Building Briefs – June 28th

• Inverness Airport Business Park development set for ‘take off’

ARK Estates managing director, William Gray, was on site with IABP chairman, James Campbell, and Brian Innes and Keith Duncan from lead contractor, IBI Joiners, to witness the early stages of construction for the new industrial unit at IAPB.

The 10,000 sq.ft unit, which is being built with the support of a grant from Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE), will comprise a 6,320sq.ft warehouse and 4,080sq.ft office split over two floors and will serve as ENERCON’s flagship Scottish Distribution and Training Centre.

The German renewables energy giant will employ 20 permanent staff at its IABP Scottish Distribution and Training Hub with further recruitment and expansion anticipated. The site will also become ENERCON’s main UK Training Centre. Over 200 technicians are expected to receive training at the company’s new UK base in the first year alone.

Ark Estates has also recently commenced the development of a new 5,000sqft unit at IABP. The industrial unit, which will be completed in Q4 2019, sits on a 0.5 acre plot and is suitable for class 4,5 and 6 use.

• Work of Edinburgh’s roads and flood prevention officers praised

The work of the City of Edinburgh’s roads and flood prevention officers has been praised following flash storms that hit the city earlier this week.

Transport and environment convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, commended the officers’ work to minimise the impact of heavy rain on the city’s network, particularly in the west.

Flood prevention squads worked during Monday afternoon and throughout the night and on Tuesday to attend to more than 140 flooding reports, while roads services completed the most urgent repairs to roads damaged by overflowing sewers within 24 hours of the storm.

Edinburgh was hit by more than half of June’s expected rainfall within three hours on Monday, during which time more than 32mm of rain fell per hour resulting in several instances of severe localised road flooding.

Flooding was as a result of both surcharging sewers, which are maintained by Scottish Water, either due to a blockage or capacity issue, or overflowing gullies, which are maintained by the council. While the council’s gully-clearing programme is up to date, the road drainage network is not designed to cope with unanticipated rainfall of such intensity.

In addition to pumping water and repairing road surfaces, teams were responsible for monitoring heavily flooded roads and closing these where necessary, as well as clearing any debris away from the worst affected areas. Roads services have already completed significant road repairs at several locations including Drum Brae, Bankhead Crossway North and Cultins Road.

Staff have been working with Scottish Water to ensure manholes affected by overflowing sewers are safely covered and to patch up any surrounding road surface damaged by manhole covers being lifted by overflowing sewers.

• Plans to keep Gorebridge Station work on track

New leasing arrangements have been agreed to keep the restoration of Gorebridge Station on track. It is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

At the full meeting of Midlothian Council on Tuesday, councillors agreed to delegate authority for signing the 20 year lease with Network Rail to the council’s acting director resources. The acting director would also have the authority to sign the sub-lease with Gorebridge Development Trust.

The move comes after councillors heard leasing arrangements were taking longer than first anticipated. Not having a long term lease in place between Network Rail and the council could potentially mean the project would not be able to access a grant of £199,981 from the EU and Scottish Government funding stream, Tyne Esk LEADER.

Restoring the station building is one of three Gorebridge Connected projects, a partnership initiative with agencies including the council, Network Rail and the trust, with support from the Scottish Government Borders Railway Blueprint Programme and the Railway Heritage Trust, to improve the centre of Gorebridge and the former train station building.

There are three main elements, street improvements to Hunter Square, improvements to the main street and creating a heritage trail; and restoring the derelict Gorebridge Station to turn it into a community café, gallery and offices.

• Perth apprentices top Scottish SkillPLUMB competition

Apprentices from Perth College UHI took home the top awards at the SNIPEF SkillPLUMB competition on Friday 21 June.

First place in both the lead and copper competitions were won by third-year apprentices attending Perth College UHI. Shaun McTavish, employed by McDonald & Buist Ltd, took home the first prize for lead, while the top prize in the copper competition went to Kyle McGeoghie, employed by William Combe & Son Ltd.

The lead competition saw second place go to Iain Winnard who attends Glasgow Clyde College and works for Blair Plumbing & Heating Solutions Ltd. Daniel McNeill of Forth Valley College and employed by Matheson Plumbing Co Ltd took home third place.

Second place in the copper competition was awarded to Samuel Henderson of Tullos Training Centre, employed by Derek Scott Plumbing & Heating. Third place was won by Connor Cruden of Moray College, who works for Neil Murray Housebuilders Ltd.

The prizes were presented by Alan Brown, MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, along with SNIPEF Past President and Copper Judge Gordon Matheson.

A total of 31 apprentices from colleges and training centres across Scotland gathered at West College Scotland’s Paisley campus to showcase their skills and knowledge in the competition. The competitors had four hours to complete either a copper pipework exercise or a sheet lead exercise.

