Building Briefs – July 1st

The revival of the Millport Field Centre reaches a major milestone today following major investment from North Ayrshire Council, the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The educational and research base faced an uncertain future two years ago but has now been transformed to facilitate the expansion of the centre by new operators the Field Studies Council.

Local Councillors were joined by housing minister Margaret Burgess, and guests from the other partner agencies at today’s official opening to celebrate the completion of Phase One of the development.

A new accommodation building with 32 twin en-suite rooms, a 150-seat lecture theatre and teaching laboratory/teaching room have been built, while a car park and access roads have been completed.

Also included in the work is an environmentally-friendly Biomass District Heating system, which will significantly reduce the Carbon footprint and operating costs of the Centre.

The total cost of Phase One was just over £3 million.

Funding for a second phase involving the refurbishment of existing accommodation and teaching facilities has also been secured from a variety of sources including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Coastal Communities Fund, Robertson Trust, Garfield Weston and the Wolfson Foundation.

Remedial works needed to Lochgilphead road surface following manufacturing issue

Argyll and Bute Council’s roads team will be carrying out further works to the bottom half of Argyll Street in Lochgilphead within the next fortnight after a manufacturing issue with the tarmac became apparent.

The tarmac had been overheated during the manufacturing process and therefore did not bind correctly after it cooled, leading to the surface breaking up once traffic was allowed to run on it.

The supplier, Breedon, has moved speedily to allow the council to rectify the problem and will be providing new material free of charge and meeting costs for the additional work. The roads team will be moving as quickly as possible to lay the new surface and scheduling the work for a time which will cause least inconvenience to the public.

This scheme is part of the council’s £4 million roads reconstruction programme for 2015/16.

Turf-cutting ceremonies at new £12.7m Banff and Macduff leisure facilities

Provost of Aberdeenshire Hamish Vernal cut the ground at special events at Banff Academy and Macduff Myrus pavilion last week for new leisure, sports and community facilities that mark a total investment of over £12.7 million across the projects.

In March, Aberdeenshire Councillors approved additional funding as well as a deal with Tesco to transfer ground at Bridge Road, Banff and demolish a former garage and glazier premises.

The supermarket retailer honoured its support for new facilities in Aberdeenshire following a decision not to progress a supermarket project at Canal Park in Banff.

Councillors also agreed to honour its original commitment of funding from the Capital Plan to contribute towards the overall costs of the facilities.

Extensive community consultation took place during 2013 to engage people in the project.

FMP is the contractor and will begin work to create indoor and outdoor sports and community facilities at Banff Academy. The new centre will include community and office areas and viewing galleries for the sports hall and squash courts, as well as an outdoor terrace, car parking and landscaping.

New football pitches will be created, along with running and cycling tracks, upgraded tennis courts, a refurbishment of the PE department and swimming pool.

A new pavilion and football pitches will be created in Macduff and the existing pavilion at Canal Park, Banff will be refurbished.

Official opening of Buchan House

A £5 million council office in Peterhead was officially opened this week after being completed by Robertson Construction.

Buchan House, a one-stop-shop for a range of council services, is Aberdeenshire Council’s new area headquarters.

Located in the centre of the town on a former brownfield site, it now houses a range of council services which had been spread across a number of local offices.

The new building has transformed a derelict and brownfield site at St Peter Street, contributing to ongoing regeneration efforts in the town.

The whole project was based on reducing the whole-life costs of the building and ensuring efficiencies could be reinvested in public services in the area.

The design team were given a brief to apply the council’s Worksmart policies and to design a modern interpretation of a civic building to respect the site, location and flexibility of customer uses.

It is now a hub for both employees and residents, offering access for customers to 16 different services.

Scottish Water announces upgrade work in Lochwinnoch

Scottish Water has announced upgrade works are taking place in Lochwinnoch.

Half a mile of water main is to be replaced with new plastic piping, helping to reduce the risk of bursts and improve security of supply.

The work will be carried out by Scottish Water’s alliance partner Caledonia Water Alliance and is due to start on July 13th.

The work has been planned in liaison with Renfrewshire Council.

It will be carried out prior to the council beginning a road resurfacing programme.

Development will start at the junction of Johnsill and Bridesmill road, working down the junction of Johnshill and East End.

Traffic management will be in place during the work, which is expected to last approximately six weeks.

Argyll and Bute Council Dunoon Pier regeneration views

Argyll and Bute Council has welcomed the views of all those who want to see Dunoon’s historic wooden pier brought back to life and invited the Dunoon Pier Community Trust (DPCT) to an advisory partnership group.

The council has big ambitions for the regeneration of Dunoon’s waterfront and wants to work in partnership with anyone who has an equal passion, expertise and commitment to revitalising the town.

A group will be established with local councillors and members of the community interest group Dunoon Pier Community Trust (DPCT) which will work in partnership with anyone else who has an interest in the future of the pier.

The Bute and Cowal Area Committee will appoint three councillors to the partnership body, with the DPCT expected to select members. An initial meeting will be arranged and a chair will be nominated for consideration by the council.

Local accountability will remain, with Bute and Cowal councillors playing a key part in future investments decisions.

Any proposals for the future use of the pier will be informed by the feedback from the whole community.

Further road safety measures for Fairlie

Road users are set to benefit from a further road safety scheme to improve road measures on the A78 at Fairlie commencing on Sunday 12 July 2015.

Scotland TranServ, on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out the resurfacing works which will include the addition of a high friction surface at The Causeway junction. The new road surface will benefit road users by improving conspicuity of the signals and providing improved surface grip when stopping.

Partnership delivers on new pitches at Marr College

Two fantastic all-weather sports pitches have been unveiled at Marr College in Troon, giving locals access to much needed facilities.

The £1.3 million project was funded by South Ayrshire Council and included a grant award of £300,000 from sportscotland.

The council worked closely with Marr College and Troon Community Sports Hub to ensure the new pitches were designed to meet their needs and the needs of the wider community.

The result of this partnership working is a 3G surface for rugby and football and one short pile carpet for hockey. The pitches come complete with floodlighting, safety fencing, goal posts and team dugouts.

The pitches were officially handed over to the council, by hub South West who delivered the project and representatives of Kier Construction and Malcolm’s who built the pitches.

Burness Paull appoints first local authority head of planning in Scotland

Commercial law firm Burness Paull has further boosted its team in Aberdeen with the appointment of a director in the planning division.

Dr Margaret Bochel will join on 14 September 2015 from Aberdeen City Council, in an appointment widely regarded as the first of its kind in Scotland. She is currently head of planning and sustainable development within the council and a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and Heads of Planning Scotland.

Turfing begins on Cooper Park viewing area

Work has begun on laying turf on a raised landform in Elgin’s Cooper Park created with surplus soil from the town’s flood alleviation scheme.

More than 10,000 tonnes of earth have been brought in by lorry over the past two weeks and shaped by heavy machinery into a 2 metre high viewing area.

It will provide a vantage point for spectators during events taking place in the park and for the nearby cricket pitch.

The raised area – close to Elgin library and Grant Lodge – is being laid with several hundred metres of turf and should be ready for use later in the summer when the grass is established.

The original idea for the viewing area came from Elgin Community Council and was subsequently endorsed by Moray councillors.