Building Briefs – January 8th

Wilton Lodge Park in the Scottish Borders will be a hive of activity at the start of 2015 as its £3.64 million regeneration project continues to progress.

January will see work on the Park’s new bandstand continue. Contractors Lost Art has already put in place the columns and beams and expect to complete the bandstand by April.

SBc Contracts will undertake landscaping works around the bandstand, as well as at the Boer War Memorial and Hawick Museum, in January and are due to be finished in April.

The renovation of the Laurie and Henderson shelters, being undertaken by Hawick firm John Rae, has the same time frame.

P1 Solutions have been appointed to undertake the renewal of the walled garden which is also scheduled to be completed in April, while a contractor is due to be appointed in January to carry out the work to the education area and waterfall walk.

Hawick Museum gallery will be completed by the end of March and is expected to provide a fantastic addition to the museum experience.

A planning application for the new café and bridge was submitted in December, with the former café due to be removed in spring 2015 and the works to the new facility predicted to begin in the summer.

A consultation will also be held in summer 2015 regarding plans for the Gilbert Davidson Fountain, with works due to take place in 2016. The discussion will centre on the proposals to improve the landscape and provide the museum with a more open setting.

Tesco shelves new Aviemore, Fort William and Crieff stores

Tesco has confirmed it has cancelled its plans to build new stores in Fort William and Aviemore.

The projects were among 49 proposed new store developments across the UK shelved by the supermarket chain.

A plan to open a new store in Crieff was also understood to be among the cancelled.

The company had planned to replace an existing store in the centre of Aviemore while Fort William has a Tesco Metro, but a bigger shop was proposed for the town’s Blar Mhor site.

Sporting chance to view Bishopbriggs plans

Proposals for a new multi-million pound sporting facility in Bishopbriggs will be unveiled at a special event on 15 January 2015.

East Dunbartonshire Council, in partnership with East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) Trust, is moving ahead with the development of the Huntershill sports project - which includes a new changing pavilion, 3G floodlit sports pitch, six-lane running track, three tennis courts, upgraded sports pitches, access road, fencing and parking.

A public consultation event is being held - ahead of a planning application being submitted - in the community meeting room of Bishopbriggs Library between 4pm and 8pm on Thursday 15 January 2015.

The council previously pledged £2.9 million of capital funding in 2014-16 towards the project, with £500,000 of this committed by EDLC, who will run the new facility.

‘Grassroots support’ for St Andrews rail link bid

Ambitious plans to reinstate the rail line to St Andrews continue to have considerable grassroots support in the town, according to Starlink convener Jane Ann Liston.

The comment was made after it emerged St Andrews campaigners are to seek advice from Alloa rail campaigners successful in getting their town’s rail link reinstated.

St Andrews Rail Link has been campaigning for 25 years for construction of a railway linking the popular destination and home of golf with the east coast main line, 46 years after the connection was axed by British Rail.

A study carried out two years ago by Tata Steel Projects identified an eight-kilometre route following the Eden Valley. An indicative timetable was produced, suggesting hourly services could be provided to Edinburgh and Dundee, taking one hour 19 minutes and 22 minutes respectively.

It was estimated it would cost at least £76 million to construct the railway and infrastructure.

Work progressing well on £26.5m campus

Construction work on the new £26.5 million Brechin Community Campus is continuing apace.

It will replace Brechin High School on its Duke Street site and also provide enhanced community leisure facilities, as well as a performance space and accommodation for adult learning and youth activities.

Contractor Robertson Construction is developing the scheme in a joint public/private sector partnership between Angus Council and hub East Central Scotland.

Work began at the start of July, when finance secretary John Swinney launched the construction phase.

Phase one of the project is scheduled to run until February 2016, with the school’s populace decanting to the new building in February or March that year. Phase two involves the demolition of the old school building from April to July 2016, with external works, including a sports pitch and new parking facilities being undertaken from August 2016 through to completion in October that year.

Work restarts on ‘high-end’ Broughty Ferry flats

Work to build new luxury flats in Broughty Ferry has finally started following a three-year wait.

A “modern” building to house the four apartments is under construction on St Vincent Street.

Taylor Shepherd Homes’ bid was approved in 2011, and included plans to convert the old St Aidan’s Church Hall into a funeral home.

And while Sturrock, Comb and Davidson Funeral Directors began trading at the premises soon after, work on the flats was delayed due to the recession.

But Forfar developer David Shepherd believes now is the right time to pick up where things left off and he expects the building work to be finished towards the summer.

Barrhead Foundry to open this month

The new Barrhead Foundry is expected to open later this month, East Renfrewshire Council has confirmed.

Work on the facility’s library, learning and meeting spaces, as well as the business centre are due to be completed shortly. The second phase of work on the £3.8m project will then see car park and landscaping at the front of the building completed, and this is expected to be completed by Spring 2015.

Elsewhere, an upgrade of the sports hall changing areas and work to the roof will also begin, while a £200,000 refurbishment project will be undertaken in the gym. A range of cardio vascular machines – including high-tech flat screens with online apps and TV access, plus a range of resistance machines will be installed, as will a functional training and free weights area. The local authority has confirmed the gym will remain closed until the work is completed.