Building Briefs – July 18th

West Dunbartonshire Council has taken possession of a new £13 million care home in Dumbarton, which has been delivered by Cooper Cromar and hub West Scotland.

The 23,000 sq. m. building occupies the site of the former Crosslet House and offers 84 ensuite bedrooms arranged in seven bedroom clusters.

The new facilities are specifically designed for dementia care around a house model of living with each house benefitting from its own living and dining facilities, access to assisted bathrooms and landscaped garden areas.

The central day care facility includes a main kitchen, day care dining facility, cinema room, hairdressing facility and quiet sitting rooms.

Closure to Upperkirkgate extended in Aberdeen

The closure of a section of an Aberdeen city centre street is to be extended as work is carried out to it as part of the £3.2million revitalisation of Broad Street.

A closure order for Upperkirkgate, between its junctions with Flourmill Lane and Gallowgate, has been extended to 8 October, 2017, due to unforeseen ground conditions.

Gallowgate will also be closed at the same time, between its junctions with Upperkirkgate and Little John Street.

The same alternative route applies via Schoolhill, Blackfriars Street, St Andrew Street, Charlotte Street, John Street, Loch Street and Berry Street.

Temporary road surface provision will be made for the Great Aberdeen Run, which is taking place throughout the city centre on Sunday 27 August.

The £3.2 million Broad Street project will transform and revitalise it by making it pedestrian-priority, and will also improve the streetscape and turn it into an area capable of staging events throughout the year.

Work underway on North Lanarkshire school campus projects

Construction work has started on four school campus projects in North Lanarkshire.

Dunrobin and Petersburn primary campus, St Dominic’s primary, Cumbernauld Academy and a shared campus building for St Edward’s and Tollbrae primaries are all underway.

Work is expected to last around 18 months for each development.

Features include a replacement primary school for the combined Dunrobin and Petersburn primaries, a new building for St Dominic’s Primary School and a shared campus building for St Edward’s and Tollbrae primaries. In addition, a new Cumbernauld Academy building will be developed, including a replacement for Cumbernauld Theatre.

Last week, Councillors Frank McNally and Jim Logue cut ceremonial turfs on each of the primary school sites along with pupils, teachers, local councillors and representatives from the construction companies.

South Lanarkshire resurfacing scheme work to begin

Work is to start on a major resurfacing project in South Lanarkshire.

The four-phase scheme will be begin on the A72 Carlisle Road in Ferniegair from Tuesday, 18 July. Road closures and diversions will be in place.

The project will run as follows:

Residents invited to submit views on Penicuik heritage regeneration

Residents are being invited to submit their views on a heritage regeneration project in Penicuik, Midlothian.

The scheme aims to restore buildings, improve streets and pavements and develop new community activities in the town centre. It will focus on the High Street, The Square, West Street (as far as the South Kirk Hall), Bridge Street (as far as Valleyfield View) and some of the older buildings on the west side of John Street.

Consultants Douglas Wheeler Associates have been appointed to draw up designs for the project, working with local people to create a vision for the scheme and gather technical information needed to submit a further funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

If successful, up to £1.69 million will be awarded over five years to implement the project from April 2018. It will also release £725,000 of funding from Historic Environment Scotland.

Over the next few weeks, the consultancy will carry out external building surveys and may be in contact with some building owners and tenants. An online questionnaire will also be launched for local people, businesses and visitors.

Conservation works to begin at North Lanarkshire graveyard

Conservation works are to begin at an historic graveyard in North Lanarkshire.

A programme of improvement work will start at the Dalzell Estate in Motherwell later this month.

The scheme involves resetting around 12 of the fallen and broken gravestones, as well as conservation work to six of the most significant 17th and 18th century monuments.

The estate’s graveyard was formerly the churchyard of the pre-Reformation church of St Patrick, which was demolished in the late 18th century when South Dalziel Parish Church was built. The stone was reused to build the Hamilton of Dalzell Mausoleum, which is partially sited in the present graveyard.

The project is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund and LEADER supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP), with support from the council.