Building Briefs – February 7th

HMRC confirms location of Glasgow regional centre

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has formally signed an agreement to lease a ten storey new build, at 1 Atlantic Square, Argyle Street in Glasgow, for 25 years.

HMRC will be one of the largest employers in the city, adding value to the local economy and forming strong relationships with the community.

HMRC will be taking an estimated 187,205 sq. ft. of office space, eventually accommodating around 2,700 full-time equivalent employees from across the department by 2021.

Atlantic Square is the 10th of the 13 new regional centres that HMRC has announced, as part of its transformation plans to create a tax authority fit for the future.

HMRC is investing in the best of modern technology and basing its people in state-of-the-art and more cost-effective buildings, as it creates better, more modern customer services and makes it harder for the dishonest minority to cheat the system.

BAM Properties Ltd and TCP Developments Ltd who are developing Atlantic Square as a joint venture have confirmed that work will begin in March 2018.

Murphy wins £9m pipeline replacement contract

J. Murphy and Sons has secured a £9 million contract to carry out a pipeline replacement project for SGN near Glasgow.

The scheme involves building an alternate crossing for the Glasgow Circular 450mm high pressure pipeline, which currently uses the Erskine Bridge at Old Kilpatrick to cross the River Clyde. The new crossing will allow the bridge pipelines to be decommissioned.

Works are scheduled to start on site later this month. The Murphy team will use trenchless installation, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and Micro tunnelling to overcome a number of the challenges on the project and install the new pipeline across the 1km stretch underneath the river.

In addition, the pipeline will also cross a canal, a railway and a major water main before crossing the A82 and tying into the existing AGI.

Arc-Tech to commence works for new waste transfer centre

Glasgow-based M&E Services contractor Arc-Tech (Scotland) Ltd is to commence a new contract in Edinburgh with the delivery of a specialist service provision for a new waste transfer centre on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council.

Located north of the city centre, the Seafield Depot Phase 2 project is currently under construction with Arc-Tech being used to support the main contractor by delivering a specialist M&E package which will include water services, above ground drainage, a water mist system and ventilation as well as fire and security systems, lighting, power, containment and lightning protection.

The project, which will accommodate garden waste, dry mixed recycling, mixed glass and mechanical sweepings waste streams, is scheduled for completion in summer 2018. Once finished it will help service a further new waste treatment centre at Millerhill, Dalkeith, which is to become operational in 2019.

Arc-Tech is expected to be on site in May 2018.

Flats plan for offices above Aberdeen casino

Offices above a city centre casino could be turned into apartments if newly-lodged plans are approved.

Halliday Fraser Munro has submitted the proposals for Exchequer House on Exchequer Row.

If approved, it would see four floors converted from office space into 39 apartments.

London-based SI City Wharf Ltd is behind the plans and has applied for a change in use from offices to the new homes.

Highlands Capital plan to be reviewed in March

The Highland Council is to consider a revised Capital Plan at its meeting in March, following decisions on available revenue at the council’s budget setting meeting on February 15.

The revised Capital Plan will propose continued investment enabling the council to deliver new school buildings, complete Phase 2 of the West Link and other road improvements over the next five years.

However, leader of the Highland Council, Margaret Davidson, said it is “imperative” that the council gets the Capital Plan into an affordable place in the light of the available funding.

The Capital Plan will be taken for council approval on March 8.

Work to start on £4m railway bridge upgrade in Baillieston

Up to £4 million is to be invested to upgrade a railway bridge in Baillieston, Glasgow.

Work to demolish and rebuild the structure on Muirhead Road will get underway on February 12.

The scheme involves raising the bridge parapets to 1.8 metres to meet modern safety standards for an electrified railway.

Network Rail said a number of new properties to the south of the structure makes the current single lane bridge increasingly unsustainable and as it stands, the structure is no longer fit for purpose for the volume and weight of traffic which uses it on a daily basis.

Demolition and initial reconstruction of the bridge will take place over three consecutive Sundays; 10, 17 and 24 March.

Work to reconstruct the bridge will be fully complete in October 2018. Once finished, the new structure will enable two-way traffic, cycle routes and pedestrian footpaths on both sides.

Plans for new £1.4m low carbon refuelling hub at AECC drive forward

Proposals to establish a low carbon refuelling station at the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre have taken another step forward.

The proposed facility is designed to provide hydrogen refuelling and charging points for electric vehicles – part of a city wide drive to embrace sustainable transport.

Councillors on Aberdeen City Council’s finance, policy and resources committee noted the council’s intention to apply for a grant of £1,014,772 from the Transport Scotland Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund. The remaining £434,904 capital cost of the project will be met from the existing AECC contingency budget.

The AECC design incorporates an Energy Centre, a testing and demonstration facility for renewable energy technologies. Hydrogen produced at the centre could be used to power vehicles with the addition of the refuelling hub.

Community-led housing backed with £1m from Nationwide Foundation

The Nationwide Foundation is awarding over £1 million to support the growth of community-led housing to enable the sector to deliver more decent, affordable homes for people in need.

Six organisations including the Dumfries and Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust and the Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust will use the funding to provide support and advice to community-led housing groups.

The Nationwide Foundation said it recognises that, while there is a growing appetite for community-led housing and more communities are mobilising to turn this into a reality, there is a desperate lack of support which can stall or even halt promising and much-needed projects.

The organisations funded by the Nationwide Foundation will be offering the information, support, advice and technical expertise that is needed to progress schemes. The focus will be on ensuring that community groups can effectively and more easily deliver homes that are both decent and affordable and meet the needs of their communities.

Community-led housing allows groups to build affordable, good quality homes in their own communities, in places where they are really needed and are for people who really need them. They are often in areas where houses prices are high and many of the existing properties are second homes.

The Scottish Government’s support of community-led housing has been given a substantial boost with support from the Rural Housing Fund. It is with this growing demand in mind, that the Nationwide Foundation has given significant funding.

Residents invited to view revamped Inverness Town House

Residents in Inverness are being invited to view recently completed renovations at Inverness Town House.

The Grade A-listed building has recently undergone a £3.9 million refurbishment, with both phases of work carried out by Laing Traditional Masonry.

The project was funded by the Inverness Common Good Fund and Historic Environment Scotland, with works completed on time and under budget.

Visitors are now being invited to view the revamped Town House for themselves from:

Visitors will be able to view the newly re-decorated main hall; the council chamber; staircase, stained glass windows, chandeliers and many historic artworks on display including paintings of Charles Edward Stewart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and Flora MacDonald.