Building Briefs – December 13th
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£10m revamp begins at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s famous Tea Rooms
Work has begun on the £10m restoration project to restore one of Glasgow’s Willow Tea Rooms, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The revamp of the well-known building in Sauchiehall Street will take 18 months, the Trust that is organising the work said.
The Willow Tea Rooms Trust said work will be complete in time for the celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth on June 7, 2018.
SSE outlines plans for Scottish energy strategy
Energy company SSE has submitted a series of proposals to the Scottish Government as ministers begin to draw up Scotland’s new ‘Energy Strategy’.
The initiative aims to help Scotland maximise benefits from innovation, cost reductions and new technologies, as well as de-carbonise energy systems and put communities at the heart of new investment.
Six key proposals in the strategy paper include:
In addition, SSE said maintaining a Great Britain-wide energy market is central to the company’s position on the future of energy in Scotland.
First Minister opens £53m Ayrshire College
The new £53 million revamp of the Kilmarnock campus of Ayrshire College was opened yesterday by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The Scottish Government contributed £48.5m towards the redevelopment through the NPD (Non-profit Distributing) programme, making it the single largest public sector investment the town has ever seen.
The £3.5 billion NPD programme is being used to fund projects in three main sectors – further education, health and transport.
The Kilmarnock campus site was donated to the college by Diageo following the closure of their bottling plant.
The campus – accommodating 5,500 students, 338 staff and more than 100 courses – encompasses all curriculum areas, with a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering and apprenticeship programmes. It also houses a health and wellbeing centre, hair and beauty training salon, training restaurant and café and lecture theatre.
The First Minister toured the campus, meeting students in engineering and IT and science laboratories before unveiling the Ayrshire College plaque at the official opening ceremony.
Alexander Burnett MSP visits Kier Construction Scotland
Alexander Burnett MSP visited Kier Construction Scotland’s Aberdeen office yesterday afternoon.
The Aberdeenshire West representative paid tribute to the firm’s commitment to providing local jobs for local people in all of its projects and the part it plays in boosting the Aberdeenshire economy.
He added: “Equally impressive is the scale and range of construction projects that they are carrying out in the North East. I’m particularly pleased that Kier are working on restoring one of Scotland’s oldest concert halls to its former glory - the iconic Aberdeen Music Hall.”
Gordon Reid, business development manager for Kier Construction Scotland said: “Kier Construction Scotland employs over 200 people throughout the country and it was great to introduce Mr Burnett to some of our 35 employees that work in the North East.
“Our construction projects in this area span a wide range of sectors including heritage, education, commercial and healthcare. As we have steadily grown the business, we’ve also increased our headcount by around ten percent. We’re creating a number of diverse employment opportunities, graduate traineeships and apprenticeships to encourage more people to join this thriving industry.”
Almost £2m in funding awarded to SMEs by CITB
Close to £2 million in CITB funding has been given to small, medium and micro-sized construction firms over the last 12 months.
A total of 442 SMEs across Great Britain have successfully applied for £1.9m in funding, with an increasing number of firms from Scotland and Wales, including some in Gateshead, Aberystwyth and on the Scottish islands.
The recipients have successfully applied for the Skills & Training fund, which grants up to £5000 for levy payers with fewer than 50 employees, to provide skills and training to their workforce. Over 1000 construction workers have received training through the fund.
The next opportunity to apply for the Skills and Training Fund will open on February 7.
Four per cent annual increase in average house prices
The latest publication of the UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in October 2016 was £143,131 – an increase of four per cent on the previous year and an increase of one per cent when compared to the previous month.
This compares to a UK average of £216,674, which was an increase of 6.9 per cent over the year and an increase of 0.1 per cent when compared to the previous month.
The top five local authorities in terms of sales volumes were Glasgow City (1,031 sales – this is only the third time in the past 12 months that Glasgow City has overtaken the City of Edinburgh as the top local authority in terms of volumes), City of Edinburgh (1,020 sales), Fife (564 sales), South Lanarkshire (520 sales) and North Lanarkshire (415 sales).
