Building Briefs – February 23rd

(from left) Phil Buckle, Margaret Burgess and Bob Dorris
(from left) Phil Buckle, Margaret Burgess and Bob Dorris

PRS landlords required to carry out electrical safety checks

Housing minister Margaret Burgess MSP has highlighted a new requirement for landlords in Scotland to carry out regular electrical safety checks of their rented accommodation.

In a meeting with Bob Doris MSP and Phil Buckle, director general of Electrical Safety First, the minister for housing and welfare also announced the advance launch of guidance for the regulation – which will come into effect on 1st December – to ensure landlords are aware of their new responsibilities and to encourage early compliance.



The Private Rented Sector (PRS) in Scotland has more than doubled in size in the last decade. Yet in 2012, almost two thirds of PRS homes failed to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. And, as parents with children now make up over a quarter of all private tenants, concerns over disrepair and safety in the sector were increasing. Particularly since almost 70 per cent of fires in Scottish homes during the year 2012 -2013 arose from an electrical fault.

To address this, Electrical Safety First worked with Bob Doris MSP, to ensure the recent Scottish Housing Act included a requirement for landlords to ensure five-yearly electrical checks, by a registered electrician, of the wiring and any electrical appliances supplied in privately rented homes. The requirement, which was also supported by Mrs Burgess, will come into force in December of this year and Electrical Safety First has been funded by the Scottish Government to establish an awareness campaign to publicise it.

Guidance on the new regulation can be found on the Private Rented Housing Panel website, at http://www.prhpscotland.gov.uk.

 



Industrial construction hits £500m mark

The UK’s industrial construction sector in January increased its total value of contracts by over 38 per cent compared to December, with a number of major projects announced across the month, new figures have shown.

The data from Barbour ABI, which supplies construction data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Cabinet Office and Treasury, shows industrial construction in January 2015 rose above the £500 million barrier based on a three month rolling average, compared to £362m recorded in the January 2014.

Other findings from the January Economic Construction Market Review summary include: the total value of new UK construction contracts awarded in January was £5.5 billion based on a three-month rolling average – 4.0 per cent up on December but a 0.8 per cent decrease on the value recorded in January 2014; the number of construction projects within the UK in January was up 38 per cent from December but this increase should be viewed cautiously as December is traditionally a slower month. In context, January 2015 saw a 8.1 per cent drop versus January 2014.



 

Construction industry activity to rise this year, but skills concerns continue

UK construction activity rose for the seventh consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to Construction Products Association’s latest Construction Trade Survey.

Firms across construction, from the largest contractors to SMEs, product manufacturers and civil engineers reported output growth in Q4, with further growth expected in 2015.



Key survey findings include:

  • 44 per cent of building contractors, on balance, reported that construction output rose in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with a year ago
  • Private housing output rose in Q4 according to 53 per cent of building contractors, on balance


  • 40 per cent of building contractors, on balance, reported that private commercial output rose in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with a year ago
  • 11 per cent of building contractors reported a fall in housing repair and maintenance output in Q4, on balance
  • 12 per cent of contractors, on balance, reported a rise in orders for private housing in Q4
  • Orders in the private commercial sector increased according to 9 per cent of contractors, on balance


  • Public non-housing orders (education and health) increased in Q4 according to 16 per cent of building contractors, on balance
  • 57 per cent of firms reported labour costs rose and 68 per cent of firms reported that materials costs rose in Q4 compared with the previous quarter
  • 70 per cent of building contractors reported difficulties recruiting bricklayers in Q4 compared with 41 per cent in Q3.


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    Joint plan for development across Tayside

    Members of Perth & Kinross Council will this week be asked to confirm their approval of the proposed Strategic Development Plan and associated reports proposed by the TAYplan Joint Committee.

    TAYplan is the strategic development plan authority covering Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Angus and the north part of Fife. The Proposed Strategic Development Plan sets out a vision of how the area should develop together with an overall strategy explaining where development should and should not go in the TAYplan area over the next 20 years.



