Stirling Council has announced ambitious plans to create a £50m ‘care village', which will bring together health and social care services for older people on one site.

The plans have been developed by the council, in partnership with NHS Forth Valley and Forth Valley College, and will merge a wide range of services into the site at Stirling Community Hospital. The site will be turned into a ‘care hub', with care home and day-care services being provided by the local authority, while inpatient and community health services will be handled by the NHS. The community hospital will also continue to provide services, and the hub will include affordable housing for older people to buy, rent or partly own. If the NHS board approves the plan later this month, building work is expected to start in 2014, and the hub could be operational by 2016.