Building Briefs - April 26th

• Railway bridge work begins in Hamilton

Work will take place from May 8 to July 3, 2021, as part of a wider bridge upgrade programme aimed at protecting and improving Scotland’s Railway.

The project - involving new parapets, steelwork repairs, repainting and masonry work – will take place from May 8 to July 3. Lane closures will be in place on Quarry Street from Saturday 15 May to Sunday 27 June. The access walkway from Duke Street Car Park and Hamilton Central Station will also be closed between these dates.

Quarry Street will also be fully closed over the bridge on two separate weekends, from 22:00hrs on Saturday 5 June to 06:00 on Monday 7 June  then from 22:00hrs on Saturday 12 June to 06:00 on Monday14 June and there will be limited pedestrian access during these times

During the road closures, a diversionary route will be in place via Brandon/Union Street, Wellhall Road and Chantinghall/Mill Road.

• Viridor and Rock Solid agree five-year 65ktpa IBA contract

Viridor and Rock Solid Processing have agreed a new five-year contract for the processing of 65,000 tonnes per annum of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) from Dunbar ERF, diverting the material from landfill and returning resources to the UK economy.

Viridor chief operations officer Pierre Dorel said the company was committed to ensuring the recycling of all ferrous and non-ferrous metals which remained following the energy recovery process, with the IBA going on to be used locally in Scotland within the construction and concrete industry, reducing the need to extract virgin materials from existing quarries and extending the life of current quarries and quarry stocks locally.

Rock Solid will also recover substantial tonnages of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals from the IBA for reuse both locally within Scotland and internationally.

Rock Solid Processing general manager Mark Wederell said the company welcomed the new contract with Viridor.

He said that once the new contract became operational in mid to late 2021, the residue or ash would be collected by Rock Solid from the EfW and delivered to a purpose-built IBA processing facility close to Cowdenbeath. Rock Solid, using state-of-the-art machinery and recovery techniques, would process the IBA and recover valuable aggregates.

• Timber lodges planned at Dunkeld House Hotel

Managers of Dunkeld House Hotel have filed a fresh application with Perth and Kinross Council to build holiday lodges in local woodland.

The timber lodges would be located in a valley behind the C-listed property. An earlier application sent to the local authority last December was withdrawn.

Chartered surveyors acting for management of the hotel have previously said their proposal “will add much needed additional hotel accommodation to a hotel and an area with high occupancy levels”.

Edinburgh-based GLM said of the plans: “The proposal will contribute to the local area by creating jobs both during the construction phase and then with an increase in permanent hotel staff.”

• Bee Café Garden and Butterfly Bistro come to life at Glasgow Waters

Regeneration business Peel L&P has teamed up with Centurion Way & Yorkhill Park Community Group and landscape contractors DS McG Ltd to bring a Bee Café, Butterfly Bistro and Ladybird Larder to Yorkhill Quay at Glasgow Waters, formerly known as Glasgow Harbour.

The three large planters filled with pollinator plants and bee hotels are situated to the right of the riverside in a south-facing spot in front of the railway tracks. Local children planted the garden with colourful nectar-rich plants and with an illustration of the bumblebees most likely to dine. The local community group will maintain and monitor the project in the future months.

Brian Lavalette, director of development for Scotland at Peel L&P, said: “We’re proud to be working in partnership with Centurion Way & Yorkhill Park Community Group and DS McG Ltd to create a beautiful garden to be enjoyed by the community and also support local biodiversity and improve habitat connectivity. We have also arranged to reduce grass cutting on the site to complement the garden and allow for more wildflower growth to benefit local wildlife and the council will supply and plant additional wildflowers in the area.”

Peel L&P’s vision at Glasgow Waters is to create a sustainable environment for local people to enjoy. The destination, set to become a major retail, leisure and tourism destination on the Clyde, will complement, support and revive the surrounding area. The masterplan involves a substantial investment in infrastructure, the creation of hundreds of waterfront homes, retail and leisure opportunities, as well as a commercial district.

Plans for 1,100 homes, a 200-bedroom hotel plus a 2,500 sqm for a mix of leisure venues at Yorkhill Quay are currently going through the Glasgow City Council planning process. The residential-led mix of uses will help repopulate and reactivate the waterfront, creating a vibrant and diverse destination which complements and connects with surrounding uses at the Riverside Museum, Clydeside Distillery and nearby SWG3.

• Linkspan replaced at Vidlin ferry terminal

The linkspan at Vidlin ferry terminal has been replaced by local contractor Malakoff Limited working for Shetland Islands Council.

