Building Briefs – April 22nd

Peter Vardy CarStore gets the green light in Dundee

Scottish car dealership, Peter Vardy’s proposal to transform the Dunsinane Industrial Estate, site of the former Valentine’s card factory, has been granted consent by Dundee City Council.

The Dundee CarStore will be built on an 8.5 acre brownfield site on the Kingsway, and city planners have expressed the hope that the flagship CarStore will encourage other businesses to follow the Peter Vardy Group’s lead in the regeneration of a site that has lain fallow for more than twenty years.

One of the deciding factors in the council’s decision is the boost for high quality, long term jobs for the Dundee area. Council officers noted: “This development will create 100 jobs and the construction phase will provide further employment.”

In addition to the economic boost and future revitalisation for Dundee, the Peter Vardy Group has put in place provisions for any potential environmental impact, with the installation of electric car charging points, and a new cycleway and footpath.

The current plans are yet to be finalised, but the proposed site will be close to 65,000 square feet of ultra-modern showroom, in the welcoming, family-friendly style of the Braehead showroom, which opened in 2014.

David Narro Associates opens Highland office

With increasing opportunities in the North of Scotland David Narro Associates has announced the opening of its new Highland office based in Forres.

The office is headed by Mark Hepburn, an Associate and established member of the team.

The firm said: “David Narro Associates has always had close ties to the North of Scotland and over the years we have been privileged to work on a number of residential and larger scale projects such as the Culloden Visitors Centre, Lews Castle and Russwood Headquarters.

“Our Highland office is perfectly located to provide our existing clients with a more localised service and to build new working relationships with architects in the region.”

Orr’s building in Airdrie to be redeveloped

The long-vacant Orr’s building in Airdrie town centre is due to be redeveloped.

The former department store on South Bridge Street has been sold to developers who plan to create retail units and flats.

A planning application for the work could be lodged within three months.

Previous proposals to convert the building into a similar combination of retail units and flats, approved in 2009, were unable to go ahead because of difficulties over access to the neighbouring pub’s land which was required for construction work.

National award nomination for Glasgow office building

A Glasgow office development has been shortlisted for a major national award.

BAM Properties CONNECT110NS development at 110 Queen Street, is the only Scottish finalist in the in the Best Development Outside Central London category of the OAS (Office Agents Society) Development Awards.

The prestigious Awards recognise excellence in office development, sustainability and transactions across the wider UK and City of London and West End markets.

The building, which was completed in June last year and is owned by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, has quickly become a local landmark thanks to its distinctive, futuristic curved glass frontage.

Covering 166,000 sq ft over nine floors, the mixed use development has attracted high profile tenants including leading professional service organisations, Brodies LLP, Deloitte LLP and Grant Thornton, along with restaurant CAU and a flagship Emporio Armani store.

The shortlisting follows the development clinching the title of ‘best commercial workspace’ at the British Council for Offices Scottish Awards this week and the announcement that The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the latest tenant to be attracted to CONNECT110NS and will be moving into the first, second and third floors of the building later this year, leaving only two retail units left for occupation.

Designed by architects Cooper Cromar, the striking contemporary building replaced an ugly 1960s office block on one of the busiest street in Scotland. The developers overcame major challenges to ensure they constructed the building within a strict time schedule and with a minimum of disruption to the surrounding buildings.

Engagement event to discuss new £54m Inverurie Community Campus

Aberdeenshire Council is hosting an engagement event on Thursday, April 28 from 6.30pm at Inverurie Academy to provide the community with opportunities to discuss early proposals for a new campus.

Representatives from the authority will provide an update on the progress to date on the project including anticipated timescales, with work due to start in 2018 and complete in 2020.

The council is encouraging parents, carers and the wider community to attend the event for the opportunity to see plans for the project that will incorporate learning and leisure facilities.

The preferred option was approved by Garioch Area Committee and Aberdeenshire Council’s Policy and Resources Committee last year and involves the redevelopment of the existing academy as a brand new purpose built campus.

The new Inverurie Community Campus is estimated to cost around £54 million and will include a swimming pool and community facilities alongside flexible educational spaces at the core of its design.

The new campus will be built on the existing playing fields at Inverurie Academy, allowing a phased project build with open space being created when the current building is demolished.

The flexibility of the design also includes the opportunity to consider the inclusion of secondary pupils of St Andrews School as part of the new campus. This opportunity will be discussed as part of ongoing consultation with parent groups and stakeholders, before any further developments are progressed.

A full design team, including Aberdeen architects Halliday Fraser Munro, will develop the strategic brief into a building design, and these early designs will be shared at forthcoming stakeholder engagements.

Fife Housing Group celebrates completion of Dunfermline community regeneration project

Fife Housing Group and its partners joined tenants, local councillors and current Labour candidate Cara Hilton this week, to celebrate the completion of its £17.5 million regeneration project in the Abbeyview area of Dunfermline.

