Building Briefs

A project to resurface and waterproof the A91 New Bridge in Guardbridge is to be carried out by Fife Council.

The local authority said the works will commence on Saturday 2 August and should be completed by Monday 18 August.

In a statement, it said the works are unavoidable, but as the road serves St. Andrews and is very busy, the project will be carried out during the school holidays and between the times of 7am and 10pm, seven days a week.

Traffic management measures will be in place for the duration of the scheme. One lane of traffic will remain open across the bridge, while three-way temporary traffic signals will be used to control the traffic approaching the bridge. The project is expected to cause severe disruption in the area and the council has asked residents to use alternative routes, while pedestrians and cyclists will be able to use the old bridge.

Support for Dalmellington CARS funding

East Ayrshire Council has announced its support for a bid to carry out an extensive programme of regeneration and restoration in Dalmellington.

The council’s Cabinet has given the green light to its Heritage Projects team to prepare an application to Historic Scotland for Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding.

CARS provides partial grant aid, which is matched by council funding, to owners of buildings in designated conservation areas. The monies are used to repair fabric such as roofing, rainwater goods and windows through the use of traditional, proven methods as well as materials to make the properties wind and watertight, and therefore fit for future use.

This round of CARS funding comprises a £10m pot which will shared among the successful bidders throughout Scotland over the next five years, commencing in April 2015. The maximum available funding for any authority will be set at £2m.

Bids for the latest round of CARS funding are to be submitted by 31 August.

Oregon Timber Frame profits fall as costs rise

Oregon Timber Frame has seen profits slide by more than 20 per cent as it battled rising material costs and demands for cheaper prices from clients.

The Selkirk-based company, which supplies timber frames for housebuilders such as Cala, Miller and Dawn, made pre-tax profits of £627,000 for the year ended December 31.

Turnover increased by 15 per cent in Scotland but five per cent for the group as a whole, as a £3 million contract to supply social-housing builder Wates Living Space came to a close in England. That deal, which ended in August, saw Oregon supply timber frames to 300 homes.

The company, which does 90 per cent of its business in Scotland, booked revenue of £13.9m, which remains adrift of its pre-recession peak of £19m.

200 homes and an Aldi planned for Edinburgh derelict site

Hundreds of new homes and a giant supermarket would be built under fresh plans to develop land next to one of Edinburgh’s busiest junctions.

Aldi and Cruden Homes have told city planning chiefs that they intend to put a blueprint on the table soon for the former Scottish Power site in Baileyfield Road, Portobello.

Around 200 one, two and three-bedroom homes for rental and sale and a 1675sq m supermarket with 98 parking spaces for customers would be built, according to the jointly submitted pre-application notice. The branch would be German shopping giant Aldi’s fourth – and its biggest – in the Capital.

The plans have been significantly scaled down after an earlier proposal featuring 700 homes was denied planning approval in 2009.

Baileyfield had previously been considered as a venue for a new Portobello High School before it was sold to developers earlier this year.

MoD wins turbine decision ruling

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has won a ruling to overturn a decision to build three turbines.

A previous council decision by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar had approved plans to allow three crofters permission to build the structures. Two of the turbines were to be built at Bornish, while the remaining one was to be at Frobost.

However, the MoD challenged the decision and argued that the turbines could cause interference with its air defence radar systems.

It said that the structures could produce a false “aircraft-like return” and therefore affect the detection capabilities of its radar systems.

On Thursday (12 June), the decision by the comhairle was set aside.