Coblehaugh: an account of the redevelopment of a children's home

The original building was purpose-built in the 1950s and provided residential care for up to 20 children and young people in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire in north-east Scotland. Over the years as residential care practices developed, this number reduced to a maximum of six young people resident. The decision to re-develop Coblehaugh was made following a best value review of Aberdeenshire Council's Residential Child Care Service in 1999. Informed by this, a report to the Social Work and Housing Committee in 2001 on the provision of residential care for young people concluded that the current buildings, including Coblehaugh, were no longer 'fit for purpose' in terms of size, layout and physical condition for the type of residential care that Aberdeenshire Council wanted to provide.