Building Briefs – January 29th

Work has started on the £4 million refurbishment of the existing Mossvale Primary School and Nursery and St James’ Primary School shared campus.

The work is part of Renfrewshire Council’s £52m investment programme to improve local schools

The Mossvale and St James’ shared campus is being extended to allow the nursery class to be brought into the main building. The extra space will allow new classrooms and an additional PE space to be built. The dining room will be enlarged as well.

The refurbishment work will see all of the building’s internal systems being replaced including the wiring and heating. The pupils will also be able to enjoy a brighter environment as the building is being redecorated. New furniture will complete the internal transformation. The school grounds will be landscaped and this work will include facilities for outdoor learning.

Council agrees to give £10,000 to St Andrews rectory refurbishment

Fife Council is to spend £10,000 on refurbishment of a rectory, despite reservations about spending public money on a church residence.

The cash will help fund a £99,000 upgrade of All Saints’ Rectory in St Andrews which includes a £27,000 central heating system, a £12,000 kitchen and £14,000 window refurbishment.

Half of the work is to be paid for by the church, while £21,000 has been raised by the congregation and a grant of £18,000 promised by St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation.

£23m North Lanarkshire school campus opens

A new £23 million school has officially opened in North Lanarkshire.

Over 600 pupils arrived at the first ‘all-through’ Clyde Valley Campus in Wishaw today, 28 January.

It is understood the facility will eventually become home to nursery, primary and secondary pupils with a Language and Communication support centre for autistic pupils.

Work will now start on the demolition of the old school building, making way for the primary school, language and communication unit, nursery, parking and sports facilities.

The new primary school will be completed in June 2016 while the sports facilities will be finished in September 2016.

Grainger commits £850m to UK PRS market

The UK’s new Build To Rent initiative, which sees institutions fund and manage purpose-built accommodation for the Private Rented Sector (PRS), has received its second big investment in as many days.

Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, has revealed it is going to spend some £850 million on Build To Rent between now and 2020.

The move follows Legal & General Capital’s announcement that it plans to spend £600m on over 3,000 new homes in the sector.

Stirling City Development plans roadshow

Ambitious plans to transform Stirling will go on show to the public from next week.

Aimed at building on the city’s strengths to create a world-class economic and cultural powerhouse three initial projects were identified as key to the City Development Framework plans in December: a new Digital District in the heart of the city; a Civic Quarter at Forthside with a new Council headquarters, Civic Square and international visitor attraction; and a Grow-on Space to support small and medium sized businesses.

This initial stage of the £200 million scheme has been identified as having the potential to generate more than £80m per year for the Stirling economy and create 1700 jobs.

The plans were drawn up with community input and are being developed in partnership with Stirling City Commission and other key partners. They are now set to be the subject of formal consultations with the UK and Scottish Governments and other potential investors.

Plans showing all three projects in greater detail are also going out on the road locally, with everyone welcome to come and view them at drop-in sessions as follows:

Tuesday 2nd February – Mayfield Centre, St Ninians, Stirling

Wednesday 10th February – Balfron Community Campus

Wednesday 17th February – McLaren Hall, Killin

Tuesday 23rd February – McLaren Leisure Centre, Callander

Members of the public will be able to view the plans, including a 3D model of how they could transform the city centre landscape, from 2-8pm on all dates.

Further plans are still being developed to regenerate the Mercat Cross/ City Centre area; create a new conference centre and City Park; and develop the River Forth as a key tourist and leisure resource.

Edinburgh tenement conservation work finished

Conservation work has now been completed on one of the Old Town’s most historic tenements - the 17th century Bible Land on the Canongate.

Repair of stonework, chimneys, gutters, windows and the roof was carried out by Edinburgh World Heritage on behalf of residents.

The work took place via a repayable grant of £97,000.