Next step for new town housing and care complex

An artist's impression of the entrance to the new care home.

The development at Perceval road, between Goathill Farm and Sand Street in Stornoway, will, according to planning documents, provide a home with ‘modern care facilities’ for 52 elderly residents and for those ‘with dementia and other frailties’, alongside 50 new flats to provide supported accommodation for those able to live independently.

The application also includes the provision for 76 new social housing units to address general, local, housing needs, with a statement from the Comhairle’s Education Department confirming: ‘Stornoway Primary currently has capacity for additional pupils and the degree of capacity would be sufficient for the likely number of additional pupils that the nature and scope of the proposed development would bring’.

The proposal is a joint development between Western Isles Integration Joint Board, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and the Hebridean Housing Partnership.

An artistic view of how the new housing and care complex will look.

In August, The Gazette highlighted ambitious plans outlined by local housing agency, Hebridean Housing Partnership, for more than 250 new homes to be built over the next three years, and for a ‘transformation’ of elderly care with the new facility replacing the existing provision at Dun Berisay and Dun Eisdean, which were operating at full capacity.

The proposals are backed by £10m from a block of £25m of Scottish Government funding earmarked for the development of affordable housing and elderly care in the islands.

But concerns were raised locally that funding could be threatened by the time required to identify and secure suitable local development sites.

In August, there were nearly 600 outstanding applications for social housing accommodation in the Western Isles council area, with more than 60% of demand being in Stornoway.

A view of how the new housing might look from Sand Street.

The full planning application is available at the Comhairle’s planning portal (ref: 18/00325/PPDM), and the deadline for neighbour consultation is September 12th.

Are you a parent with a child at Stornoway Primary or nursery? With plans for significant social housing development on the doorstep of the school, do you have concerns about the potential impact of the development on the school’s ability to cope with an increased school roll?

If you would like to offer comment on this topic email Peter Urpeth at:

[email protected]