A centre of excellence for dementia care could be built in rural Perthshire.
Ambitious plans have been tabled for a 60-bedroom facility near Alyth.
The care home is part of a wider £50 million “village” proposed for part of the old Glenisla Golf Course. Councillors approved a masterplan for the site earlier this year.
The team behind the project, Glenisla Developments Ltd (GDL), say they want to deliver the “best possible standard of dementia and elderly care” in Perth and Kinross.
The nursing home has been designed with input from the Care Inspectorate and the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC). It will be operated by Healthcare Management Solutions, one of the UK’s biggest care service providers.
In paperwork lodged with council planners, a spokesman for GDL said: “We are aiming to deliver a building which meets both the highly functional requirements of the operator, is ‘cutting edge’ in terms of modern day elderly and specialist dementia care, but at the same time will be a highly attractive and a comfortable place to live for residents.”
The plan has been supported by Martin Quirke, architect at the DSDC. In a letter to planning officers, he said: “It is nationally recognised that the shortage of residential care, and the poor quality of existing housing, is contributing significantly to NHS and a local authority costs, a phenomenon that is much wider and more complex than the ‘bed blocking’ often referred to in the media.”
He added: “We believe that the mix of housing and residential care places to be provided in the proposed scheme would help to address challenges that are becoming increasingly important for the Perth and Kinross area, and Scotland as a whole.”
The wider proposals for the new settlement include 200 houses, a hotel and businesses.
The care home – about 10 bedrooms larger than originally planned – will be part of the first phase of construction.
Plans to convert the 80-acre golf course site were first raised more than a decade ago.
The course was sold to developers in 2016, but it was later reopened as a nine-hole course by Alth Golf Course.
A refurbishment of the clubhouse forms part of the overall plan.
Council officers are expected to rule on the care home scheme in the coming weeks.
