Turf cutting at site of new Stromness care home

October 11, 2017 at 10:06 am

The turf cutting at the site of the replacement St Peter’s House, in Stromness. From the left: OIC capital programme manager Ian Rushbrook, manager at St Peter’s House Sylvia Rae, OIC Leader James Stockan, service manager (adult services) with Orkney Health and Care (OHAC) Karen Stevenson, senior projects officer (capital) with OIC John Wallace, contracts manager with Orkney Builders Steven Tulloch and managing director of Orkney Builders Stephen Kemp.

A ceremonial turf cutting took place on the outskirts of Stromness this morning, as work commences on the replacement St Peter’s House care home.

The new £9million development will replace the current 32-bed facility with a modern 40-bed care home at Garson, in the east of the town.

The leader of Orkney Islands Council, Stromness and South Isles councillor James Stockan was one of those doing the honours at the site. Asked about the importance of the new care home, he commented: “We know we’ve got an acute shortage of care home places in Orkney and with this home being built, these will be first extra places we have.

“It is really essential that we build the infrastructure so we can meet the demand for care home places as we go forward. This is a big thing for Stromness because it is being built in a spectacular position and it’s going to meet the needs of people in the future.”

It was announced last month that the contract for the construction of the new building had been awarded to local firm Orkney Builders.

The construction of the new care home will be a two-year project, with completion planned for 2019.