Councillors welcome work beginning on supported accommodation

Maybank residents will transfer to the new £2.5m facility near Lhanbryde.
Maybank residents will transfer to the new £2.5m facility near Lhanbryde.

WITH WORK ABOUT to get under way on the new supported accommodation facility near Lhanbryde, opposition councillors have today been welcoming the £2.5million investment.

Pointing to the number of reports in recent months over the lack of suitability of the Maybank facility in Forres, SNP group councillors said they had also noted the need for more supported accommodation in the region as it avoided having to send some who required such support further afield.

“The SNP has supported this investment, which will not only provide high quality local accommodation but will provide better and more affordable support in a peaceful environment,” Patsy Gowans, the SNP spokesperson on Health and Social Care at Moray Council said.

She added: “Investment like this not only benefits the clients and the support staff but it also means more people living and working in the community, who will spend money in local shops and use local facilities like the nearby Community Centre.”

Seeing the need to move away from facilities such as that at Maybank, which was deemed unsuitable for care needs and did not provide the best environment for clients or staff, Fochabers/Lhanbryde councillor Margo Howe said: “It is great to get new accommodation in our community supporting people who need it most and at the same time providing local employment in the care sector in the Lhanbryde area.

“The design looks great and it was good to be at the turf cutting ceremony of this important community project.”