Plans for a £30 million new Wolverhampton care home for dementia sufferers which could create many social care jobs in the area have passed the first hurdles of the planning stage, reports the Birmingham Mail.

Outline planning permission for a new 60 bed facility on Graiseley Hill has been granted by Wolverhampton City Council. This means that developers Wolverhampton and Walsall LIFTCo will present an outline business case before the council, which will then be submitted to the Department of Health, followed by a full planning application once the case for the development has been established.

The development seems likely to meet with general approval as over the next 20 years, the number of elderly people in the city is set to increase by 30 percent. This will create a wide range of opportunities for workers in roles such as physiotherapy jobs who can help those suffering from mental and physical conditions stay as active as possible.

If approved, design work for the scheme will begin next year with work hoped to start by early 2012. If this goes according to plan, the facility should open in the Autumn of 2013, offering a range of services from day care facilities, therapy rooms and respite care beds to an on-site restaurant.

"The help and support which we will be bale to provide from this new centre is extensive," said Brian O'Leary, Wolverhampton City Council's chief officer for transformation. "We already provide a wide range of services for people with dementia but are keen to develop these further. This state-of-the-art centre will transform the lives of sufferers."