£6.5 million care home project for Milton of Leys
ONE of the north’s largest independent care home providers is planning a multimillion-pound investment in Inverness.
Parklands Group has submitted plans for a £6.5 million care home and 16 assisted living suites at Milton of Leys.
The care home will provide 48 beds with the first phase expected to open in 2019, subject to planning approval.
It has been claimed that, when completed, the development will create around 100 jobs, occupying a gap site next to Milton of Leys Primary School which has been already earmarked for a care home in the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan.
The two-storey home will also include a café, a hairdresser and eight day rooms, while the assisted living centre will provide three day rooms and include direct links to the care home.
Ron Taylor, managing director of Parklands Group, said: "This facility will be at the heart of the fast-growing Milton of Leys community and will offer stunning panoramic views to the north.
"It is our most ambitious investment yet and will deliver a flagship care facility for the Highland capital."
The Parklands group currently operates care homes in Buckie, Keith, Aberlour, Muir of Ord and Tain and is building a £4.5 million home in Grantown.
Work is set to begin on a facility in Fortrose this summer.
George Fraser, chief executive of Tulloch Homes, which owns the Inverness site, said: "We have been trying for a couple of years to seek an operator for land we own there and, in Parklands, we have attracted the ideal fit, bringing jobs and quality care. This is a key step forward in our continuing strategy of bringing enhanced facilities to this community."
The investment has been welcomed by local business leaders and politicians.
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is an exciting development for the Parklands Group and a real boost for the Inverness economy in terms of the jobs created during construction of the fantastic facility and the employment opportunities for the care sector."
Inverness South councillor Ken Gowans added: "This is welcome news given the real need for more care homes as the population ages."
