Building Briefs – February 1st

Russells plans for success with sponsorship

Following on from a record-breaking year in sales, Lochmaben-based manufacturer Russell Roof Tiles is looking to further its ambitious growth plans with the sponsorship of The Planning Awards 2018.

Taking place on June 6 at Savoy Place in London, The Planning Awards is one of the most important events on the industry’s calendar. It recognises excellence within professional planning work as well as related placemaking and economic development activity.

Roof tile manufacturer, Russell Roof Tiles, which is the first manufacturer to have ever sponsored the award, has seen tremendous growth within the planning and social housing sector over the past year and believes the sponsorship will help both support and strengthen the Russell Roof Tiles’ relationships within the industry.

With 25 categories available to enter, Russell Roof Tiles will be sponsoring the Planning for Increased Housing Delivery Award.

The sponsorship follows on from a brilliant year for Russell Roof Tiles who recently invested half a million pounds in its Lochmaben, Scotland site to meet growing customer demands.

Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland named top employer

Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland has been certified as a Top Employer in the United Kingdom for the sixth year running, and in Ireland for a third consecutive year.

The accolade, awarded annually by the Top Employers Institute, globally certifies excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people and the highest standards in human resources.

Working conditions, learning and development opportunities, career and succession management and the overall culture of the organisation are all independently audited during the annual process.

South Lanarkshire Council to upgrade planning/building warrant applications

South Lanarkshire Council has announced it is upgrading the Planning and Building Standards Service.

New software is being installed to deliver a better and more efficient service, including a new portal for viewing planning and building standards applications online.

In order to carry out the upgrade, the council said normal service delivery will be affected between February 2 and 23. The processing of new applications will be affected during these dates as well progress on applications that have been previously submitted.

Planning committee chair, Councillor Alistair Fulton, said the local authority is asking people, where possible, to wait until after these dates to submit an application or to get in contact about an application already submitted.

Port Glasgow project close to completion

A key Port Glasgow project is nearing completion following an enforced delay by the discovery of power cables closer to the surface than expected.

A new spur road opened (under temporary signage) in November off the A8 allowing direct access to the town centre via Shore Street and Princes Street.

However a short stretch of Shore Street directly in front of the Town Hall remained closed while a solution to the cable problem was reached.

Shore Street will reopen under three-way traffic lights by the evening of February 5 to allow surfacing and road markings to be completed. The new spur road from the A8 will be closed temporarily to allow this to happen.

The full re-opening of Shore Street and the spur road is expected by February 16.

The contractor is RJ McLeod.

Forth Road Bridge to reopen to public transport

The Forth Road Bridge is due to reopen to public transport.

It will be used by pedestrians and cyclists as well as buses, taxis and smaller motorbikes from today.

The Queensferry Crossing is to officially become a motorway, which means cyclists and pedestrians must have an alternative bridge to cross.

Regional REIT acquires Edinburgh office accommodation

Office and industrial property-focused real estate investment trust Regional REIT has announced the acquisition of three office properties across the UK, with the support of a £19 million facility from Royal Bank of Scotland’s Real Estate Finance team.

The regional acquisitions, which span across more than 197,000 sq. ft. in total, include the 39,314 sq. ft. Vantage Point office accommodation located in the Edinburgh Park business area.

The trust has also purchased the 58,897 sq. ft. Turnford Place office development located on Great Cambridge Road in Cheshunt, and eight units within the 99,613 sq. ft. Genesis Business Park in Woking.