IT will “not be possible” to deliver the original vision of a new care village at Tweedbank due to escalating costs, councillors are to be informed.

Plans for the care village on the Lowood Estate first surfaced in 2020 after council representatives paid a fact-finding visit to the Hogeweyk dementia village in the Netherlands, to look at new ways of providing care services.

But when members of Scottish Borders Council (SBC) meet next week they will be informed that rising inflation and construction costs have seen the estimated costs of the project rise from £14.694m to £19.3m.

A report to members states: “In light of the estimated cost to build the Tweedbank Care Village, it is not possible to deliver the vision for the build that was envisaged by council in 2020 within the current agreed capital budget.”

The report, approved by Jen Holland, SBC’s director of strategic commissioning and partnerships, adds: “Since the capital budget was agreed in March 2020 there has been a significant financial impact on the project due to high inflation.

“Despite significant value engineering, following the stage three cost report, the indicative build cost for Tweedbank is estimated to be £19.3m giving a budget pressure of approximately £4.6m.

“It is recommended that to minimise the ongoing impact of inflation, and for this important strategic project to progress, the project proceeds to the procurement phase and obtains an agreed contract cost.

“It is further recommended that delegate authority is given to the director infrastructure & environment, in conjunction with the director of finance and procurement, to proceed through planning, detailed design and procurement process.

“Budget pressures due to current market conditions are being experienced across all projects in the Capital Investment Plan that have not yet reached contract stage and the care village is no exception to this.”

Meanwhile, SBC is next week holding a community engagement session to give locals and other interested stakeholders the opportunity to have their say on outline plans for the development.

The session is to be staged on Monday (September 25) between 4pm and 8pm, at the Inspire Tweedbank Digital Centre of Excellence building, adjacent to the train station.

Information being presented will include the proposed site and building plans as well as 3D images of the development.

Members of the project team will be available to provide an update on progress generally and answer any questions that attendees may have.

There is no need to book, but if anyone has any queries or would like to provide feedback via email, please contact: ResidentialCareProgramme@scotborders.gov.uk.

The local authority had originally earmarked a budget of more than £22.5m for the provision at Tweedbank and also Hawick Care Village, on land south-east of Guthrie Drive at Stirches.

Both Waverley Care Home in Hawick and Garden View Intermediate Care Home in Galashiels are earmarked to close in order to allow the plans to progress.