Building Briefs - April 13

GAP Group has been awarded the Apprenticeship Award at the Scottish Recruitment Awards – confirming its commitment to apprentices and as an industry leader for their apprenticeship scheme.

The awards celebrate those who drive the recruitment industry in Scotland.

GAP was also a finalist in the HR Team of the Year and Recruitment Team categories.

The HR Team of the Year award is given to the best HR department in Scotland.

Being shortlisted as a finalist in this category demonstrates the calibre of the talented HR team at GAP. The Recruitment Team category was assessed from a jobseekers perspective and verifies GAP’s recruitment processes as thorough and friendly.

The accolades were presented to GAP at the award ceremony in Glasgow.

GAP’s apprentice scheme currently employs 70 people across the UK, with a further intake of 36 planned for 2015. Apprentices receive training through college training blocks and gain real experience whilst working in GAP’s depots or at their Head Office in Glasgow whilst working towards a formalised qualification. All GAP apprentices are offered a full time position within the company upon completion.

GAP also joined the ‘5% Club’ last year – a government funded initiative in which the company pledge that at least 5 per cent of employees are apprentices or graduates and they are currently exceeding this target at 10 per cent.

Host of Robertson projects in Considerate Construction running

Robertson is celebrating after having eight of its projects nominated for the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) prestigious industry awards.

The winners will be announced at the industry body’s National Site Awards ceremony in Edinburgh on Monday, 13 April.

All sites registered with the scheme, which aims to improve the image of the construction industry, can enter the awards. Judgements are made upon the measures a site has incorporated to be more considerate towards local communities, the public, the workforce and the environment.

Robertson has been registering its sites with CCS and adhering to its Code of Considerate Practice for more than seven years. The eight projects up for awards this year are Harris Academy in Dundee, Central Bellsmyre Housing in West Dunbartonshire, Brechin Community Campus in Angus, Redwell Primary School in Alloa, Pennywell Housing in Edinburgh, The Albus in Glasgow, Glen Ord Distillery in Ross-shire and The Arke Kilbeg in Skye.

Derek Shewan, Chief Operating Officer for Robertson Construction Group, said: “We are tremendously proud that these projects have been recognised with nominations for the Considerate Constructors Scheme awards.”

Plans for 16-turbine Perthshire windfarm

A planning application is being drawn up for a major windfarm in east Perthshire.

Green energy firm ABO Wind UK is poised to table its proposal for the 11-turbine Green Burn development, near Alyth. It wants to build on 660 acres of sheep-grazing land at Shieldrum Farm, near Bridge of Cally.

Dundee riverside pedestrian bridge nears completion

A multi-million pound bridge connecting Riverside Drive with Dundee’s West End came a step closer to completion. The £3.5 million Seabraes Bridge was swung into place by construction workers overnight, marking a major milestone in the construction of the thoroughfare… Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “I am sure that the stunning design and strategic location of the new bridge will soon make it a city landmark.”

£6m project will bring 49 new homes to Cupar

Kingdom Housing Association is to build 49 new, badly needed affordable homes for rent in Cupar at a cost of £6 million following approval of the planning in principle application byFife Council.

The funding for project will be assisted by subsidy as part of theScottish Government‘s Affordable Housing Investment Programme for Fife.

The detailed proposals have still to be developed and further community consultation will take place, however, the project, at Pitscottie Road in Cupar, is scheduled to begin next year with a first phase of 30 homes to be completed in 2017 with the next phase of 19 houses to be finished in 2018.

Aberdeen rents fall to buck national trend

Rental costs in Aberdeen have fallen over the past year according to a new report by Lettingstats, the research arm of letting agent Lettingweb.

The average advertised monthly rent for a two-bedroom property in Scotland was up 6.8 per cent year-on-year to £654 by the December-February quarter, but the size of the change varied across different parts of the country.

One of the biggest increases was in Glasgow, where rents for two-bedroom properties are up 6.5 per cent to an average of £665, while a smaller rise of 5.3 per cent in Edinburgh has seen the average cost reach £784 per month.

Rents rose 3.6 per cent in Dundee to £565, but fell by 1.2 per cent in Aberdeen to £972.