A CHARITY is set to build 56 new homes for elderly people after receiving a £5m government grant.

Next month The Abbeyfield Kent Society, which provides residential care for the elderly, will begin work on the new flats in Ifield Way, Gravesend, which are expected to be complete in April next year.

Members of staff from the charity will be on call to residents should they need assistance, and there will be communal areas for socialising.

Funding has come from the government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and the development is part of its Extra Care scheme to provide quality housing for the elderly.

Chief executive of the charity Leon Steer said: “We are committed to being able to care for older people who are financially disadvantaged within a homely and secure environment.”