Building Briefs – January 17th

Blackadders appoints new partner to head up residential property in Glasgow

National law firm Blackadders has appointed a new head of residential property to its Glasgow office.

Karen Fulton joins Blackadders as a Partner to take up the role and will be responsible for building on the firm’s residential property credentials and diverse portfolio of clients.

A property lawyer for more than 25 years and predominantly in the Glasgow area, Karen’s appointment reinforces Blackadders’ ambitious growth plans in the city and West of Scotland.

Originally from Kilmarnock, Karen graduated from Strathclyde University and trained at R & JA McCallum before joining Bird Semple in Glasgow and then becoming an associate with Taylor and Henderson solicitors in Saltcoats. In 2004, she rejoined Bird Semple where she went on to become a Partner.

Engineering consultancy moves into 58 Waterloo Street

Hoare Lea, a consultancy firm of engineers specialising in mechanic, electrical and public health design, has been confirmed as the latest tenant at 58 Waterloo Street in Glasgow.

Hoare Lea has taken a total of 2,033 sq ft across the 4th floor on a five year deal at a rental of £20 per sq ft. Previously based in premises on Buchanan Street, the company required larger premises to continue the growth of its expert services.

The relocation follows the extensive multi-million pound refurbishment of 58 Waterloo Street in early 2017 which created 31,068 sq ft of Grade A office space over eight levels. Hoare Lea will take occupation later this month following completion of fit-out works.

Average house prices in Scotland continue to rise

The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in November 2017 was £145,992 – an increase of 3.6% on November in the previous year and an increase of 1.1% when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £226,071, which was an increase of 5.1% on November in the previous year and an increase of 0.1% when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in September 2017 was 9,323 – a decrease of 2.5% on September 2016 and a decrease of 0.5% on the previous month. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 14.8% in England, 6.6% in Wales and 8.6% in Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2017).

The top five local authorities in terms of September sales volumes were Edinburgh (1,124 sales), Glasgow (1,067 sales), Fife (706 sales), South Lanarkshire (595 sales) and North Lanarkshire (451 sales).

Average price increases were recorded in three quarters (24) of all local authorities in November 2017, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in West Dunbartonshire, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh, where the average prices increased by 10.3% to £106,216, 8.1% to £217,106 and 8.0% to £246,508 respectively. The biggest decreases were recorded in Aberdeen City and Argyll and Bute where prices fell by 4.2% to £163,489 and 3.9% to £127,373 respectively.

Across Scotland, most property types showed an increase in average price in November 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Flat or maisonette properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.2% to £108,881. The average price of detached properties showed a decrease of 3.6% to £235,744.

The average price in November 2017 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £121,574 – an increase of 6.5% compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £169,670 – an increase of 0.7% on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £135,641 – an increase of four% on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £150,733 – an increase of 3.5% on the previous year.

Councillors consider next steps for Perth & Kinross primary schools

Councillors will be asked to consider the future of four Perth & Kinross Council schools as part of the transformation of the school estate at the next meeting of the local authority’s Lifelong Learning Committee meeting on January 24.

The development of this first phase of options appraisals was approved by the Lifelong Learning Committee in November 2016. A total of 10 schools are included in this phase, with four schools being considered by this Committee at their January meeting. These schools are: St Ninian’s Episcopal Primary School, Forteviot Primary School, Balhousie Primary School and North Muirton Primary School.

Elected Members will consider detailed information on each school and community, including feedback from drop-in sessions and on-line questionnaires.

The Committee will firstly be asked to approve a proposal to establish a local authority nursery in St Ninian’s Episcopal Primary School. This will support the expansion nursery provision from 600 hours to 1140 hours throughout Perth and Kinross. It is anticipated that this will also sustain pupil numbers in the school, which have been reducing over recent years. If approved, design work for the nursery would commence in consultation with the school, as there is no statutory consultation required for the introduction of a nursery currently.

Elected Members will be asked to approve to undertake a statutory consultation process to close Forteviot Primary School permanently. Forteviot Primary School was mothballed in October 2016, with the majority of pupils currently attending Forgandenny Primary School. The report states that it is not anticipated that Forteviot Primary School will have a sustainable roll in the next four years and also that pupils have settled well in Forgandenny Primary School.

Finally the Committee will consider an options appraisal for Balhousie Primary School and North Muirton Primary School. Both schools are being appraised due to the poor condition of the school buildings. In addition, Balhousie Primary School is under-occupied. The report proposes that a new school is built on the current site of North Muirton Primary School. This school will be designed to accommodate pupils from North Muirton Primary School and Balhousie Primary School. The new school would be completed in 2022. In order to progress the preferred option, Elected Members are being asked to approve a statutory consultation to close Balhousie Primary School.