Building Briefs – January 9th

An Edinburgh housing development has received an excellent rating from the nationwide construction awards body.

The Pennywell Living development, which is currently under construction by Urban Union who were appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council, received an overall score of 43 out of 50 by the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

The Pennywell development was reviewed in five categories, including appearance, respecting the local community, protecting the environment, safety and valuing its workforce.

The development received a score of 9, which is an exceptional score, in three areas; respecting the community, appearance and site safety. The high score reflects the exceptional work which goes on at the development.

Pennywell Living is one of Scotland’s largest housing-led regeneration projects, which is set to provide 356 social and mid-market rent homes, along with 363 new properties for private sale.

The extensive development, which is being built by developers Urban Union, is a result of a major investment of £42 million by the City of Edinburgh Council and includes £7.9m grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Capital projects boosted by further investment in Scotland’s museums

A new catering facility for visitors at Dunollie Castle in Oban is one of the many projects to benefit from £641k of new funding by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS).

The announcement brings MGS’s investment into the sector to almost £1.5 million over the last 12 months.

Twenty Recognition and Capital projects in museums the length and breadth of Scotland have received funding in this round.

Further details are available here.

Cities fuel 7.9 per cent annual growth in Scottish rents

Rents in Scotland’s urban Private Rented Sector have risen 7.9 per cent in the last year to stand at an average of £732 per month, according to the latest quarterly report from Citylets.

Released by the lettings site, the figures to the end of December 2014 contrast with just one per cent growth in the preceding year.

Citylets said the figure is heavily influenced by strong annual rises in three of the country’s main cities with Edinburgh at 9.5 per cent, Glasgow at 9.4 per cent and Aberdeen at 8 per cent. By contrast, Dundee registered a rise of only 3.2 per cent over the year.

The fourth quarter of the year (October-December) is usually the quietest time for lettings activity where seasonal falls are common. However, this year’s dip in average national rents was only £4 down from the country’s all time high of £736 seen in Q3 of 2014.

There is widespread concern that the private rental market in Scotland is experiencing severe and chronic localised shortages in supply. The oil city of Aberdeen has long been documented as an area of heightened concern. Prices uncharacteristically dipped in Aberdeen in Q3 but bounced back in Q4 to close at a record high. However, historic low oil prices are expected to impact in 2015.

Consultation launched for new Barrhead High School

A public consultation has been launched into plans to build a new Barrhead High School ahead of a formal planning application for the BDP designed school.

Funded by East Renfrewshire Council and the Scottish Futures Trust the £27 million scheme will be built behind the existing school at Cowan Park, which will be demolished upon completion to make way for parkland.

The consultation will take place on 28 January in the Ralston Room of Barrhead High between 15:00 and 20:00, with work scheduled to get underway in the summer for completion by December 2016.

NHT initiative delivers 800 homes in three years

A Scottish Government scheme set up to boost low-cost housing has delivered almost 800 affordable homes for rent with a total value of £115 million in the last three years.

The National Housing Trust (NHT) initiative has also received approval for a further 850 NHT homes across Scotland through the original and subsequent versions of the scheme.

The Scottish Government, with support from the Scottish Futures Trust developed the original NHT initiative model for councils and developers.

Under the original version of the model, developers and local authorities jointly fund the purchase of newly-built homes, which are then made available for rent at below market rates.

The money borrowed by councils to help fund the purchase of NHT homes in their areas is underwritten by the Scottish Government.

Housing minister Margaret Burgess made the announcement as she visited Dundee’s first NHT development, 15 two bedroom flats at Sandy Loan, Broughty Ferry which will provide homes at affordable rents for people on low to modest incomes.

The Broughty Ferry properties were built to high energy efficiency levels and benefit from lower fuel costs with heating provided by air source heat pumps.

Work started on the development in March 2014 in a new street at Churchill Place/East Links Place, named Sandy Loan following a consultation with the community.

Work begins on new Fife cultural facility

Work has commenced on a new cultural facility in Dunfermline, Fife.

The project – a new museum and art gallery – will take around two years to complete. Construction work started on site last month.

When completed, the building will be integrated with the Dunfermline Carnegie Library. A museum will be located over two floors, comprising of three temporary exhibition galleries, a new children’s library, a local history, study and archives space, and a café.

With work having started on site, the City of Dunfermline Area Committee met on Wednesday (7 January) to decide on a name for the new facility. It will be known as the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.

The project is being funded by Fife Council (£8.25m), Heritage Lottery Fund (£2.8m) and the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust (£1m).

Water mains upgrade for Lochwinnoch

Work is to be carried out to upgrade the water mains system in Lochwinnoch.

The project, being carried out Caledonian Water Alliance on behalf of Scottish Water, will begin on 12 January. It is expected to be completed by May 2015.

The work will see improvements to the infrastructure to ensure customers receive clear, fresh drinking water. It will involve replacing around two miles of water main along the B786. In order to allow this to be undertaken, a road closure will be put in place on the B786, from Bridesmill Road to where it meets the B788. Diversions will be in place for motorists.

A9 embankment works complete

A series of emergency embankment works have been completed on the A9 near Kincraig.

The work was needed after a washout of the section of the embankment following a period of heavy rainfall, the Highland Council has said.

Debris was scattered onto the B9152 below during the incident and the road was closed as a precaution. The necessary work to repair the embankment was carried out by the local authority, BEAR Scotland and specialist contractors.

This involved removing debris – including soil, stone and trees – from the road, while around 5,200 tonnes of stone from a local quarry was used to rebuild the embankment surface.

Upon completion of the project, the road was reopened to traffic.