridors too narrow and lifts inadequate for wheelchair users.

The new development will include a day centre for up to 20 people.

It will also allow the Sweetbriar dementia care unit to be transferred back into the residential care service from Thie Meanagh.

The Glenside site was selected as it is already zoned for residential care use unlike the former prison site on Victoria Road where any planning application could be open to challenge.

There had been public protests outside Tynwald in 2012 when the Glenside home was to close as part of a restructuring of adult social care services to help save government £3million and see elderly people have care in their own homes. A report in 2011 about transforming adult social care in the island predicted that the number of people aged 65-74 will increase by 63% up to 2026. A ’super-elderly’ group, aged 85-plus, was also predicted to rise by 47%.