Building Briefs – December 8th

New 125 bed hotel planned for Lerwick

The former NHS Shetland headquarters in Lerwick look set to be redeveloped as a Holiday Inn Express hotel opening in early 2016.

Aberdeen property tycoon Robert Keane and Shetland-born accounts manager Martin Watt have teamed up to build a 125 bed hotel on the site of Brevik House on South Road, as well as serviced offices and apartments.

The pair set up Breiwick Bay Properties Ltd (BBPL) to buy the building and are investing £2 million of their own money into the project.

Last month they invited local investors to contribute £1m towards the venture, with the prospect of healthy profits over the next five years. A further £6m will come from bank loans.

BBPL have appointed Shetland project managers H James Nisbet and Redman Sutherland Architects to help the project through the planning process.

If successful, they hope work will start early next year for a three star hotel targeting budget business and leisure travellers with 85 car parking spaces.

The hotel would open early 2016, with up to 10,000 square feet of high grade offices as well as apartments completed later that year.

If they fail to get planning permission they are looking at building up to 40 town houses on the attractive waterfront site.

Upgrade planned for Dundee leisure pool facilities

A series of ‘snagging’ works are to be carried out at The Olympia in Dundee next month.

The works will focus on the pool area, which will close for five weeks as a result. The closure will be in place from Monday 5 January, 2015 and will affect the wave pool, flumes, toddler’s pool, training pool, dive pool and activity pool.

This will allow the minor works to be carried out, as well as operational improvements to be made to the wave pool.

Elsewhere, the fitness studio, activity studio and café will remain operational.

The pool area is scheduled to reopen on Monday 9 February, 2015.

Grant scheme for Banff properties

Aberdeenshire Council has announced a new small grants scheme for properties on Bridge Street in Banff.

The initiative, which is being run in partnership with Historic Scotland, is part of a wider improvement scheme for the town.

A consultation event will now be held about the grants scheme, where residents can find out how they can apply for funding.

The event will be held on Thursday 11 December from 2.30pm to 7.30pm in the Committee Room, Bridge Street Community Centre in Banff.

Awards of up to £10,000 is being made available for property owners on Bridge Street to carry out a number of works, such as repairs to roofs, traditional windows and front doors, as well as shop front restoration and reinstatement of architectural features.

Refurb works to start on Perth Council HQ

Refurbishment works are scheduled to begin at 2 High Street, Perth, in the New Year.

The project will help preserve the building for future use.

Currently, the building houses Perth and Kinross Council staff and services, and the work is part of a wider ‘Perth Office Programme’, which aims to reduce the number of properties in the city which are occupied by the local authority.

The work at 2 High Street forms part of the Perth Office Programme, which aims to reduce the number of city centre offices occupied by the council, saving money on leases and energy costs and allowing customers to access services more easily. By focussing on key city properties, including 2 High Street, the Council aims to retain a strong presence in the centre in buildings which are fit for purpose.

Staff based at 2 High Street will transition to a new site, based at The Atrium, from Monday 5 January, 2015, as refurbishment gets underway.

Around £9.6m is being invested to carry out essential maintenance requirements on the historic building to make sure that it can continue to serve as office and civic accommodation. The works will initially be funded by prudential borrowing, and this will be offset over a 30-year period by the savings in rental and utility costs the wider programme will bring.

Works are expected to take 20 months to complete.

Wind farm refused in Inverclyde

A potential wind farm in Inverclyde has been rejected by the council.

The application, if approved, would have seen eight turbines constructed around Corlic Hill in Greenock.

The plans were submitted to Inverclyde Council’s Planning Board who recommended refusal. However, due to the scale of the development, which had been classed as “major”, had to be examined by a full Council meeting.

The application covered 209 hectares.

Last week, a council meeting subsequently decided to refuse the development. It was also decided that a report should be prepared on how renewable energy can be further developed in the area.

Lecturer wins top design award

An Aberdeen academic has won a prestigious award for a proposed redesign of the heart of the city.

Amar Bennadji, an architecture lecturer at Robert Gordon University, was given the Academy Encouragement Award for educational merit at the Forum 8 design festival in Tokyo.

Mr Bennadji’s vision included pedestrianising a section of Union Street, from around the Trinity Centre to Market Street, and introducing trams.

His project also explored the best methods for teaching urban planning to distance learning students through online resources.

