Building Briefs – February 9th

Kelvin Hall redevelopment to be completed by summer

A £40 million facelift to transform one of Glasgow’s best-known landmarks into a leading academic centre is due to be finished by summer.

Kelvin Hall is being redeveloped to establish a cultural quarter which civic leaders believe will rival that of any UK city outside of London.

It will also become a research archive for students at the nearby University of Glasgow.

‌The exhibition centre, which first opened in 1927, was formerly a sports arena and home to Glasgow’s transport collection.

It will soon house a public sporting and museums facility, as well as becoming home to the National Library of Scotland’s Scottish Screen Archive.‌

The first phase of the redevelopment is due to be completed by the summer and should officially open in September.

It is planned that the second phase of the Kelvin Hall redevelopment will turn the 16,000sq metres hall, which once housed the former Transport Museum, into the a new home for the Hunterian museum by 2020.

Orkney tourist attractions to be redeveloped

Two popular tourist attractions in Orkney are to be redeveloped, the council has announced.

Both the Orkney Museum and St Magnus Cathedral will receive “significant” investment from the Kirkwall Townscape Heritage initiative (KTHI).

New exhibits, environments and modern technology will be developed at the two attractions.

The council said it will shortly tender for a contractor to deliver and develop both the projects alongside local authority staff.

Environmental improvement works to start at Dunnet

The Highland Council has awarded a contract to A & W Sinclair for the delivery of environmental improvement works at Dunnet Bay and Dunnet Head.

Work on site will commence week beginning 15th February and is scheduled for completion by the middle of April.

Both sites will continue to be open to the public during the construction phase, with only small sections cordoned off at any one time. The construction team are mindful of the Easter holidays and will ensure the main access points are complete in advance of this time.

The improvements include an upgrade to access for less able visitors at Dunnet Head, which incorporates the addition of three new disabled car parking spaces and more general enhancements at Dunnet Bay, namely stone dyke edging to the entrance area, seating, picnic area and a new community notice board.

CITB urges firms to apply for funding

The application process for the next round of CITB’s Flexible and Structured Funds is now open.

There are six funding options to choose from, depending on the organisation type and project, with different amounts of money offered under each option.

The aim is to help build a well-skilled workforce to boost the industry in the long term.

Applications for the next round of Flexible and Structured Funds are now open, with the last date for submissions on February 16 2016.

The Funds focus on the skills and training areas identified as priorities for the construction industry, with a particular focus on preventing future skills gaps.

Construction employers registered with CITB (individuals and groups), construction industry federations, trade unions associated with construction occupations, and CITB-approved training groups can all apply.

The last round of funding saw 22 bidders awarded over £7 million to support various industry projects, including support for the development of sector infrastructure and support for infrastructure supply chain companies.

Scotland’s wind power output got ‘off to a flying start’ in January

Wind power alone provided almost half of Scotland’s total electricity needs in January, according to new data.

Analysis by WWF Scotland of data provided by WeatherEnergy found that for the month of January wind turbines in Scotland provided 1,125,544MWh of electricity to the National Grid, enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 123 per cent of Scottish households (2.98 million homes).

Enough output was generated to supply 100 per cent or more of Scottish homes on 22 out of the 31 days of January.

Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for January was 2,354,117MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 48 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.

A76 Bargower Rail Bridge upgrading works

Road users are set to benefit from the final phase in £100k of improvement works on the northbound lane of the A76 Bargower Rail Bridge located south of Crossroads roundabout adjacent to Cessnock Water.

Scotland TranServ, on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out the refurbishment of the bridge deck including; waterproofing, joint replacement and concrete repairs over the coming weeks.

Final phase of works to begin on Nithsdale Road Bridge

Scotland TranServ, working on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out the final phase of works on the Nithsdale Road Bridge over the M77 which is located west of Bellahouston Park, next to Dumbreck Rail Station beginning on 14 February.

This final phase of the £120,000 project will be carried out to improve the quality of the road surface, waterproof the bridge deck and carry out concrete repairs and joint replacement.

Work begins on £340,000 East Dunbartonshire water project

A waste water improvement project is underway in East Dunbartonshire.

The £340,000 project involves carrying out ‘major’ improvements to the water network in Bearsden.

Works include installing a new Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) adjacent to Maryhill Road.

This will reduce the number of spills from an existing CSO into the River Kelvin during prolonged heavy rainfall.

The work is being carried out by contractors George Leslie on behalf of Scottish Water and is expected to take around three months to complete.