The biggest price increase over the last year was in East Renfrewshire where the average price increased by 17.7 per cent to £222,523. The biggest decrease was again in the City of Aberdeen, where prices fell by 8.7 per cent to £172,870.
Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price when compared with the previous year, with detached properties showing the biggest increase of 7.1 per cent to £251,709.
The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £172,444 – an increase of 5.2 per cent on the previous year. The average price for property purchased by a first time buyer was £114,992 – an increase of 2.6 per cent on the previous year.
The average price for a cash sale was £131,584 – an increase of 3.5 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £148,481 – an increase of 4.2 per cent on the previous year.
West Lothian bridge replacement project to begin
BAM Nuttall is to begin a railway bridge replacement project next year in West Lothian.
The contractor will work alongside Network Rail to demolish and replace the structure on the A71 road next to West Calder station on January 5.
The 16-week scheme will see the bridge levelled and rebuilt as part of wider work on the Shotts line ahead of the electrification of the route by 2019.
Community drop-in events are being held this week to allow local people to view plans for the project.
British Drilling Association welcomes new members
The British Drilling Association (BDA) has welcomed a number of new members who have joined the Association in recent months.
New members include: Steel Wire Ropes Group Ltd (SWR Ltd); AECOM; Aarsleff Ground Engineering Ltd; S M Associates; Saving Energy Geothermal Ltd; Aspin Foundations Ltd; Project Dewatering Ltd; Clay Drilling Ltd and Rockbit UK Ltd.
The support of these new companies widens the BDA’s membership, which moves the Association further towards one of its primary aims of fully representing the drilling industry.
Membership of the BDA is open to enterprises such as companies, partnerships and sole traders etc., contractors that have proof their drilling operatives (and or drilling sub-contractors) have NVQ Land Drilling Level 2 and BDA Audit, non-contracting suppliers and consultants.
GAP adds to depot presence in the south-east
Plant, tool and equipment hire company GAP Group has added to its burgeoning presence in England by acquiring a depot near Brighton.
Glasgow-based GAP’s Hire Solutions division snapped up the site from administrators acting for Hewden. The heavy machinery company cited the uncertainty brought by the Brexit vote as administrators EY were called in last month, leading to hundreds of job losses.
GAP said its acquisition of the former Hewden site in Lewes would safeguard an unspecified number of jobs at the premises.
CIOB launches industry Academy
A new dedicated training academy developed by the industry for the industry has been launched today by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) to enhance excellence and boost the productivity of the construction sector.
The CIOB Academy is open to anyone working in the built environment. It has been created in consultation with industry partners to meet the needs of an industry that is undergoing unprecedented technological change whilst embracing new challenges, such as smart cities and the low carbon economy.
Courses, including digital construction, building conservation and accident investigation, are led by professionals with in-depth industry experience. Each syllabus, tested against expert focus groups, provides practical and relevant learning for specific job roles.
As well as technically-led subjects, the CIOB Academy is helping construction professionals increase their personal effectiveness in areas such as contract negotiation, report writing, project planning and contract management.
Improvements planned to upgrade Marr College junction
South Ayrshire Council has announced that a programme of works will get underway in January to upgrade the existing junction around Marr College in Troon, where the access road to the school meets the A759 Dundonald Road.
The move forms part of the ongoing work to refurbish and extend Marr College. This includes a requirement, as part of the planning consent, to upgrade the road junction. Once complete the new layout will provide a much safer environment for road users and pedestrians.
The improvement programme will relocate the existing pedestrian crossings at the junction to maximise road user and pedestrian safety.
Temporary traffic lights will be in use to control the flow of traffic and pedestrians in and around the junction while the works are carried out.
The work is programmed to start on January 17 and will last approximately ten weeks.
Sod cutting marks new council homes for North Lanarkshire
The site of a former primary school is being transformed into a new North Lanarkshire Council housing development of 30 modern affordable homes.
