Building Briefs – May 27th

  • £1.5m drive-thru coffee shop proposed for Greenock

Plans have been submitted to Inverclyde Council for a £1.5 million drive-thru coffee shop development in Greenock.

Dalglen Investments, owned by local businessmen Sandy and James Easdale, is hoping to build the single-storey drive-thru building on the main arterial A8 route into Greenock town centre.



Should it get the go-ahead, a mixture of 40-50 full and part-time jobs would be created.

 

  • Dundee flood protection active travel works to begin

Work on a £15 million project to protect a Dundee community and boost active travel options is set to get underway next week.



Remedial and flood protection works and a Spaces for People project at Douglas Terrace could start as soon as Monday.

Changes to the lockdown rules to allow some types of construction work means the flood protection scheme can begin, along with measures to reduce through traffic on Douglas Terrace and Broughty Ferry Esplanade.

Dundee City Council received funding from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People programme for temporary infrastructure to support walking and cycling for essential trips and daily exercise over the coming months.

Contractor McLaughlin & Harvey will arrive on site on Monday with early works involving construction of a compound adhering to social distancing measures in line with Scottish Government guidance on COVID-19.



Work to construct 1.2km of sea and flood protection walls will also include improvements to the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure between Broughty Ferry Castle and the west end of Douglas Terrace.

The scheme is expected to be completed by summer 2022.

 

  • £5m funding for Edinburgh’s active travel plans

Edinburgh will benefit from £5 million Scottish Government funding to support the creation of safe, accessible routes for walking, cycling and wheeling as lockdown restrictions are lifted.



The capital is receiving half of the original £10m Places for Everyone funding total – now trebled by the cabinet secretary for transport, Michael Matheson, to £30m – to carry out road space improvements like temporary pavement widening, pop-up segregated cycle lanes and pedestrianised streets.

Earlier this month the council published a widespread package of suggested measures to make it easier and safer for people to travel by foot, bike or wheelchair while maintaining physical distancing. These proposals recognise a real surge in walking and cycling rates since lockdown began, and the positive impact of this, and fewer cars, on air quality and congestion levels.

 

  • Social distancing plans for Aberden streets given go-ahead

A plan by Aberdeen City Council to allow for social distancing in city streets to help ensure the safe emergence from the coronavirus lockdown has been awarded a £1.76 million grant from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People fund.



The grant will pay/go towards a roll out of temporary measures to allow people to walk, cycle, and queue for buses and shopping while adhering to social distancing guidance. Measures taking place include pedestrianisation, pavement widening, temporary bike lanes, and one-way walking systems and work will start on installation these within the next few weeks.

The city centre, and Union Street in particular, faces challenges because pavements are not wide enough to accommodate the current 2-metre level of social distancing.

Traffic around the centre is to be re-routed to free up carriageway space for businesses, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. Access will still be provided to the city centre car parks as well as for residents and businesses.

Temporary changes to the road layout and on-street parking to widen pavements will also take place on Rosemount, Victoria Road in Torry, Peterculter, Cults, North Deeside Road, and George Street.



In later stages of the easing of lockdown, further changes such as reducing parking spaces may also be required at local shopping centres to ensure there is enough space for pedestrians to socially distance and to ensure the number so people visiting the centres and the city centre is manageable.


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