Building Briefs - April 19th

• Moray community invited to discuss Elgin City Centre Masterplan

A virtual one-to-one meeting can be booked for Tuesday 20 April or Thursday 29 April between 4pm-8pm. Sessions can be booked as an individual or for a group of up to four people.

When registering, participants are asked to select their area of interest so the meeting can be tailored to specific discussions. Themes for the discussions range from vision and objectives; core retail area; cultural quarter; Cooper Park or other projects.

The one-to-one sessions will be run via Microsoft Teams and a link to join will be issued ahead of the meeting. Registration for the time slots will close one day before the event. To register please visit the booking page.

For full Elgin City Centre Masterplan details and the survey to complete to have your say on the draft plan please visit the dedicated webpage.

• North Ayrshire businesses encouraged to ‘Meet the Buyer’

Buyers and sellers across North Ayrshire are being invited to come together for a special virtual event later this month.

The free ‘Meet the Buyer’ online event – organised by the three Ayrshire councils and the Supplier Development Programme - will take place on Wednesday 28 April at 9:30am-2:30pm. 

Its aim is to bring both sides of the procurement process together so that local businesses can speak directly to purchasers and decision makers from the public sector and large private organisations. 

This will help SMEs better understand the tendering process and how to improve their chances of success when bidding for contracts.

North Ayrshire Council launched a new Community Wealth Building strategy last year which sets out a bold and fresh approach to rebuilding the local economy with local people, local businesses, local spending and local jobs at its heart. One of the aims of the new economic strategy is to support more local procurement and the Meet the Buyer event provides a good opportunity for local businesses to find out about support that is available in this aspect.

During the event, a presentation will be given by energy giant, Vattenfall UK, and civil engineering firm, RJ McLeod, on the opportunities available related to a renewables project at South Kyle Wind Farm. They are particularly keen to maximise opportunities for micro and small businesses, including those from the Third Sector, in Ayrshire - from local food and drink and cleaning businesses right through to civil contractors, portable cabin manufacturers and crane operators.

They are also interested in speaking to garages for vehicle services and MOTs, electricians, plumbers, mobile blacksmiths, agricultural suppliers, timer mills, builder merchants, specialist equipment hire, tool suppliers, straw suppliers, accommodation, plant hire and more.

Attendance is welcome from a wide range of companies from diverse backgrounds.

Places are free, but registration is required and can be done on the Supplier Development Programme website.

• Green light for Partick retail park project

Planning permission has been granted for two small retail or food/drink units at West End Retail Park in Partick.

A single-storey building in the north western corner of the car park will be delivered at the site in Crow Road.

Improvements to the car park will also take place.

A planning statement explained: “It is likely that occupiers would be shop, cafe/coffee shop, sandwich shop, dry cleaner, hairdresser, etc.

“The two proposed units will be expected to open seven days a week and both will likely create new full and part-time jobs.”

The document continued: “[The units] will provide ancillary services sought by customers while visiting commercial uses within the retail park, so on their own, it is likely that they will generate limited, if any, car journeys/footfall.”

Parking spaces will be cut from a total of 333 to 306.

• Barratt Homes unveils Westburn Gardens’ latest offering

Barratt Homes unveiled a new show apartment at its Westburn Gardens development last weekend.

Styled by interiors specialists Blocc, the two-bedroom apartment has been designed to show off its cool, contemporary features and finish by contrasting an elegant grey palette with bursts of bright orange fabrics and interesting geometric wall art.

Offering lift access and private parking, Westburn Gardens provides a touch of luxury and privacy close to sought after city amenities including both Victoria and Westburn Parks, quality retail and a wide selection of independent shops, pubs and eateries.

A wide range of one and two-bedroom apartments are currently being marketed at the mature development, with earlier phases of homes and renovated apartments now sold out.

• Trio of showhomes launched by CALA Homes (East) in East Lothian

CALA Homes (East) is now inviting househunters to visit its three new showhomes in East Lothian.

The company has launched two four-bedroom showhomes at its Letham Views development in Haddington, and a five-bedroom showhome at Ravensheugh Brae in Musselburgh.

The developer has seen a dramatic increase in interest from buyers across all six of its developments in the area, with buyers drawn to the region’s outdoor lifestyle and larger family homes.

Designed by Blocc Interiors and Showbusiness Interiors, the showhomes offer buyers an opportunity to envisage their lives in picturesque East Lothian and include work-from-home spaces, reflecting the changes in work practices over the past year.

At Letham Views, The Bryce and The Cleland have both been designed with Haddington and its surroundings in mind.

At Ravensheugh Brae in Musselburgh, the Dewar took inspiration from the town’s landscape with a colour palette of greens and blues throughout the home.