Building Briefs – June 28th

The urgent multi-million pound campaign to save Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural masterpiece, the Hill House, has reached the £1 million in donations mark – two-thirds of its £1.5m target, the National Trust for Scotland has revealed.

After launching the appeal at the beginning of February, one of the most ambitious in its history, the conservation charity has surpassed the milestone with the help of Robert Barr’s Charitable Trust. The endowment has made a contribution to the campaign, which is taking place during the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth.

The National Trust for Scotland has also announced that the Hill House will officially close to the public on July 4, as preparations begin for the construction of the ‘box’ which will shield the property from inclement weather for approximately the next decade.

The mesh box will act as a suit of armour, stopping 87% of the rainfall that falls on the property an average of 193 days each year. Its design and positioning will allow the house to be naturally dried out by the wind.

Key items of Rennie Mackintosh-designed furniture and fittings such as the iconic ladder back chair and dining room light fitting will be removed from Hill House when the building closes, to go on display in an exhibition in central Glasgow this summer.

The box will open to the public later in the year, celebrating the conservation of Mackintosh’s masterpiece in full view of the public, with raised walkways enabling visitors to see every level of the house in the way that only its original builders would have.

Donations to the appeal can be made online.

New chairman for Grant Property

Ronnie Ludwig has been appointed as chairman of property investment company Grant Property.

Ronnie recently retired from leading UK accountancy firm Saffery Champness, where he was a senior partner and head of the firm’s Private Wealth Group.

Edinburgh-based Grant Property, which sources and manages UK residential property for investment, celebrated 21 years in business last month.

Untying the knot at new River Clyde Homes development

River Clyde Homes has recently completed its latest development of new homes Inverclyde.

The keys to all but one of 41 new homes have now been handed over and the residents took some time out to celebrate by untying a knot in some nautical rope, in tribute to the historic significance of the site which was once home to a ropeworks.

The £5 million, development, on Bay Street in the centre of Port Glasgow, brings the number of homes built by River Clyde Homes to 539 since 2010.

Work starts on new sports facilities for North Lanarkshire

Work to deliver a multi-purpose pitch and four-lane running track in Calderbank is now underway.

The facilities, which are costing over £200,000, will replace the disused ash park on Park Road in the village.

Calderbank and Corpus Christi primaries will have priority use of the new facilities during the school day but it will be free to be used by local people outwith this time.

Most of the money for the project is coming from Transport Scotland with the remainder through North Lanarkshire Council’s Local Development Programme.

There have been a number of other organisations involved in making this happen including SportScotland, New Calderbank Regeneration Group and Calderbank Environmental Group.

Sharon Scullion, a member of the local steering group which included New Calderbank

Work will start on Monday 9 July and will take up to 12 weeks to complete.

Two-storey McDonald’s drive-thru in Portlethen approved

A new two-storey McDonald’s drive-thru has been given the go-ahead.

The Portlethen Retail Park will now see the fast food giant’s new premises built on part of the site.

Asda had submitted plans to develop the supermarket with the addition of the McDonald’s, a new six-pump petrol station and click-and-collect lockers.

Members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Kincardine and Mearns area committee discussed the proposals in Stonehaven this week.

The project would mean removing 80 parking spaces at the Asda site.

Work starts on £2.4m Breich station redevelopment

Work is underway on a £2.4 million redevelopment project at Breich station in West Lothian.

The 12-week scheme will ensure the platform lengths and heights are compliant with the electrified railway environment, as well as being suitable for the new longer electric trains that will be introduced on the route, as part of a £160m Scottish Government investment to electrify the Shotts line by 2019.

In addition, a new ramped footpath will be created to the Edinburgh-bound platform on the north side of the station with the embankments and access ramp on the south side bring re-profiled to make it easier for customers to get in and out of the station.

Other features include upgrades to lighting and CCT, as well as improvements to customer information systems, ticket machines, validators and waiting shelters. The redevelopment is scheduled to be complete by the end of October.

Planners recommend Balmoral Estate green energy scheme for approval

Planners have recommended approving a green energy scheme on the Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire.

This week, the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s (CNPA) Planning Committee will meet to discuss proposals for a 2MW run of river hydroelectric scheme and associated infrastructure on the River Muick, near Birkhall, Ballater.

The planning application seeks permission to develop an intake structure, buried pipeline, a powerhouse and access tracks on the proposed site 7km south-west of Ballater on the west bank of the River Muick.

In her report, planning officer Emma Wilson outlines the various issues in relation to impacts on the landscape and ecology, but proposes an approval for the project with various conditions attached to any consent to ensure a high quality scheme and to guarantee effective mitigation measures.

The CNPA Planning Committee will meet in Nethy Bridge on Friday, 29 June.