The event marked the end of a redevelopment programme which has seen 207 new, high quality, energy efficient properties built as part of a tripartite agreement between Fife Housing Group, Fife Council and Persimmon Partnerships (Scotland).

A mixture of flats, cottages, townhouses and disabled bungalows have replaced the old tenement style flats which were demolished in 2004, making a significant improvement to both the quality of housing available and the local area itself.

Parents feeling pressure to help children buy their own home

A fifth of parents in Scotland believe their children will need “substantial financial support” to ever be able to buy their own home, according to new research.

A Bank of Scotland survey found that just over one in ten parents aged 25-34 are looking ahead to the future and already feeling pressurised to help with costs towards getting on the property ladder.

More parents in southern Scotland (17 per cent), Glasgow (16 per cent) and Aberdeen (15 per cent) than anywhere else think it is normal now that their children’s generation will never buy their own home.

Industry body Homes for Scotland said the research demonstrates the need for a significant increase in building.

Nicola Barclay, chief executive, said: “With the majority of Scots aspiring to own their own home, but affordability issues clearly impacting on the ability of future generations to realise these ambitions, it is vital that we see an increase in supply across all tenures in order to meet this demand.

“That is why we are calling on the next Scottish Government to address our country’s diverse housing needs and aspirations and manage a return to pre-recession build levels which would result in at least 100,000 new homes by the end of the Parliamentary term.”

Inverclyde Council chief executive John Mundell to retire

Inverclyde Council’s chief executive, John Mundell, has announced his retirement from the local authority after ten years in the post.

Prior to joining Inverclyde Council in March 2006, John Mundell worked for East Dunbartonshire Council, Central Regional Council, Lothian Regional Council and the City of Edinburgh Corporation.

John has 42 years local government service. During his service he has been a driving force in national initiatives including the recent Scottish Recycling Charter where John represented SOLACE, the society of local authority chief executives while heading up the council with the highest level of recycling in Scotland.

Scotland’s PRS rents ‘continue steady climb’

Average rents in the Scottish private rented sector (PRS) now stand at £767 per month, up 2.1 per cent on the year, according to new research.

The latest quarterly report from rental property portal Citylets found that, with the exception of accelerated reduction of rents in Aberdeen, rents Scotland’s main cities have continued with the same steady annual growth seen in the previous two quarters.

Overall average rents, however, for residential property in Scotland have hit an all time high.

Property to rent in Aberdeen have now fallen by more than 20 per cent over the year, the steepest decline ever recorded in any Citylets quarterly report. The typical property in Aberdeen now rents at £865 per month taking 53 days to let. Such has the extent of the falls been that 1 and 2 bed properties are now renting for close to official mid market rent values for the region.

Whilst it is likely the rate of decline in Aberdeen will be close to or at maximum, the fall in rents is unlikely to bottom out until well into 2017, it said.

The Edinburgh market saw rents increase by 6.6 per cent on the year to stand at £972. One bed properties rose a full 9.5 per cent to stand at £678 on average.

Elsewhere, Glasgow continues its steady upward climb to £710 per month up 4.6 per cent on the year, the rate of the long term average over the last 5 years. Again it was 1 bed properties rising fastest at 8.8 per cent.

Dundee recorded 5.6 per cent annual growth to now average £620 per month.

Stirling Council unveils regeneration and poverty strategy

Stirling Council has detailed plans to deliver an ambitious and far-reaching strategy for regeneration and commit £500,000 worth of spending to tackle poverty and promote growth across the area.

The council’s community planning and regeneration committee agreed this week to recommend the establishment of a Short-Life Working Group that will oversee the delivery of the regeneration strategy and draw together the numerous strands of regeneration work already in place to tackle disadvantage and deprivation and promote social justice and economic growth.

These include work already underway to boost the priority areas of Cultenhove, Fallin, Raploch, Cornton, Cowie, Top of the Town, Hillpark and Plean and rural development elements of Stirling’s ambitious £200 million City Development Framework.

In Cornton, the council, community and local businesses worked together to plan and deliver lighting and other improvements to rejuvenate the local shopping precinct and community centre.

Pilot projects taking place in a number of communities are also looking at ways of building the capacity of these areas to lead their own regeneration.

Last chance to win £150k from Jewson community project

Scotland residents have until April 29 to put their community project forward for a top transformation from builders’ merchant, Jewson.

As part of its Building Better Communities campaign, Jewson is asking local people in Scotland to put forward community buildings that are in need of some TLC. From a much needed coat of paint for a village hall, to a brand new home for a local sports club, community spaces most in need could win a share of a new, mammoth £250,000 prize pot.

This year, applicants can choose to put forward their project for either a top £150,000 prize or a smaller share of a regional prize £100,000 fund where they can ask for anything from £500 to £10,000 to spend on building materials.

Nominations can be made via www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk or the Jewson Facebook page.