Building Briefs – January 12th

Edinburgh film studio plans to go on display

Plans for a £130 million development which includes a £31m film studio near Loanhead are to be put on public display this week.

Residents will have the chance to look at the proposals and quiz developers over the project – to be called Pentland Studios – on land at New Pentland.

The public exhibition, with drop in session, takes place at the nearby Asda store on Wednesday, January 14, between 2pm-7pm.

The studio, which would also include a £12m film school for up to 500 students, is being brought forward by ex-Ealing Studios director Jeremy Pelzer and Jim O’Donnell, formerly of Warner Bros.

Backers of the plan believe they could start construction on the country’s first major film shooting facility as early as October.

£1.2m upgrade for Ellon care complex

A sheltered housing complex in Ellon is in line for a £1.2 million upgrade.

Modley House is to be converted into a very sheltered housing complex, meaning residents will have more access to round-the-clock care and support.

The residents’ flats and the communal area will be revamped, new kitchens will be fitted in the individual flats, and the communal lounge and kitchen will be extended.

The sprinkler and fire alarm systems will also be upgraded, and the lift will be replaced.

This week, members of Aberdeenshire Council’s policy and resources committee will be asked to approve the £1.17m cost of the project.

Firm tables plan to build Aberdeen recycling facility

The public will be given the chance to have their say on plans to overhaul waste management in Aberdeen.

Sita UK – the company responsible for processing Aberdeen City Council’s waste – tabled a proposal of application notice for a new facility in November.

Now, as part of the pre-application process, the firm is holding a public exhibition where it will outline its proposals for a materials recycling facility, where mixed recyclables would be split into individual materials, and a refuse-derived fuel facility which will process black bag waste that has not been recycled. The plants will be built on the Altens East Industrial Estate.

Both the council and Sita UK say it is vital the city revamps the way waste is processed.

Renfrewshire solar panel scheme extended

A solar panel project is due to be expanded to more sites throughout Renfrewshire, it has been unveiled.

The scheme aims to save more than £24,000 each year, as well as reduce CO2 emissions by up to 48 tonnes.

Renfrewshire Council has confirmed the first phase of the project has already been completed a five schools in the area, and work will now be phased out to local care homes.

The sites where solar panel installation has been completed include Castlehead High, Gryffe High, Johnstone High, Trinity High, and St James Primary; while Montrose Care Home and Renfrew Care Home have also just been completed.

Other projects scheduled for early this year are Weavers Linn Respite, Renfrew High, Paisley Grammar, Parkmains High and Johnstone Town Hall. In addition, the council has said it plans to extend the project to a second phase later in 2015.

Expectation remains for new Aberdeenshire sports facility

Aberdeenshire Council has said it remains hopeful that a new sports and community facility in Banff will still go ahead.

The announcement comes after Tesco confirmed it was to pull out of plans to build a new supermarket in the town.

On Thursday, the supermarket chain said it would no longer be proceeding with the Banff development, which was part of a wider agreement to also deliver leisure and community facilities in the area.

However, a statement from Aberdeenshire Council has said that there is still hope the facilities will be delivered, as Tesco have indicated they will fulfil the contract.

Further consideration will be given by officers to the legal implications of Tesco’s announcement and reports will be prepared for appropriate committees on the next steps.

Works to resume at Glen Righ project

Work is to resume at Glen Righ, it has been announced.

A geotechnical team from Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) will commence work on the site from Monday 19 January.

The work is part of the latest phase of the Commission’s A82 Project, which is making safe and harvesting trees on the hills above the A82.

FCS said that traffic management is required for the project, and will be in place until 2 April. Following the harvesting of the hills, native broadleaves will be planted, rather than conifers, in order to help stabilise the slopes, the Commission added.

Fife’s Glass House to be refurbished

Refurbishment work on the Glass House in Pittencrieff Park, Fife, is to start later this month.

The project will begin on Monday 19 January, and take around 12 weeks to complete.

The works are being carried out as part of the wider Heritage Lottery Fund project at the park. It will see the repairing and replacing of the venue’s glass panels, update the heating system and mechanise the vents. In addition, a new learning space will be developed within the building.

To allow the works to be carried out safely, Fife Council has said the Glass House will be closed to the public for the duration.

Team appointed for Inverness regeneration project

A team has been selected to lead a regeneration project for Academy Street, Inverness, the Highland Council has confirmed.

The development is part of the Townscape Heritage project in the area.

Last year, the local authority secured a Townscape Heritage stage 1 pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and cash has since been ring fenced for stage 2. This has allowed the project team to work on detailed proposals for a five-year programme of funding to regenerate Academy Street.

Already, areas identified for grant support under the Townscape Heritage project include bringing vacant buildings back into use, reinstating original shop fronts, improving historic public spaces and education and training.

Lorna MacLennan has been appointed as the strategic project officer to lead the project. She will work alongside conservation architect Alan Marshall, Neil Sutherland and Brian Burns from the Makar Consultancy.

A series of public consultation events will now take place over the next two months. The first event will take place on Thursday 22 January in The Iron Works on Academy Street, from 2pm to 5pm.

Mackintosh Dug Out may be set to reopen

The last room in Glasgow designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh could be reopened as part of a scheme to restore the Willow Tearooms to their former glory.

Mackintosh designed the world famous tearooms in 1903 for Kate Cranston.

In 1917, his last commission for Cranston was an extension into the basement of the building next door, named the The Dug Out.

The room was a wartime cafe with black walls and the flags of opposing First World War nations on a monumental fireplace, in a style that anticipated Art Deco.

The iconic tearoom in Sauchiehall Street had its future secured last year after a new charitable trust took over.

A conservation report, due within days, will reveal what work is required to restore the building to Mackintosh’s vision.

The report will be reviewed by trustees, who will then appoint a designer and builders.

Funds will be raised to complete the restoration as true as possible to the original Mackintosh drawings, including colour schemes.

Dundee Waterfront street to be named after city architect

Historic links with Dundee’s seafaring past and a visionary city planner are to be commemorated in the proposed names for streets at the city’s waterfront.

And the council has also thrown open the field to Dundonians to suggest names for two of the major open spaces in the £1billion re-development – the new central square and the new public space outside the railway station.

Thomson Avenue will mark the contribution to Dundee of James Thomson who was city architect between 1906 and 1924. During his tenure the Kingsway, one of the UK’s first city by passes, was built and he also proposed a visionary master plan for the waterfront.

Earl Grey Place (East and West) have been named to keep alive the link between the area and the former dock built in 1834 and closed 129 years later before being filled in to make way for the Tay Road Bridge landfall.

Patent Slip Way, which runs beneath the Tay Road Bridge ramps, recognises the track and cradle used to transfer a vessel from the river to the dock for repairs.

The Harbour Workshops and its steam-hauled patent slip, built in 1837, were on reclaimed ground between Victoria Dock and the Estuary. The upper part of the 166 metre ramp is still visible and gives a good indication of the size of ships hauled out of the Tide Harbour.

The competition for the other names will allow anyone to submit a suggestion for the names of the two new civic spaces, as well as the riverside walkway and cycle path in the Central Waterfront.

Ideas could include famous names/events associated with Dundee (although names of living people will not be considered); historical references to the area or names reflecting the redevelopment of the Waterfront.

The most appropriate and interesting names will be chosen by Lord Provost Bob Duncan, Mike Galloway Director of City Development, Iain Flett City Archivist and Jon Walton chair of city centre group DD One.

Suggestions can be made at www.dundeecity.gov.uk/streetnaming by February 6.