Building Briefs – April 11th

Network Rail is proposing the construction of a new platform and accessible footbridge with lifts at Dunbar station during 2019.

The new platform will be beside the mainline used going north to Edinburgh and will add to the capacity and flexibility on East Coast Main Line (ECML) northbound services from Dunbar.

Network Rail is hosting two community drop-ins this month at Bleachingfield Community Centre (April 19) and Dunbar Railway Station waiting room (April 25) where people can see plans and speak to the project team.

A contractor will be appointed during 2018.

Work begins on £28m Torness power station maintenance project

Work is underway on a £28 million maintenance project at EDF Energy’s Torness power station in East Lothian.

The scheme, known as a ‘statutory outage’, is carried out on each of the facility’s reactors every three years.

The period allows workers to carry out inspections and pieces of work which would not be possible when the reactor is in operation.

More than 600 extra workers will join the 750 strong workforce for the maintenance phase, which is set to last nine weeks.

Workers will carry out more than 12,000 separate pieces of work which have been planned over the last two years. Projects include inspections of the reactor vessel internals, exchange of the turbine high pressure rotor and replacement of auxiliary cooling water pipework systems.

Minister announces summit on A82

Transport minister Humza Yousaf is arranging a summit in June to bring together the various groups that have an interest in the operation of the A82.

One of Scotland’s most iconic routes, the trunk road links the central belt with the North West and the Western Isles.

There has been significant investment in the route in recent years with improvements including the £5 million Crianlarich Bypass and the £9.2m Pulpit Rock realignment. Work is continuing on the design stages for the upgrading of the Tarbet to Inverarnan section, which will bring further improvements alongside Loch Lomond.

In addition, in the last ten years, £82m has been spent on maintenance on the A82, with more than £11m in the last financial year.

Mr Yousaf said: “The A82 is a lifeline route for many and I know that some stakeholders and communities have concerns about the way it operates. This forum will allow all involved to get together and to have their say.

“I have already had discussion with some of the groups involved such as A82 Partnership and the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce and the summit will seek to optimise engagement that Transport Scotland already has with stakeholders and key partners like Police Scotland and local authorities. With all of the key organisations around the table, I am looking forward to a constructive discussion about potential actions which can be taken forward for the A82.”

Hardies rebrands following merger with Shepherd

Hardies Property & Construction Consultants has undergone a comprehensive rebranding exercise following its merger with Shepherd Chartered Surveyors at the end of last year.

Hardies’ new corporate logo adopts Shepherd’s familiar and distinctive blue triangle to illustrate how the businesses are interlinked while retaining its own font to incorporate Hardies’ own strong brand heritage; the firm dates back to 1913 while Shepherd was founded in 1880.

Hardies serve clients in both the private and public sectors with an end to end operation in Property and Construction Development, Building and Quantity Surveying and Project Management, Principal Designer Services and the provision of Energy Performance Certificates.

This range of specialisms leaves Shepherd operating in its core competencies around Valuation, Agency, Management, Lease Advisory and Rating, where it recently picked up several national accolades to reflect the performance of the business in the Scottish market.

Winners of UK’s ‘most considerate sites’ announced

The UK’s very highest performing construction sites have been awarded the coveted title of ‘Most Considerate Site’ at the Considerate Constructors Scheme’s 2017 National Site Awards.

The Scheme’s National Site Awards are one of the most revered accolades within the UK construction industry. They recognise Scheme-registered sites that have demonstrated the very highest level of consideration in respect of the community, environment and workforce.

This year, sites were eligible to win the top accolade of ‘Most Considerate Site’ within the following six ‘project value bands’: Under £500k; £500k to <£1m; £1m to <£5m; £5m to <£10m; £10m to <£50m; and £50m and over.

The winning sites are:

This project involved the construction of a new skate park located in the King Edward Park, Sneinton, a short distance from Nottingham city centre.

This work involved the creation of an 800 sq. m. food hall within a retail unit located on a busy high street in Dulwich, South East London.

On the outskirts of Cardiff, this project comprised external works to complement the recently- completed Children’s Hospital for Wales.

This project involved the construction of a new school in a residential area on the outskirts of Hattersley, near Hyde in Greater Manchester.

This ongoing contract involves the construction of a new college, primary school and nursery on the site of a former army barracks in a residential area of Londonderry.

In the grounds of a large operational hospital in Dundonald, near Belfast, this work involves the ongoing construction of a new seven-storey ward building.

The awards ceremonies, which attract over 3000 guests from construction sites of all different sizes across the UK, were held from 20 March - 7 April in Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

The 2017 National Site Awards applied to registered sites that completed in 2016.

Esh Border Construction lends fresh support to autistic radio station

Livingston-based Esh Border Construction is on the same wavelength as a unique community radio station for adults on the autistic spectrum after handing it a great bursary boost.

Sam Radio – which broadcasts from St Margaret’s House in Edinburgh’s London Road seven days a week – is the first station of its kind in Scotland, attracting autistic listeners from all over the world.

Last week, Esh Border Construction’s business development manager, Euan McDermott, visited Sam Radio where he was interviewed on air by presenter Joseph Cameron and thanked for the company’s support.

Euan told Joseph how Esh Communities has been operating for five years – in which time it has provided more than £140,000 to organisations across the UK that serve the same communities as the company.

The non-profit radio station tuned in to the grant funding possibilities offered by Esh Border Construction’s Communities scheme after hearing about the much-needed support it continues to offer to local organisations who often struggle to continue operating.

This year alone, the scheme has granted just under £10,000 to 13 charities, social enterprises and community groups across Scotland, including a West Lothian refuge for women and children made homeless due to domestic abuse, and a befriending service in Dumfries and Galloway for older people suffering from social isolation.

Sam Radio has only been in existence for only a year, but in that time has swelled its presenters from two to 18.

The station was dreamed up by Paul Ross who, despite a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, managed to get Sam Radio off the ground with family support after being left frustrated by a lack of opportunities for people on the autistic spectrum.

Shortlees young community helping to build their future

Some of the youngest member of Shortlees’ community have been participating in a range of activities at the site of 43 new homes being built by McTaggart Construction for Atrium Homes, based in Kilmarnock.

Connor Adam (19) and Alexander Wright (16), both Shortlees residents, have successfully progressed from CEIS employability stage 3 programme to a work placement with McTaggart Construction within its civils division.

On successful completion of the 4 week work placement the young people will continue on site as registered apprentices in groundworks and general construction.

McTaggart’s has also been supporting the local nursery to learn about construction and even hosted the pre-school children at the site. McTaggart Construction has also agreed to further support the Early Years “Future Me” programme.

Ross Hammell, McTaggart Construction’s Community Benefits Co-ordinator, has delivered a full morning programme of STEM and Construction ambassador activities was delivered to all 364 pupils of Shortlees Primary. This involved a fun and interactive session to all Shortlees Primary School pupils. This programme is designed to raise awareness of the dangers around living and going to school near a construction site.