Building Briefs – December 18th

Legal business DWF is to lease new offices at CONNECT110NS, 110 Queen Street, in Glasgow’s Style Mile to support the strategic aims of the firm and enhance the working environment for its people.

The law firm will occupy the entire fourth floor of the building, a total of 18,544 sq ft of space, on a 15 year lease. With offices in 14 locations in the UK, Dubai, Brussels and Ireland, the Glasgow team will relocate from their current office at 310 St Vincent Street in 2016.

Mark Broderick, development director Scotland, BAM Properties which developed the Queen Street building said: “DWF was keen to secure prime office space enabling the opportunity for expansion and we are delighted DWF chose CONNECT110NS. Earlier this month we welcomed our first tenants and it’s terrific to see the building start to come to life.”

Work to begin on second phase of Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme

New work is set to begin on the multi-million pound Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme (WoLFPS) following the signing of a contract by the City of Edinburgh Council.

McLaughlin and Harvey Ltd has been appointed to design and construct the second phase of the scheme, which will see around 1.2km of flood defences built along the Water of Leith at Murrayfield and Roseburn.

Once completed, the defences will provide protection for local homes and businesses against flooding.

Construction works are now set to begin in January 2016 and are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2018.

Iconic statue returns after £5.2m regeneration project in Gourock

An iconic statue in Inverclyde which was removed due to a £5.2 million improvement project has been returned to its original home.

The ‘Girl on a Suitcase’ landmark in Gourock, renamed ‘Annie’ by local primary school children, was installed in 2011.

However, regeneration works meant the statue had to be temporarily removed.

The £5.2m redevelopment of Gourock included creating a new one-way system, parking spaces and public realm works.

The project was delivered for the council by urban regeneration company Riverside Inverclyde

Wind speeds too low for planned Allt Carach Wind Farm

Plans for a 25-turbine wind farm have been abandoned after wind speeds were assessed to be too low to make the project commercially viable.

ABO Wind UK’s Allt Carach Wind Farm was proposed for a site at Kilmorack near Beauly.

The company had hoped to generate 75MW of electricity and supply it directly to the upgraded Beauly-Denny power line.

Tests at the site identified “unexpectedly poor” speeds, said ABO.

A spokesman added: “We had looked at various wind data, such as from other surrounding wind farm sites and the national wind speed database NOABL, which suggested this could have been an ideal site for a wind farm.

“We are therefore very surprised that we recorded consistently low wind speeds.”

Flats plan for Dundee car parks

Dundee City Council has approved plans to transform a city centre lane with 30 new flats.

The proposals for Candle Lane, off the Seagate, will see the existing car parks replaced with a new six-storey flatted building.

The two bedroom flats are being created by John Frullani Architect.

The site is within a conservation area to the west of the B listed former sailors’ home and chapel, an impressive five-storey building dating from 1881. The building is used as commercial and accommodation premises, however the former chapel is now derelict.

The 30 new flats will be served by 30 car parking spaces to be shared with 12 existing flats within the Seaman Mission. There will also be a charging station for electric vehicles.

There will be a communal garden to the rear of the building and all the upper floor flats will have balconies.

New considerations for window replacements in Rothesay

Argyll and Bute Council has adopted a new technical working note as a material planning consideration in applications for replacement windows in Rothesay’s conservation area.

Councillor David Kinniburgh, chair of the PPSL and Policy Lead for Planning, said: “The previous guidance on window replacements in conservation areas dated from 1995; we felt the time was right to update the policy position to reflect changing circumstances and to give a greater degree of flexibility to the owners of the less historically significant buildings within the conservation area.

“Listed and key town centre buildings will still be subject to a traditional, conservation approach where we would require like for like sash and case timber window replacement.

“For buildings which are not listed and do not make a significant contribution to the conservation area we will now allow good quality uPVC windows.

“For buildings which currently have what we would consider poor quality or unsympathetic uPVC windows we will try to ensure, upon their replacement, that they are improved to be more in keeping with the traditional town centre.

“In producing this new policy position we have consulted with Historic Environment Scotland (formerly Historic Scotland) and it is content that this approach protects the traditional features of the conservation area.

“This note represents a practical and proportionate shift in policy which acknowledges the changing circumstances since 1995 while protecting the key historic heart of the town centre and supporting our heritage-led regeneration initiatives. It is our view that insisting on timber sash and case windows throughout the conservation area would be unreasonable.

“This new approach has been reflected in some recent planning decisions and we will update technical advice notes for other areas accordingly.”

Star Inverness apprentice scoops top title at special Scottish Parliament ceremony

An apprentice from a leading specialist-engineering contractor with its headquarters in Inverness has been awarded a top accolade by the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC) at a special ceremony held at Scottish Parliament.

Steven Reid, 22, who works as an apprentice plant maintenance fitter at Daviot Group, was named Scottish Civil Engineering Apprentice of the Year in the prestigious awards. He travelled to Edinburgh on Wednesday 9 December 2015 to collect the award from the Scottish Parliament.

Daviot Group nominated Steven in recognition of his high standards of work, attention to detail and consistent dedication to his on-site and college work.

Daviot Group, which recently rebranded from Daviot Farms Ltd, employed Steven in 2012 as part of their strategy to support the development of young people in the Highlands and to build a team of homegrown plant maintenance experts.