Building Briefs – April 1st

Hardies appoints 11 new partners

Scottish multi discipline surveying firm Hardies Property & Construction Consultants has embarked on a new era by lining up a new “First XI” team of newly appointed partners.

The firm, which has over one hundred members of staff across its office network has been preparing for the future by carrying out a detailed internal selection process to identify the “rising stars” who will contribute to the firm’s future growth. With some of its long serving partners having just retired, or about to retire in the near future, Hardies has appointed eleven new partners in all, resulting in a team of sixteen Equity Partners in total to lead the firm forward.

The new partners, who will take up their posts today, are Paul Duncan, (Valuation), Danny McArthur and Martin McConnell, (Building Surveying) in the Dunfermline office; Allan Smith (Quantity Surveying), Kate Bilbrough (Building Surveying), David Vince (Building Surveying) and Murray Warner (Project Management) in the Edinburgh office; Gary Ovenstone (Partner in the St Andrews office); Neil Moir (Valuation) in Hardies Aberdeen office; Keith Gifford in Hardies Dalkeith office and Darron McKay, Quantity Surveying, from the Dundee office who completes the line up.

Work starts on new Edinburgh primary school buildings

Construction work has started on the next wave of additional classrooms as the City of Edinburgh Council continues to tackle the issue of rising rolls in primary schools.

The Council will provide 24 new class spaces, being delivered in conjunction with partners Hub South East Scotland Ltd and Morrison Construction, for the start of the 2015/16 school session.

The primary schools where the new class spaces will be provided through Hub South East Scotland are: Clermiston (4 classes), Flora Stevenson (3), Gilmerton (4), James Gillespie’s (4), Pentland (3), Ratho (4) and Wardie (2).

In addition South Morningside Primary School will have a temporary annexe created for P1 and P2 pupils at the former Deanbank Resource Centre and extra internal space will be provided at both Brunstfield and Liberton Primary Schools.

Currently there are 28,010 primary school pupils but latest estimates show this will rise to 31,700 by 2020 and then increase further to 35,400 by 2030.

Eight primary schools have already been identified by the City of Edinburgh Council as potentially having accommodation issues for August 2016 due to rising rolls - Balgreen, East Craigs, Ferryhill, Fox Covert, Granton, Roseburn, St Mary’s RC (Leith) and Towerbank Primary Schools. Discussions have already started with the school communities to consider the best options if additional accommodation is required.

Hearing to take place on proposed Banchory development

A pre-determination hearing will be held this month to discuss a planning application for a mixed development at Braehead, Auchattie, Banchory.

The application for a mixed-use development, including residential dwellings, health centre, employment uses, formation of a Deeside Way hub, extension to the Deeside Way, re-alignment and improvement to the B974, cycle paths and associated landscaping, open space and ancillary works on land at Braehead, Auchattie, Banchory was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council in January 2015.

The hearing will take place in the gym hall at Hill of Banchory Primary School, Banchory, AB31 5ZT at 7pm on Monday, April 20 2015.

SFHA praises social landlords for meeting Scottish Housing Quality Standard

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has today hailed the achievement of Scottish housing associations and co-operatives investing in their homes in order to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS).

The SHQS, set by the Scottish Government for all housing association and council homes in Scotland, set standards around repair, modern facilities (kitchens and bathrooms) and energy efficiency.

The SHQS has now been replaced by a further quality standard, the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH).

GAP Hire Solutions nominated at European Rental Awards

GAP Hire Solutions has been shortlisted for Large Rental Company of the Year by the European Rental Awards.

The awards celebrate the best companies in the hire industry and will take place on the first evening of the two-day European Rental Awards (ERA) Convention, which takes place in Rome on 3rd June 2015.

The nomination comes after a hugely successful year for GAP, in which they expect to exceed £140m turnover, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year, and executed a complete rebrand to GAP Hire Solutions.

MSPs warn against Scottish film studio decision delay

A decision on a private bid to build a Scottish film and television studio should be made “as soon as possible”, a group of MSPs has warned.

A report by the economy, energy and tourism committee said a delay could cause lasting damage to the industry.

In February, Scottish Enterprise confirmed it was considering the bid for a privately funded film studio and expected to reach a decision by the end of April.

It emerged the proposal would exceed the original development brief with one of the highest soundstages in the UK.

Scottish Enterprise had previously been considering five different public options - including one in Glasgow and one in Cumbernauld.

School pupils attend Orkney Housing Association turf cutting ceremony

Pupils of Stenness Primary School and Nursery turned out to help Orkney Housing Association mark the start on-site of a new housing project in their village.

The development will see a mix of houses for rent and shared ownership providing new affordable homes for 8 families including up to 16 children.

The Association has arranged with the contractor to allow the children to visit the site periodically throughout the nine month contract to learn more about the construction process.

The houses are expected to be complete and occupied by November 2015.

City Legacy to make substantial cash donation to the Prince & Princess Of Wales Hospice ‘Brick By Brick Appeal’

The ‘Brick by Brick Appeal’, which aims to raise funds to build a new purpose built facility for Glasgow’s Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, will receive a substantial cash donation from City Legacy, the developers of the Athletes’ Village. For every one of the 300 homes sold at the development, £300 will be presented to the Hospice, which will equate to £90,000 when all sales are finalised.

The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice (PPWH), a registered charity which provides specialist care for thousands of terminally ill people in Glasgow, is currently based within the city centre. The new development will be a major step forward in the provision of care services and will provide the flexibility to improve current services.

The existing premises is operating at full capacity and there is no room to expand the services provided, or to meet the increasing demand. As a result, the charity launched its ‘Brick by Brick Appeal’ in September 2012.The Appeal aims to raise £15 million of the £21m needed to build a new 21st century Hospice, which will be located in Bellahouston Park.

The new Hospice will also allow the charity to further enhance its existing services and crucially, will allow the provision of specialist care to be extended to young people aged 15 and above.

Currently caring for more than 1200 patients, the PPWH anticipates that its new facility will be ready within the next 3 to 4 years.

The commitment to donate £300 from every house sold at The Village was made by members of the City Legacy consortium to Rhona Baillie, chief executive at of the PPWH and Carol Smillie, ambassador for the PPWH.

The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice is one of three nominated charities which have benefitted from cash donations from City Legacy.

In July last year, a cheque for £10,000 was presented to former Olympian and word- breaking middle distance runner Kip Keino, to help hundreds of young Kenyan orphans and aspiring athletes receive shelter, healthcare and quality education through the Kip Keino Foundation.

Earlier this month, City Legacy also donated £5,000 to Oxfam’s Emergency Responses fund for the residents of the tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu, which was left devastated by Cyclone Pam. The Vanuatu Team of 12 athletes, occupied three houses at the Athletes’ Village when they competed in last year’s Commonwealth Games.