A new care home in Inverness will have staff living right next door in a return to “tied houses”.
Highland Council has granted planning permission for 24 cottage flats to be built in Milton of Leys.
Parklands Development got the green light to build the two-bedroom flats for staff working at its care home and later life homes.
This was despite a motion to refuse by Inverness member Ken Gowans, who said the application was “contentious” locally.
Mr Gowans told the planning committee the proposal represented an over-development of the site.
However, councillors voted to grant planning permission by nine votes to four, with one abstention.
‘A special development’
It was an application that divided councillors. Angus MacDonald congratulated the designers for “excellent urban design” and said the development is essential to the success of the care home.
Councillor Andrew MacKintosh agreed. “One of the problems we have is getting and retaining skilled staff,” he said. “This is an attempt to solve that problem. It’s a special development for a special reason.”
Yet what made the development “special” is also what caused councillors a problem. While the Inner Moray Firth local development plan states a site of this size should have no more than 16 homes, this proposal packed in 24. That’s a 50% increase in density.
That was the crux of Mr Gowans’ concerns. He also said it did not provide sufficient car parking, and nor does it deliver active travel opportunities. Transport planners at the council objected to the development, calling the cycle facilities “unacceptable”.
Community council slams ‘disingenuous’ plan
They weren’t alone. Milton of Leys community council called the application of the flat “disingenuous and misleading”.
While the applicant says the development includes ‘community orientated open space’, the community council believes it will only benefit the immediate residents. They also said it will contribute to traffic congestion in the area.
They wrote: “If the council wishes to develop Milton of Leys as a viable community it must commit to creating a genuine community centre and meeting space.”
The proposal also attracted objections from seven local households.
However, council planners emphasised that this is not to be considered like any other residential development. They called it “a bespoke commercial solution to a commercial issue”.
Tied houses win committee approval
The cottage flats are what’s called ‘tied houses’ – meaning they’re for care home staff and their families only. As councillor Bill Lobban summarised: “If you lose your job, you lose your house.”
The development will remain a closed, private development and can only be sold as open-market housing if a separate planning application is granted.
As such, planners say the development doesn’t need to stringently meet the density rules of the local development plan. Nor does it need to provide an element of affordable housing or active travel.
Isabelle Mackenzie, the council’s older people’s champion, praised the vision.
“This is almost like an age-friendly community,” she said. “They should be given huge credit for doing this.”
Inverness councillor Colin Aitken said he shared local disappointment that there’s not more facilities in the wider Milton of Leys area. However, he accepted that this is not an issue for the planning committee.
Instead, he said the “purpose, use and design are positive” and he supported the development.
Chairman Thomas MacLennan agreed, highlighting that this is a positive step towards attracting staff to the new care home.
Ultimately, the committee agreed, and voted with Mr MacLennan to grant planning permission.
Parklands delighted to provide integrated care hub
Ron Taylor, managing director of Parklands Care Homes said: “We are delighted that The Highland Council has approved our new key worker housing development, which will be a vital part of our integrated care hub for the city. This is an exciting project quite unlike anything in the Highlands.
“This project will greatly enhance a gap site that has lain empty for years and provide much-needed affordable accommodation for key workers at a time when quality rental accommodation is at a premium.
“With planning consents for all three components of our integrated care hub now secured, we will set out our detailed timetable for the project in the coming months.”
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