Building Briefs – January 6th

A high-profile building in the heart of Perth has been transformed with the help of grant aid to restore historic properties in the city.

Scaffolding has now come down from the corner of High Street and George Street to reveal an elegant Georgian tenement built in about 1780 which has been worked on over the last few months by skilled local craftsmen.

The block at 1-3 George Street, which includes Ivory Whites Bridal Boutique and Williamson’s florist on the ground floor, benefited from a grant from Perth City Heritage Fund to help the owners’ association meet the costs of conservation work.

That work included removing the failing cement render and repairing the historic masonry with lime mortar, repairs to the roof, chimney and cast iron gutters and downpipes.

One of the biggest changes to the building has been to return the brightly painted sash and case windows to their original pattern and colour, including all the false windows which were discovered when the render was removed.

The work has been carried out by Perth contractor One Call Ltd and overseen by Cupar architects, Arc.

Edinburgh church to make way for new student housing

A disused church on Edinburgh’s Pennywell Road, Muirhouse, is to be demolished and replaced by new build student housing.

Architects at EMA seek to repair the streetscape by arranging three separate blocks along the site perimeter, faced with brick and dark grey cladding and retaining an existing boundary wall.

The scheme will also complement a recently delivered new housing to the south.

New Edinburgh homes get go-ahead

More than 200 new homes will be built in the south of Edinburgh after planning permission was granted for a Barratt Homes development.

Plans for 211 homes in Burdiehouse East development – which represent the second phase of the Kilns – will comprise of a range of two-bed apartments to three- and four-bedroom houses.

Work is due to start on the site in summer 2016 and the first homes will be released for sale next winter.

Demolition works to begin in East Renfrewshire

Demolition works at a development site in East Renfrewshire are expected to start at the end of January.

The remaining building at Auchenback Primary in Barrhead is to be levelled to make way for a new multimillion pound community hub.

The new Arthurlie Family Centre facility will provide a modern complex housing council services under one roof.

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2016, with the first intake planned after the 2017 summer holidays.

Work starts on Dundee £500,000 sewer project

Work is underway to connect a historic castle and museum to Scotland’s sewer network.

The £500,000 project at Broughty Ferry Castle Museum in Dundee started yesterday and will last for approximately 12 weeks.

The works will be carried out by contractors Amey Black and Veatch (aBV).

The upgrade will make sure waste from the castle and museum is taken and treated to a high standard before being returned to the environment.

Record year for community renewables projects

Over £10 million was generated from community renewables projects across Scotland last year, in a record return for the sector.

The last 12 months saw the number of projects on the community renewables register reach 154, with over £10m paid out this year to communities from renewables developments.

The target for community or local ownership of renewables was met five years early, with 508 Megawatts of capacity now operational, exceeding the 500 Megawatts target by 2020.

The Scottish Government’s first ever Community Energy Policy Statement was published in September, promoting the economic and social benefits of shared energy ownership.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing said community energy such as large scale wind farms or small scale hydro projects can produce further benefits for Scotland’s communities in 2016.