Building Briefs – April 7th

Glasgow school children were invited to the unveiling of their artwork, taking pride of place outside historic Kelvin Hall which is currently undergoing redevelopment by main contractors Barr Construction.

The Renfrewshire-based contractor invited pupils from neighbouring Hyndland Primary and St Constantine’s Primary to decorate the entrance to the site with drawings of the city landmark through its lifetime to date.

To keep the history of one of Glasgow’s best-loved buildings alive, pupils from P4 to P7 were shown archive images and videos of Kelvin Hall’s remarkable past for inspiration for their creations.

The school children were then tasked to create a drawing, craft a poem or write a news story to be enlarged and featured on the site’s hoardings.

Hand-drawn pictures of the circus, transport museum and sporting events now adorn the entrance of building site.

Barr Construction is currently on site working on the first phase of the £35 million redevelopment and expected to be complete in the second half of 2016.

Mitie issues profit warning as squeeze on social housing takes its toll

Mitie has struck a profit warning over the UK government’s squeeze on social housing spending.

Shares plunged 7 per cent as the firm said council spending cuts had hit its home-care and social-housing businesses.

Mitie carries out maintenance and repairs for more than 100 local authorities and social-housing firms, under the brands PeopleCare, PropertyCare, and CarbonCare, but admitted spending cuts have bit into its contracts.

Work starts on Aberdeen school expansion

A major construction project got under way at a leading independent school in Aberdeen during the Easter holidays.

St Margaret’s School for Girls on the city’s Albyn Place is in line for an expansion of its science block to contain five laboratories, as well as three new classrooms and refurbished art, drama, learning support and social science facilities.

It is planned that the science facility will be fully operational by January next year, allowing for the current labs to be completely renovated to provide new drama and art studios.

The project – overseen by Aberdeen-based architects Halliday Fraser Munro – will be the biggest development at the school since the extension of its music department in 1995.

£14m loan scheme launched to help tackle fuel poverty

Scotland’s most vulnerable households will receive help to make their homes cheaper to heat following a £103 million investment to tackle fuel poverty.

The funding includes a £14m loans scheme which will offer homeowners interest-free loans of up to £10,000 for energy efficiency measures.

The Scottish Government will also launch the next phase of its Cashback scheme which will see £10m made available to homeowners and private tenants, and £5m for social landlords.

Through the scheme private sector households will be able to claim up to £5,800 for installations recommended by an energy advice report, and households in remote areas will be entitled to greater amounts to cover the increased costs they face.

In 2014/15 1,700 social landlord tenants benefited from the Cashback scheme while it delivered 4,000 energy efficiency measures to 3,400 households in the private sector.

Those measures, combined with £65m for area based fuel poverty schemes and funding for support and advice to householders, takes the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency in 2015/16 to £103m.

£2.5m to improve River Clyde Homes tenants’ homes in Greenock

River Clyde Homes and Inverclyde Council are together investing £2.5 million to improve the quality of customers’ homes and to enhance the environment of the John Street area of Greenock.

The area is within easy reach of Greenock town centre and has a long been a popular; with a strong community. Indeed the local steering group has been pivotal in driving the regeneration works to transform the look and sustainability of the homes there. The works have started already on the 84 homes, with secure door entry systems being installed. The main investment works is now well underway with scaffolds erected, new roofs being put on and the closes being painted.

The works will include the installation of external wall insulation and new roughcast to the buildings as well as the fitting of new down pipes and guttering.

105 more Midlothian homes to receive energy efficient insulation

Melville Housing Association, Midlothian’s largest registered social landlord, is to fit an additional 105 homes in Mayfield with energy efficient insulation, making them both warmer and significantly cheaper to run.

The news was welcomed by Margaret Burgess MSP, Scottish Government minister for housing and welfare. During a recent visit to Mayfield the minister saw for herself the work carried out over the past three years which has seen more than 400 non-traditional homes benefit from the major work that not only dramatically improves insulation levels, but also extends their lifespan and vastly enhances their appearance.

The extension to the work, which will cost £820,000 and be carried out by contractor SERS, will begin shortly and carry on throughout the year. The work will be funded by grants from energy suppliers alongside Melville’s own contribution and has been made possible thanks to assistance from Midlothian Council.

The latest Melville areas to benefit from the work include Bogwood Road, Lawfield Road, Hawthorn Crescent, Kippielaw Park, Campwood View and Langlaw Road. Melville will be writing to all tenants affected well in advance.

Ministers approve Corriegarth Wind Farm project

Energy minister Fergus Ewing has granted consent to the Corriegarth Wind Farm development in the Highlands.

The development, applied for by NBW Wind Energy Ltd, will have 23 turbines and have a generating capacity of up to 70MW, and effectively replaces the existing planning permission granted by Highland Council for a 50MW, 20 turbine Wind Farm on the same site.

It is estimated that Corriegarth Wind Farm would power 33,000 homes.

During the construction period, it is envisaged that local and national employers will be encouraged to compete for contracts for the manufacture and supply of turbines, as well as contracts for construction, operation and maintenance work on the wind farm. Stone for the construction of turbine bases would be locally sourced, creating indirect economic benefit to the local area.

The developer has estimated it will create 245 jobs during the construction phase. During the operational phase, the applicant estimates four to five full time jobs could be created to undertake regular maintenance work.

NBW Wind Energy Ltd has indicated that the community benefit fund will provide approximately £100,000 per annum to support local projects.

Kincardine Bridge road improvements completed ahead of schedule

Essential road maintenance on the A985 Kincardine Bridge has been completed a week ahead of schedule.

The work, which has a value of £350,000, included the removal of the existing swing span surfacing and replacement of the bridge deck waterproofing and movement joints and the reinstatement of the road surfacing, which had reached the end of its operational life.

The repairs, which began on 27th February 2015, were scheduled to last for six weeks; three weeks southbound and three weeks northbound.

The original completion date was estimated as 11th April 2015. Daytime work on the bridge ended on Friday 20th March, three weeks ahead of schedule. Overnight work to replace the bridge joints and install varioguard completed on Friday 3rd April.

Bellway on the ball for charity

A charity football festival, sponsored by housebuilder Bellway, has helped to net £650 for the care of premature babies in the developing world.

Three teams took part in the tournament held in the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on March 21st, with proceeds from the event going to Embrace, which provides infant warmers around the world.

The event was organised by Bellway Scotland technical director Iain Allison, who was inspired to raise funds for premature infants after reaching his 40th birthday last year.

Bellway, who paid for the hire of the stadium, also submitted a team for the cup. However despite winning both of their games, they were beaten on points by a team from Cumbernauld.