Plans to turn shut-down Moray care home into accommodation for wind farm workers approved

A closed Moray care home will be transformed into service accommodation for wind farm workers.

In May 2021, Lythe Care Home in Lintmill, near Cullen, was shut down following a damming inspection report.

Its assessing Covid capabilities were criticised and the home was described as “visibly dirty and cluttered“.

The home was rated as “unsatisfactory”, the lowest grading possible.

The Care Inspectorate produced a scathing report about the standard of care at the premises during the Covid pandemic.

Inspectors made an unannounced visit to Lythe on February 4 last year. After it, they issued the care home owners 2MAJIK LTD a letter of concern.

They returned four days later to find that insufficient progress had been made. An improvement notice was issued.

‘Visibly dirty and cluttered’

On their initial visit, inspectors found that much of Lythe home was “visibly dirty and cluttered” with broken and worn equipment.

“This meant that it was difficult to clean and posed a risk of infection where it was not possible to disinfect it.”

Commodes and cushions were found to be “contaminated with body fluids, equipment that was stained and rusty, and sealant around sinks that had failed, leaving areas that were difficult to clean”.

When revisited by inspectors, a deep clean and declutter had been taken in communal areas and corridors. However, the laundry, one sluice, and most of the bedrooms still needed to be cleaned.

There was also no evidence to show how often areas were getting cleaned as no records were kept.

Former care home be turned into accommodation

In April, Grant and Geoghegan Limited lodged a planning application on behalf of Iain Currie to Aberdeenshire Council for the transformation.

The partial change of use to provide mainly worker accommodation for the
numerous wind farm and local SSE cable line projects has been approved by planning chiefs.

In a planning statement, Mr Currie said: “Workers will travel by car and minibus to and from their work site to the accommodation.

“New residents will enter the building in groups, with access key pad at the main door, with additional keypad access into the individual rooms.

“Access codes will be emailed to the customers prior to arrival.

“Accommodation will be room only and cleaning of rooms will be carried out daily.

“Upon departure the room codes will be changed for the next occupant and building management will be carried out by the applicant, who resides next door.”