Building Briefs – December 4th

• DJ Laing Homes marks positive start to Dundee development

The company has seen a positive uptake in properties with 17 reservations now in place and the first five residents already moved in and calling the city home.

Suppliers, staff and associates at the development last week to celebrate the successful start to the project and officially open the Showhome.

• Industry builds bridges with local young people setting out on career paths

Six young people from the Highlands have carved their first steps into the world of construction as they completed a three-week immersion into the sector.

The Journey into Construction initiative, led by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Inverness and Central Highland and a number of industry bodies includes tailor-made professional training and experience for individuals seeking to upskill and secure employment in the sector.

Apprentice plumber Craig Given, who successfully completed the programme last year and has secured work with Tulloch, reflected positively on his experience saying: “The programme really made me certain that this was a career I wanted to pursue. I’d definitely recommend the path that I took, it gives you an idea of what working in the industry is really like before you dive in. It taught me a lot of valuable skills and helped me make the step into the industry.”

The programme sees the budding young builders complete qualifications in Health & Safety and First Aid courses delivered by Safety Training Solutions. Participants then receive an employability skills session before taking their new skills on-site and embarking on two-weeks of work with industry giant Robertson.

Following the completion of the training, all participants are awarded CSCS cards, which provide proof that individuals working on construction sites have the required training and qualifications for the type of work they carry out.

• Chartered Project Professional standard comes of age as APM registers 1000th chartered individual

Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession, has added the 1000th Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) to its register.

Having received its Royal Charter in 2017, APM has led the way in setting and maintaining universally high standards for the project profession. The ChPP benchmark – the internationally recognised benchmark standard for the profession – enables those who meet the required chartered standard to demonstrate a defined level of technical knowledge, professional practice and ethical behaviour. Applicants who achieve APM’s chartered status are included on the Register of Chartered Project Professionals.

People from a wide range of industries have succeeded in becoming a ChPP including engineering, defence, finance, healthcare, construction, transport and manufacturing. Recognition of the importance and value of the chartered standard is growing among these sectors and others.

• Highland Council takes ownership of new homes in Gairloch

The Highland Council has boosted its housing supply with the purchase of eight new bungalows.

Designed by Bracewell Stirling and delivered by contractor Compass, the homes to rent at Gairloch Ginn Park are made for people with mobility issues. They comprise of two fully wheelchair accessible units and six homes suitable for tenants with various needs.

All of the bungalows will be for rent by the council to people of the Highland Housing Register and tenants will be moving in shortly.

The project was supported with funding from the council and the Scottish Government.

• Fife Council wins two planning awards

Fife Council’s planners were celebrating last week after winning two awards in the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2019 (SAQP 2019).

The SAQP, now in their twentieth year, are one of the Scottish Government’s most prestigious annual awards and celebrate outstanding achievements across the full spectrum of planning activity in Scotland.

Kevin Stewart, minister for local government, housing and planning, presented the two awards recognising the council working in partnership to deliver excellent results in both Cupar Townscape Heritage Initiative and Fife Opencast Restoration Programme.

Over the past five years, the council has worked with Fife Historic Buildings Trust and local businesses to improve the appearance of buildings and the streetscape in Cupar Conservation Area through the Townscape Heritage Initiative.

At the other end of the planning scale, the council has worked with local groups to secure the restoration of nearly six square kilometres of former mining land across three sites at St Ninians, Muirdean and Blair House.