Building Briefs – July 13th

LaSalle Investment Management and developer Dandara have completed a deal that will deliver Scotland’s first large scale institutional PRS scheme at a major site in Aberdeen.

LaSalle has purchased Forbes Place for a price just under £60 million from Dandara and will retain the residential specialist for ongoing facilities management of the units at the development, including providing a 24/7 onsite presence.

Forbes Place is a mixed development of 292 apartments and townhouses at Dandara’s historic Stoneywood estate in the energy capital of Europe. The development is aimed at the medium-term occupancy residential market – providing rental apartments and family houses close to major centres of employment including the headquarters of BP and Aker Solutions and business parks such as D2 and ABZ in the Aberdeen International Airport zone.

Scottish Borders school improvement works begin

A string of improvement works is getting under way at schools across the Scottish Borders during the closure for the summer holidays.

Scottish Borders Council said it hoped the “most disruptive” aspects of the upgrades would be completed before pupils returned in August.

A number of local contractors have been hired to carry out the works.

The local authority appealed for the public stay away from any of the construction sites.

The schools where work is being carried out are:

Aberdeen school to broaden horizons with extension

An independent school is hoping to build an innovative new facility which will help expand pupils’ horizons and better prepare them for the world of work.

Albyn School, which has about 740 pupils, wants to extend its current site in Aberdeen’s Queen’s Road and open a new engineering and science centre.

The new facility, which would overlook Queen’s Lane South, would provide a base for teaching engineering and other technology-related subjects.

The development would cover an area of about 2,290sq ft and would consist of two classrooms, complete with laboratory facilities.

Entrepreneur Sir Ian Wood and the Wood Foundation have already pledged a £500,000 donation to the project.

The proposals will be discussed at a meeting of Aberdeen City Council’s planning development management committee on July 16. A report on the development has recommended it for approval.

Swinton Quarter quarry could be reopened

A Scottish Borders quarry renowned for the quality of its stone could be reopened under plans to extract thousands of tonnes from the site.

Berwickshire-based Hutton Stone is behind the bid to bring the Swinton Quarter Quarry back into use.

It says the rock there has “very good qualities” and some of it could be used on Historic Scotland properties.

The firm has made scoping request to Scottish Borders Council which could lead to a full planning application.

The proposals would see an average of 1,000 tonnes of stone extracted over a period of about 20 years.

Scottish Borders Council’s planning department is currently considering the scoping request.

Proposals to convert former Perth nurses’ home into flats

New life looks set to be breathed into an imposing listed building in Perth which is lying vacant.

An application has been lodged for change of use and alterations for the former nurses’ home in Taymount Terrace and, if approved, would create 29 flats.

The site is located close to Perth Royal Infirmary and the three-storey building sits on an elevated plot.

A report to go before councillors on Wednesday describes the conversion as “sympathetic with little external change proposed” to the category C-listed neo-Georgian structure.

The proposal is to convert the building into 12 one-bedroom flats, 16 two-bedroom flats and one three-bedroom flat.

The majority of the surrounding garden ground is to be retained as communal amenity space with 37 parking spaces. Small private gardens are proposed for three of the ground floor units.

The recommendation before the committee is to approve the application.

Council makes successful bid to Local Energy Challenge Fund

Perth & Kinross Council has made a successful bid to the Scottish Government’s Local Energy Challenge Fund.

The council has been given a £20K contribution towards the feasibility stage of the River Tay Heat Pump and District Heating Network Project.

The initiative aims to demonstrate that it is possible to safely use water heat pumps to capture renewable energy from an ecologically sensitive river such as the Tay without damaging wildlife whilst creating a District Heating Network which will supply heat to buildings adjacent to the Tay including Council buildings and local residencies.

The water source heat pump in the Tay will generate renewable energy which will be supplied to the District Heating Network (DHN). Natural gas boilers will provide top up heating during times of peak demand, allowing the DHN to meet the total heat demand of the connected buildings.

Thermal stores will be used to hold heat energy produced by the heat pumps during times of lower heat demand and some of the heat energy will be stored in the DHN itself. The business model and delivery of the project will aim to retain local value while providing affordable heating to customers.

Urban projects among 23 to receive community renewables funding

Communities around Scotland from inner city Glasgow to western Harris are set to benefit from £500,000 in funding for demonstrator projects designed to encourage the use and local ownership of renewable energy.

A third of the projects are specifically focussed on town and city areas, building on the already established trend for community ownership of renewable energy sources in more rural areas.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing announced in June that community and locally owned energy capacity in Scotland could generate enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 domestic households.

This is the second allocation made from the Scottish Government’s Local Energy Challenge Fund. Each project has received funding of up to £25,000 for feasibility work and, if successful, may be able to compete for significant capital support.

The 23 projects include:

A78 set for improvement works

Scotland TranServ on behalf of Transport Scotland will carry out road improvement works on the A78 in both directions between Eglinton Interchange and Pennyburn Roundabout.

The £334,000 investment from Transport Scotland will benefit drivers using the route every day, delivering a smoother, quieter journey as they travel along this section of the A78.

The roadworks will be in operation from 8.00pm on Friday 17 July to 6.00am on Monday 20 July.

A diversion for Eglinton onslip traffic will be diverted back along the A78 to Warrix interchange to return westbound.

£1.8m Vale workshops get set to open

Work at the new £1.8 million workshops at the Vale of Leven Industrial Estate is progressing and the site will be open and available for let next month.

The 13 units offer a fantastic opportunity for small and growing businesses to move into modern, purpose built accommodation.

The workshops have been constructed on an area of land within the industrial estate which was not previously developed. The workshops were jointly funded by West Dunbartonshire Council and the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant.