A £17 MILLION project to provide a health “legacy” from the 2014 Commonwealth Games is running two years behind schedule.
A care home for the elderly in Glasgow’s east end remains shut and officials say it will be next year before it can open.
As far back as 2005, plans for the new facility were presented to the public as a tangible community benefit from hosting the Commonwealth Games two years ago.
Read more: SNP colleagues rebuke Finance Minister Derek Mackay for budget delay
It comes after it was revealed that a hoped-for boost to the health and fitness of people in Glasgow as a result of the Games has not materialised.
The 120-bed care home was designed to be an integral part of the Athletes Village in Dalmarnock, allowing the older generation to share in the city’s sporting success. But while all of the athletes’ accommodation has since been sold by a consortium of private builders or distributed to social tenants, the elderly of the area have been left behind.
It has now been revealed that it will be January 2017 at the earliest before the first of the care home’s residents are allowed to pass through its doors.
Charity Age Scotland said the news was disappointing and urged council chiefs to get the facility open as soon as possible.
A spokesman said: “The continued delay in this project represents another blow for older people in Glasgow.
Read more: SNP colleagues rebuke Finance Minister Derek Mackay for budget delay
“We know from calls to our helpline that finding a care home local to you can be a real challenge.
“We hope the open date of January 2017 is delivered upon so that people who need this facility can begin to benefit from it.”
The care home was constructed at the same time as the Athletes Village. But the grand opening ceremony for the Games in July 2014 – less than half a mile away at Celtic Park – came and went without any sign of the place being completed.
Read more: SNP colleagues rebuke Finance Minister Derek Mackay for budget delay
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said:”This will be a state-of-the-art care home.
“It has taken time to get to this stage as the council had to fit out the care home to Care Inspectorate Scotland standards.”
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