Disabled Aberdeenshire residents await talks over homes

Disabled residents at a north-east care service are preparing for crunch talks with council bosses over the future of their homes.

The Willowbank Bungalows project at Peterhead, which provides support and accommodation for adults with profound disabilities, is under review and could face closure.

Aberdeenshire Council has started individual assessments of each of the homes’ 14 residents.

The local authority has stressed that no decision has been taken, but if it is decided the residents could receive better care elsewhere they may be moved out.

Now, the residents and their families will get the chance to voice their concerns at talks with council chiefs.

Head of social work and housing Chris Booth has agreed to meet them later this month. It is understood that chief executive Colin Mackenzie could also be involved in the talks.

Campaigners have asked for the meeting to be held at the Willowbank Centre, which provides day-care services but is not part of the current review. A date for the meeting has still to be set.

Architect Glen Strachan, a relative of one of the bungalows’ residents, said: “All of the people at Willowbank are very concerned about what’s going to happen. They are all very happy where they are and don’t want to move.”

Mr Strachan, of The Quay, Newburgh, said his sister-in-law Fiona Laird had been given a new lease of life since she moved into the bungalows seven years ago.

Miss Laird, who is severely physically and mentally disabled, said she enjoys her daily routines and she “knows where everything is”. The 50-year-old shared her fears for the future at a public meeting in the centre last week. Mr Strachan said: “Living at the bungalows is like being part of a big, friendly family.”

Meanwhile, members of the Peterhead Community Council has drawn up a petition which will be sent out to shops around the area.

People will be asked to sign the forms and show their support for the residents’ “desire to stay in their homes”.

Sources close to the centre say the council is considering moving residents out to make way for people with more complex needs, including autism and people with violent, behavioural problems.

However, the council responded: “We have no plans at present.”