A new multi-million-pound care home has opened in Inverness, marking the first step in an ambitious vision to create a new care community for the city.
Pittyvaich Care Home is the 13th home in the Parklands Care Homes group. With 58 en-suite bedrooms, the £11 million project is the largest purpose-built care facility in the Parklands group and the first new care home to open in Inverness in five years.
Residents will enjoy access to a café, salon, lounges, activities room, quiet spaces and landscaped gardens. Many of the home’s spacious rooms offer commanding views over the Moray Firth. Located close to a school, nursery and several churches, Pittyvaich is intended to become an integral part of the local community.
The home is expected to create around 120 jobs in the local area. It was built by Inverness-based Capstone Construction, supporting jobs and investment during the build phase.
The care home is the first stage in Parklands’ plan to develop an integrated care community in Inverness – the first of its kind in the Highlands. Future phases will include a later living village, designed to support independent living for older people, and key worker apartments, helping to ease pressure on local housing and support recruitment.
Pittyvaich is part of a wider programme of investment by Parklands across the Highlands. The group is expanding its existing Highland homes, with an additional 12 beds in Tain, four in Fortrose and 10 in Grantown on Spey. This investment means that, over the course of the next year and subject to planning consent, Parklands will create an additional 26 beds in the Highlands at a cost of £4.5 million, bringing the overall total to 84 additional beds.
Ron Taylor, Managing Director of Parklands Care Homes, said: “Pittyvaich is more than just a care home – it’s a symbol of our long-term commitment to the Highlands. At a time when the region has lost over 200 care beds, this investment is more urgent than ever.
“We’re responding to that need by investing in the future of care – creating jobs, supporting families, and building something that will serve this community for years to come.
“This is just the first step in our ambitious vision for a new care community in Inverness – a place where older people can live with dignity, independence and support, and where key workers have access to affordable accommodation.”
He added: “We’re looking forward to working with our new team to bring the Parklands standard of care to Inverness – compassionate, person-centred and rooted in the local community.”
Angus MacDonald, MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-Shire, said: “It is a rare and wonderful occasion when a new care home opens in the Highlands after a decade of others closing. Huge thanks and congratulations to Parklands for their courage and foresight in opening Pittyvaich in Inverness. Many families will have good reason to celebrate this essential extra care bed capacity in the north.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant said: “We know that social care provision in the Highlands is under real pressure, with demand growing as our population ages. That’s why investment in new care homes like Pittyvaich in Inverness – and the planned expansions in Tain, Fortrose and Grantown – is so important. These developments will help address a pressing need for high-quality care in our communities, and I welcome the contribution they will make to supporting older people and their families across the region.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain said: “I am delighted that Pittyvaich Care Home will be welcoming its first residents. I have visited the site at Pittyvaich twice and was impressed by the efficient progress of the site, and the innovative facilities.
“The number of elderly people across the Highlands who require care home accommodation is ever-increasing, so projects like this one are vital to target the gap between supply and demand of care home spaces. I am sure that the impact of Parklands’ investment into essential care infrastructure on the local area will be hugely positive.”
Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care said: “At a time of very real economic challenge to the social care sector, the investment of the Parklands Group in the creation of the new care home at Pittyvaich is great news indeed. To commit to the local community and its people, to enable the employment of many people, and to recognise the value of offering quality care and support in the local area is so critical and Parklands have done this par excellence. I hope the future residents and staff will come to see Pittyvaich as a key part of the local community and I wish everyone every success.”
Rhona Donnelly, Managing Director of Capstone Construction, said:”We are delighted to have completed the construction of Pittyvaich Care Home in Inverness — a 58-bedroom facility and Capstone’s largest project to date. This full turnkey build showcases the strength of our team and our ability to deliver complex developments to the highest standard. It has been a privilege to work with Parklands Care Homes on this significant project, and we are proud to have played a key role in bringing such an important facility to the local community.”
Pittyvaich takes its name from the Speyside distillery in Dufftown once managed by Ron Taylor’s grandfather, Andrew. As a student, Ron cared for his grandfather, an experience that inspired him to establish Parklands in 1993. The family connection continues with Ishbel Place, the street leading into Pittyvaich, named after Ron’s mother.
The new care home will be led by Jaime McNab, an experienced care professional who joins Parklands from NHS Highland, where she was Lead Nurse for Care Homes and Care at Home services.