Building Briefs – July 22nd

Novus Property Solutions will deliver painting and decorating works at the University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde, and Glasgow Caledonian University to revitalise key buildings over the next four years.

The Building Fabric Collaboration project will deliver vital upgrades to the universities, and will include building works, glazing and window servicing, joinery, and plumbing and heating works.

The painting and decorating element of the contract is worth £700,000 per year, and Novus has been chosen as one of four contractors to work across the University of Glasgow’s historic estate.

The combined university estates comprise 400,000 square metres and over 336 land and property assets. The painting and decorating work carried out by Novus will be carefully assessed against key performance indicators that will ensure the very highest quality of delivery as well as strict health and safety standards.

Glasgow Subway reopening date delayed by two weeks

The Glasgow Subway will be closed for two weeks longer than expected after renovation works were beset by delays.

The underground service shut at the beginning of July to enable engineers access to the tunnels as part of a £288m modernisation programme.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) initially said the works were expected to be completed by the end of the month but on Thursday announced the “regrettable” delay.

A spokeswoman said contractors Colas Rail estimate the reopening date will now be “around two weeks” after August 1.

She said removing concrete from the tunnels was taking longer than expected, while heavy rainfall had caused flooding that further delayed the works.

Green light to rebuild historic Glasgow home

The owners of an A-listed home in Glasgow’s west end have been given the green light to rebuild it.

The 170-year-old property in Kirklee Terrace Lane, adjacent to the Botanic Gardens, was one of several homes just off Great Western Road designed and built by architect Charles Wilson in the mid-1800s.

The two-storey building was purchased from Alan Crumlish by Michel and Margaret Soukop for £605,000 in August 2014, according to Registers of Scotland.

Council planners rubber stamped plans for a single storey extension three months later. But contractors CBC Stone said walls “failed” during the upgrade and the building had to be “taken down by hand”.

Glasgow City Council planners have now rubber stamped a retrospective application for the “partial demolition of dwellinghouse and erection of replacement dwellinghouse”. But the owner could yet face sanctions.

A spokesman for CBC Stone said: “The new works to comply with the planning permission and building warrant are a variation of the earlier contract with CBC.

“The company plans to move forward with the works.”

Steel frame complete on South Ayrshire school

Plans to build a new primary school for Dailly are taking shape with the outline of the building now clear to see.

The steel frame for the new South Ayrshire Council building is now complete as contractors continue to make good progress on the project.

The £3.8 million project will deliver a replacement school with educational facilities over two levels.

The new primary will replace the existing three buildings with a single facility that will support a school capacity of 100 pupils.

Demolition of the original school building took place earlier this year with construction getting underway on April 11. Since then, the main contractor, Morrison Construction, has been working to complete the steel frame, with the building set to open in early 2017.

Deveron Homes in golf sponsorship deal

Aberdeenshire property firm Deveron Homes has been named as the headline sponsor of Huntly Football Club’s annual AM-AM tournament due to get into the swing on August 26th.

The sponsorship will provide a welcome cash boost to the Club’s amateur championship which is open to all golfers in teams of four. The day also includes a hole-in-one charity challenge which this year will benefit Marie Curie.

The sponsorship builds on Deveron Homes’ long-standing commitment to supporting a range of community projects including junior league football, school education projects and a sensory garden scheme at the company’s showhome in Burntisland, Fife.

Orkney energy scheme receives £1.2m boost

Residents in the Orkney Islands are to benefit from a new smart-control energy system linking the renewable energy generated from wind turbines to the heating systems in their homes.

Around 100 households in the islands are to trial the new scheme after the Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust (REWDT) received £1.2 million for its Heat Smart Orkney project from the Scottish Government’s Local Energy Challenge Fund.

The project will use the excess electricity that cannot feed into the grid and divert it to newly-installed heating devices in domestic properties.

Interested householders will be invited to receive a home assessment followed by installation of energy efficient heating devices which are linked via the internet to a cloud control centre.

As the turbine receives a curtailment signal, the cloud control centre will switch on the heating devices. The additional electricity used by the devices will be metered and a rebate paid to the householder from the additional income received by the turbine.

The funding boost came as the Scottish Government awarded more than £10m to support nine large-scale, low carbon energy projects across the country via the Local Energy Challenge Fund.

Launched in August 2014, the scheme supports projects which aim to develop local energy systems, demonstrating the benefit of localised, low-carbon energy economies.

New research reveals Scottish public’s concerns regarding empty homes

Scotland’s local authorities have been urged to be more pro-active in tackling the problem of empty homes after a new survey revealed that 75 per cent of Scots think vacant properties are a direct cause of anti-social behaviour.

The YouGov survey for the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) found that anti-social behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, fly-tipping and break-ins are all associated with properties lying empty for long periods.

According to the poll, a majority (54 per cent) of Scottish adults felt those living nearby the empty homes had a decreased sense of security and 60 per cent thought that empty homes contributed directly to a reduction in the availability of housing. Around a half (49 per cent) think that empty homes lower the value of local properties.

Only 3 per cent of Scottish adults think empty homes cause no problems in communities.

The SEHP, which is funded by the Scottish Government and hosted by Shelter Scotland, recently issued its annual report which said more than £110m of empty properties were brought back into use last year. It also called for new legislation of a Compulsory Sale Order power for vacant and derelict land and properties, which the Scottish Government has committed to legislate on.

There are currently around 34,000 long-term private empty homes across Scotland. Meanwhile, according to Shelter Scotland, 150,000 families and individuals are on waiting lists for a home. Last year, nearly 35,000 homelessness applications were made by households in Scotland.

Tenants welcomed to new Tillicoultry houses

Happy tenants have been welcomed to their new homes at James Pollock Court, Tillicoultry which have been developed as part of a partnership between Clackmannanshire Council and Kingdom Housing Association.

The development of 21 affordable homes is a mix of 1 and 2 bedroom homes and the majority have been designed as single storey amenity bungalows. The remaining four new homes are cottage flats. The houses have been built on the site of a former community centre in Ann Street.

The project cost £2.463 million and Clackmannanshire Council was awarded £782,000 from the Scottish Government Town Centre Fund to assist the development. The development was built by Marshall Construction.

The properties have been designed to high energy efficiency standards in accordance with Building Regulations Silver Standard of Sustainability and include energy monitoring meters. Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery Systems will optimise indoor air quality to help create a healthier environment.

The projects have been designed to Secured by Design Standards. Community Benefits are being delivered through the projects in partnership with Tillicoultry Community Council and Training and Employment Initiatives were incorporated into the contract.

All the homes have now been allocated to tenants.

Bellsmyre Housing Association consults residents on £5m investment strategy

Bellsmyre Housing Association hosted two of four resident consultation events this week to provide residents the opportunity to review and shape its £5 million investment strategy.

The consultation started with events on Tuesday 19 July & Wednesday 20th July with an event at Bellsmyre’s newly refurbished “Community Point” facility, a community focal point used for engaging with residents.

A further two events will be held at Community Point between 3pm-7pm on Tuesday 26th July and Wednesday 27th July.

The draft five year investment strategy and programme of work includes new door entry systems, kitchens, bathrooms, windows, new roofs for flatted blocks, environmental improvements and external decoration and close painting.

The £5m improvement programme was a key commitment by Caledonia Housing Association to Bellsmyre Housing Association when the partnership was formalised in April of this year.