Tweedbank care village a step closer​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A pre-application screening option has been submitted to Scottish Borders Council ahead of a formal planning application for a 60-bed residential care facility on the Lowood Estate at Tweedbank.

The complex would incorporate supported living units with accommodation for adults with learning disabilities.

The plans 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 council report in November last year said: “The care village will be part of the wider community and not seen as a separate institution within an area.

“The vision of the Tweedbank Care Village model is to create a paradigm shift in care, 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.”

If agreed, the project would see two current care homes close to free up revenue funding for the care village.

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

The authority has earmarked a budget of more than £22m for the provision at Tweedbank and also Hawick Care Village, which was earmarked for land south-east of Guthrie Drive at Stirches.