Pittyvaich Care Home is the 13th home in the Parklands Care Homes group. With 58 en-suite bedrooms, the £11 million project is the largest purpose-built care facility in the Parklands group and the first new care home to open in Inverness in five years.

Residents will enjoy access to a café, salon, lounges, an activities room, quiet spaces and landscaped gardens.

The home is expected to create around 120 jobs in the local area. It was built by Inverness-based Capstone Construction, supporting jobs and investment during the build phase.

The care home is the first stage in Parklands’ plan to develop an integrated care community in Inverness – the first of its kind in the Highlands. Future phases will include a later living village, designed to support independent living for older people, and key worker apartments, helping to ease pressure on local housing and support recruitment.

Pittyvaich is part of a wider programme of investment by Parklands across the Highlands. The group is expanding its existing Highland homes, with an additional 12 beds in Tain, four in Fortrose and 10 in Grantown on Spey. This investment means that, over the course of the next year and subject to planning consent, Parklands will create an additional 26 beds in the Highlands at a cost of £4.5m, bringing the overall total to 84 additional beds.

Ron Taylor, managing director of Parklands Care Homes, said: “Pittyvaich is more than just a care home – it’s a symbol of our long-term commitment to the Highlands. At a time when the region has lost over 200 care beds, this investment is more urgent than ever. 

“We’re responding to that need by investing in the future of care – creating jobs, supporting families, and building something that will serve this community for years to come. 

“This is just the first step in our ambitious vision for a new care community in Inverness – a place where older people can live with dignity, independence and support, and where key workers have access to affordable accommodation.”

He added: “We’re looking forward to working with our new team to bring the Parklands standard of care to Inverness – compassionate, person-centred and rooted in the local community.”

Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, said: “At a time of very real economic challenge to the social care sector, the investment of the Parklands Group in the creation of the new care home at Pittyvaich is great news indeed. To commit to the local community and its people, to enable the employment of many people, and to recognise the value of offering quality care and support in the local area is so critical and Parklands have done this par excellence. I hope the future residents and staff will come to see Pittyvaich as a key part of the local community and I wish everyone every success.”

Rhona Donnelly, managing director of Capstone Construction, added: “We are delighted to have completed the construction of Pittyvaich Care Home in Inverness — a 58-bedroom facility and Capstone’s largest project to date. This full turnkey build showcases the strength of our team and our ability to deliver complex developments to the highest standard. It has been a privilege to work with Parklands Care Homes on this significant project, and we are proud to have played a key role in bringing such an important facility to the local community.”

Alford plans move forward

Plans to build a new 40-bed care home and 17 houses on the site of the flattened Alford Academy have also taken a step forward.

Parklands wants to construct the care facility and accompanying “later life” homes on land to the south of School Road.

The former academy was demolished in 2017 and the site has lain empty since.

It was replaced by the £37 million Alford Community Campus which opened on the outskirts of the village in 2015.

Site plans reveal that the new facility would have three secure gardens for residents to safely enjoy some fresh air.

As part of the planning application, Planform Architects argued that the development was needed as there are currently no care homes in Alford.

They also suggested that the nearest care facility at Muir of Fowlis is four miles away – but it only has 10 beds.

“Elderly folk living in the town would have to move out to accommodation elsewhere,” Planform said.

“The age demographics for Scotland indicate that demand for care facilities will only increase over the next few decades.

“The development site provides an ideal opportunity to provide this accommodation for the elderly in the centre of Alford.”

Plans for the new facility were first unveiled in 2022, but an outline proposal for the development was put before members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Marr area committee this week.

The committee had no objection to the proposal and agreed to approve the planning permission in principle.

Developers will now draw up more detailed blueprints which will be submitted to the local authority for consideration in the future.