Building Briefs – July 24th

CR Smith has completed a 120 square metre conservatory for the Malin Court Hotel on the South Ayrshire coast, to be known as ‘The Boyd Lounge’.

The structure, which provides guests with dramatic views over to the Isle of Arran, includes an atrium entrance, 54 highly energy efficient windows and solar control glass roof and was designed and built specifically for the hotel’s exposed location.

Specialist foundations where designed to accommodate the unstable ground, while an aluminium frame was constructed support the expansive glass roof in all weathers.

A hi-tech climate control system extends through the conservatory and into the original building, while the bricks and mortar of the new structure were carefully colour matched with those of the existing hotel, which lies adjacent to Turnberry Golf Course.

It is the largest conservatory built to date by the long-establish Scottish home improvements company, which has been rapidly growing its business within the commercial sector as its capacity to manufacture windows and frames to individual specifications and accordance with to rigorous Scottish building regulations and controls has been maximised at CR Smith’s state-of-the-art factory in Fife.

The Malin Court project follows extensive work involving the replacement of windows and doors, as well as conservatory-builds, for clients including Viewpoint Housing Association in Edinburgh, the Cameron House Lodges around Loch Lomond, the Apex Hotels in Glasgow and Edinburgh and the Holiday Inn hotels in Glasgow, amongst many others.

The hotel itself is part of a wider vision for Malin Court which also includes a care home, housing and amenities for the elderly and is supported by a committee of businessman led by Boyd Tunnock.

Aberdeen FC stadium court legal challenge submitted

Campaigners opposed to Aberdeen Football Club’s plans for a new stadium have submitted their legal challenge.

The £50 million 20,000-seater development is at Kingsford, near Westhill.

Plans were put on hold last October but the council approved them in January by a vote of 32-9.

The No Kingsford Stadium group is opposed to the plans, and said that it had begun the court process of seeking a judicial review.

Caledonia granted planning permission for Dundee homes

Caledonia Housing Association has secured planning permission for 30 new homes on an industrial site in Dundee.

The £4.5 million housing development will see a mix of affordable homes and flats built on the largely-derelict site at the south side of Coldside Road, west of Strathmartine Road.

Designed by KDM Architects, the homes will comprise of 18 houses and 12 flats, four of which will be wheelchair accessible.

Project details will be finalised in the coming months.

Work is expected to start on site by the end of the year and completion is scheduled for early 2020.

Last chance for free procurement support for housing associations

A Scottish Government-funded programme to help housing associations improve their procurement is entering its final phase and there are some remaining places for associations who have not yet benefited.

The programme has been well-received so far with more than 50 associations having signed up for the programme which ends in March 2019.

The programme helps associations improve how they procure not just construction but also goods and services. Scotland Excel can often signpost associations to existing frameworks that can offer more competitive rates without the need for full procurement exercises. Many associations have welcomed advice about how to work with supported businesses and Scotland Excel are working with associations to develop new frameworks in a variety of areas from asbestos removal to care staff.

It is a recommendation of the ‘Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction’ that all organisations which procure construction using public resources undergo an assessment of this kind. Scottish Ministers have accepted that recommendation and this is a great opportunity to satisfy that requirement free of charge.

If you wish to participate in this free programme or want more information, please contact: housing@scotland-excel.org.uk.

SELECT gives Midlothian school students a four-week taste of working life

SELECT, the campaigning trade body which represents the electro-technical sector in Scotland, is taking two Penicuik schoolgirls through a four week internship with the help of charity Career Ready.

Charlotte Hickey, 16, who attends Beeslack High School and Catherine Watret, also 16, a student at Penicuik High School were selected after expressing an interest in taking up the opportunity to learn more about the electrical trade through their schools, then by completing questionnaires to find the best fit for their interests.

Catherine and Charlotte are currently halfway through the four week course and have rotated through different departments of SELECT, including reception – where they staffed the desk themselves for a busy Friday morning, Membership and Communications, and the organisation’s Member Benefit’s departments.

At the end of each day, the pair have half an hour ‘reflective time’ in which to record what they have learned during the day, setting up a framework of interview examples, skills acquired, and demonstrable experience.

They have also been put in charge of overhauling the induction presentation which will be seen by every prospective member of SELECT. They then presented their work to a number of SELECT’s staff.

Both are being paid for the duration of their placement and, having undergone an interview process at the beginning of the placement, will undergo a second interview at the end of the course to demonstrate, how much experience they have gained.

Greens publish Planning Bill amendments to limit growth of holiday homes

A Scottish Green Party MSP is proposing changes to the law to help local councils tackle Scotland’s housing crisis by controlling the growth in private homes being used as holiday accommodation.

Lothian MSP Andy Wightman has today published proposed amendments to the Scottish Government’s Planning Bill, which if passed would mean that changing a property from a sole or main residence to either a short-term let or a holiday home would require full planning consent.

Under the proposals, local councils would determine such applications on the basis of local policy, and the changes would not affect homeowners or occupiers who only rent out a room.

Through his Homes First campaign, Mr Wightman has found that the rapid expansion of short-term lets in Edinburgh is depriving the city of £10.6 million in taxes each year, while in parts of rural Scotland up to half of all residential properties in some towns are used as holiday homes.

Nominations open for Scottish Green Energy Awards

The Scottish Green Energy Awards have been recognising those who ensure the success of Scotland’s renewable energy sector for 15 years and nominations for the 2018 event open today.

Twelve award categories mean all renewable technologies, projects and people have a chance to enter.

Winners will receive their awards in front of 1,200 guests in Edinburgh on December 6.

The event, sponsored by EDF Energy Renewables, will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Nominations are now being accepted in the following categories:

The shortlist for a final category, the Young & Inspiring Award, sponsored by WSP, consists of the 10 winners of May’s 2018 Young Professionals Green Energy Awards.

They include an engineer who saved his employer more than £250,000 during the refurbishment of a 50-year-old hydropower plant, a wind turbine technician who reskilled after leaving the armed forces and a determined project manager who’s worked on more than 100 solar PV projects.

Nominations for the 2018 Scottish Green Energy Awards must be made before the deadline of 5pm on Friday September 21 at www.scottishrenewables.com/events/sgea18.