Building Briefs – January 11th

Six new homes will be built on the site of a former Dundee fire station after planning permission was secured.

A planning application was lodged last year by Discovery Homes to build half a dozen houses on the site of the former Northern Fire Station, located on Dundee’s Strathmore Avenue.

The Courier reports that Dundee City Council has now granted planning permission for the development, though work will not begin until further risk assessment is carried out.

The station closed down in 1991 when the brigade moved to a new base at Macalpine Road.

The proposed homes have been designed by the Voigt Partnership for “modern family living”, with each property comprising three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

All six properties would be accessed by a new road off Strathmore Avenue.

Funding for affordable housing project on Isle of Lewis

An island community has been awarded by a grant of more than £50,000 to help fund an affordable housing project on Lewis.

The Pairc Trust took control of the 26,775-acre Pairc Estate after a community buyout in December 2015, backed by £230,000 from the Scottish Land Fund.

Now the land fund is awarding the body £50,621 to purchase the former Elderly Care Unit at Gravir to renovate to provide an affordable family home for rent.

The trust is one of four organisations sharing in £174,638 from the land fund.

Kirkliston Village Hall Association has received £56,500 to buy land in the village near Edinburgh, Cairndow Community Childcare has won £37,000 to help pay for a new centre in Clachan, Argyll, and Crossroads Community Hub £30,517 for a planned community-led farm shop in Ayrshire.

The Scottish Land Fund is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Investigations begin for Aberdeen’s Broad Street redevelopment

Contractors have started carrying out investigative work in Aberdeen as part of a multi-million pound revamp of Broad Street.

Workers are underway with hand excavations in front of Marischal College, in line with plans to turn Broad Street into a pedestrian-priority street.

The project is designed to revitalise the street as part of the City Centre Masterplan which aims to transform Aberdeen City Centre over the next 25 years. Major works are scheduled to begin next month.

Overall plans for Broad Street include a transformed and improved streetscape extending to Union Street and including the Gallowgate/Upperkirkgate junction. Other proposals will see a water feature installed, as well as a raised grass planter and several trees. Improvements will also be carried in lighting to Marischal College.

The cost of the design work, traffic order and construction is likely to be met in full by the money contributed by developer Muse for public realm work on Broad Street, Sustrans contribution, developer obligations money to improve Core Paths, and CCMP capital money.

Hardies named Best Property Consultancy for Scotland 2016

Multi discipline surveying firm Hardies Property & Construction Consultants has capped its “great year of 2016” by being named Best Property Consultancy 2016 in the Corporate Vision Magazine Awards.

Hardies, which has fourteen offices across Scotland, including Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee, St Andrews and Perth, is fresh from announcing a merger, at the beginning of December, with Shepherd Chartered Surveyors.

Announced just before Christmas, the award scheme from Corporate Vision was established to highlight and give recognition to the very best consultancies, focusing on their individual attributes and skills. As well as property and the construction industry, sectors covered include medical, image, management and transport.