    All of the local authorities responsible for areas within the TAYplan zone are asked to ratify the Proposed Plan before it is submitted to the Scottish Ministers for approval.

    Policy 1 of the Proposed Strategic Development Plan focuses development within the existing main settlements ahead of other locations. The role of development in smaller settlements and in the countryside is recognised, but will be primarily focussed through the more localised plans set out in the Local Development Plan. This balances the need to protect the countryside from suburbanisation with the need for vibrant rural and coastal areas.

    An important aspect of the Proposed Strategic Development Plan is setting out how many homes are planned to be built and identifying a generous supply of housing land to support this. In Perth and Kinross the Plan identifies a target of 1000 homes to be built per year. This is an increase on the current TAYPlan target from 2012 following analysis of the most recent household projections for the area.

    The report before Councillors acknowledges that there are considerable challenges in achieving this increased build rate in Perth and Kinross because of the current low house building rates. For this reasons while other TAYplan areas have a target of providing an additional 10 per cent of land for housing over and above the number of houses expected to be built, in Perth and Kinross the housing supply target and the housing land requirement are identical. The actual pieces of land identified for house building are included within the Local Development Plans rather than within the Strategic Development Plan.

    For more information on the Local Development Plan and how to contribute ideas to the Main Issues Report currently being compiled, visit www.pkc.gov.uk/ldp2.

     

    New Kirkcaldy high school taking shape

    Work on Kirkcaldy’s new secondary school is progressing well, according to project officials.

    Construction of the new Viewforth High began at the Windmill Road playing fields in the autumn, with much of the building’s steel frame already in place.

    John Peden, Fife Council’s chartered architect, said that contractors hope to have the school watertight by the autumn, with roofing work starting next month.

    The new building, set to open in August 2016, could cater for between 600 to 1,000 pupils, a significant increase on the current Viewforth’s capacity of 400.

     

    Dunedin Canmore tenants vote in favour of Wheatley partnership

    Dunedin Canmore is a step further to forming a partnership with Wheatley Group after over 80 per cent of tenants voted in favour of the proposal.

    A total of 84.3 per cent of 1,540 Dunedin Canmore tenants voted for the plan in a ballot that ended last week after extensive consultation with customers and stakeholders over the past year.

    Under the plan, which is still to gain consent from the Scottish Housing Regulator, Edinburgh-based Dunedin Canmore will retain its name and identity and continue to have full responsibility for its homes and operations. Wheatley will be the parent organisation, sharing costs and services.

    Some of the first improvements Dunedin Canmore tenants will see are the introduction of a handyperson service for tenants over 60, and jobs and training opportunities for tenants and their families through the Wheatley Pledge scheme, which encourages Wheatley’s contractors and suppliers to do more for communities. They are also set to benefit from low cost contents insurance and improved 24/7 customer service.

    Dunedin Canmore provides housing, regeneration, property management and related services to customers in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. Wheatley, headquartered in Glasgow, comprises four Registered Social Landlords, a care organisation and two commercial subsidiaries, delivering housing, care, community regeneration and property management services across Central Scotland.

    Both are large developers of affordable housing in Scotland and have established reputations for innovative, high-performance service delivery.

     

    New residents settle in to East Ayrshire homes

    e_DSC7835-300x200New houses built as part of East Ayrshire Council’s council house building programme have recently welcomed their new residents.

    The new occupants have settled in nicely to their new homes in Gilbert Burns Place, Mauchline.

    The ten houses were made possible by the Jean Armour Burns Houses Ltd when they approached the council asking for assistance with the responsibility of the existing residences and the adjacent site. The council swiftly bought the sites to protect existing residents and built the new accommodation with older and disabled occupants in mind.

    The development was managed by Atrium Initiatives on behalf of the council and were built in partnership with McTaggart Construction and supported by funding from the Scottish Government.

    The Skeoch Road build is one of many projects funded by the Scottish Government for East Ayrshire. The £10 million fund is supporting the construction of 200 affordable new homes which are all due for completion by March 2015.

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