Building Briefs – May 29th

• Construction work to begin at Aberdeenshire Council’s Viewmount office

Temporary arrangements for staff and customers are being put in place while the first phase of the project, running until November, gets underway – although services will continue to be provided from the office.

The work is being led by Morrison Construction and the first phase will focus on the front section of the building, including refurbishment of the council chamber.

It is expected that the first phase of the project will be complete by November this year, and the second phase of the project by late summer next year.

The project is part of Aberdeenshire Council’s Office Space Strategy, under which key aspects of the plans for Stonehaven were agreed in February.

• Opening date revealed at Edinburgh Sick Kids’ Hospital

The countdown to the opening of the state-of the-art £150 million Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences has begun.

From July 9, the Children’s Emergency Department (ED) will transfer to the new hospital next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France.  The world class facility will also open its doors to new patients on that date.

Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Lothian, said a new chapter was beginning following a 150-year glittering history of the Royal Hospital of Sick Children, which has provided care to millions of children across Edinburgh, Lothian and beyond.

Preparations for the move are already well underway and staff are immersed in the massive challenge of migrating services which will take place over 10 days in July.

Planned appointments are being arranged to take place in the hospital from July 15.

• Paragon advises on Legal & General’s £1.8m ‘capsule’ refurb of Aberdeen’s Union Plaza offices

Edinburgh-based building and project consultancy Paragon is advising on the £1.8 million partial refurbishment of Aberdeen’s 120,000 sq ft Union Plaza building to deliver a new type of flexible office accommodation.

Called ‘Capsule’, the concept has been created by the building’s owner and manager, LGIM Real Assets. It provides more flexibility in the leasing process, offering a range of ready-made furnished facilities and ‘plug and play’ options to suit occupier needs. Capsules can be operational within 24 hours.

LGIM Real Assets has appointed Paragon to provide project management and contract administration services on the refurbishment. A team led by Paragon director and Edinburgh head of office, David Philip, is delivering the work.

Opened in 2008, Union Plaza’s occupiers include Aberdeen Standard Investments, services and software company AGR Group and law firm Burness Paull.

In addition to the Capsule suites completed in phase one, work has now commenced on the second phase. This is expected to be completed in June and will see the building’s reception area transformed, further improving the facility for occupiers, and two further Capsule suites created on the ground floor.

• White Bridge reopens over River Nairn

The final phase of the mainline project to provide a new crossing of the River Nairn at White Bridge has been completed, connecting the new bridge crossing with the realigned B9090 route although some accommodation works will continue until mid-June.

The temporary road closure has now been lifted and the road reopened to traffic under speed restriction, on Saturday, significantly ahead of schedule.

The works for this £2.65 million project began in September last year, carried out on behalf of the Highland Council by R J McLeods (Contractors) Ltd.   

A formal opening ceremony will take place later in June.

• Stobhill and Newtongrange masterplans event

Midlothian Council is inviting people to a follow up drop-in event on the masterplans for Newtongrange centre and the nearby Stobhill and Lady Victoria Business Centre.

On June 11 between 4pm and 7pm, the council will host an event at the National Mining Museum Scotland to highlight how previous feedback has been used to develop the plans.

Midlothian Council and Borders Railway Blueprint partnership commissioned both masterplans to maximise the social and economic benefits of the Borders Railway.

The Stobhill and Lady Victoria masterplan proposes a mix of commercial uses such as tourism related retail and business/light industrial together with a variety of housing types. The aim of the retail is not to compete with the existing shops in the village centre but to encourage tourist to stay longer and explore Newtongrange.

The masterplan for Newtongrange centre aims to revitalise the area by, among other measures, providing opportunities for a new village square, community facilities and housing in keeping with the existing architecture.

• Road closures for A70 realignment project

The A70 at Glenbuck Loch will be closed from June 17-30 to allow for the completion of the extensive A70 Glenbuck Road Realignment project.

The final part of the project will tie the new section of road to the existing road and the road closure is necessary to ensure the safety of the travelling public and the workforce.

It will also ensure that this final part of the project is completed as quickly as possible.

• Children bury time capsule at Kinghorn development

Local nursery and primary school children have buried a special time capsule at the brand new Lochside Grange housing development currently being developed by Lovell Homes in the Fife coastal village of Kinghorn.

Earlier this year, Lovell invited local children from Kinghorn Nursery and Primary School to put together the time capsule with various items that might be of interest to future generations.

The plan is to leave the time capsule buried for a period of 100 years, at which point a future generation of local Kinghorn children will have the opportunity to dig it up and to explore the contents.

Children of all ages were involved in collecting items to be stored in the time capsule with each item carefully chosen to reflect the school’s values and what children have been learning.

Featured items included a school tie and samples of the children’s artwork. Primary Five pupils contributed a piece they had written about the school’s values called ‘Recipe for Success’ while Primary Seven pupils added their own record and photographs of a recent residential trip to Millport.

Every child taking part also added their name and fingerprint to a Jenga puzzle piece to be included in the time capsule. A recent edition of local community newspaper the Kinghorn Chronicle was also included to provide a flavour of local community news in 2019.

Once complete, Kinghorn Nursery and Primary School children then visited Lochside Grange and, assisted by Lovell training advisor Kelly Harkness and assistant site manager Kenneth Mowbray, buried the time capsule in a specially designated area of greenery on the site.

Located in the Fife coastal village of Kinghorn, Lochside Grange is a brand new development by Lovell Homes, offering a range of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bed properties for sale. Comprising 133 homes in total and including 10 properties developed for social rent on behalf of Kingdom Housing Association, the development is due for completion in May 2021.

• Dundee plans Dawson Park synthetic pitch replacement

Nearly £300,000 is set to be invested in a new synthetic pitch at Dundee’s Dawson Park to allow multi-sports use at the facility.

The neighbourhood services committee will be asked to approve investment of £270,000 in a 2G surface that would allow both football and hockey to be played. A fence at the pitch would also be replaced.

Councillors will hear that an independent sports consultant investigated the situation and made recommendations that fitted in with the Dundee Sports Pitch Strategy.

Meanwhile, there were consultation meetings with key stakeholders including sportscotland Grove Academy, Leisure & Culture Dundee, Scottish Football Association, Scottish Hockey, Grove Menzieshill Hockey Club and other local partner organisations.

The committee will hear that the masterplan for Dawson Park is reviewed and updated incorporating the feedback from this consultation exercise.

The neighbourhood services committee meets on Monday June 3.

Elsewhere, Baxter Park and Dudhope Park Tennis Courts are undergoing a £200,000 refurbishment, making them up to date for recreational tennis.

At both sites, new specialised tarmacadam surfaces are being laid by Tayside Contracts, enabling rainwater to drain through the courts. The surfaces will also be painted.

Baxter Park will also benefit from new fencing and infrastructure.

Both sets of courts will be finished in time for the school holidays.