Building Briefs – January 19th

New council housing development opens in Kilsyth

The official opening of a completed development of North Lanarkshire Council homes has taken place at Barrie Place in Kilsyth.

A plaque was unveiled at the site which is now home to 30 new, modern, council properties, comprising a mix of cottage flats, amenity and family homes. This is just one of the modern new developments the council is delivering across North Lanarkshire as part of its NL Homes programme.

Depute Provost, Councillor Jean Jones, officially opened the site and was joined by local members, Councillors Heather McVey and Alan Stevenson. Tenants and housing staff also came along to mark the opening.

The latest phase of the council’s NL Homes programme adds to its growing stock of new council houses and marks another step to meeting our ambitious plans to build more than 2,000 new homes – one of the biggest council house building programmes in Scotland in a generation.

All of the new homes are built with energy efficiency in mind, achieving at least a ‘good’ eco rating to help minimise running costs for tenants. In addition, they meet Housing for Varying Needs specification which means homes are more accessible to adapt to tenants’ mobility needs. The homes are also ‘Secured by Design’ accredited, which involves Police Scotland architectural liaison officers having input into the layout and designs to ensure we build safe and secure environments

The £4.7 million development was managed by contractor Wates Living. A contribution is received from the Scottish Government towards the development costs at each site.

Statoil selects partner for floating wind farm project

Statoil has appointed partner to help deliver the world’s first floating wind farm in Scotland.

Abu Dhabi-based renewables company, Masdar, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the Hywind Scotland pilot park scheme offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.

The deal will see Masdar cover a quarter of previous and future project costs, with the Norwegian oil firm holding a 75 per cent share.

Statoil said the 4km scheme will power around 20,000 households once production begins in late 2017.

Substructures for the 30MW project are being built in Spain and will arrived at the yard at Stord in Norway later this spring. Assembly will then take place during the summer, before being transported to Peterhead.

Surveyors expect house prices and rents to continue upward trajectory

House prices in Scotland continued to go up last month with further increases expected over the next three months, surveyors have reported.

The December Residential Market Survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that 32 per cent more chartered surveyors reporting a rise rather than fall in prices last month, up from 27 per cent in November.

The RICS said the increase in prices was possibly down to the lack of supply.

According to the survey, the number of house sales across Scotland “faltered” in December, although predictions for expected new sales over the next three months remained steady.

The survey found that 2 per cent more chartered surveyors saw a fall rather than a rise in sales across Scotland last month.

New instructions to sell also failed to see any pick-up, marking the eighth straight month of declining supply.

Respondents to the survey continued to highlight low stock levels as a key concern, creating a lack of choice for would-be buyers, while a shortage of properties to let is driving rent expectations higher with respondents projecting rental growth to average close to 5 per cent per annum over the next five years.

£4.4m school refurb complete in Inverclyde

A £4.4 million refurbishment project has been completed at a primary school in Inverclyde.

Kilmacolm Primary School was reopened by council leader Stephen McCabe last week.

The scheme was carried out as part of an Inverclyde Council programme to build or upgrade schools by 2020.

Partnership upgrades heating in 1,000 Perth and Kinross homes

A £6.6 million Perth & Kinross Council investment aimed at eradicating fuel poverty has successfully installed heating systems to over 1,000 homes across the region.

Community regeneration and construction specialist Keepmoat was selected as preferred developer to deliver 1,600 installations across the city by the council in November last year. The partnership has now celebrated the completion of works on 1,000 homes, improving the quality of life for council tenants.

The project has to date seen Keepmoat install gas heating systems to 826 homes, as well as solar thermal heating systems to 174 properties, which will support the council’s aspirations of keeping the homes of tenants warm and assisting tenants to reduce their fuel bills.

Edinburgh University buys former Scottish Fire and Rescue Service HQ

The former headquarters building of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Edinburgh has been sold to Edinburgh University for £8 million.

The building in Lauriston Place will form part of the Edinburgh College of Art’s plans to transform the area into a hub for arts and culture.

The Edinburgh Museum of Fire, currently located at Lauriston, will move to a new purpose-built location within Edinburgh.

Bearsden garden pavilion set for revamp

East Dunbartonshire Council is on track to deliver a garden pavilion within the grounds of Kilmardinny House, Bearsden, by the spring providing for the arts, conferences and weddings.

Overseen by Mast Architects and Clark Contracts, the £2.73 million build will provide a flexible events space adjoining the A-listed house, which is also being sensitively refurbished as part of the package of works.

Slight decrease in average PRS rents

Average rents in Scotland’s private rented sector fell in the final quarter of 2016 by 0.9 per cent on the year to stand at £739 per month, according to new figures.

Citylets reports that the vast majority of the national reduction can be attributed to Aberdeen where average rents fell by 15.4 per cent year on year to stand at £790 per month.

Average rents in Edinburgh and Glasgow increased by 3.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent year on year to stand at £984 and £728 respectively, while Dundee’s average rents posted a 4.7 per cent annual rise to stand at £597 per month.

Citylets added that a slight cooling in the increase of rents within the central belt also pushed the annual national average downwards in Q4 2016.

The pace of the national market remains virtually unchanged over the last year with 61 per cent of all properties let within a month, and with an average time to let of 31 days.

Conservation area management plans for Moray

Management plans have been approved for conservation areas in two Moray towns.

They will now be regarded as material considerations in determining planning applications in the Keith and Forres conservation areas.

The documents were produced in support of the Keith Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme and on behalf of the Forres Conservation Area Working Group but until now had no formal status in the planning process.

Moray Council’s planning and regulatory services committee, which approved the adoption of the documents today, heard that they would provide guidance to prevent harm and promote enhancement to owners, agents and contractors undertaking repair or maintenance work on traditional buildings within the conservation areas.

A report said: “The documents will become material considerations in the determination of planning applications and will assist in the active management of the conservation areas so that they are preserved and enhanced for future generations.”