A sod cutting event took place to mark the beginning of construction of the homes at St. Aloysius Primary School on Main Street and Woodville Court in Chapelhall.
The £4.3 million development is being delivered by Cruden Building and Renewals Ltd and comprises a mix of flats, bungalows and houses.
This latest phase of the council’s NL Homes programme adds to its growing stock of new council houses and marks another step to meeting ambitious plans to build more than 2,000 new homes – one of the biggest council house building programmes in Scotland in a generation.
All of the new homes are built with energy efficiency in mind, achieving at least a ‘good’ eco rating to help minimise running costs for tenants. In addition, they meet Housing for Varying Needs specification which means homes are more accessible to adapt to tenants’ mobility needs.
The homes are also ‘Secured by Design’ accredited, which involves Police Scotland architectural liaison officers having input into the layout and designs to ensure the council builds safe and secure environments.
A contribution is received from the Scottish Government towards the development costs at each site.
International acclaim for A9 Safety Plan
The A9 Interim Safety Plan has been recognised for the contribution it has made to improving the safety of the world’s roads, with judges particularly impressed by its size and complexity and evidence based approach.
The plan was developed in response to concerns about the operation of the A9, which links central Scotland to the Highlands.
It concentrates on a range of improvements in the three areas of Education, Engineering and Enforcement and includes the introduction of an average speed camera system as well as an increased speed limit of 50 mph for HGVs.
New enterprise hub work gets underway in Glenrothes
Work is underway on a new enterprise hub designed to inspire entrepreneurs and boost business growth in Fife.
Enterprise Hub Fife, which is set to open in spring 2017, is being developed on the first floor of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s premises in Glenrothes town centre.
The Hub will offer a joined-up ‘one stop shop’ approach, porviding enhanced enterprise and business services to commercial and social entrepreneurs and business start-ups.
It will also help home business owners, sole traders and micro-businesses by providing them with access to hot desk hub space which is affordable and flexible.
The Hub is set to offer high-speed broadband and IT connectivity which will enable web-conferencing and the delivery of training workshops and webinars.
CGC offers ‘van-tastic’ support to Paisley 2021 bid
Paisley’s UK City of Culture bid is really motoring after Citygate Construction (CGC) made sure its vans stepped up a gear.
The firm has put thirteen new vans on the road – all of which will be displaying support for Paisley’s bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021.
This is in addition to the existing fleet of 39 CGC vans which have been featuring the message for some time.
If Paisley is successful in its bid it is estimated there will be a £50 million benefit to the local economy.
CGC based in the town’s MacDowall Street has also been displaying an unmissable giant version of the striking red sign featuring the world famous Paisley pattern at its structural steel fabrication building - also in Paisley.
CGC contracts director Ronnie McDowell said the firm was delighted to be spreading the word.
New chief executive at Elderpark Housing Association
Elderpark Housing Association has appointed Gary Dalziel as its new chief executive.
Gary is currently director of finance and corporate services at Linstone Housing Association where he has worked for the last 20 years across all areas of service.
He has also been a CIH Scotland Board Member since 2012.
It is anticipated that Gary will start with Elderpark Housing Association in early February 2017.
CCG lends support to North Ayrshire Foodbank
Cunninghame Housing Association and its contractor CCG Scotland Ltd have contributed to the North Ayrshire Foodbank.
The foodbank provides an invaluable service to hundreds of families across North Ayrshire and the contribution ensures families will benefit over the festive period.
Craig Crosthwaite from North Ayrshire Foodbank visited Cunninghame Housing Association on December 9 where Claire Mistretta, community benefit co-ordinator, CCG Scotland Ltd; the Association’s chair, Janet Strang and director of corporate services, Allison McColl joined staff members from the Association’s Health and Wellbeing Staff Group to present the North Ayrshire Foodbank with a cheque for £500 from the Association and £250 from CCG Scotland Ltd.
The Association’s staff also generously donated a variety of food donations.
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