Plans to build a new £10m social care hub in Tongue have been given the go-ahead despite concerns over the building’s ‘dominant’ appearance.
Tongue Social Care Hub will incorporate a 15-bed care home, healthcare admin centre and GP surgery on one site.
Services will be delivered and managed by NHS Highland.
The building has been designed to have three distinct areas, with the surgery on the ground floor and the care home on the upper floor.
It will be located next to the old St Andrew’s Church in the small Highland village, which has raised concerns it could ‘dominate’ the surrounding area/skyline.
The hub would be built on the highest point of a hill opposite the Tongue Fire Station, accessed via the A838 road.
In a meeting of the North Planning Applications Committee (NPAC) of the Highland Council, views were taken into account about the pros and cons of the new hub.
‘Vitally important’ to the rural community
In an objection to the proposals the Historic Environment Team (HET) said the size of the building created “maximum prominence and landscape impact”.
They also compared it to the size of the nearby A-listed church with 65ft length compared to the new hub’s 620ft length, deeming it “over-scaled” and visually dominant”.
The objection read: “This incongruous nature is further exacerbated by the facing materials; copper cladding to the upper walls and roof, and layered concrete walls to the lower storey, will ensure that this building makes no reference to the local built environment.”
At the recent meeting, local councillor Marianne Hutchison welcomed the new hub saying it was “vitally important” to supporting services in north and west Highland.
During the meeting, she added: “The hub will increase the capacity and resilience of this remote and rural area and I hope the NPAC will support these communities by granting the application.”
The committee approved the application and the new social care hub has been given the green light.
Conversation