Care home to close after 'serious incident' at listed building

Suncourt House will close in January next year

An Ayrshire care home linked to a "remarkable" listed building has announced it will close within weeks due to a serious incident and safety concerns.

The owners of Suncourt House in Troon told residents the property would shut on 24 January because the safety of staff and residents could no longer be guaranteed.

This followed a "serious incident" at the care home. A spokesperson for Suncourt refused to comment on whether anyone had been injured.

Suncourt's adjoining building was previously a Real Tennis court - one of only two left in the whole of Scotland. The owners say the decrepit state of the C-listed building was the main reason for the closure.

Family members of residents at Suncourt have expressed anger on social media at the news, which they learned about via email last week.

They are particularly concerned about the difficulty of finding alternative accommodation for elderly family members within a small space of time.

One person wrote that it was a "shocking decision as they have literally just been taking in new residents a few weeks ago."

Suncourt's owners said they had been unable to get planning permission to upgrade the home itself, but had taken steps to reduce risk.

When asked by BBC Scotland for details of what the recent serious incident was, the care home declined to comment.

However, a spokesperson for the care home told BBC Scotland the facility had been left with no other choice but to close.

He said: "We have a derelict building attached to the care home and it's been deemed unsafe by our structural engineers. We will now have to build a case for demolishing the building to the council.

"It's a potential danger and we have had to make a decision on risk. South Ayrshire Council told us they don't think it's at immediate risk of collapse but that's easy for them to say."

The adjoining Real Tennis court building - pictured several years ago - is in need of repair

The adjoining building was being used for storage by Suncourt, which opened more than 20 years ago.

However it dates to 1905, when it was built as a Real Tennis court - the early racquet sport, typically played indoors, that was traditionally associated with royalty.

It enjoyed popularity in the early 20th Century but was soon supplanted by lawn tennis.

The court was revamped in the 1960s, then fell out of use by the 90s. The only other remaining Real Tennis court site in Scotland is at Falkland Palace in Fife.

In 1990 the Troon court was graded as a C-listed building by Historic Scotland - meaning it is a building of special architectural or historic interest, and considered a representative example of a period, style or building type.

Historic Scotland listings

Suncourt insisted the problem with the court was that the historic listing meant it could only be used for real tennis or similar sports, rather than being totally redeveloped.

It previously applied during the 2000s to have the building demolished and replaced by nursing home bedrooms.

A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland said: "This building is remarkable for being one of only two surviving Real Tennis courts in Scotland and it is relatively unaltered to the exterior.

"Listing provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

"Any changes to a listed building which affect its character requires listed building consent, a process handled by the local planning authority.

"The purpose of listing is to ensure that what is important about the building is taken into account in decisions about its future. Like-for-like repairs to a listed building do not normally require consent."

Care Inspectorate reports

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership said it was working to support staff and residents.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware that changes of this nature can be distressing for residents and their loved ones, we would like to assure them that we will work with the provider to ensure that there is as smooth a transition as possible to ensure their individual care needs are met."

Earlier this year, Suncourt was given a critical report by the Care Inspectorate, which graded it weak in four out of five categories.

A follow-up report in July ruled that enough improvements had been made - after a new manager was appointed - to upgrade marks to adequate.

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "We have been notified by the provider of their intention to close this service.

"We remain in regular contact with the Health and Social Care Partnership and the provider, and are working closely with them to ensure residents experience appropriate care that meets their needs during this difficult time."