Royal Blind to create 100 jobs with two new services in Paisley

Planning permission has been secured for the construction of two new services for blind people in the West of Scotland.

Royal Blind and its sister charity Scottish War Blinded have received planning permission from Renfrewshire Council to construct a care home for older people with a visual impairment and centre for veterans of military service with visual impairment on the site of a former garden centre at the junction of Hawkhead Road and Barrhead Road in Paisley.

Royal Blind, which is Scotland’s largest visual impairment organisation, will build a care home providing nursing care to elderly people with visual impairment, based on its successful home in Edinburgh, Braeside House. Alongside the care home, and sharing some of the grounds, Scottish War Blinded will construct a centre for veterans of the armed forces who have a visual impairment, similar to its Linburn Centre in Wilkieston, West Lothian.

Construction is due to commence in January 2016 and the services are planned to open in mid 2017. Around 100 jobs will be created.

The site, a former Dobbie’s garden centre, currently has a charity shop and a café on it, and Royal Blind hopes that both will remain open until the end of 2015.

Richard Hellewell, Chief Executive of Royal Blind and Scottish War Blinded said: “We are excited to be moving forward with these two new developments in Paisley. This will be the first time that our two charities have located services side by side. We look forward to being able to provide more support to people in the West of Scotland with visual impairment through our new care home and the veterans’ centre.”

Royal Blind is Scotland’s largest charity supporting people with visual impairments. They run a number of services for blind and partially sighted people, one of which is Braeside House in Edinburgh, a nursing home for visually impaired older people.

Scottish War Blinded provides free support and assistance to veterans of the armed forces who have a visual impairment. They support men and women who have lost their sight subsequently to their service, as well as those injured in a war.