Plans to build a new 40-bed care home and 17 houses on the site of the flattened Alford Academy have taken a step forward.
Parklands wants to construct the care facility and accompanying ‘later life’ homes on land to the south of School Road.
The former academy was demolished in 2017 and the site has lain empty since.
It was replaced by the £37m Alford Community Campus which opened on the outskirts of the village in 2015.
Parklands was established in Buckie in 1993 and is one of the largest independent care providers in the north of Scotland.
It offers more than 300 care placements at 10 homes in Moray and the Highlands.
The company operates Urray House in Muir of Ord and Deveron Way in Huntly, as well as the 58-bed home Pittyvaich in Inverness that opened on Monday.
What would the new Alford development include?
The 17 bungalows in Alford would be designed for people over 65.
Residents living in these ‘later life’ properties will get care just as those in the neighbouring home, but they will be able to retain their independence.
They will also get access to proposed care home facilities including a cinema, hairdressing salon and cafe.
There will also be an outdoor meeting place with a cafe, which would be open to the public.
Site plans reveal that the new facility would have three secure gardens for residents to safely enjoy some fresh air.
Development ‘ideal opportunity’ to provide elderly care
As part of the planning application, Planform Architects argued that the development was needed as there are currently no care homes in Alford.
They also suggested that the nearest care facility at Muir of Fowlis is four miles away -but it only has 10 beds.
“Elderly folk living in the town would have to move out to accommodation elsewhere,” they said.
“The age demographics for Scotland indicate that demand for care facilities will only increase over the next few decades.
“The development site provides an ideal opportunity to provide this accommodation for the elderly in the centre of Alford.”
Care home and houses ‘beneficial’ to Alford
Plans for the new Alford facility were first unveiled in 2022, but an outline proposal for the development went before members of the Marr area committee this morning.
Councillor Jeff Goodhall said: “It is a very unsightly brownfield site at the moment and we have to do something with it.
“The combination of a care home and housing would be quite beneficial to Alford.”
The committee had no objection to the proposal and agreed to approve the planning permission in principle.
Developers will now draw up more detailed plans that will be submitted to the local authority for consideration in the future.
Read more:
Conversation