Building Briefs – January 6th

• East Lothian community garden blooms with support from major housebuilders

CALA Homes (East), Stewart Milne, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland and Mactaggart & Mickel have each contributed £2000 to Meadowpark Communication Provision at Knox Academy in Haddington.

The total sum of £8000 will be used to build a fully accessible garden with decking and seating areas which can be used by the school pupils, groups who use the facilities at Meadowpark and the wider Haddington community.

First established in 2015, Meadowpark Communication Provision provides a safe, stimulating and suitable environment for secondary school children who predominantly have a diagnosis of autism with or without a learning disability and heightened social anxiety.

It has additional resources onsite for young people including a sensory room, soft play, outdoor space and opportunities for specialist therapeutic services like art therapy.

The facilities at Meadowpark are also used weekly by Lothian Autistic Society, East Lothian Special Needs Playscheme and Haddington East Tenants and Residents Association, which runs a soup group to assist with poor mental health.

• Cruden Homes site manager builds on African goal

Cruden Homes’ site manager, Phil Purves, is not only well known for his busy day job managing housing developments in the East of Scotland - Phil is also chairman of his local kids’ football club, Tranent Colts FC in East Lothian.

During his 18 years in the role he has grown the club to one of the biggest in the region. Phil and the club have also helped communities further afield in Rwanda, East Africa.

Phil led a team of delegates from Tranent Colts FC on a successful trip to Africa in 2016. The team assisted in several community projects, delivered football sessions to children, including homeless street kids and disabled children. They got a real insight into how football could help build communities in Rwanda and were keen to revisit.

Following on from this successful trip, Phil and a group of volunteers from Tranent Colts FC, SFA, Hearts FC and other Platinum status quality mark clubs from the South East Region will be returning to Rwanda in February 2020 to help more children and communities.

Phil said: “Our last trip to Rwanda was a life-changing experience, we gained a real insight into how difficult life can be for children in communities in Rwanda. It was incredible to see the difference football could make through the huge smiles on the children’s faces. We made a lot of friends who we have kept in touch with, and are thrilled to go back to Rwanda in February to strengthen our links with these organisations, assist with community projects and deliver football sessions to more children.

“From our last visit, we know this opportunity can make a real difference to young Rwandans’ lives. We will be visiting the Faith and Hope school, where we will be coaching as many pupils as possible. We will be returning to the school for disabled children to deliver several sessions, and will spend as much time as possible coaching football to street kids again.

“For the first time, we will be making an overnight trip to Bisisero. This town has shut itself away since the genocide, in which they lost over 50,000 people during the massacres. We are keen to bring the power of football to the younger generation in this town and show how it can help build communities.”

Cruden has made a donation of £500 to support Phil and the team on their second mission to help children in Rwanda.

For individuals and organisations who are interested in supporting Tranent Colts FC’s visit to Rwanda, find out more at www.gofundme.com/tranent-colts-rwanda-2020, contact Phil Purves on 07980 373758 or Wendy McFadden (Fundraising Officer) on 07800 879662 or email tranentcoltsfc@yahoo.co.uk.

• WHO health and air quality campaigner joins BESA group

The UK’s first World Health Organisation (WHO) advocate for air quality and health has joined the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) group for health and wellbeing in buildings to progress her campaign to turn buildings into safe havens from air pollution.

Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah addressed the recent BESA National Conference and urged the building services sector to get to take more responsibility for the health consequences of poor indoor air quality (IAQ).

Rosamund’s daughter Ella died in 2013 following a series of severe asthma attacks linked to air pollution near her home and school. Having founded the Ella Roberta Foundation in her memory, Rosamund has since become a high profile figure in the battle against air pollution.

Ella’s death is now the subject of a second coroner’s inquest, which may lead to her becoming the first person in the world to have air pollution officially recorded as a cause of death. Yet, it is estimated 40,000 people in the UK alone die every year as a result of air pollution – and 8.8 million worldwide.

New research carried out by Southampton University professor Stephen Holgate, a world authority on asthma, revealed that indoor air quality (IAQ) can be 13 times worse than outside air, but that it can be controlled through a combination of improved building systems and occupant behaviour.

• New nursery building set for Keith

A partnership between a new charity and Moray Council means a purpose-built nursery for tots will be built in the grounds of Keith Grammar 

Parents in Keith, Moray, have something to look forward to this year as a new, custom-built early learning and childcare facility is being built in the grounds of Keith Grammar School.

The new 65-place nursery will open in August and be run by new charity Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS).

Working in partnership with Moray Council, FCSS is offering fully-funded, flexible early learning and childcare to eligible 2-5-year-olds in the Keith area.

The nursery is currently under construction within the grounds of Keith Grammar School. It will provide families with state of the art facilities and resources giving the children in their care the best possible experiential and responsive early learning experience in the area.

The custom-built facility has been designed to provide the children with areas to develop their literacy, numeracy, health and well-being skills.

• Restoration of one of Edinburgh’s best-loved clock gets underway

The famous cantilever clock on the corner of Edinburgh’s Princes Street and Hope Street is to be lovingly restored as part of the project to create the Johnnie Walker Princes Street global visitor attraction in the heart of Scotland’s capital.

The clock has been dormant over recent years after being allowed to fall into disrepair, but it will now be brought back to life as part of investment in the Johnnie Walker Princes Street visitor experience.

Expert clockmakers from one of the UK’s leading specialist heritage clock restoration companies, Cumbria Clock Company, have been commissioned to dismantle the timepiece so it can be taken to their workshop and fully restored to its original glory.

Known locally as the “Binns Clock” after the former department store that first installed it in 1960, the clock became renowned as a meeting point for Edinburgh residents, particularly as a romantic rendezvous point for people going on dates.

The clock had fallen into disrepair over a number of years, including the hand-painted highland figures that march out of the clock to mark the hour and half hour falling out of use. The restoration will see the mechanical procession of pipers brought back into use to once again mark the time on the corner of Edinburgh’s most famous thoroughfare.

Work is well underway to meticulously restore the building at 146 Princes Street with many of its beautiful heritage features preserved where possible and integrated into the visitor experience.

• Historic lighthouse £225k upgrade to begin

Work on a £225,000 upgrade of a famous Scottish lighthouse will begin today.

The 121ft-high Butt of Lewis lighthouse, at the northerly tip of the Isle of Lewis, is to be given a major improvement after

Northern Lighthouse Board awarded a six-figure contract to Aberdeen-based TRAC International.

The three-month programme of works includes replacement of the lighthouse optic and refurbishment and redecoration of the tower and mess facilities.

Alongside the technical work to be carried out is the external redecoration of the ex-keeper’s buildings, control block, engine room, tower light room and dome.

There will also be internal redecoration of the tower, watch room and light room. Broken glazing panels in the light room will be replaced and an extension to the balcony walkway will be removed.

The existing light at the station has been withdrawn and replaced by a temporary light. Its nominal range is 12 miles, in contrast to the 25 nautical miles of the permanent light.