Building Briefs – January 23rd

Work to bring one of Midlothian’s most historically significant buildings back to life has begun with the official launch of Melville Housing Association’s Dalkeith Corn Exchange project.

The £3.8 million restoration of the Grade A listed building is being made possible thanks to grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland in addition to Melville’s contribution. The carefully restored building will provide a new office for Melville as well as facilities for the community.

Building work, which is being carried out by Rosyth-based construction firm Colorado Group, is expected to be finished by the end of 2015 with the new museum due to open in early 2016. While preserving and enhancing the unique character of the building, the plans also incorporate sustainable low carbon technologies such as solar panels and a ground source heat pump to provide power and heating to the fully-renovated building.

The building’s community use will include a new Dalkeith Museum, managed by the Dalkeith History Society. The museum will have its own entrance and be fully accessible to the public. The reception area of Melville’s new office will also be open to the public during office hours and have a permanent exhibition of the history of the Corn Exchange as part of the Dalkeith Heritage Trail. In addition, the original boardroom of the old Corn Exchange will be available for community meetings and events.

Advocates calling for defence of accessible home laws

Proposed changes to building regulations could make new homes less accessible for older and disabled people, two charities have warned.

Disabled organisations Scottish Disability Equality Forum and Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living have urged ministers to rethink the changes they say will undermine progress in improving the accessibility of homes.

The charities said the reforms would unpick provisions that ensure new homes can easily accommodate accessible toilets, lifts, handrails and wheelchair access. Most were only introduced when the regulations were last changed in 2007.

Critics say ministers have caved in to lobbying from construction firms who resent the additional cost of meeting the requirements.

Campaigners say the changes could decrease the accessibility of 45,000 new build properties over the next five years at a time when it is needed more than ever.

However, a Scottish Government consultation that has just closed suggests removing the regulations.

Approval recommended for new £44m Tain school campus

Highland Council has been asked to approve plans for a new £44 million school campus in Tain in Easter Ross.

Children aged from three to 18 would receive nursery and school education in new buildings proposed for the site of the current Tain Royal Academy.

Once completed Knockbreck Primary, Craighill Primary and St Duthus special school would be closed.

GAP Group breaks into Business Insider Top 100 companies for first time

National equipment hirer GAP Hire Solutions has made the Business Insider Top 100 for the first time in the company’s history.

Scottish magazine Business Insider publishes their list of Scotland’s Top 500 best performing companies annually. GAP now sits in the top 100 at number 99 - previously, the company was positioned at number 123.

The increase in ranking can be attributed to an incredibly successful couple of years for GAP. Last year, turnover exceeded £118m, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year. GAP also employed a strategy to diversify the business and in 2014 launched four new divisions: Survey & Safety Hire, Welfare Services, Event Services and Vehicle Hire. They join GAP’s existing Plant & Tool Hire, Lifting Hire & Sales and Non-Mechanical Plant divisions.

Developer unveils CGI of new Dundee homes

Property developer Whiteburn Projects has revealed a set of CGIs that visualise for the first time its new Parkview housing development in Dundee.

The development includes plans to sympathetically regenerate Parkview School, its grounds and the existing lodge house.

The Grade B listed school building sits at the heart of the development, originally designed by James McLaren & Sons and completed in 1896, has long been one of Dundee’s treasured landmarks with its prominent and elevated south-facing position at the apex of Blackness Road.

Architects Page\Park have worked sympathetically with the building to retain as many original features as possible – from the three elegant cast iron balustrade staircases to the canopy running around three sides of the private landscaped courtyard which will create a private shared space for the residents.

The overall Parkview development will create 45 new homes in a mix of mews houses and apartments.

Demand for A90 flyover at Laurencekirk grows louder after study

Campaigners fighting for a flyover at a Mearns blackspot have told Transport Scotland: “You have no more excuses.”

A public exhibition has been held at the Dickson Hall in Laurencekirk to seek views on proposed options for junction improvements for the A90 and A937.

CH2M HILL, an engineering consultancy, has been commissioned by the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) to develop proposals for improving access to Laurencekirk.

Campaigners now want transport chiefs to take their pleas for a flyover seriously after the study indicated that option is the only way forward.

A total of seven packages were unveiled, but one involving average speed cameras was rejected, leaving six, all of which include a grade-separation at the south junction.

Regeneration of historic Dundee street a step closer if plan is approved

Plans to regenerate a historic Dundee street could move a step closer if a planning brief is approved by Dundee City Council.

The former Maxwelltown Works on Alexander Street, Hilltown, could be the site of proposed semi-detached and terraced houses as well as a small number of flats.

Proposals could also see the reinstatement of Elizabeth Street, which ran north-south from north George Street to Alexander Street.

Residents and consultees were invited to comment on the Draft Site Planning Brief issued by the council.

Works at M74 junction 10 to 8 northbound

Essential repairs to the M74 Lochead between Junction 10 and 8, are being carried-out by Scotland TranServ, as part of Transport Scotland’s ongoing maintenance programme.

The works will be carried out overnight and will require a total closure of the northbound carriageway on Friday 30 January.

New microscopic imaging centre at Dundee University

A new £8m microscopic imaging unit has opened at Dundee University.

The “cutting-edge” centre will help drive research in physical, medical and life sciences.

The Dundee Imaging Facility has been set up after two years of work and £8m of investment in imaging technology.

Objects already studied with the new imaging technology include 1,500-year-old sediment from a tsunami, chromosomes in the make-up of barley, and cells from the human body.

The facility provides support for research projects from a broad range of disciplines.