Plans have been unveiled to build an injury rehabilitation centre on a Banff farm.
The proposals for the facility include a hydro pool, gym, education centre and five lodges for patients, which would be built at Hilton Park outside the town.
The pool would be used to aid people recovering from various injuries such as spinal problems, brain tumours or strokes.
Drawings show the site would have changing rooms, a steam room, an ice bath and a physiotherapy room as well as a sports hall.
These areas would be built in a converted farm outbuilding, which can no longer accommodate modern farming operations.
Each of the lodges would have enough room for six people to sleep and include a kitchen and living area.
The application for planning permission has been submitted on behalf of Re-Nu Therapy Limited, a new firm based in Oldmeldrum.
The owners hope to use some of the farm’s unused buildings for the project and in the documents submitted to the council they have said it has “untapped potential”.
The firm has already installed the necessary heating infrastructure, solar panels and a wind turbine to supply electricity.
A design statement from Ellon-based Shand Building Design urged councillors to give the development the go ahead.
It said the facility would also take pressure off hospital hydrotherapy pools.
The statement added: “I believe it would be perverse to refuse a proposal of this magnitude by any council.
“By offering this facility to everybody and giving them a short break or holiday in the process, this will undoubtedly give patients a bit of freedom and independence.
“The applicant’s mission is to create a centre where people can come and stay several days so that they can be as relaxed as possible.
“These lodges will primarily be for less-abled people with various injuries who will benefit from attending a hydrotherapy pool and gym at Hilton Park Farm, as there is a long waiting list to get appointments in a hydro pool in Aberdeen.
“With no rural based hydro pools purpose designed for spinal or fracture requirements this project has vast untapped potential.”
