Highlands-based care home operator Parklands has unveiled multi-million pound plans to expand into Aberdeenshire for the first time.
The company has submitted an application for planning permission, in principle, for a 40-bed care home and later life living village in Turriff.
Plans for a similar development on School Road, Alford, have also been submitted.
The new care homes are expected to create dozens of jobs and boost local supply chains.
Parklands’ proposals for Turriff include 11 bungalows and an access road through a vacant site on Banff Road.
In Alford, the company wants to build a 40-bed care home and 17 later life living bungalows, also served by a new access road.
Parklands currently operates 10 homes in Moray and the Highlands, with the first phase of a new care hub in Inverness – comprising a 58 bed home, later life living bungalows and affordable homes for key workers – currently under construction.
The Grantown-based firm recently announced plans for a 40-bed care home in Elgin.
Managing director Ron Taylor said: “As a company with deep roots in Moray and the Highlands, we are excited about making our first foray into Aberdeenshire.
“We believe there is a growing demand for high-quality person-centred care in the region. We hope our investment will not only create more jobs, but also help provide additional care capacity in Turriff and Alford.”
Multiple awards
Founded in 1993, in Buckie, family-run Parklands has won a raft of accolades and earlier this year was crowned business of the year in the Highland Business Awards.
Its later life living model is intended to act as a bridge between independent living and the traditional care home model, with residents enjoying access to shared services and social activities within the adjacent care home, while leading otherwise independent lives.
Firm says new homes will meet stringent rules
Parklands said both of the new sites proposed would comply with the Care Inspectorate’s latest design guidelines.
These significantly raise the bar in a number of areas, including the quality of accommodation for residents, standards for infection control and adaptability of accommodation in the event of future lockdowns.
Conversation