Building Briefs – April 8th

£5.8m development boosts quality of life for Edinburgh’s frail and elderly

A £5.8 million housing development built to enhance the quality of life for the frail and elderly in Edinburgh is now complete.

Merchant’s Court in Little Road, Liberton has been built to suit older people wishing to live independently and has been delivered through a unique partnership between Dunedin Canmore Housing Association and The City of Edinburgh Council.

The development of forty eight flats provides rented accommodation for a range of elderly tenants, including the disabled. Lift access is provided to all floors and the properties are highly insulated to be extremely fuel efficient. A large glazed common room is provided in each block for the use of all residents to meet socially, thus helping to prevent isolation and loneliness.

Merchants’ Court has been built in two phases with the first phase of 32 flats completed in May 2014 and officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal in September 2014. The second phase of a further block of 16 flats completed in March 2015 will see its first tenants move in later this month.

The development is the successful culmination of a partnership between The Merchant Company of Edinburgh’s Endowments Trust, The City of Edinburgh Council, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association and J.Smart & Co (Contractors) PLC.

Turner & Townsend appoints new director in Belfast

Turner & Townsend has appointed Colm Lavery as director of project management and cost management services in its Belfast office.

Colm joins the global programme management and construction consultancy with over 20 years’ experience of delivering professional services in the commercial, education, healthcare, retail, residential and government sectors.

Formerly leading EC Harris LLP in Northern Ireland, he oversaw the delivery of some of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious projects, including Titanic Belfast, the Lyric Theatre and Bangor Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, together with a multitude of education projects across the province, leading on successes with Ulster University and Magilligan Prison.

Cinema among plans for old Dundee college campus

A new urban community hub in Dundee could include a cinema and art space.

Developers Whiteburn Projects are also keen to create modern apartments, offices and even a cinema and bar at the old Dundee College campus in Constitution Road.

The project is still in its infancy — and the views of Tayside residents are being invited.

The building has been empty since 2011 and was a frequent target for vandals, before Whiteburn Projects bought it in April 2014.

Diana Wallace, office manager at the company, said ideas are still being sought.

Edinburgh commits £3m towards warmer private homes

The City of Edinburgh Council is to spend at least £3.3 million to make private homes across the capital warmer, more environmentally friendly and cheaper to heat.

In a programme run in partnership with Home Energy Scotland, residents of Dumbiedykes, Moredun, West Mains, South Queensferry and Niddrie Mill will benefit from investment in cavity wall and loft insulation to improve their homes, reduce carbon emissions and lower their energy bills.

The investment is being delivered through Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS: ABS), which is part of the Scottish Government’s programme to increase energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty – two key elements of Edinburgh’s City Housing Strategy.

£100,000 grant for essential repairs to A-listed church

A £100,000 grant will help fund the restoration of one of Dundee’s finest churches.

The A-listed Gate Church on Perth Road is the last building within the West End Lanes Conservation Area that remains a place of worship.

It was originally built in 1868 to a design by Frederick Thomas Pilkington and has been held up as an excellent example of mid-19th Century church architecture.

In recent years, however, its structure has deteriorated to the extent that parts of its grounds are currently closed to the public for fear of falling masonry and slates.

Major fundraising has been undertaken to pay for the “once in 100 years” repairs required to ensure the church remains watertight and open.

The latest phase has been made possible by a new grant from the UK government’s Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund.

The most urgent repair needs will be addressed first, such as the overhauling of slates, replacing lead that has reached the end of its life span and timber that has been affected by rot, together with rebedding insecure masonry.

Scottish Gas home improvement investment spreads to Greenock

Scottish Gas is beginning work on a major project in Greenock that will transform the homes of families in over 500 properties.

The scheme, being run in partnership with River Clyde Homes, will make properties warmer and more energy efficient and should reduce energy bills for hundreds of families.

The £9 million project will also see solid wall insulation added to homes, as well as district heating installed. It will mean people will have warmer homes when the weather turns colder.

It follows a similar scheme in Glasgow in partnership with Cube Housing.

Furniture stalwart in £1m revamp

Martin & Frost, the venerable Edinburgh furniture retailer, reopened this week following a £1 million refurbishment which has led to the creation of 35 jobs. The firm said the store at the capital’s Fort Kinnaird site had now doubled in size. In addition to the furniture offering, it boasts a café and four new specialist departments - interior design, flooring, bathroom design and a homestore.

First home on site at new Niddrie housing development

Work is well underway at a new housing development in Niddrie as the first home arrives on site at the development of 66 new homes.

‘The School House’, which is on the site of the former Niddrie Mill Primary School, will see construction and manufacturing specialist CCG (Scotland) Ltd use the latest off site construction methods to build high quality and environmentally efficient homes in the quickest time possible. The School House will comprise 66 residential properties including 34 flats for social and mid market rent and a further 17 flats and 15 houses for private sale. The sale of private homes will be available with support from the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme and prices will be released shortly by sales agents, Savills.

The development will sympathetically retain the frontage of the original school building and create vibrant new green space including around the Category C listed memorial for Major General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope of Niddrie Marischal House which will remain at its original location in front of the school building.

The School House forms part of the regeneration programme for Craigmillar being delivered by PARC Craigmillar Ltd that will see 2,000 new homes, built in the area.

Lottery boost for Spittal of Glenshee plan

Community efforts to acquire and redevelop the site of the fire-ravaged Spittal of Glenshee Hotel continue to gather pace.

A grant of £10,000 has been received from the Big Lottery Investing in Ideas Fund towards the £20,000 cost of a feasibility study and business plan for the proposed site.

This follows a grant of £5,000 from Perth and Kinross Council.

Partick Housing Association welcomes new chief executive

The board of Partick Housing Association has announced the appointment of its new chief executive.

Stewart MacKenzie moves to the association from Clyde Valley Housing Association where he was operations director. Stewart has over 30 years experience in Scottish housing and in the course of his career has held a number of key strategic and operational roles across a number of Scottish housing organisations.

Young Scots resigned to a life without home ownership

Fewer than half of people aged between 20 and 45 are making financial plans to save for a house while the number of those saving for a deposit has fallen, according to a new report.

The Generation Rent report from the Halifax found that three-quarters of people in the same age bracket worry they will never be able to buy their own home. High house prices and low incomes were regarded as the main barriers to getting on the property ladder.

The report’s authors said their findings “strengthen the view” that more people may be giving up on the idea of owning their own home and are instead accepting the idea of long-term renting.

Miller Homes Scotland raises £10K for CCLASP

A fundraising effort by kind-hearted employees at Miller Homes in Scotland has seen them raise £10K in just one evening for Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP).

The money was raised during an event at The Sheraton in Edinburgh recently which was attended by over 350 guests including employees and suppliers.

The evening included a fantastic raffle, with over 45 prizes, comprising of spa days, champagne dinners, golf events, football games, family events, hotel stays, and a Samsung 40 inch widescreen LCD TV.

CCLASP is an Edinburgh based children’s charity, set up in 1994 to help support children and groups of families, to express and share the feelings, anxieties and the horror of having a child with a life threatening illness.