Building Briefs – July 29th

Work to expand and refurbish the first of seven operating theatres at Monklands Hospital has helped three young ladies build towards their dream jobs in the construction industry.

Antonia Collins (18) and Dainah Smith (19) completed work placements with Graham Construction, the company leading the building phase of the extensive upgrade project.

Another trainee, Eimear McLaughlin (19) is working with the company’s commercial team on-site until she goes back to complete the remainder of her Building Surveying degree at Napier University.

Eimear initially took part in a week’s work experience with Graham Construction in 2013 while at school, enjoying her time with the company so much she applied to come back over the summer holidays.

Seeing construction as an exciting career option, Eimear finished her last two years at school and successfully enrolled in a degree course at Napier University where she has just completed the first year.

Another rising star in the industry is 17-year-old Chris Bannantyne who spent six weeks working on the Monklands Hospital development while studying at New College Lanarkshire where the company has sponsored a Pre-Apprentice construction course.

As part of the partnership agreement Graham staff provide employability support and regularly visit the Motherwell-based campus to give career talks and advice.

In addition to visits to live construction sites, the pre-apprentice course also aligns students with a six-week work placement covering various trades.

The placements were part of Graham Construction’s work on the first of seven operating theatres which are being completely modernised and refurbished through the £19million Frameworks Scotland 2 agreement.

A state-of-the-art 10-bed Critical Care Unit (CCU) delivered by Graham Construction was recently handed over to NHS Lanarkshire. A total of 25 jobs were created during the building phase by Graham and its sub-contractors.

Work on the theatre upgrades at Monklands Hospital is expected to complete in 2018.

Scottish Government awards £18m flood grant

The Scottish Government has awarded an £18 million flood alleviation grant to Perth and Kinross Council.

The funding is part of a £42m-per-year plan to help protect over 10,000 homes from flooding.

Council leader Ian Miller said the first instalment of the grant will be allocated towards developing flood alleviation schemes in Comrie, Milnathort, South Kinross and Scone.

Milestone reached on £7m West Lothian assisted living scheme

An ambitious project to create a £7 million assisted living complex in Bathgate is close to completion.

The new 30 flat Rosemount Gardens complex in Mid Street, Bathgate is now completed, with the first tenants already settled in. As well as facilities solely for residents, the public are welcome to use the shared facilities in the complex including the atrium café, restaurant, garden, multi-purpose rooms and hairdressers.

Work has now started on phase two of the project, which involves refurbishing the existing adjacent Rosemount Court sheltered housing development into 16 one-bedroom flats to meet the future expectations and needs of older people.

The project is being delivered the council’s development partner, hub South East Scotland, with Graham Construction as the main contractor.

Work starts on £8.2million partnership centre

Work to build a fantastic new £8.2 million Blackburn Partnership Centre has begun.

Construction work is ongoing for the new centre, which will create a hub for council, health and community services in the village.

Located next to the Mill Centre, Blackburn Partnership Centre is a partnership between West Lothian Council and NHS Lothian. hub South East Scotland is delivering the project, with Graham Construction carrying out the building work.

Blackburn Partnership Centre , which will open to the public in late 2017, is part of a £27.6m programme of NHS Lothian works which includes the £12.1m North West Edinburgh (Muirhouse) Partnership Centre and £7.3m Firrhill Partnership Centre in Edinburgh.

Seven per cent fall in new home registrations

The number of homes registered by Scottish local authorities in the second quarter of 2016 was 3,015, a 6.8 per cent fall on the 3,237 a year ago, according to NHBC’s latest new home registration statistics.

The 12,275 new home registrations for the rolling 12 months July 2015 – June 2016 also decreased by 1.5 per cent when compared to the previous 12 months (July 2014 – June 2015) which saw 12,459 new homes registered.

Conversely there was 11,330 home completions during the rolling 12 months July 2015 – June 2016, a 2.6 per cent increase over the 11,044 homes completed a year earlier.

Across the UK a total of 41,222 new homes were registered by NHBC in Q2. 31,753 new homes were registered in the private sector, a 6 per cent increase on the 30,086 a year ago. The public and affordable sector was down 13 per cent with 9,469 new homes registered compared to 10,845 in Q2 2015.

The overall number represents a 1 per cent increase on the same period last year when 40,931 new homes were registered, making it the strongest quarter since 2007.

The number of new home completions for the rolling 12 months July 2015 – June 2016 also increased by 6 per cent when compared to the previous 12 months (July 2014 – June 2015). This mirrors the strong growth seen in registrations in recent years, resulting in these new homes being completed over the past twelve months.

Work to begin on £190,000 M74 resurfacing project

Scotland TranServ is to begin work on a £190,000 resurfacing project on the M74 motorway.

Engineers will start carrying out essential repairs to the road surface between Junctions 10 and 8 from Friday, 29 July.

In order to deliver the project safely, overnight closures of the M74 southbound will be required between 8pm – 6am on 29 July and Sunday, 31 July. Signed diversions and traffic management will be in place.