Building Briefs – January 14th

The latest development by Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) and its subsidiary company Persevere Developments Limited (PDL) was officially opened by Malcolm Chisholm MSP this week.

The new affordable housing development at Albion Road consists of 42 high quality and energy efficient homes, including 10 one bedroom, 25 two bedroom and seven three bedroom properties, which will provide 35 new homes for mid market rent and seven for social rent.

The properties benefit from a high level of energy efficiency with heating and hot water provided from gas combination boilers augmented by heat recovery systems, enhanced levels of insulation and timber frame construction.

NHT to deliver almost 900 homes for Edinburgh

Almost 900 Edinburgh affordable homes for rent are to be delivered by the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT), social justice secretary Alex Neil revealed today.

The City of Edinburgh Council has already delivered more than 400 NHT homes with hundreds more in the pipeline.

The latest 234-home development at the Western Harbour brings the total number of NHT homes approved across Scotland to more than 2,000.

The Scottish Government’s financial innovation is unlocking strategic sites for housing development across the country, delivering more homes for less public investment.

The City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Futures Trust and the Forth Ports Group are spearheading the Waterfront development, which is being built by Hart Builders, part of the Cruden Group.

Edinburgh’s Saughton Park secures Heritage Lottery Fund investment

The City of Edinburgh Council has been awarded £3.8 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to restore and improve Saughton Park.

The park will see restoration of the walled garden with new herbaceous borders, planting schemes and refurbishment of the winter garden. The original bandstand will be re-instated and a new cafe and public toilet facilities will be built.

There will be improvements across the whole park including a new viewpoint at the Water of Leith, and the funding will also help towards repairs to and installation of furniture, lighting and pathways. An exciting programme of events and activities will be developed which are aimed at a wider range of park users and offer volunteer and learning opportunities for all to enjoy.

Following today’s announcement, detailed design work will start immediately with construction works starting next year. It is anticipated that the newly restored park will be fully opened by August 2018.

Plan for public register of land ownership to improve transparency

The Scottish Government is to amend the Land Reform Bill to establish a public register of who owns land in Scotland.

Land reform campaigners have long called for a public register in a bid to increase transparency.

Yesterday land reform minister Aileen McLeod confirmed she plans to amend the bill at stage three to give the Scottish Government the power to make regulations to create the register.

Work begins on £2m electricity network project in South Ayrshire

PMK Civil Engineering is underway with a £2 million project to boost the electricity network in South Ayrshire.

The scheme is being carried out with SP Energy Networks and involves installing approximately 4.5km of high voltage/fibre optic cabling between Monkton and Troon.

In addition, two new substations will be built.

The cable route was agreed by both South Ayrshire Council and Network Rail in 2014.

It follows the cycle path verge from Monkton to Troon and was designed specifically to minimise disruption to the local community.

The scheme is part of a wider £1.2m investment to replace the existing equipment within the town’s primary substation, further increasing the security of electricity supplies.

The project is planned to be complete in early February.

DM Hall adds a new Building Surveyor

Ken McDonald has joined DM Hall for a second time in his career but this time as an Associate Building Surveyor in the Glasgow team.

Mr McDonald, who had previously worked for the firm for four years, is returning to the private sector after leaving his position as a surveyor with Renfrewshire Council.

He specialises in dilapidation claims for landlords and tenants, surveys for pre acquisitions and leases, condition surveys, contract administration and has experience in building maintenance, CDM and project monitoring for lenders.