Building Briefs – April 29th

Cupar County Buildings housing transformation underway

A project to convert unused office space at Cupar County Buildings into social housing is now underway.

The development will consist of 8 one-bedroom flats, all of which will be conversions, and 10 two-bedroom flats - two of which will be conversions and eight will be within a new extension at the back of the building.

The County Buildings forms a key part of St Catherine Street, which was designed in 1810 as the formal entrance to Cupar and is an excellent example of a planned Georgian development in Fife.

To complement the £3.2 million investment in the building by Fife Council and the Scottish Government, the Heritage Lottery Fund is providing £40,000 grant support to this project as part of the wider Cupar Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) and Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) programme funded jointly by Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund. This additional funding will ensure a high standard of conservation repairs, including the repair and draught-proofing of the existing sash-and-case windows. Stone repairs will be carried out to the housing section of the frontage and the whole façade of County Buildings will be redecorated as part of a larger maintenance project.

Work to repair or reinstate traditional details to shop fronts at ground level along the same side of St Catherine Street will be encouraged through a Small Grants Scheme as part of the Historic Scotland and Heritage Lottery funded CARS/THI programme. This has the aim of restoring the historic character of this grand palace frontage which is a significant part of the Cupar conservation area.

Edinburgh approves prescription boilers scheme

Edinburgh Council has approved a ‘boiler on prescription’ scheme to improve residents’ health and reduce emergency NHS admissions.

The pilot seeks to build on a similar scheme in Sunderland in 2014 by Gentoo Group and Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group.

Preliminary figures at the end of Gentoo’s trial found that the number of outpatient appointments made by benefactors of the scheme fell by 33 per cent, the number of GP appointments dropped by 28 per cent, and fuel bills fell by £30 a month on average.

Working in collaboration with NHS Lothian, the council hopes the scheme would reduce emergency admissions by identifying patients with health problems across all tenures, whose health would be improved by undertaking improvements to the fabric of their homes, including new heating systems and insulation.

The initial phase of the feasibility study into the pilot project would seek to work together with a local GP practice to identify patients who would be at high risk of emergency admissions and would benefit from the installation of a new heating system and other energy efficiency measures.

Scottish house prices up 13.3 per cent

House prices rose 13.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014-15 compared to the same period in the previous year, according to official statistics published by Registers of Scotland (RoS).

The average house price in Scotland from January to March was £173,830, the highest figure recorded for any quarter since RoS began compiling quarterly statistics in 2003.

All local authorities in Scotland showed a rise in average property prices. The highest percentage rise was in East Lothian, up 28.6 per cent on the same period in the previous year to an average of £248,902.

The total volume of sales across Scotland was 16,946, a decrease of 4.7 per cent on the same quarter in the previous year. This is the second consecutive quarter that has seen sales volumes decrease, and is the highest annual decrease in sales volumes since quarter one of 2011-12.

West Dunbartonshire showed the largest percentage rise in the number of sales, with an increase of 10.6 per cent. The biggest percentage decrease was in Midlothian, which dropped 28.1 per cent to 233 residential house sales.

The total value of sales across Scotland registered in the quarter increased by 8.0 per cent to just under £2.95 billion compared to the previous year. This represents the highest value of sales for this quarter since 2007-08.

The City of Edinburgh recorded both the highest average for the quarter at £260,647 – a rise of 21.4 per cent – and the highest volume of sales, with 2,123 property sales. It also accounted for Scotland’s largest market value with sales of just over £553 million for the quarter, an increase of 29.2 per cent on the previous year.

All property types showed an increase in average house price, with semi-detached properties recording the largest increase at 15.0 per cent. With the exception of detached properties which saw an increase in sales volumes of 9.1 per cent, the volumes of all property types decreases, with flats showing the biggest decrease at 9.1 per cent.

These statistics cover all residential sales, including those that did not involve a mortgage.

More affordable housing investment agreed for Fife

Fife Council is to continue beyond its current commitment of 2,700 new homes by 2017 after agreeing a two-year extension of its Affordable Housing Programme.

Councillors on the Executive Committee also approved funding of between £20 million and £30m for new council homes to complete the last phase of the current Programme.

The backing of this additional Housing Revenue Account (HRA) investment means that details on the extension of the Affordable Housing Programme will now be developed and considered at a future Executive Committee meeting.

