Building Briefs - January 5th

• Work to start on new look town centre for Kilmarnock

Caskie Ltd has been appointed to carry out the 20-week job, which will see the removal of the former Mothercare building on the corner of King Street and St Marnock Street.

The company will begin on site on January 6, when the surrounding pavement will be closed to allow erection of scaffolding. The actual demolition will start with painstaking manual removal of gable end, followed by mechanical demolition to the three floors.

Health and Safety considerations will mean that Ayrshire Roads Authority (ARA)  will oversee a programme of partial road closures, which will be managed to minimise traffic disruption as far as possible.

• Rural Stirling Housing Association gets green light for 14 new homes in Croftamie

Rural Stirling Housing Association (RSHA) has secured planning permission to build 14 new homes in the village of Croftamie.

The Association has allocated land next to Buchanan Crescent for the development, which was approved in principle by Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park planners.

Indications are that the homes would all be two-storey and social rented, to be managed by RSHA, The Stirling Observer reports.

Five objections were lodged against the proposals citing concerns over a lack of public transport, local amenities, as well as an increase in traffic, road safety, noise increase, loss of wildlife and that the development could set a precedent.

In their decision, however, park planners said: “The number of dwellings proposed (14) is nearly three times that envisaged for Croftamie in the Local Plan (five).

“The applicant has provided a supporting statement which explains how it would not be viable to deliver the five houses envisaged as affordable housing as this would not be sufficient to balance the development’s infrastructure and construction costs.

“A smaller number of larger houses (which would most likely be for open market sale) might allow closer adherence to the allocation figure however, a greater number of smaller houses would more directly address the needs of smaller sized households and older people as encouraged by planning policy.”

• Plans submitted to expand Aberdeenshire village by 26 homes

Ellon-based JKR Contractors Limited has submitted plans to build 26 new homes on an area of disused land in the north-east village of Fetterangus.

The firm hopes to build a mix of three and four-bedroom homes and affordable houses on the site located at Ferguson Street.

The former works site backs on to Fetterangus School, Pitfour Crescent and the Mintlaw Community Church Hall.

The plans also include 58 car parking spaces, The Press and Journal reports.

Ken Mathieson Architectural Design has submitted drawings to Aberdeenshire Council’s planning department for consideration.

The application is due to go before the planning officers in the next few weeks.

• Flats planned at Glasgow city centre offices

Glasgow City Council planners are being asked to approve a proposal to convert office space in a B-listed Glasgow City Centre building into apartments.

The upper floors of premises on the corner of Renfield Street and St Vincent Street would be converted into six flats under the new plan.

A design statement submitted with the application explains: “The first and second floors are currently offices, however as the spaces and facilities are not compatible with current office requirements these have become difficult to let and have been lying vacant for some time.

“The third floor is currently occupied by Boxfit Glasgow gymnasium.

“The proposed use is supported by (planning) policy and the proposals will provide new residential capacity within a currently underutilised building in the city centre. The proposals have been carefully considered so as not to affect the external character or appearance of an existing listed building.”

• Edinburgh Council HQ set for solar panels

Solar panels are to be installed on the roof of the City of Edinburgh Council’s headquarters at Waverley Court in the latest initiative to help cut the capital’s carbon emissions by use of alternative energy.

The council offices are the last of six buildings in the city being fitted with panels by the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative following a new share issue which was oversubscribed.

The co-op, set up seven years ago, already has 24 council-owned premises across the city, mostly schools and leisure centres, generating electricity from solar panels financed from its first share issue in 2015, which raised £1.4 million.

This time the co-op wanted to raise £660,000 for the six buildings, but so many people wanted to take part that they raised more than £700,000.

The other five buildings in the second phase already have their panels installed and working – the council’s transport depot at Bankhead, the recycling centre at Sighthill and the leisure centres at Craiglockhart, Kirkliston and Gracemount.

• Tulloch’s £5,000 festive prezzy boosts Food Bank for winter rush

Tulloch Homes has donated £5,000 to the Highland Food Bank at Inverness to help those in need this winter.

This is in addition to the £8,000 the company has donated to the charity, based in Glebe Street, since the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

Tulloch Homes chief executive George Fraser said: ”When the virus first came to our area, our instinct was to help the Food Bank, a place where basic needs are met.

“With not having any staff Christmas parties this year, we felt it appropriate to provide funds to try to ensure that people don’t go hungry in the depths of winter. We see this as the ideal way to end our 95th anniversary year.”

• British Gas continues partnership with Energy Assets Utilities

British Gas has confirmed the renewal of its long-standing partnership with Energy Assets Utilities (EAU) for the construction of gas networks serving new build housing schemes and regeneration projects.

The two businesses have been working together for more than 20 years, with EAU laying on average around 80,000 metres of gas infrastructure mains and connecting approximately 4,500 new service connections and meters each year. EAU covers the largest single geographic area among the three utility construction service providers partnering with British Gas and has also completed more than 100 dual fuel (gas/ electricity) schemes for its customers.

EAU has established a comprehensive communication and project delivery process for the utility construction and metering services being delivered on behalf of British Gas, with dedicated teams taking responsibility for all the required off-site planning. This includes organising highways notices, connections management, materials, labour, as-built records, meter installation data and managing projects through each stage to completion. Design services have also been provided for dual fuel projects.

The new contract will run through to 2025.