The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, hailed the ‘tremendous’ standards of care and facilities at our new Veteran Care Village when he paid us a welcome visit recently.

Andy Burnham met and chatted with residents and staff during his visit, and was shown round our fantastic facilities by chief executive Karen Miller.

The Mayor is chairman of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which provided part of the funding for the £12.5m redevelopment, which was completed earlier this year.

He gave a glowing seal of approval to the redevelopment, saying: “I could not be more pleased by what I have seen. It’s tremendous, I’m very impressed.

“You would want people who have served our country to have the very best that we can offer, and the new Broughton House is THE very best when it comes to standards of care and facilities.

“We are proud as the GMCA to have played our part in helping Broughton House develop a home for the 21st century.”

Mr Burnham met Armed Forces Support Hub manager Jackie Cornmell, who told him the service has seen an increase in the number of referrals, particularly during the pandemic, with 66 in the last 12 months alone.

He also met several residents, including World War Two veteran Derrick Corfield, 95, who served in the Merchant Navy and showed the Mayor his medal collection, and David Teacher, 98, who took part in the Normandy Landings on D-Day and later received the MBE for charitable work.

David told Mr Burnham that our Care Village is a ‘first-class place to live’.

“It’s fantastic, we are well looked after and well fed,” he added.

Mr Burnham also chatted to other staff members, including household manager Erica Wright.

Chief executive Karen Miller said: “The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been integral in helping us to create this amazing facility and we are proud that we have in this area the only care home for veterans in the north west.

“Staff and residents were really honoured and thrilled that the Mayor came to visit, taking time out of his busy schedule to tour the facility and meet and chat with them.”