Building Briefs – July 11th

Four site managers from CALA Homes (East) have each scooped a prestigious award in recognition of their commitment to the highest standards in housebuilding.

The Edinburgh headquartered developer performed particularly well, with a total of nine winners across its regions landing the “Pride in the Job” awards, which received over 16,000 applicants and were awarded to the top 450 site managers across the entire UK.

Winners for CALA Homes (East) were Neal Toland for his work at Brunswick Road and Kenny Reid, of Liberton Grange, two of its Edinburgh sites. Also recognised were Ian Welsh who manages Straiton’s Mayburn Park and Mark Foley, for work at Dalmeny Park, South Queensferry.

For Mark Foley, who is now working as project manager at The Crescent, on the grounds of Edinburgh’s Donaldson’s College, this marked his 12th “Pride in the Job” award- an outstanding achievement demonstrating his consistent standard of excellent work.

Organised by NHBC, the UK’s leading new home warranty insurance provider, “Pride in the Job” is the most highly regarded competition in the house building industry dedicated to recognising site managers and their construction teams who achieve the highest standards in house building. It has been instrumental in driving up the quality of new homes for 37 years.

Elgin Business Park set to go ahead

A long term aspiration for a major business park development on the outskirts of Elgin in Moray is set to become a reality.

Elgin Business Park Limited (EBPL), controlled by the owners of Springfield Properties Plc, has secured a £1.9 million investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

The HIE funding will go towards the £6.8m cost of creating the infrastructure to enable the first phase of the development to begin at Barmuckity Farm, on the east side of Elgin.

Phase one will involve developing a 66-acre section of the full 125 acre site. Development of the full site will support an estimated 32 full time equivalent jobs in the construction industry.

It is anticipated that Elgin Business Park will have a variety of uses including industrial, office, warehousing, hospitality and retail premises. It is expected to take around seven years to complete and will ultimately create hundreds of jobs.

Elgin is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. It is an important hub for the coastal towns of Lossiemouth, Hopeman, Burghead and Buckie as well as inland settlements including Keith, Rothes, Aberlour and surrounding rural areas.

The desire for a business park in the town has been a constant for the past 15 years. It has featured in both the Moray 2020 strategy (2005) and the more recent Moray Economic Strategy (2012).

Demolition work to begin at HMP Cornton Vale

Demolition work will begin this week at HMP Cornton Vale, Scotland’s main female prison.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is developing plans for a smaller refurbished national prison for around 80 women at the site.

The SPS is also planning new community-based custody units.

It follows the decision in 2015 not to proceed with the planned construction of a large women’s prison in Inverclyde.

It is hoped that the community units will allow women to be closer to their families and local support services.

About 110 prisoners were transferred from Cornton Vale in Stirling to HMP Polmont, near Falkirk, last August.

Carillion presented with national environmental award

Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful has accredited integrated support services company Carillion with a Silver in the National Awards for Environmental Excellence.

The award acknowledges the organisation’s continued commitment to improving environmental quality and endorses its strong sustainability agenda.

The accolade recognises Carillion’s achievements in delivering environmental excellence at Langlands Hospital - from maintaining high levels of cleanliness, improving the surrounding local environment and waste management.

The Keep Scotland Beautiful auditors highly commended Carillion’s employee training and policies which help to facilitate and support wider community partnership, in addition to allowing employees up to six days paid leave each year to volunteer locally.

CGC gives helping hand to youngsters looking for work

Paisley firm City Gate Construction (CGC) is delivering a helping hand to teenagers keen to get a taste of a working life.

It is providing work for five teenagers over the summer to show them how rewarding careers in construction can be.

Some have been put forward by the charity Action for Children which helps young people while others attend schools in Renfrewshire.

CGC says it is part of its commitment to helping attract the right young workers into construction.

Those taking part are already learning about construction work by helping on CGC’s building sites and at CGC’s steel fabrication base in Fulbar Road, Paisley.

The work with young people follows CGC’s visit to St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley in January.

The school held a hugely successful “I Can Do Anything” event for second year pupils and invited local businesses to come in to offer advice on careers.

CGC sent members of staff along to advise the young people who might be thinking of careers in construction, including plumbing, plastering, joinery and electrical work.

Leo Reilly, managing director of CGC, said the work it was doing with young people reflecting the firm’s ongoing commitment to the community.

Action for Children is not the first charity which has had a link up with CGC. The business has in the past hired apprentices from the equally–admirable charity Barnardo’s Scotland.

One of the Renfrewshire school pupils taken on for the summer is Matthew McDowell (16) who attends Paisley Grammar School.

Council’s new Dumbarton town centre office reaches major milestone

Progress on West Dunbartonshire Council’s new Dumbarton town centre office has reached a major milestone with structural work on the £15.4 million facility now completed.

Elected councillors and council officials gathered at the Church Street site for a topping out ceremony to mark the move to the next stage in the transformation of the former Dumbarton Academy site into a modern and efficient town centre base.

Conservation works to the William Leiper-designed, Grade A listed façade are well underway with support from a Historic Environment Scotland grant, ensuring this important façade is retained as part of Dumbarton’s heritage.

The project is on schedule to be completed later this year, with staff moving in to the offices in early 2018.

The council is working with hub West Scotland on the new Dumbarton office, with Lendlease as the main contractor. Keppie Design are the architects; Rybka are the service engineers on the project; Curtins are the civil and structural engineers and CDM Doig & Smith are the quantity surveyors.

Work progressing on new distillery near Dingwall

The steel frame has been erected for what has been described as Scotland’s first community-owned craft whisky distillery.

GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society is having the building constructed on a hillside near Dingwall.

Contractors are now working on adding the exterior walls.

The distillery’s copper stills for making spirit could be installed later this month.

A crowdfunding appeal last year saw 2,600 people invest in the project.

A new share offer to gather further support is to be launched at the Black Isle Show at Muir of Ord on 3 August.

Scotland TranServ to begin East Ayrshire resurfacing scheme

Scotland TranServ is to begin a £150,000 road resurfacing project in East Ayrshire.

The scheme will see 1.3km of the northbound A76 between Bowhouse Roundabout and Bellfield repaired from Friday, 14 July to Sunday, 16 July.

In order to carry out the work safely, the road will be shut for two nights and traffic lights will be implemented through the Sunday daytime before being lifted at 6pm.