Building Briefs – January 12th

Aberdeen’s new community hub was unveiled this week after less than a year construction.

The keys to the multi-million pound extension and refurbishment of the former Lord Provost Henry E Rae Community Centre were passed to community groups in the Middlefield area.

The £2.66 million development, which is being part funded by Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, was constructed by CHAP Construction and was completed in December 2016.

Unveiled was a multi-use games area, a purpose-built community health care hub, a new state-of-the-art nursery as well as an area for youth work and a community hall.

The new centre is part of a major programme of investment in the Middlefield area which includes the development of 179 new council houses at the Manor Walk and Smithfield sites which are of a high quality, sustainable and energy efficient design.

Other projects in the area include a series of play park upgrades, the completion of the Aberdeen Treasure Hub - the main location for the City’s Collections of historical objects and artworks while not on public display - and a new watercourse to help dispel localised flooding and encourage future biodiversity as well as five new ponds.

Kangaroo Self-Storage to expand Glasgow site

Haddington head-quartered Kangaroo Self Storage is set to expand its Glasgow self-storage unit with funding from HSBC as demand continues to grow.

The new facility also allows for investment in its Dundee storage site and puts the building blocks in place for new storage developments.

The £3.8 million funding from the bank will help enable Kangaroo Self Storage to create additional units at the existing Glasgow site. The storage centre has a 35,000 sq ft footprint currently housing 588 storage rooms and will expand by an additional 355 rooms with work set to commence this year.

Forth Bridge repairs team praised following closure

Transport minister Humza Yousaf has praised the Forth Road bridge team for their effort in getting the bridge open.

The bridge had been closed following an incident involving a HGV travelling northbound, which overturned in high winds during the early hours of January 11. At this time, the bridge was closed to high sided vehicles but the HGV ignored these restrictions.

Work to remove the overturned HGV and work to temporarily repair the damaged central reserve safety grillage between the carriageways has been completed in difficult conditions. This has allowed the bridge to reopen to all vehicles in both directions, subject to prevailing weather conditions, which may result in restrictions on high sided vehicles given the weather forecast

Mr Yousaf said: “I would like to pay tribute to the engineers and workers who have faced up to some very challenging and difficult weather conditions throughout the day, to complete the work and get the bridge reopened as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Mark Arndt, Amey’s operating company representative for the Forth Road Bridge, added: “It’s been a challenging day but our team has put in a tremendous amount of effort to get the HGV off the bridge and complete the repair work while battling with strong winds, rain and sleet.

“We’re pleased that the bridge has now been reopened but we are mindful that with adverse weather forecast for the coming days, there may be further restrictions. We’d urge drivers to check our website or the Traffic Scotland twitter feed for up-to-date travel information before they start their journey. And, of course, we’d strongly recommend that road users comply with any restrictions.”

Investigations begin ahead of Aberdeen roads improvement scheme

Amey has begun carrying out trial hole investigations ahead of a roads improvement scheme in Aberdeen.

The works are being delivered on behalf of Scottish Water as part of Transport Scotland’s A90/A96 Haudagain Improvement Scheme. The project will involve a number of water main and sewer diversions.

In order to carry out investigations safely, traffic management will be required on both the A90 and A96.

The first lane closure will take place at the junction of North Anderson Drive/Manor Avenue for one week from 16 January, with a northbound lane closure followed by a southbound lane closure.

Following this, further lane closures will take place at the junction of Great Northern Road /Manor Drive for one week beginning 23 January. During this time, there will be a westbound lane closure followed by an eastbound lane closure.

Scottish Water said access will be maintained to Manor Avenue and Manor Drive during both sections of work.

Selkirk wall repairs project to begin

A £100,000 wall repairs project is to begin in Selkirk.

Work to mend the retaining wall at the Glen Hotel on Yarrow Terrace will get underway on Monday, 16 January.

A temporary one-way system has been in place on the northbound lane of Yarrow Terrace since May 2013 due to a dispute over who should pay for the repairs.

An agreement was reached at the end of last year to allow the scheme to take place.

As part of the project, a two-week closure of Yarrow Terrace between Buccleuch Road and Ettrick Road will be required to allow anchors to be installed in the wall from Monday, 23 January.

Waid Community Campus on track for opening this year

Pupils and staff at The Waid Academy in Fife are gearing up for the big move to their new state-of-the-art community campus this summer.

Fife Council, along with the Scottish Government is investing £24.3 million in the Anstruther facility which will provide services for the whole community when it opens its doors later this year.

Work on the new campus has been on the go since August 2015 and it’s now wind and watertight, with the internal spaces created. Internal fitting of features which will include a large multi-purpose hall with stage and tiered seating, gym, fitness suite, innovation bridge, conference and meeting rooms, library and café are also progressing well.

The community campus model is a new way of working for the council and builds on the success of Fife’s first campus, the new Windmill Community Campus in Kirkcaldy which opened in August last year.

RSBi workers celebrate weight loss

A group of Royal Strathclyde Blindcraft Industries (RSBi) employees have lost more than 25 stones - and gained newfound confidence - after taking part in a workplace weight management programme.

The eight week healthy working programme was delivered at RSBI’s Glasgow factory by Scottish Slimmers. The first class was held at the end of October and workers faced their final weigh-in last week.

The group of 30, about half of whom were men, lost over 25 stones collectively – almost the equivalent weight of about two average men.

RSBi, which manufactures high quality furniture for construction contracts, is Europe’s largest supported business. More than half of its 260 staff have a disability, including visual and hearing impairments and learning disabilities.

The company, which offers a wide range of workplace learning opportunities, decided to incorporate slimming classes as part of its commitment to promoting healthy working lives. Classes were held at lunchtime to enable as many people as possible to take part.

The course was such a big hit that RSBi has already booked a second programme beginning in early January – when many are traditionally looking to lose a few pounds.