LOCAL schoolchildren have helped mark an important stage in the development of a new residential care home in Williton.

Youngsters from Danesfield Middle School were among those at a foundation laying ceremony for the replacement Croft House, which is being built on land known as The Bury, between Bank Street and Bridge Street in the village.

The pupils buried a time capsule on the site of the development, while Somerset's Lord Lieutenant Lady Elizabeth Gass laid the foundation stone.

The ceremony was watched by staff and residents of the existing Croft House, which is owned by Somerset Care, one of the largest not-for-profit care companies in the south of England.

The new care home will provide 65 beds specifically for people with dementia and will also include a new adult learning centre and registry office in a partnership with Somerset County Council.

Somerset Care chief executive Andrew Larpent said the Danesfield pupils at the ceremony could well be the staff of the Croft House in the future.

"The laying of the foundation stone marks an important stage in the development of the new Croft House," he said.

"It has taken a decade of partnership working with Somerset County Council and West Somerset Council to reach this point, but the people of Williton can now be assured that their new care home will be available in less than a year."

The long awaited scheme was given planning permission by the district authority more than a year ago, flying in the face of officers' recommendations.

But because the site lay outside Williton's building line, the application had to be rubber stamped by the Secretary of State, whose approval was given earlier this year.

Photos: Steve Guscott.