A £20million project to build a care home and housing in the Western Isles is gathering pace.
Hebridean Housing Partnership (HHP) and Western Isles Council plan to be on site at Goathill Farm near Stornoway by December.
They hope to identify a contractor in November, allowing the build to be completed by September 2020 and creating a jobs boost for the islands.
The development will include a 52-bed care home and 50 housing units with extra care on the greenfield site on the isle of Lewis.
Master planning for the site concluded that there is also scope to provide 62 affordable housing units on the land outwith the residential care and housing with extra care development.
A spokesman for the council said: “Not only will these developments provide much needed facilities but also create an employment and economic boost for the Islands. These are exciting development opportunities and we would hope that local contractors respond positively to them.”
The Lewis Residential Care Project has been agreed as part of the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2017/22 with the support of Western Isles Integrated Joint Board.
With the help of the Scottish Government HHP and the local authority performed a master planning and options appraisal for the large site in Stornoway last year.
The objective was to deliver affordable housing, housing with extra care and a residential care home hub to meet the needs of the island’s elderly population and to fulfil wider housing requirements.
It is the intention to submit a full planning application by June.
At present the council and housing partnership are consulting with contractors on the best way to deliver the project.
Potential contractors are meeting with the project team at the beginning of this month.
Documents issued by the authority and the housing partnership state that they are trying to gauge interest across national, regional and local supply chain markets and seek expressions of interest from companies not only interested in the role of main contractor but also potential sub-contractors.
In December the council agreed to commit £15.8million of its 2018-2023 capital programme towards the care related accommodation associated with this project.
Separately, Western Isles Council is also currently seeking interest in a £9.6million contract to provide residential, respite and nursing home beds in the area.