Work began around the clock last Monday afternoon to remove the previous linkspan, and was completed on schedule last  week. 

The old linkspan, approximately fourteen metres long and 30 tonnes in weight, was removed in an overnight operation at around 1am on Tuesday morning.  A new bearing plate was then fitted and the newly refurbished linkspan was lifted into place by crane on Wednesday. 

A new hydraulic control ‘hut’ has also been installed with new hydraulic pumps, generators and control systems, to replace the previous equipment.

As part of the ongoing linkspan replacement programme, the linkspan that has been removed will be completely refurbished, including being shot blasted, welded and recoated, before being refitted at another ferry terminal at a later date.  

The next linkspan to be replaced will be at Skerries Ferry Terminal, starting on May 17, weather depending. Works are also planned for the Whalsay ferry terminal at Symbister later in the year.

Also involved in the works at Vidlin ferry terminal were Mott MacDonald, consulting engineers; and John Henderson (UK) Ltd, hydraulic specialists.

• GCU researchers to help shape River Clyde project

GCU researchers are to help transform the River Clyde into a global tourism destination.

The University is teaming up with Clyde Docks Preservation Initiative (CDPI) to protect and promote the river’s rich maritime heritage.

The social enterprise has entered into an Innovation Voucher Scheme with GCU to develop a digital mapping process for its Turning the Tide On the Clyde project, a celebration of the river’s history and communities.

The resource will then be used to support a programme of diverse events, activities and attractions throughout the River and Firth of Clyde region, encourage new activities to be developed and identify untapped opportunities.

This collaboration enables CPDI to tap into the academic expertise at the University with Dr Caroline Gallagher, Engineering; Daniel Baxter, Event Tourism; and Dr Julie Thomson, Innovation, involved in the project.

The Innovation Voucher Scheme, supported by the Scottish Funding Council, is aimed at building relationships between small enterprises and higher education institutions in Scotland.

• Caithness roads structural maintenance programme approved

Members of the Highland Council’s Caithness committee have approved a prioritised roads structural maintenance programme for the area for this year 2021/22.

The roads structural maintenance for the Caithness area are two-fold and costing are split between the Revenue Budget and the Capital Budget.

The programme is based on current priorities.

The Capital Budget allocation for Caithness is £1,202,58, and the agreed priorities are to undertake structural overlay/inlay works and surface dressing schemes. Over 140 repair areas have been identified in the report.

The current Revenue Budget allocation for Caithness is £1,268,994 which is primarily required to cover Labour, Plant, Materials for cyclical maintenance and Salt required for Winter Maintenance for the 2021/22 season.

The programme of works is prepared over the winter months and finalised in the spring to allow for additional damage due to ‘freeze-thaw’ cycle. The winter of 2020 has had a serious effect on the road network. The programmes reflect both the strategic network and the importance attached to local roads by rural communities.

The Highland roads budget for 2021/22 was approved at the council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee on February 4. The total Highland roads capital budget is £17.2 million.

• Wester Ross projects to benefit from Highland Coastal Communities Fund

Members of the Highland Council’s Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh committee have agreed to provide over £80,000 of grant support through the Highland Coastal Communities Fund to benefit three local community projects.

The Highland Coastal Communities Fund is a new fund designed to support economic regeneration and sustainable development around coastal areas in Highland. The fund is derived from revenue generated by Scottish Government Crown Estate marine assets.

Within an overall allocation to Highland of £3,034,703, the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Area Committee has been awarded £347,543.75 for distribution within the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh area.

The three applications approved will receive a total of £80,911.02 of grant support.

Ullapool Unpacked have been awarded £22,806 towards a 3-year lease of a Zero Waste Community Shop on wheels. The mobile shop will sell a range of loose dried foods, oils, vinegars, cleaning products and zero waste accessories and travel around the community, five days a week from Gairloch up to Lochinver.

£52,605.00 has been awarded to Gairloch Area Development Ltd to replace a derelict toilet block on Gairloch Beach with a new pay for use, accessible toilet/shower/waste disposal facility located alongside the boardwalk.

Gairloch EcoCentre have successfully applied for £5,500 to employ an independent rural economist to carry out a feasibility study which will demonstrate the level of demand for such a centre, the most sustainable business model for it’s operation and the most appropriate site of the three which have been so far identified.

Members have also agreed to ringfence £40,000 to support young entrepreneurs. The detail of this will be brought back to a future Area Committee for a formal decision.