Building Briefs – July 27th

Members of the public are being invited to buy shares in a project which will see a remote Highland community generate their own hydro energy.

The community-owned group BroomPower is aiming to raise £900,000 to fund the development near the Corrieshalloch gorge, near Ullapool, which will generate up to 100kw of electricity.

Profits will go to local initiatives across the Ullapool Community Trust area, which stretches from Elphin in the north to Braemore in the south and west to Gruinard Bay.

The run-of-river scheme will generate up to 479,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually – enough to power more than 100 homes.

From an intake high up on the hillside, a pipeline will deliver water from the Allt a‘Mhuilinn burn to the turbine. The steep terrain and wet climate make the spot ideal for hydro power.

The area is home to a population of around 2,350 people so most local initiatives are run by volunteers and rely on fundraising to survive.

Development group secures funding for Angus hub project

A community development group has secured further funding for its hub project in Angus.

The Angus LEADER fund has awarded £137,930 to Friockheim Community Hub Ltd, which will help the organisation transform the former Eastgate School building into a community hub.

Earlier this year, the Big Lottery Fund committed to providing over £1 million towards the scheme.

FriockHub plans to convert the old school into a resource which provides support, facilities, spaces and services to the local community. It will include an IT suite, fitness suite, indoor sports facilities, outdoor play/activity areas, community café and small business units.

Approval for the building and grounds to be transferred from Angus Council to the local group was given in March.

Orkney marine development plan shortlisted for industry award

A marine development plan for the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters has been shortlisted for an industry planning award.

The pilot Marine Spatial Plan has been nominated for an accolade at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning (SAQPP).

The blueprint, which was prepared by a working group consisting of Orkney Islands Council, The Highland Council and Marine Scotland, has been adopted by Scottish Ministers and both councils earlier this year.

The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan is one of seven projects shortlisted under the ‘Partnership’ category.

The winners are expected to be announced in autumn later this year.

South Lanarkshire road maintenance programme to begin

A road improvements programme is to begin next month in South Lanarkshire.

Engineers will start repairing the A721 Carnwath Road in Clydesdale from Monday, 01 August.

The five-day project will see the road closed from Harelaw roundabout to Craigenhill Road and is scheduled to finish on Friday, 05 August. Diversions will be in place.

Festival of Architecture headline event attracts a record 115,000 visitors

For the past month, Edinburgh’s Mound Square has been transformed into a village of city pavilions representing Bergen, Dundee, Rotterdam, Vilnius and host city Edinburgh.

The impressive Pop-Up Cities Expo installation has wowed crowds and attracted an audience close to 115,000 as a headline event of the Festival of Architecture and part of the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.

The pavilions are now being taken down from Mound Square; the Rotterdam pavilion is destined for a new site beside Rotterdam Central Station, the Dundee pavilion has already been re-built at Slessor Gardens, part of Dundee’s waterfront transformation.

Whilst the Edinburgh pavilion is yet to have its new home confirmed, it will be re-used within the city and Vilnius also propose to re-create their pavilion in a central location. Bergen’s pavilion has been generously gifted to Scotland and it is planned to relocate it at the Helix in Falkirk, beside The Kelpies.

Festival of Architecture 2016 is a year-long, Scotland-wide celebration of Scotland’s fantastic built environment. Through the year, over 400 events will take place. To date over 500,000 people have attended a Festival event.

The Festival continues with the ambitious sci-fi exhibition: ‘Adventures in Space’, on-going at the Lighthouse, Glasgow; ‘Out of Their Heads’ at the National Portrait Gallery; The Ideal Hut Show (Inverness Botanic Garden in August) and Scotstyle (multiple venues throughout Scotland); tickets are on sale now for Cake Fest in Stirling (11 September) and plans for the Finale event in Dundee (18 – 19 November) are well underway.

Architecture exhibit planned for Oban festival

An exhibition of Scottish architecture held as part of a major festival in Italy is to be staged for the first time in Scotland.

Prospect North, one of three architecture exhibitions, was first shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale. It explores the stories of 15 Scots communities who have used design and architecture to make a difference.

This forms part of the Oban Festival of Architecture and opens on 30 July.