Fort care home plans scrapped

A COMPANY has withdrawn controversial plans to build a 60-bed private care home for the elderly at Fort William.

RDS Healthcare has informed Highland Council that it has shelved proposals for the facility at Camaghael, on a site next to Fort William Health Centre. The home was to be built by Cheshire-based Kingsgate Developments.

Kingsgate was granted planning permission by the council for the home in 2009. But attempts to increase the size of the complex to 90-beds were twice rejected by the Ross, Skye and Lochaber planning committee, most recently in November 2010.

News of the pull-out emerged as the local authority’s housing and social work committee met yesterday in Inverness to give the green light to a £2 million refurbishment of Fort William’s Invernevis House care home.

The committee backed an Administration recommendation by 13 votes to six to invest £1.7 million over the next five years to upgrade the two-storey building at Belford Road and extend its capacity to 28 residents.

This is additional to the £302,000 already committed to the home for necessary immediate refurbishment.

The refurbishment will be phased within Invernevis, to minimise disruption to residents. NHS Highland has agreed that the adjacent Belhaven Ward can be used to provide additional capacity during the process.

During yesterday’s meeting, Highland Council’s director of social work, Bill Alexander, confirmed he had received official notification from RDS Healthcare that it was no longer taking forward its plans for the Camaghael site.

Fort William councillor Brian Murphy welcomed the announcement. He said the Camaghael plan had been a “non-runner from the start”.

Cllr Murphy was equally pleased with the Invernevis House outcome.

He told the LN: “It’s been a long and winding road, with many diversions and obstacles along the way to get where we are, but I’m delighted with this decision by the social work committee.

“This is what the community and campaigners have really wanted since day one: a refurbished, fit-for-purpose, council-run Invernevis House.”

Council leader Michael Foxley said: “This investment will remove any doubt over the future of this important care facility, ensuring Invernevis Home is fit for purpose for many years to come.

“The home will have a bigger capacity in the future and will have enhanced facilities, such as en suite bathrooms, an additional lift, and improved support for people with mobility difficulties.”

Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillor Donald Cameron said the Invernevis decision was a “victory for the people of Lochaber”.

He added: “The real heroes however are the staff of Invernevis and the members of Invernevis Action Group who showed stamina and resilience throughout the last five years or so.

“Most of the group’s members became involved through having a relative in the care home. Sadly in most cases their relatives have passed on but those individuals remained with the campaign and they can be rightly proud of what they have achieved.

“In particular, I would like to praise John Macintosh, Liz Campbell and Colin Neilson for their sterling work over a long but successful campaign.”

But, in a swipe at his Lochaber colleagues, Cllr Bren Gormley, a member of the opposition SNP group, said: “Michael Foxley and Brian Murphy seem be representing themselves as the saviours of Invernevis.

“Lest anyone forgets, it was the administration led by Michael and including Brian that scurrilously abandoned the commitment to rebuilding – after a half million pounds of preparatory work had been completed, all plans ready and approved, ready for a contractor to build.

“I must give credit where it is due – a bigger piece of brass neck would be harder to find anywhere. Commit corporate vandalism and then seek credit for needing to clean up afterwards, unbelievable.”