Luxury Care Home to be constructed in Stirling
By Achilleas Salaveris
In February 2021 UNUM Partnership submitted plans on behalf of Northcare, proposing the construction of a luxury care home southwest of Orchard House Health Centre on Union Street.
Original plans were for a four-storey housing complex that was accompanied by a masterplan proposal idea which was denied. The masterplan proposed the construction of a Student Residential Scheme which would be mixed with the care home.
This masterplan was proposed with the greater interest of Stirling in mind, as the aims were outlined in the planning application as follows; “The proposed development will transform an under-utilised island site into a key gateway location and in doing so fulfil an important aspiration for the city of Stirling as expressed in development plan policies and supplementary guidance”. The accommodation would have been the home of 305 students and the care home would have the capacity of 71-beds.
The reasons for refusal were mainly due to student housing, lack of parking and overall scale of the project. A decision was therefore made, to submit a new application for the construction of a care home alone.
Image Credit: Achilleas Salaveris
The home, which is projected to open in Spring 2023, will be a three and a half level building complete with accommodation and car parking.
Work is well underway, as the old small park has been transformed into an active construction site.
We asked residents of Stirling about what they think of this new addition to the town and their response was positive. One resident mentioned, “We have an aging population, so I think they we need a care home. The hospitals are crowded by old people and so a care home is good to have”.
When asked about the home, Stirling Council responded, “The care home building proposed is located in a similar position within the site as the previous approved building and is of similar scale. It is predominately three and a half storeys in height, dropping to three storeys adjacent to the existing health centre building”.
Image Credit: Achilleas Salaveris
“It will be separated from the street by a garden strip which will include some trees and shrubs. As for its architecture it will have the same tenement blocks on Union Street and will be a similar height with pitched roof pattern. The proposals for the roof were altered to introduce a traditional pitched roof and so did the size of the building, reducing from four floors to three and a half.
“The development provides some landscaping, with provision for sitting out areas or outdoor social space, however, such garden space as there is on the site will suffer from the adjacent traffic.”
Ultimately, the proposed development will transform an under-utilised island to a great place for Stirling’s elderly to live comfortably and in peace.