As the Scotland regional heat for SkillPLUMB, the highest scoring competitors in the copper competition may go on to represent Scotland in the UK final at WorldSkillsUK LIVE at the NEC Birmingham in November. Only the top eight competitors from the six UK Heats are invited to the final.

SkillPLUMB is an annual skills competition designed to promote standards and skills across the plumbing industry, developing competence into excellence. SkillPLUMB can bring invaluable benefits to students, colleges and employers. Competitors can gain recognition for exceptional skills, injecting dynamism and excitement into training. Employers can enhance their business reputation and improve the skills of their workforce.

• Morrison Construction hosts pupils on tour of Ardross Distillery project

Morrison Construction welcomed Ardross Primary School and Edderton Primary pupils to the Ardross Distillery project on Tuesday for a site tour.

The contractor has developed a positive relationship with both local schools since works began at the distillery development in late 2017.

The project, now in the later stages of construction, has involved the extensive refurbishment of dilapidated nineteenth century farm buildings, to create a bespoke distillery.

The community benefits programme associated with the project has enabled pupils from Ardross, Edderton and Gledfield primary schools to learn about construction through classroom visits, site tours and activities organised by Morrison Construction.

Ardross Primary School pupils were previously given personalised hi-vis safety vests bearing their name during a visit by the local police for Road Safety Week.

Morrison Construction employees also assisted a group of pupils from Edderton Primary School and Gledfield Primary School, the Soaring 7s, enter the Goblin Car Race.

• Apprenticeship agreement to further improve West Dunbartonshire programme offer

West Dunbartonshire Council has pledged to continue offering a high standard of apprenticeship opportunities as part of a joint agreement with trade unions.

The Apprenticeship Agreement reaffirms the council’s commitment to developing a skilled workforce for the area’s future economy as well as supporting people to realise their full potential.

The council is already dedicated to delivering apprenticeships aligned with future workforce needs and the needs of the local economy and ensuring the programmes challenge job stereotyping and are available to all.

By signing up to the Apprenticeship Agreement the guarantees for these employees have been taken even further.

The Agreement sets out a vow to provide high quality on and off-the-job training for every apprentice, the same terms and conditions as other council employees, and payment at the training rate.

In addition, they will receive employability assistance through Working4U to ensure they are moving into employment when their programme ends, a guaranteed interview for any Council vacancy where the essential criteria is met, and the opportunity to join a trade union if they wish to.

Apprentice supervisors will also be given more training, and each apprentice will be assigned a mentor for guidance and support during their programme.

• Notable Pennywell natives to be honoured at next phase of housing development

Edinburgh locals are being given the chance to pay tribute to their favourite famous faces at the new phase of the Pennywell Living housing development.

To mark the launch of the latest phase of 134 homes at Pennywell, Urban Union is calling for nominations of local legends to name each of the 15 house types after - with the aim of immortalising those who have left a legacy in the area.

Those who put forward a suggestion before June 30 will be entered into a draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher, with winners announced in the first week of July.

Neil McKay, managing director at Urban Union, said: “From football legends to famous TV personalities, there’s no shortage of familiar faces who can trace their roots to North Edinburgh.

“The area is undergoing significant regeneration – and while that is much needed and brings tremendous benefits, it’s also important we celebrate and remember the area’s heritage, which is why we’ve launched this competition.”

Set to complete in 2023, Pennywell Living is part of a wider housing regeneration project being delivered through a partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and Urban Union which will see the delivery of over 770 new homes, half of which will be affordable.

The extensive Pennywell Living development is the result of a major investment of £42 million by the City of Edinburgh Council and includes £7.9m grant funding from the Scottish Government.

To put forward a name, simply email suggestions along with your name and contact details to info@urbanunionltd.co.uk.

• School children experience engineering with bridge-building kit

A Meccano-style bridge-building kit has been utilised to teach some 60 P4 and P5 children from St John’s Primary School in Port Glasgow about site safety, team working and engineering.

The Bridges to School kit has been provided by the Institution of Civil Engineers under its remit to inspire young people and get them interested in a career in engineering.

Bridges to Schools is a hands-on activity which gives pupils the chance to build a 13m long, cable stayed bridge. Once assembled, the pupils can walk across the bridge to test its strength.

The activity has been organised with help from staff from George Leslie Ltd, the company Inverclyde Council has employed to widen the nearby Chapelton Bridge.

The £650,000 scheme to widen Chapelton Bridge is designed to improve road safety and cut congestion by removing a major bottleneck at Glen Avenue in Port Glasgow.

Chapelton Bridge is the main pedestrian route for pupils going to and from St John’s Primary and is also an important bus route.

The single lane bridge is being widened to accommodate two lanes of traffic and will also have wider pavements for pedestrians. The work is being funded by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.