Building Briefs – May 26th

• Edinburgh and Leicester student properties sold for £22m

Goods Corner in Edinburgh comprises 108 studio bed spaces and is situated opposite the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Building Campus, the main campus of the College of Science and Engineering, to the south of the city.

Dover Street in Leicester comprises 135 bed spaces and is located in the heart of the city, close to the railway station, University of Leicester and De Montfort University.

Both properties were constructed in 2018 and each have historically been 100% let with strong bookings for the 2020/21 academic year.

The combined purchase price was £22.2m.

UK developer, Aimrok, sold the freehold interest in each asset and was advised by Russell Hefferan and Olan Coyle in Cushman & Wakefield’s Student Accommodation Capital Markets team. Barclays Bank provided senior debt to the buyer.

Homes for Students will manage and operate both assets on behalf of the purchaser.  

• Essential work resumes at Dunfermline high school

Contractors are back on site at Woodmill High School in Dunfermline to get the building ready for the potential return of pupils in the autumn.

Repair and rebuilding work for the school, which was seriously damaged by fire in August 2019, had been halted when the country went into lockdown in March this year at the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

Work has begun again now, in order to have the building ready for the return of most pupils in August. The work is classed as essential and is in line with guidance from Scottish Government. All work at the site is being carried out in accordance with safe social distancing measures.

The first pupils were able to return to the school in January this year, while work continued to enable the return of the remainder of the school.

Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit the pupils had to leave the school yet again and the building work was stopped.

• Builders merchants welcome COVID-19 plans

A trade body has welcomed the phased route map approach announced by the Scottish Government to ease lockdown restrictions.

According to the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), the plans set out by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week will enable its members to gear-up to meet demand when construction works are reintroduced. 

BMF members operate from 420 branches and 26 manufacturing sites across Scotland. 

John Newcomb, chief executive of the BMF, said: “The phased approach set out by the First Minister will enable our members to schedule their activities accordingly.

“They will be able to plan ahead and meet the demands for building products and materials, once the construction industry returns to work in the future.”

Ninety per cent of BMF merchant members are currently open or partially open, to support essential works, with restrictions in place to ensure safety first.

Mr Newcomb added: “We have already produced new Branch Operating Guidelines for builders’ merchant staff to follow in the office and trade counter, for customer and supplier deliveries, customer collection and for tool hire during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“This 18-page document covers procedures for phone, click/call and collect and pre-arranged orders, with no public access into shop or products.

“The number one priority is to minimise the risk of transmitting coronavirus.”

• LAR amends Aberdeen development design following tenant feedback

Aberdeen-based tenants of housing charity LAR have been given the opportunity to influence the design of a new development.

LAR, which already has eight sites in the area, surveyed existing tenants based at Kingswells and Cove to gain a deeper insight into what they value most in their homes. And the results are being factored into the site design and layout of houses in a proposed new development in Kingswells.

The key findings included the fact that 96% of respondents wanted their own driveway rather than communal parking, mainly due to mobility, safety and security reasons, but also because this made cleaning easier, together with lower insurance costs. The survey also revealed a significant pent up demand for bungalows (29%) and three-bedroom houses (31%) neither of which LAR currently has in the area.

The overwhelming majority (89%) wanted a separate kitchen and living room, rather than an open plan set up – a percentage perhaps amplified due to lockdown restrictions - and a similar number would prefer private gardens rather than externally maintained communal spaces.

LAR has now revisited the proposed site plan to amend the design and the internal features of the proposed homes in light of the results.

• Cairngorm funicular railway repairs approved

Repairs to the Cairngorm funicular railway have been approved by the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

The planning committee meeting took place last week online, with members of the public able to view the proceedings from their homes for the first time.

Highlands & Islands Enterprise submitted the application which sought to address the issues that resulted in the closure of the railway – the main uplift for skiers in the winter and a popular visitor attraction in summer – since October 2018.

The works involve the installation of reinforcing props and concrete bases beside existing piers beneath the railway viaduct.

An application to convert the former Police Station in Kingussie into holiday flats was also approved, along with a prior approval notice for a forestry track in Glen Clova. The development in the Caddam Plantation is required for woodland thinning as part of the local estate’s woodland management plan.

• National Manufacturing Institute Scotland leadership team bolstered with CEO appointment

The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland has announced that John Reid has been appointed as chief executive officer to lead the growth and development of the world-leading group of industry-led manufacturing research and development facilities at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland led by Renfrewshire Council.

John will take up position in August after successfully leading the Michelin-Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) in Dundee. Prior to leading MSIP John held the position of General Manager at the Michelin tyre plant on the same site.

John’s appointment further strengthens the leadership team for the group, which includes the new flagship facility being built next to Glasgow Airport that was recently granted planning permission by Renfrewshire Council.

• Highland Council awarded over £750,000 to roll out network of safe walking and cycling routes

The Highland Council has been awarded £752,954 from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People fund, which is administered by Sustrans.

Highland and the City of Inverness will see a roll-out of temporary walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure along priority routes. These measures will ensure that people can move safely on essential journeys and whilst taking daily exercise. They will also form a key component of village, town and city centre recovery strategies.