Meanwhile people are being given the chance to discuss a private developer’s plans for a proposed new affordable housing development at the former Bowling Green in Wellesley Road, Methil.

A drop-in event for members of the public to view and comment on the proposal will take place at Methil Library on Wednesday 6th May between 4.30pm and 7pm.

The proposal is for 12 council homes, made up of two-bedroom cottage flats.

If approved, the council intends to purchase the homes from NAStech Construction to rent to council tenants.

Proposed designs unveiled for next phase of Leith Walk improvements

Designs are now in development for the next phase of a major programme of investment into Leith Walk.

Proposed plans to improve Leith Walk between Pilrig Street and McDonald Road as part of the Leith Programme can now be viewed online.

An update to the street’s layout will aim to enhance the area for pedestrians and cyclists and includes a segregated off-road cycle lane on both sides of the road.

It will also prioritise public transport needs while retaining loading and some parking bays.

Design proposals for the forthcoming phase of work have been developed in collaboration with local stakeholders, and build on previous consultation findings for the Leith Programme.

This phase of work will follow the completion of improvements to the Foot of the Walk, scheduled for the end of May, which have seen the redesign of the junction between Leith Walk, Duke Street, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.

It will also complement recent changes to Leith’s Kirkgate area, which included the addition of trees, lighting and new seating arrangements, as well as the removal of the tusk feature outside the New Kirkgate shopping centre.

Harald Tobermann of Leith Central Community Council also welcomed the proposals.

First approved in 2012, the programme involves essential works to upgrade junction signals and road surfacing alongside improvements to the streetscape and facilities for cyclists between the Old Dock Gates on Constitution Street and Picardy Place.

The £9.1 million scheme has benefitted from Scottish Government funding, granted through Sustrans Scotland, for the delivery of an enhanced design, providing significant provision for pedestrians and cyclists.

Holmes Miller plans new Merchiston Castle sports hall

Holmes Miller Architects, in collaboration with landscape architects Horner + Maclennan, have drawn up proposals for a new sports hall and 25m pool within the grounds of Merchiston castle School, Edinburgh.

The pool will be separated from the main sports complex by landscaped grounds to maintain views toward Corstorphine Hill from the A-listed Gibson House.

A planning application for the scheme has already been submitted.

New £7.7m primary school opens in East Dunbartonshire

The first of five new primary schools has opened as part of East Dunbartonshire’s £48 million primary school programme.

The £7.7m Lairdsland Primary School opened to 266 pupils and replaces the old school in Kerr Street. The design for Lairdsland will form the starting point for other projects in the school programme.

The new school includes covered outdoor learning areas for all pupils as well as a range of small and large group work spaces. An outside Multi-use Games Area (MUGA) has also been developed, including LCD touchscreens in each classroom supported by Wi-Fi throughout the building.

Wetherspoon granted permission for superpub in former Picture House

Wetherspoon has been given the go-ahead to transform Edinburgh’s Picture House into a super pub after 16 months of planning debate.

The former music venue on Lothian Road will now become a bar after councillors granted the final planning consent at the development management sub-committee on Wednesday, with six votes in favour of the application.

The news comes despite a strong public opposition to the opening, with an online petition gaining more than 13,400 signatures submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council.

In January, councillors delayed the decision requesting further information on the impact on Lothian Road.

Aberdeenshire approves £15m flood scheme

Councillors in Aberdeenshire have backed plans for a £15 million flood protection scheme in a Mearns town.

The local authority’s Kincardine and Mearns area committee yesterday paved the way for the Stonehaven project to start.

It includes a package of measures aimed at stopping the River Carron bursting its banks again and causing a repeat of the severe flooding the town suffered in 2009 and 2012.

The work is being funded by £24.2m set aside in Aberdeenshire Council’s capital plan for the protection of all the region’s harbours, coasts and flood risk areas between now and 2030.

The Stonehaven project includes flood walls along the River Carron in the town and a flood wall with a self-closing barrier between White Bridge and the Bridgefield crossing.

Councillors also approved the area’s flood management and coast protection programme for 2015-16.

Included are £21,000 of shingle management operations in Stonehaven and Inverbervie and £23,000 of wall repairs along the River Cowie.