He said: “The project worked out really well, allowing me to investigate solutions for re-imagining Aberdeen’s Union Street.”

New Highland homes completed in Lochcarron

The Highland Council has completed six new council homes in Lochcarron.

The properties are part of a wider 688-house project for the Highlands, which has been supported by the Scottish Government.

The six homes, located in Kirkton Gardens, consists of four flats and two bungalows and are being rented to either existing council tenants who are moving to a new home, or who are applicants from the Highland Housing Register. The Highland Council has said it will continue to own and manage the properties.

The homes were constructed by local contractor O’Brien Properties, while Reynolds Architecture designed the development. The six homes cost £800,000, with £276,000 grant funding from the Scottish Government. The four flats are being heated by electric storage units, while the two bungalows are being heated by wood burning stoves and air source heat pumps.

Perth Premier Inn unveiled

A £4.5m Premier Inn hotel has opened its doors on Mill Street, Perth, following conversion of the former Pullar’s dyeworks factory.

Developed by Deansway/Muir Group and designed by Archial Norr the property is situated next to Perth Concert Hall and is contained within the shell of the 19th century mill and later 1930’s extension.

The 83 bedroom hotel will play host to a separate restaurant after chartered surveyors Graham + Sibbald announced the sale of premises to local restaurateur Kisa’s for £444k.

High-rise student housing planned for Glasgow’s Cathedral Street

Forrest Furnishing has submitted plans for a 19 floor development of 376 student bedrooms on the corner of Glasgow’s Cathedral Street and North Hannover Street, directly opposite a proposed M&S store as part of the Buchanan Galleries expansion.

Designed by Urban Office Architects the plans call for demolition of an existing furniture showroom and warehouse with upgraded public realm including stone and granite paving.

Cockenzie chimneys to be demolished in 2015

The iconic 500ft high ­chimneys at Cockenzie Power Station are finally set to be demolished next year.

Scottish Power’s plans to demolish the 47-year-old smokestacks have been organised as part of Cockenzie’s decommissioning programme.

East Lothian MSP Iain Gray was among those who petitioned for the chimneys’ survival before demolition works were scheduled to begin – but was forced to abandon hopes of protecting the landmarks after he was convinced they were not structurally sound.

And despite plans to safeguard the main structure of the power plant from complete demolition, even area conservationists agreed that the chimneys’ days were always numbered.

Next week, officials will oversee the ninth controlled explosion at Cockenzie since it shut down. Attention will then shift to bringing down the 500ft chimneys themselves.

A spokesman for Scottish Power that plans were still being considered to allow a member of the public to press the button when it is time to demolish the chimneys.

Fife HARCA recognised as Sustainability Champion at 2014 VIBES Awards

Ore Valley Housing Association subsidiary company Fife HARCA has been recognised as one of the Champions of Business sustainability at the 15th annual Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) Awards.

Fife HARCA scooped the Co-operation award for working with communities to continually improve its environment.

ECD Architects and sister company Keegans worked in partnership with Fife HARCA for the regeneration of Lochgelly including the town masterplan, new build housing, the Lochgelly Business Centre (a ‘business incubator’ to accelerate the successful growth of entrepreneurial companies), and the Miners Institute (the conversion of a Grade B listed historic building into an education / training centre).

The VIBES Awards are Scotland’s leading environmental awards scheme. The Awards recognise businesses that contribute to the country’s sustainable development by taking significant steps to improve or reduce their impact on the environment. The awards aim to encourage efficient use of resources, enhance business competitiveness, improve environmental performance and support wider sustainable development goals.

Winners of the VIBES Awards will be considered for the prestigious European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE), which are held every other year.

Across-the-board promotions at Shepherd Chartered Surveyors

Shepherd Chartered Surveyors has made a series of across-the-board promotions as part of a wide-ranging management restructure made in response to a significant rise in activity levels throughout 2014 and anticipated further expansion in both commercial and residential property markets in 2015.

The series of promotions has seen Steve Barnett, commercial partner in Glasgow, and Darren Lewis, residential partner in Edinburgh, appointed to the management board whilst associate surveyors William Laidlaw, Galashiels, Gregor Simpson in Inverness, together with Aberdeen-based building surveyor John Mackie and Glasgow-based Mark Totten, are all appointed partners.

Meanwhile, residential surveyors Christopher Hunter, Edinburgh and Kristofor Hall in Glasgow Southside, are promoted to associate level.