Building Briefs – August 16th

Companies invited to get involved in Hawick Flood Protection Scheme

Contractors and suppliers from across the Scottish Borders are being invited to find out about the work opportunities the Hawick Flood Protection Scheme has to offer.

An information day will be held on Wednesday 29 August in Hawick Town Hall from 11am to 8pm, where local businesses can get more details on one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever to take place in the Borders.

The informal drop-in event will see the project team on hand to discuss all aspects of the scheme with any small, medium or large contractor or supplier.

The Hawick Flood Protection Scheme will deliver protection from a 1 in 75 flood event to over 900 residential and commercial properties at risk along the River Teviot and Slitrig Water, with the main contract starting in June 2019 and due to be completed in 2022.

The scheme will also deliver multiple benefits to the town of Hawick, maximising the cultural, heritage, educational, environmental, energy and health opportunities that a major civil engineering project can deliver in partnership with the community and external organisations.

This has included the creation of Community Vision and Traffic Management working groups to ensure key community stakeholders can help shape the project.

Further information on the event is available by searching ‘Hawick Flood’ under the notices sections of www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk or via email: hawickfloodps@scotborders.gov.uk.

Public consultation on Dalkeith temporary accommodation plan

Midlothian Council is consulting with local residents on plans to convert offices in Jarnac Court in Dalkeith into temporary accommodation for homeless households.

A drop-in information session will take place at Dalkeith Arts Centre today from 2.30pm until 6pm.

Jarnac Court currently includes council offices that will no longer be required by 2019. The drop-in event will showcase proposals to turn the upper two floors of one of the buildings into residential accommodation.

Plans have already been presented to Midlothian Council outlining the benefits of the project. As well as being more supportive to local people, the office conversion will be more cost effective than using bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless households.

Sir Andy Murray’s Scottish hotel expansion wins approval

Sir Andy Murray’s hotel has been given the green light to build an extension to cope with soaring demand for afternoon tea.

Management at Cromlix House want to expand the tearoom at the hotel to make room for more customers, as the existing facility is operating at “the limit of its space”.

Costa Coffee drive-through planned for Inverness

Plans have been submitted for what could be a new Costa Coffee drive-through facility in Inverness.

Aberdeen UK Property Fund has submitted proposals for the outlet at Inshes Retail Park on the site of the former Blockbuster video store, between McDonald’s and B&M Bargains.

The plans show that there will be a restaurant, outdoor seating and parking at the premises.

Consent for this type of operation has already been granted under a previous application for retail warehouses at the site.

CGC to support Provost’s Charity Ball

City Gate Construction has announced it is to support the Provost’s Charity Ball in Renfrewshire this year.

It takes place in October and is a gala occasion with an important charitable purpose.

This year it will help raise funds for MND Scotland which supports people with motor neurone disease.

MND Scotland has been chosen by Provost Lorraine Cameron as a charity which she is supporting in 2018.

MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.

There is currently no cure or effective treatment. Almost 200 people are diagnosed each year in Scotland and 53% will die within one year of diagnosis with 6.5% live more than 5 years. There are over 450 people in Scotland currently living with MND.

Provost Cameron has good reason to devote such time and effort to fundraising for MND Scotland. Tragically, her mum Eileen Clark died of MND in 2011 and Provost Cameron has previously spoken movingly of the loss of her mum.

CGC will attend the event at Mar Hall, Bishopton on October 5 and will donate a sum to the fundraising.

This sum is enough to buy what’s known as a ‘Communications Aid’ kit giving someone with MND the ability to speak again.

MND Awareness Week took place in June and was another opportunity to bring the work done to help sufferers and the vital research work being undertaken to the attention of the public.

Provost Cameron has also been out and about fundraising for MND Scotland. She has received much-appreciated support from ScotRail who gave permission to fundraise with a collecting bucket on trains and at stations in Renfrewshire. She also attended a reception at the Scottish Parliament for MND Awareness Week and met many people whose lives have been changed by MND in one way or another.

*If you wish to donate to the Provost’s charity fundraising scheme you can do so in the following ways.

By Bank Transfer to:

Sort Code: 82-54-04

Account Number: 20041937

By cheque made payable to Renfrewshire Council Provost’s Charity Event and post to Provost Lorraine Cameron, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley PA1 1AN

Road improvements carried out in Perth and Kinross

A number of road improvements have been carried out across Perth and Kinross after the council secured funding from Forestry Commission Scotland’s (FCS) Strategic Timber Transport Scheme (STTS).

Perthshire is known for its woodlands and forested areas, with a growing forestry sector that, while providing economic benefits, also presents issues for local communities, visitors and road users.

Upgrades were made on five public roads - three in rural Highland Perthshire, and two around Kinross and Dunning - where the impact of timber transport journeys was already being felt.

All of the roads are strategically important for long-term local forestry operations, in addition to providing access for tourists and residents. However, many sections of the roads are also narrow and posed difficulties in terms of sharp bends, reduced visibility for road users, and limited opportunities for vehicles, from cars and bikes to timber lorries and other HGVs to pass each other safely.

The £1.48m STTS grant, together with £634,000 match funding from the council, was used to build new retaining walls, strengthen road edges and carry out resurfacing work, as well as creating 92 new passing places to improve road safety for motorists, cyclists, walkers and horse riders alike.

The work was carried out by seven contractors between late 2017 and March 2018, being completed during one of the more severe winters in recent years. This included the arrival of the ‘Beast from the East’ which brought the worst winter conditions for around eight years to Perth and Kinross.

Consultation extended for Sherry Road improvements

The consultation period on suggested improvements to Sherry Drive, Hamilton, has been extended by South Lanarkshire Council.

The improvements involve changing the layout of the road and removing all of the chicanes.

A drop in event will take place on the project at St Mark’s Primary School, Sherry Drive, on Monday 27 August from 5pm to 7.30pm.

The online survey will also be open until Tuesday 28 August for people to express their views.

There are four options to improve the road layout and enhance the safety of the road:

Essential road work underway in Kirkwall

Work has begun to investigate the cause of a number of road defects on King Street in Kirkwall.

The team will also attempt to locate a culvert in the street.

The road is now closed to traffic for the work to take place.

Pedestrians should be able to use King Street throughout the work and, if possible, the street may re-open to traffic outside of normal working hours.

The work is expected to be completed by Friday 24 August.