Building Briefs – February 25th

BRE welcomes local MSP to award winning Innovation Park

John Pentland MSP recently visited to the award winning BRE Ravenscraig Innovation Park, which is located within his Motherwell and Wishaw constituency.

Mr Pentland joins the growing list of Holyrood and Westminster politicians undertaking fact finding tours of the BRE Innovation Park. In recent times, deputy first minister John Swinney, Scottish Labour’s shadow cabinet secretary for communities Ken Macintosh MSP, Marion Fellowes MP and Phil Boswell MP have all been impressed by the ground breaking research and monitoring which takes place at the award winning facility.

Dr David Kelly, group director BRE Innovation Park Networks, joined Mr Pentland on his visit and personally conducted the facility tour explaining first hand the research being carried out in each of the innovative new homes on the Park - homes which many believe will influence Scotland’s future housebuilding agenda.

Dundee Waterfront road and pavement network to open up

Pedestrians and drivers will have their first taste of the future later this week as the road and pavement network at Dundee Waterfront opens.

After two years of work, on time and on budget, the grid pattern of streets and accompanying pavements will become operational for the first time on Friday.

Contractors Sir Robert McAlpine were responsible for the £11m creation of Thomson Avenue, Riverside Esplanade, Earl Grey Place (East and West), Patent Slip Way, Whalers Way, Black Watch Parade, Waterfront Place, Discovery Plaza and Slessor Gardens.

The gardens, behind Caird Hall, will be fenced off for the rest of the winter to allow grass and trees to continue to become established. Other “soft landscaping” work is also going on at other parts of the site.

Edinburgh garages to make way for new housing

Yeoman McAllister Architects have submitted plans for 34 homes on the site of existing garages at 116 Colinton Road, Edinburgh.

Designed to restore the urban grain, the project was submitted on behalf of Eastern Properties and Westerwood.

Loreburn Housing Association and DGFirst enter into new contracts

Loreburn Housing Association has cemented its successful working relationship with DGFirst after securing a contract for the delivery of Repairs and Gas Servicing.

DG First will offer a service to Loreburn’s 2,500 customers across Dumfries and Galloway.

A celebration event was held on earlier this month to mark the award of the contracts and outline the importance of the first class service that DGFirst will offer to Loreburn’s customers.

Loreburn’s convenor, John McNaught said that by working together, Loreburn and DGFirst can provide a great service to Loreburn’s customers and opportunities for local young people through apprenticeships and training programmes.

Loreburn Housing Association has been providing affordable housing throughout Dumfries & Galloway since 1982 and now owns and manages over 2,500 properties across the region.

Brown Engineering fined for safety failings

A Scottish engineering company has been fined for safety failings after a worker fell 20 feet and sustained serious injuries.

Brown Engineering (Fochabers) Limited of Mosstodloch Industrial Estate, Mosstodloch, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Heights Regulation 2005. It was fined £10,000.

Grampian Sheriff Court heard how the injured worker was installing an enclosure to the top of a malting kiln at Portgordon Maltings Limited on 02 December 2014.

While retrieving tools left on a rear platform, the employee fell from the open edge between the kiln and the corner of the building and sustained significant injuries.

His injuries included a fractured pelvis and internal bruising on the right side of his shoulder and body.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the employees were working at height at an open edge in an area with restricted lighting and no suitable or sufficient measures in place to prevent employees falling from height.

Shawlands shopping centre set for major facelift

A shopping arcade in Shawlands is in line for a major makeover after being sold in a multi-million pound deal.

The centre, which has more than 20 units with a number lying empty, has been described as “tired”.

It has been bought by Clydebuilt Limited Partnership, a joint venture between Strathclyde Pension Fund and Scottish property experts Ediston Real Estate, which hopes work on the upgrade will start as soon as possible.

The new owners say they will remodel and redevelop the 100,000sq ft complex as part of a plan to put it back at the heart of the South Side community.

Dumfries school redevelopment plans seek progress

Plans to construct a temporary building complex as part of a Dumfries secondary school overhaul are seeking approval.

The playing fields at St Joseph’s College would house a series of single-storey classrooms.

They would be used to accommodate pupils for a period of 36 months while refurbishment work is carried out to the main building.

Planning committee members are being recommended to grant approval subject to conditions.

The school redevelopment is part of wider multi-million pound plans by Dumfries and Galloway Council to overhaul school provision in the town.

NASC donates to Lighthouse charity

The national trade body for access and scaffolding in the UK, the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC), has made a £2,700 donation to The Lighthouse Club ‘Construction Industry Charity’.

The money was raised for the charity which has delivered welfare and support to the construction community since 1956 from NASC supplier members’ contributions made towards the NASC 2015 Annual Ball tombola in Leeds, November 2015.

Scottish Ballet announces Check-It Scaffold Services Limited as new sponsor

Scottish Ballet has teamed up with Scottish company Check-It Scaffold Services Ltd for a unique arts sponsorship of the company’s new production of Swan Lake, created by internationally renowned choreographer David Dawson.

The partnership marks the first time that Check-It Scaffold Services has sponsored an arts company, and Scottish Ballet is delighted that Arts & Business Scotland are providing match-funding in the form of a New Arts Sponsorship Grant from the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland.

Check-It Scaffold Services is also going one step further in its support of Scottish Ballet’s new Swan Lake by pledging to match-fund individual donations from the public to the Swan Lake Appeal, which launched this week, in addition to its production sponsorship.