Building Briefs - September 10th

• CALA drives forward electric vehicle provision at Boroughmuir development

The refurbishment of a distinguished high school building will offer easily accessible plug-in points for all 87 apartments to benefit from.  

The move will see 20 pillars installed throughout the resident’s car park that wraps around the building. Each pillar will, in turn, have two charging points within easy reach of between three and seven bays - transforming it into one of the capital’s largest private charging hubs.

CALA’s latest commitment follows on from its announcement last year that it would create Scotland’s most comprehensive residential EV provision at its nearby Edinburgh development, The Crescent at Donaldson’s.

Optimum charging speeds of 30 miles of range per hour will be on offer across the 40 charging points, which are being installed by Pod Point.

Previously the home of Boroughmuir High School, the building was constructed between 1911 and 1914 by renowned architect, John Alexander Carfrae and was as pioneering back then – as it was one of the first buildings in Edinburgh to utilise steel frame construction.

The restoration of the Grade B listed building is being executed with care and attention to maintain the former school’s original character, exemplified by the preservation of 430 sash and case windows which create a centre piece to fill each home with natural light.

• A Proctor Group build on success

Perthshire construction materials company A Proctor Group said COVID would only have a small impact on its annual sales as it anticipated a full return to normal trading.

The Blairgowrie-based firm produces a range of construction products including acoustic flooring, thermal insulation and condensation control materials.

Newly filed accounts show the firm saw pre-tax profits increase by 10.2%, to £2 million for the year ending December 31, 2019.

Turnover dipped from £29.8m to £29.7m last year.

The firm said the pandemic had resulted in poorer sales for two months this year, but it had adapted quickly.

• Funding secured to regenerate historic Prestongrange

Plans to regenerate the historic Prestongrange site have received a boost with confirmation of a £685,000 award from the Scottish Government.

East Lothian Council has secured the funding from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund to support the development of a heritage park within the former Prestongrange Colliery and Brickworks between Prestonpans and Musselburgh.

The project will deliver a new, accessible carbon neutral community hub as well as commercial and indoor community education space primarily within the derelict pit-head baths and outdoors in the surrounding parkland.

The vision for the site includes a multi-purpose activity room, accommodation for local groups, stores, accessible toilets and showers. It will also provide development space in support of new revenue generation, education, and employment uses, as well as improving access to a nationally important landscape, green network and heritage site.

The council has already committed £1.5 million of capital funding towards the project. Confirmation of support from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund will enable the project team to press ahead with delivery of what is expected to be a three-year design and build project. A planning application will be submitted in due course.

• Thenue Housing mural takes shape in Glasgow’s East End

A mural produced for Thenue Housing Association depicting the mother of Glasgow’s patron saint is taking shape in the city’s East End.

Work is progressing well on the giant mural created by artist Mark Worst. Fittingly, the mural on Abercromby Street is just a few hundred yards from Thenue’s offices on London Road and is sure to become a much admired local landmark.

Last year, Thenue Housing celebrated its 40th anniversary and was keen to further strengthen its strong historical connection to the city of Glasgow.

The mural of St Thenue - who was also known as St Enoch – is being painted on a tenement gable wall and shows her surrounded by fishes.

Legend has it that St Thenue had a traumatic upbringing as the princess of a pagan king. As a young, pregnant and unmarried woman in the 6th or 7th century her father ordered her to be hurled from a hill in East Lothian known as ‘Traprain Law’.

When she survived the fall she was put in a small boat and cast adrift in the Firth of Forth to perish. The boat, however, drifted over to Culross in Fife where she was given sanctuary and gave birth to Mungo who later came to Glasgow and founded the Cathedral.

The fish connection stems from the fact that fish were believed to have guided the coracle to the shore.

There are also strong East End connections to the artwork. The shawl which St Thenue is wearing features 29 motifs in the fabric – a recognition of the 1889 Templetons carpet factory disaster nearby in which 29 young women and girls died after a wall collapsed onto a weaving shed.

The district of Calton and the East End in general were Glasgow communities synonymous with weaving in the 19th century. Today those same 29 names are inscribed on paving stones near the offices of Thenue.

Mark Worst undertook considerable research into the life of St Thenue before starting work on the mural. It follows his previous murals in Paisley – one of which was for Paisley Housing Association - but this represents his first major Glasgow commission.

• More projects added to North Lanarkshire Council housing plan

North Lanarkshire Council has approved additional projects to deliver more affordable homes across the region as part of its next Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2021/22-2025/26 which is being submitted to the Scottish Government.

With plans to deliver almost 3,000 new affordable homes over the next five years, the SHIP identifies affordable housing investment priorities that support the Local Housing Strategy objectives which include: delivering a range of housing to support varied needs across the area, ensuring homes are accessible, are environmentally friendly and helping to regenerate communities and town centres.

The council said its plans for new homes will help meet local housing need across North Lanarkshire and will be delivered by the council and registered social landlords supported by funding from the Scottish Government.

The SHIP forms the basis of the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme which is administered by the Scottish Government and provides grant funding for the council’s and housing associations’ new supply programmes. The current grant level for council new build projects is £59,000 per unit.

• Highland Council confirms house building targets will be met despite COVID-19

House building targets set out by Highland Council prior to lockdown will still be met despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, council officers have confirmed.

At yesterday’s meeting of the housing and property committee, members were told that progress against the mainstream Housing Revenue Account (HRA) programme has been impacted by the restrictions that halted all capital works on site. All tenants who had scheduled works in Spring/Summer 2020 were notified of the delays.

As of 31 August, all capital projects have re-started on-site and contractors have been adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines to ensure that works are carried out as safely as possible.

Councillor Ben Thompson, chair of the committee, said: “I am delighted that we are able to continue to meet our targets for the council house building programme. This programme, and the HRA Capital programme, both experienced delays when lockdown commenced earlier this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As lockdown restrictions are carefully being lifted in our communities, we can now focus on safely resuming our work in these programmes with us being able to keep our overall spend and income assumptions on our council house building targets.”

Brian Cameron, housing policy & investment manager, added: “The new build projects are back on site, and progressing well, in line with health and safety guidelines. It is estimated that there will be 106 new council house completions by March 2021. An updated Strategic Housing Investment Programme will be submitted to strategic committee in November and this will provide more detail on both new and existing projects across Highland.”

The new council house build programme was approved at the environment, development & infrastructure committee in November 2019 as part of the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Programme 2020-2025.