Building Briefs – August 14th

The 12 km (approx. 7.5 miles) Balmedie to Tipperty section of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project will fully open to traffic tomorrow.

All remaining cones on this section of road will be removed and the national speed limit returned on this section of the A90, with reduced speed limits in place on slip roads. Construction works will continue on some side roads and access roads.

This section of road represents around one-fifth of the entire AWPR/B-T project and includes three new junctions, 9 km (approx. 5.5 miles) of new dual carriageway between Balmedie and Bridgend, as well as 3 km (approx. 2 miles) of improvements to the existing dual carriageway between Blackdog and Balmedie. These improvements link the Balmedie to Tipperty section of the project with the AWPR.

The upgraded road between Balmedie and Tipperty will improve safety and journey time reliability on the A90, and provide safer access between the A90 and the local road network.

Shepherd sells former car showrooms in Perth and Aberdeenshire

Shepherd Chartered Surveyors has sold former Arnold Clark showroom premises in Perth and Aberdeenshire.

A former showroom with development potential at St Leonards Bank, Perth has been sold to Network Rail for expansion of the railway station yard for £950,000.

Prominently located on the fringe of Perth city centre, St Leonards Bank is adjacent to the main line railway station and close to the main bus terminal. The car showroom and workshop facility with external car parking, display and yard provides 10,560 sq ft accommodation on a one acre site.

Meanwhile, a former showroom in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire has been sold to Safelift Offshore, a supplier of offshore lifting equipment, for an undisclosed sum.

The former car showroom and workshop facility, together with large areas of car parking and ancillary yard, provides 30,821 sq ft accommodation on a 6.8 acres site.

New funding paves way for second affordable housing project at Ulva Ferry

Mull and Iona Community Trust (MICT), working with Ulva School Community Association (USCA), has secured a grant of £156,865.51 from the Scottish Land Fund to realise a second affordable housing project at Ulva Ferry on the Isle of Mull.

The project will deliver four homes across two sites which will be offered as secure, long-term let, via an allocation process, and at an affordable rent.

The Scottish Land Fund award will cover the majority of the cost of the purchase of a plot at Ulva Ferry, along with half of the staffing costs to appoint a project officer.

MICT and USCA successfully delivered two affordable houses at Ulva Ferry in 2017, increasing the number of children in the area by 40% and working age adults by 10%, thus strengthening Ulva Primary School’s roll, and the overall sustainability of the community. Despite this success, there is a continued need for affordable long-term rental housing in this remote area of Mull, which is essential for the continued sustainability of the community.

Extensive feasibility work carried out over the winter months confirmed that there was a particular shortage of housing for working age couples and families, and local businesses were struggling to recruit and retain staff as a direct result.

USCA, and the wider Ulva Ferry community, will be at the heart of the project as it develops – having the opportunity to be involved in the whole decision process from the design of the houses to the allocation policy. Funding towards the build costs will be sought from grant sources including the Rural Housing Fund, set up by the Scottish Government in 2016 to increase the supply of affordable housing of all tenures in rural Scotland.

Flood management scheme in Aberdeen complete

A major flood management scheme has been completed around the Den Burn area in Aberdeen.

The Den of Maidencraig flood management and wetlands project will work alongside the Stronsay Park scheme to help protect dozens of properties downstream, after the area was hit with flooding in March.

A path was built on top of an earth bank which is about 2m high and 5m wide, with shallow sloping sides. In order to safeguard properties downstream from flooding, the bank was also designed to hold water back in storm events to a depth of up to 1m, achieved by replacing the temporary bridge with a new one and installing a large drainage pipe underneath. It aims to slow the flow of water in the Den Burn, allowing it to temporarily flood across the boggy area of the Den of Maidencraig during storms.

As part of the works, the tributary burn coming off the hillside at the Lang Stracht was moved and opened up to improve the habitat for wildlife.

The scheme was carried out by Aberdeen City Council with funding from Intereg and Bancon Homes.

It is one of four schemes designed to help save houses and businesses in the neighbourhood and further downstream from being flooded.

New Water Treatment Plant delivered in Orkney

A new Water Treatment Plant has been successfully delivered in Orkney, serving customers in North Hoy and Graemsay.

The transportable treatment unit (TTU), which uses modern membrane treatment technology, was designed, built and tested for Scottish Water by Ross-shire Engineering at its specialist plant in Muir of Ord, near Inverness.

It was then carefully transported to its long-term home near Sandy Loch by road and ferry earlier this week, as part of a £2 million investment by Scottish Water to upgrade the works.

Scaffolding work to commence on Highland Council HQ

Scaffolding is to be built to complete upgrades to Highland Council’s headquarters in Inverness.

Once installed, the scaffolding will allow work to be undertaken to stone chimneys and other stone repairs on the building.

Temporary traffic management measures and traffic lights will be in operation from 12 August for four or five nights.

Stoneworks will then commence on 20 August, and are expected to be completed in two weeks.