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Bangor-based Dunluce Healthcare has said it will create 100 jobs at a new nursing home in County Down.

The £8 million facility will accommodate 80 residents and is due to be built on the former Ards FC football ground in Newtownards.

Building work is due to begin in June, with plans to open the nursing home next year.

Dunluce Healthcare, which operates Oakmont Lodge in Bangor, created 30 jobs in a new dementia wing last year.

Chief Executive Ryan Smith said planning permission for its new facility has been secured.

"This development has significance not just for Newtownards, but for the wider nursing home sector.

"Placing our residents and their families at the heart of everything we do, it is our mission to provide the highest quality care in the most comfortable and modern surroundings in Northern Ireland.

"Every care has therefore been made in the design of this facility, from the standard of finish in the rooms and communal areas to the landscaping of the outdoor space, so that residents can expect luxurious living, closer to that of a hotel than a traditional nursing home."

The facility will cater for a range of nursing, residential, respite and convalescent care needs, with specialist services designed for those with dementia.