Building Briefs – February 16th

McCarthy and Stone has started work on 33 privately owned retirement living apartments in Bishopbriggs.

The new development, situated on Kirkintilloch Road, will comprise a mix of stylish one and two bedroom apartments, designed exclusively for the over 60s.

Facilities at the Bishopbriggs development will include a stunning homeowners’ lounge, ideal for socialising with friends, beautifully landscaped gardens in which to relax and a convenient guest suite should homeowners have friends or relatives to stay..

M&S loses bid to stop Gyle building new Primark

The prospects of a new Primark store at the Capital’s Gyle shopping centre have moved a step closer after the latest ruling in a long-running legal wrangle.

The centre owner is trying to build over part of the car park so the cut-price clothes chain can open a new 55,000 sq ft double-storey outlet.

But retail giant Marks & Spencer – which was part of the joint venture to develop the centre and remains as anchor tenant – has objected to the plan, claiming it breached the terms of a lease signed with Gyle managers in 1990.

Plans unveiled for new Dundee primary school

Plans have been lodged for a major new Dundee primary school to replace the existing Sidlaw View Primary and Jessie Porter Nursery School on Harestane Road.

Up to 400 pupils would be able to attend the new school — which would be on part of the existing Baldragon Academy site — along with 100 nursery pupils and eight children with additional needs.

A planning application lodged with Dundee City Council shows that the facility would have 14 primary classrooms.

Other facilities include a dining and assembly hall, a production kitchen, a gym hall, offices, and drama and music provision.

Revised plans for new Kinghorn homes on show

People are being given the chance to discuss Campion Homes’ revised plans for a proposed new affordable housing development at the Caberfeidh site in Bruce Street, Kinghorn.

The drop-in event for members of the public to view and comment on the plans will take place at Kinghorn Community Centre on Wednesday 4th March between 4.30pm and 7.30pm.

A planning application to develop this site was submitted by Campion Homes last year. The plans have been altered from those previously submitted following feedback from local residents at a public meeting.

Fife Council’s Affordable Housing Team is keen for local residents to come along to the drop in event to get their feedback on the changes that have been made to the proposal. It’s intended that these would be mid-market rental properties, forming part of the council’s wider affordable housing programme that aims to deliver 2,700 new homes by 2017.

The plans will also be available to view online from 4th March.

First residents move into new 8,000-house town in Scotland

A newlywed couple from Aberdeen became the first residents of Scotland’s first new town in a generation on Friday.

With outline planning permission for 4,025 new homes, Chapelton, just five miles south of Aberdeen, is being developed to meet the needs of the north east’s growing population. In the long term the town will have 8,000 homes.

Kelly and Liam Syme, who both work in the oil and gas industry, were married last year at Drumtochty Castle, Laurencekirk. The couple were welcomed to their new home by 12 of the town’s workmen, including the three house-builders AJC, Stephen and ZeroC, alongside construction services company W M Donald, who formed a guard of honour – replacing swords with spades.

The couple moved into a four-bedroom detached property built by Aboyne-based AJC with the other two house-builders set to welcome residents over the coming weeks.

To see how 2,000 acres of Aberdeenshire farmland will be transformed into Scotland’s largest new town you can watch this short film on Chapelton’s website: http://chapeltonofelsick.com/gallery.

Islanders vote to pursue community buyout of the Barvas Estate

Residents in the Western Isles have voted overwhelmingly to pursue a community buyout of the Barvas Estate, with 84 per cent of votes in favour of the move.

The owners of the 44,000-acre estate on the west side of the island of Lewis indicated in 2013 their willingness to negotiate a sale of most of the estate’s assets to the community.

There are 300 crofts on the estate and an adult population of about 1,000, in Barvas and Shawbost. It also includes the uninhabited islands of North Rona and Sula Sgeir.

In a ballot held last week a total of 497 votes were cast from the 919 papers issued, giving a turnout of 54 per cent. Of these votes 417 were in favour of the buyout of the Lewis estate.

Barvas Estate has been owned since 1925 by the Duckworth family, who still a retain a share along with the Armitage family and the Gray family.

The estate includes a productive salmon fishery, stalking moor, modest lodge, two modern cottages and a salmon hatchery, but the community company do not intend to purchase the fishing rights as they would be too expensive.