Building Briefs – January 16th

• Councillor cuts sod for new ACHA homes in Kilmartin

The development of four two bedroom semi-detached homes will be built by local firm MacLeod Construction of Lochgilphead and will take a year to complete.

The cost of the development is £671,898 with contributions coming from Argyll and Bute Council, the Scottish Government and ACHA.

• Views sought on Sullom Voe Harbour project

Shetland Islands Council has announced a series of workshops and drop-in sessions as part of a project looking at future use of the Sullom Voe Harbour area which includes Yell Sound.

The Marine Spatial Planning team from NAFC Marine Centre has been contracted by Shetland Islands Council to create a masterplan to guide planning and inform leasing decisions in the area. It will also provide useful guidance for developers, reflecting the needs of the local community.

The public sessions are being led by NAFC and a team of specialists to gather insights about community objectives for the area and make a broad assessment of opportunities for different types of development.

• CALA’s organ gift is music to the ears of Bishopbriggs church

A donation of an electronic organ has struck the right note with a Bishopbriggs church.

St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church received the instrument last month from CALA Homes West. The housebuilder stepped in with the donation after hearing that St Dominic’s previous organ had been identified as beyond repair.

The Allen Two-Manual Digital Computer Organ was previously located in the B-listed David Stow building, part of the former Jordanhill Campus which is being redeveloped by CALA as Jordanhill Park; a residential development. The musical instrument was installed in 2001 but has not been used since the previous owners of the campus, Strathclyde University, moved out in 2012.

With work to convert the David Stow into luxury apartments due to commence early this year, CALA contacted the Glasgow Society of Organists to seek advice on re-homing the organ. Greg McHugh, the organist who was playing at St. Dominic’s when its previous instrument stopped working, immediately asked to be first in line to receive the gift.

Following a visit to the David Stow building by Greg and Father Nicholas Monaghan, the parish priest at St. Dominic’s, the donation was secured.

The organ was removed in stages, due to its size. CALA also erected scaffolding to assist the removal of the instrument’s large loudspeakers.

• Average Scottish house prices up 2.9% on previous year

The average price of a property in Scotland in November 2018 was £150,638 – an increase of 2.9% on November in the previous year and a decrease of 0.7% when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £230,630, which was an increase of 2.8% on November in the previous year and a decrease of 0.1% when compared to the previous month.

The latest publication of the monthly UK HPI shows that the volume of residential sales in Scotland in September 2018 was 8,472 – a decrease of 9.1% on September 2017 (a like-for-like comparison of the latest provisional estimate for September 2018 with the original provisional estimate for September 2017 as recorded before final figures became available. This compares to decreases of 7.9% in England and 7.7% in Wales, and an increase of 4.9% in Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2018).

Average price increases were recorded in the majority (27) of local authorities in November 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in Midlothian, Highland and City of Edinburgh where average prices increased by 11.9% to £187,796, 9.5% to £170,923 and 9.3% to £266,985 respectively. The largest decrease was recorded in Aberdeen City, where average prices fell by 6.7% to £154,550.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in November 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 4.3% to £125,616. The average price of flatted properties rose by 1.8% to £108,398, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in November 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £121,735 – an increase of 2.7% compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £180,611 – an increase of 3.2% on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £138,574 – an increase of 2.5% on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £156,255 – an increase of 3.1% on the previous year.

• Funding approved for Argyll and Bute energy efficiency improvements

Argyll and Bute Council has been awarded funding to help residents make energy efficiency improvements to their properties, such as external/internal wall insulation, underfloor insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

Residents in Argyll and Bute are being given the opportunity to make their homes more energy efficient as a result of the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Scheme (HEEPS: ABS).

The programme is available to owner occupiers and private rented householders living in Council Tax bands A to C, regardless of income, and band D if your income is less than £20,000.

For people living on Argyll and Bute’s islands, the criteria has been extended even further to include those in band D properties and above, with an energy rating of E or below.

The scheme contributes towards the Scottish Government’s target of alleviating fuel poverty and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. It also helps the Local Housing Strategy’s aim to improve the overall quality and condition of housing.

• 2019 to see Edinburgh office rents north of £35 PSF - Savills

An acute lack of supply in Edinburgh’s city centre will push office rents north of £35 per sq ft in 2019, according to Savills.

The international real estate advisor suggests that while occupier focus in the year ahead will remain on the city centre, rental increases and lack of supply may cause certain organisations to consider opportunities on the city’s western periphery.

The latest research from the firm shows office take-up in Edinburgh in 2018 totalled 950,000 sq ft - 18% ahead of the 10-year annual average – as the city continues to see robust levels of demand from across a number of key sectors and a continued focus amongst occupiers on the city centre.

However, despite strong occupier demand, Savills figures show a decline in office take-up in 2018, compared to 2017 (1.04 million sq ft) which the firm attributes to a lack of good quality, city centre office supply. The firm explains Edinburgh’s city centre office availability has been reducing since 2012 and take-up activity during 2018 has seen the majority of new developments being wholly or partially pre-let. This lack of supply, Savills says, is in turn forcing an increasing number of occupiers to re-gear leases on existing offices against a lack of alternative options.

Office rents in the city are also being impacted by a lack of supply and rising build costs, says Savills, with significant rental growth through-out 2018. The firm’s research shows the top rent in Edinburgh now stands at £35 per sq ft and Savills expects the upward trajectory to continue in 2019.