Care home site to be converted into flats

PLANS for 56 homes on a former care home site in Giffnock have been given the go-ahead.

East Renfrewshire councillors have approved Westpoint Homes’ proposal for the old Eastwoodhill Eventide home on Fenwick Road.

The listed building will be turned into four flats, with 52 more homes built on the site.

Unlisted buildings and an extension to the ex-care home can be demolished.

Councillor Betty Cunningham welcomed the scheme, which she hoped would stop young people from using the site as a “drinking den” location.

“I know people have spoken to me about the problem of young ones going in there at night,” she said.

“I was quite glad to see it coming forward. If it’s getting developed, then they certainly won’t be using it as a drinking den.”

The development will include 21 twobedroom flats and 35 threebedroom flats. Built as a private residence in the mid-1800s, the building was converted into a care home in the 1960s. However, it closed in July 2016 on the orders of a sheriff after concerns for the residents.

“A recent unannounced inspection identified serious concerns about the quality of care experienced by residents,” a Care Inspectorate spokesperson said at the time.

COSTS for a project to improve a Barrhead road almost doubled due to extra work and contract “failures” – soaring by nearly £1.5 million.

Balgraystone Road, opposite St Luke’s High School, was upgraded to open up opportunities for more housing in Barrhead. Originally, the contract was priced at £1.77m but final costs reached £3.24m.

This was due to “compensation events” – included in the contract – and additional work to add “massive” benefits.

Funded as part of the City Deal, the project also aimed to provide better access to Dams to Darnley Country Park and a planned new railway station at Barrhead.

East Renfrewshire’s environment director Andy Cahill said workers took the opportunity while on site to “add betterment to the project” and “resolve some existing issues”, which totalled £670,000. The work was not approved by the council’s cabinet before going ahead.

“Although these additional works have resulted in increased costs, the benefits have been massive,” Mr Cahill said.

Additional work included a 3.5m wide active travel link from

Dams to Darnley Country Park to Springfield Road and the relocation of a foul waste pumping station to provide space for more council houses.

Delays, due to Covid-19 and the discovery of “unknown” ground conditions, totalled £414,000 while redesigns hit £408,000. There were savings of around £20,000.

City Deal schemes must use NEC3 engineering and construction contracts, which allow contractors to claim extra time and payment for events which are not their fault.

They are compensated for any impact on prices, the completion date or