Drumnadrochit care development project gets underway
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Work was due to start today on a project to help elderly people stay in the heart of their community.
Glenurquhart Care, which is based in Drumnadrochit, has run a daycare centre for vulnerable elderly people for two decades.
Now the charity has begun work to build 12 homes close to the centre to allow people to retain some of their independence.
The project has received a £100,000 grant as part of energy firm SSE’s Highland SDF awards, having recently been awarded a similar amount by the Wolfson Foundation.
Glenurquhart Care director Susan Clark revealed the initiative is already more than half way to reaching its funding target.
She said: "It’s not a sheltered housing complex as such but the houses will be adaptable which means we can try to keep people in their own communities.
"A lot of people have lived in this area their whole lives so it’s very important for them to be able to stay in the community.
"All the statistics show that the population is ageing so we have to try and do all we can to help those people.
"We have already broken ground on the project. The site has been excavated and the access roads have been put in place.
"The whole project is going to cost about £1.6 million. We have secured about £1 million of funding and we are in discussions with other potential backers as well."
Ms Clark believes that the creation of the 12 homes is the logical next step for an organisation which has proved crucial in enhancing the quality of life of elderly people in the area.
She said: "The project was set up about 20 years ago and we developed a daycare centre.
"The centre has been fully operational for about 15 years now and this is the next step for us in moving the charity forwards."
