Building Briefs – July 26th

• Moray Council explains Lossiemouth East Beach footbridge closure

A visual inspection of the bridge took place on Wednesday afternoon following a number of concerned members of the public contacting Moray Council highlighting the perceived instability of the bridge which was seen to be leaning to one side. Moray Council’s building standards officers and structural engineer assessed the bridge and deemed it to be unsafe for use at that time. A decision was then taken in terms of section 29 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 that closure was necessary in order to protect the public and a managed evacuation of the beach was carried out. The council is obliged to act in these circumstances. This duty exists although the council does not own the bridge.

The inspection found a number of supporting ties to have cracked or split on the downstream truss in the middle of the bridge. One of these ties has clearly failed recently as the broken end has not yet rusted. The bridge is also now sagging noticeably towards the downstream side.

Convener of Moray Council, Cllr Shona Morrison, said: “While the legal opinion obtained by Lossiemouth Community Development Trust states that the bridge is technically ownerless, which limits the range of options available to us, Moray Council has obligations under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to ensure public safety. This includes a requirement to close any structures that appear unsafe, hence the decision was taken on Wednesday evening to close the bridge, which was the responsible course of action.

“Elected members and Council officers are liaising with Lossiemouth Community Council, Lossiemouth Community Development Trust and Lossiemouth Business Association to consider future action. This is likely to require independent structural engineering advice as the evidence on which the closure decision was based cannot be relied upon for other purposes, but will be shared because of the clear public interest in this issue.”

• Work starts on Raigmore Hospital car park

Work on creating two overspill car parks on the Raigmore Hospital site started this month.

The work, which is being carried out by Kier Regional Building and will also include the installation of barrier controls, will create an extra 200 spaces on the hospital site and is expected to be completed in November of this year.

It is hoped the project, which received a £620,000 grant from the NHS Highland Endowment Board, will help alleviate the car park problem on the site.

• Essential road resurfacing works announced for Ayr

Essential road resurfacing works have been announced on sections of the A713 Ayr to Dalmellington Road as part of the Ayrshire Roads Alliance extensive programme to improve the condition of the road network.

The Alliance said that in order to carry out these works safely and efficiently and to protect the roads operatives and the travelling public, it will be necessary to close two of these sections and introduce additional traffic management measures.

Work is scheduled to start on this section on Monday 19 August and run until Friday 30 August.

• McLaughlin and Harvey to carry out flood protection works in Stonehaven

Aberdeenshire Council has announced the closure of a section of beach boardwalk in Stonehaven’s for one day this week as part of the seaside town’s Flood Protection Scheme works.

The closure will take place on Friday, July 26 and will see the council’s contractor McLaughlin and Harvey remove the existing beach bridge, which is to be replaced as part of the works.

The board walk will be closed from Salmon Lane to the harbour entrance. Once the bridge has been removed, pedestrians will be diverted on to a temporary bridge. There will be signs in place advising of the diversion.