‘Going Dutch’: 60-bed care village at Tweedbank on the agenda

A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) has been submitted by the applicant Scottish Borders Council on its own planning portal for the residential care facility on the Lowood Estate, ahead of a formal planning application.

A PAN is a notice advising how the council intends to engage with the community over a proposal.

It is proposed that this consultation programme will launch in August 2023 with specific dates and venues to be confirmed.

The Tweedbank Care Village in Tweedbank Drive would incorporate three new two-storey residential buildings for the provision of elderly care residents, including amenity facilities, associated car parking, landscaping, bike/ bin storage and an energy centre.

The plans for the care village first surfaced in 2020 after council representatives paid a fact-finding visit to Hogeweyk dementia village in the Netherlands, to look at new way of providing care services.

The care village concept is a move away from institutionalised care to create a “neighbourhood that is part of a broader society”.

An earlier report on the proposal said it represented “a paradigm shift in care”, adding: “It is an alternative model for traditional nursing, residential and intermediate care, which is based on de-institutionalisation and transformation, where people live in small, homely settings, with like-minded peers and are supported by family, staff and volunteers to live as normal a life as possible.

“The operational model provides a high quality person-centred provision for six to 10 residents per unit, equating to a total capacity for 60 residents, in a vibrant homely setting supporting unique needs, lifestyles and personal preferences for living, care and well-being for people dealing mainly with severe dementia and frailty.

“The units themselves have their own living room, kitchen and single en-suite rooms. This will be home for these residents, so the houses will be furnished as such, emulating in the main the original homes of the residents”.

The authority had earmarked a budget of more than £22.5m for the provision at Tweedbank and also Hawick Care Village, on land south-east of Guthrie Drive at Stirches.

Both Waverley Care Home in Hawick and Garden View Intermediate Care Home in Galashiels would close in order to allow the plans to progress.