Building Briefs – June 23rd

• Scottish Water leaps into action for salmon at Loch Venachar

Work began yesterday at the freshwater reservoir which is situated in the heart of the Trossachs between Callander and Brig o’Turk. The loch is home to salmon and sea trout which migrate up-river from the sea at the Forth Estuary to spawn and is a popular location for fishing. 

As part of the project, timber baffles are being installed in the spill channel at the reservoir’s dam, in line with the north channel of the Eas Gobhain River. This enhancement will complement the existing Victorian fish pass on the south channel. The baffles will break up the water flow in the spill channel and assist the fish in leaping across the dam spillway on their journey upstream from the River Teith to reproduce.

The project is expected to take around three weeks for completion and will be undertaken by Scottish Water’s contractors George Leslie.

• Fife Council welcomes Spaces for People funding

Fife Council has been awarded £2.42 million as a result of its bid to the Scottish Government’s ‘Spaces for People’ fund which is focused on making essential travel and exercise safer during COVID-19. 

The programme, which is managed by Sustrans on behalf of the Scottish Government, is for temporary infrastructure to make it safer for people to walk, cycle or wheel for essential trips and exercise during COVID-19.

• Goods stolen from Moray building site

Around £5,000-worth of goods has been stolen from a Moray building site.

Thieves broke in to the compound near Whiterow in the south of Forres between noon on Sunday June 14 and 7.30am the following day, with several items stolen.

Police were unable to provide further details on what had been taken during the raid.

However, officers have encouraged firms to take extra precautions to prevent similar incidents from happening elsewhere.

• Beatson’s Building Supplies announce exclusive partnership with Composite Prime

Independent Scottish builders’ merchants Beatson’s Building Supplies has agreed a partnership with the UK’s biggest composite decking manufacturer to become Scotland’s sole stockists of a brand new product.

Beatson’s, which has five branches across Scotland, will be the first supplier of Composite Prime’s HD Deck 3D – an eco-friendly composite deck with the look and feel of real timber.

The deal with Composite Prime comes as demand for decking in the UK soars. Composite Prime has reported a 400% increase in requests for decking samples in 2020, compared to the same period last year.

• 2,000 students complete Scape Group virtual work experience programme

‘Learning in Lockdown’, an accredited virtual work experience programme created by experts from the education, digital and construction procurement sectors has given nearly 2,000 year 10/S4 students from 300 secondary schools across England, Scotland and Wales the unique opportunity to complete a week of work experience during the coronavirus lockdown.

Running from May 18-22, the not-for-profit programme delivered a game-changing level of educational outcomes and community benefits, including generating £192,856 in social value.

Led by public sector procurement specialist, Scape Group, Learning in Lockdown was created in partnership with Class of Your Own, Learn Live, EDT (The Engineering Development Trust)/Industrial Cadets and supported by Heriot-Watt University, Topcon Positioning Systems and the Emirates Green Building Council.

The programme enabled large numbers of students from across England, Scotland and Wales to access a high-quality experience that develops their employability, technical and business skills needed for a career in architecture, engineering and construction. The digital, collaborative teamworking made access to sector professionals possible in a way not normally achievable from the classroom or a construction site, marking a step-change in the way industry can deliver work experience and successfully continue to inspire the next generation of built environment professionals.

Almost half (46%) of the participants were female, 28% above the current level of female employment in the construction industry, while 10% were pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND), a further 10% were learners with English as an additional language (EAL) and 24% were Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students.

More than 150 industry experts from 37 UK contractors and consultants supported and promoted Learning in Lockdown, including many of Scape’s delivery partners. Together with students and lecturers from Heriot-Watt University, they volunteered 224 hours between them. Many were on hand throughout the week to present sessions, mentor the students and answer questions.