Building Briefs – July 25th

Images of what a planned £10m car park at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary could look like have been unveiled.

The multi-storey car park would have space for more than 1,000 vehicles for patients and visitors.

Funding to improve car parking at ARI was pledged to NHS Grampian by The Wood Foundation, set up by businessman Sir Ian Wood and his family.

Work to start on £34m Dumfries school within weeks

Work is to begin within weeks on a new £34 million school campus in Dumfries.

The North West Campus will be constructed on a site between Alloway Road and Lochside Road.

Designed by Holmes Miller, the project forms part of the wider Dumfries learning town project and should be completed by spring 2018.

Further A9 ground investigations to start next week

Ground investigations on a well-used 13 mile stretch of the A9 between Killiecrankie and Glen Garry will begin on Monday 1 August.

Part of the A9 Dualling programme, the works are expected to last about 14 weeks.

Although most of the work will not be carried out on the existing road, the traffic management measures will be in place to allow work beside the carriageway to be carried out safely.

East Dunbartonshire is UK’s most affordable area for first time buyers

East Dunbartonshire has topped a list of the most affordable places in the UK for first time buyers (FTBs) to make a move onto the property ladder.

With property prices averaging £97,089, 2.6 times local annual average gross earnings, the area is one of five Scottish Local Authority Districts (LADs) to make the ten most affordable areas, according to Bank of Scotland’s First Time Buyer Review.

Copeland in the North West of England is the UK’s second most affordable area (2.9), closely followed by East Renfrewshire (3.0), West Dunbartonshire and Stirling (both 3.1). North Lanarkshire is the UK’s eighth most affordable area (3.3).

Angus is Scotland’s least affordable LAD for FTB with a house price to average earnings ratio of 6.1. It is followed by Western Isles (5.8) and East Lothian (5.2).

The ten least affordable LADs in the UK for FTBs are all in London. The least affordable is Brent where the average FTB property price of £457,014 is 12.5 times gross average annual earnings in the area.

The average Scottish FTB deposit in May 2016 was £21,751 – less than the UK average of £33,960.

Over half (53 per cent) of all FTB purchases in Scotland are below the £125,000 starting threshold for Stamp Duty. This is in contrast to Greater London where all FTBs are liable for Stamp Duty, with 85 per cent of them paying more than £250,000. Nationally, 45 per cent of properties bought by FTBs are priced between £125,000 and £250,000 with 24 per cent of FTB purchases above £250,000.

The average age of a first time buyer in Scotland is 30; up from 28 in 2011. Regionally, the average age of a first time buyer is highest in London (32).

Bringing empty homes back into use in North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire Council has said its Empty Homes Initiative is delivering results by breathing life into vacant, derelict properties across the area and turning them into homes for local people.

Over 52 empty properties have been bought back into use under the scheme which involves the local authority buying long-term privately owned empty properties, in high demand areas, and renting them out to tenants.

The initiative’s success has received national recognition after taking The Howden’s ‘Scottish Empty Homes Champion of the Year’ title recognising exemplary contributions to the field of private sector empty homes work in Scotland.

North Lanarkshire Council buys back properties:

Dundee pupils receive tour of Robertson Tayside fire service hub

Primary school children from Dundee have been given a sneak preview of a new £3 million fire service hub for the north east of Scotland.

Youngsters from primary four at Mill of Mains Primary School received a tour of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Asset Resource Centre at Claverhouse Industrial Estate.

Twenty six pupils took part in the visit to the facility, which is being built by Robertson Tayside in a project managed by hub East Central Scotland for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The new asset resource centre will include a substantial garage for maintenance of fire engines, an IT hub and space for administrative staff.

The 2,000 m2 building’s vehicle maintenance area will cater for fire service vehicle servicing in the north east of Scotland. Workshops and stores will also feature at the site, along with welfare and office accommodation.

The site is due for completion in August 2016.