Building Briefs – August 8th

The Queensferry Crossing will be officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 4 September 2017.

The ceremony, with activities taking place at both sides of the bridge, will include:

The new bridge opens to traffic for the first time on 30 August, prior to closing on 2-3 September for the Queensferry Crossing Experience, when 50,000 members of the public have the unique opportunity to walk across the bridge – following a ballot that attracted almost 250,000 entries.

On 5 September, an additional ‘community day’ has been added, giving up to 10,000 more people from local schools and community groups on both sides of the Forth the chance to walk on the bridge. From 6 September onwards the bridge will re-open to traffic with no pedestrian access.

Cinema planned for Scotsman Hotel in £10m revamp

A new cinema is set to be opened under £10 million plans aimed at revamping the Scotsman Hotel building in Edinburgh.

Hospitality company G1 Group – which owns 50 venues across the country including Capital bar Ghillie Dhu, Espionage nightclub and Biddy Mulligans – has lodged a listed building consent request for permission to refashion the layout of the Edwardian building and add new leisure features including a two-screen cinema.

Morgan Mcdonnell Architects will steer the project.

NIA announces new chairman

The National Insulation Association (NIA) has appointed Derek Horrocks as its new chairman of the Sustainable Energy Group following the departure of Tony Hardiman, chair of the NIA Strategic Board in June.

The new appointment also means that a new vice chair has also been announced as Mike Easdon, managing director at InBuild Solutions and serving NIA Board Member.

Edinburgh road repairs improvement plan

A plan to improve the way the City of Edinburgh Council carries out road repairs is set to go before councillors later this week.

According to the Road Condition Index (RCI), the standard of the Capital’s roads is improving.

The percentage of roads that should be considered for investment has continued to improve on previous years and is now at 34.8%.

However, despite this, the council recognises that the Roads Service could and should be performing better.

A report on the Roads Services Improvement Plan, which will be considered by the Transport and Environment Committee on 10 August 2017, states that: “the Council needs to maintain a high-quality road network to ensure the safety of road users, to ensure road users can freely travel around our network and to protect the overall appearance of Edinburgh as a city”.

Among the measures proposed in the Plan are to create a single road repairs service which will “be responsible for owning the full ‘journey’ from inspection, through design to carrying out the repair/treatment”, rather than various elements being carried out by different section, as is the case currently.

This combined operational arm of Roads Service will look after all elements of the design and maintenance of everything from pothole repairs to a major surface enhancement, allowing “more effective asset investment decisions to be made”.

Another key measure in the proposed plan is to procure a prime contractor to carry out major works on the council’s behalf, helping reduce delays to projects and securing competitive pricing.

Buccleuch Property makes trio of acquisitions

Buccleuch Property has made a trio of industrial acquisitions totalling more than £4 million in key locations across the UK.

The Edinburgh-based property investor and developer has purchased a 40,232 sq. ft. unit in Balliol Business Park in Longbenton, Newcastle for £2.55m representing an initial yield of 8.2%. The detached industrial unit is currently let to Royal Mail Group on a 5-year lease. The site comprises modern office accommodation set across two floors, a warehouse and concrete yard, and has the added benefit of 54 car parking spaces. Metcalf Harland acted for Buccleuch on the purchase.

In the West Midlands, Buccleuch has acquired Lye Business Centre, a 32-unit industrial estate spanning 22,841 sq. ft, for £1.575m representing an initial yield of 7.5%. Situated in a well-established industrial location one mile from Lye town centre and seven miles from the M5; currently 29 out of the site’s 32 units are let.

Further north, four terraces of industrial units spanning two buildings totalling 12,565 sq ft at Brand Street, Ibrox in Glasgow have been acquired for £975,000 representing an initial yield of approximately 9.25%. The self-contained site comprises 12 industrial units ranging between 1,000 sq. ft. and 3,180 sq. ft, and is located within close proximity to Scotland’s main arterial routes and Glasgow City Centre. Ryden acted for Buccleuch on the purchase.

Senior promotions at Trident Building Consultancy

Trident Building Consultancy has promoted two of its senior employees in Edinburgh in the past month.

Chris Paveling is now a director in Trident’s Edinburgh office. Chris runs the Edinburgh office and team and specialises in dilapidations, pre acquisition surveys and project management. His clients include Kames Capital, BMO, Ingenico, Aberdeen Asset Management, Hudson Advisors UK, St Brides and GSS Developments.

Alan Campbell is also a member of the Edinburgh office and has been promoted to associate director. Alan’s work encompasses contract administration, project management, lead designer, principal designer and client agent and he specialises in dilapidations, contract administration. Alan’s clients are UBS, JBT, CBRE and Kames.

Orkney harbour set for £2.7m upgrade

A harbour described as of “critical importance” to a small Orkney island’s economy is to undergo a £2.7 million upgrade following the announcement of EU backing for the project.

The work, which is expected to create a number of jobs in Westray, will safeguard the facility’s future for decades, according to a local councillor.

The Pierowall Pier refurbishment is one of a number of sea fisheries, aquaculture and processing projects around the Highlands and islands to share £5.2m in the latest round of awards from the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

In total around £8.4m has been allocated across Scotland, with businesses in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Moray among those benefiting.

More than £1.1m has also been awarded to Lerwick Port Authority towards the development of a new fish market at the Shetland harbour.

Balfour Beatty sets Almondbank flood protection scheme on road to completion

Lochty Road in Perth and Kinross has reopened after an 18-week closure to enable vital construction works to take place on the Almondbank flood protection scheme.

The scheme, awarded to Balfour Beatty under the Scape Group’s National Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework will see Balfour Beatty deliver a series of flood defences along the River Almond and construct a temporary flood water storage reservoir.

Working alongside Perth and Kinross Council, Balfour Beatty implemented a number of measures to alleviate strain on the travelling public during road closure, including the re-routing of a key bus service and establishing a temporary breakfast club to allow parents to drop their children off at school earlier.