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Building Briefs – June 29th

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP joins in the fun at Meet the Researchers, a community engagement day organised by Glasgow Caledonian University

Urban Union celebrates science at community days

People of all ages in the Gorbals and beyond have discovered the world of science – thanks to an event sponsored by Urban Union.

Glasgow Caledonian University held two Community Science Days over the weekend, giving local residents and visitors, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her capacity as MSP for Glasgow South, the opportunity to get hands on with various activities.

Whether it was building a virus, looking at the science behind food or converting the air in Bridge Street underground station to heat, each activity was designed to engage and inspire participants.

The event was part of the Glasgow Science Festival, a 10-day event which is one of the biggest in the UK. The Community Science Days, held on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 June, were hosted at the Barn Community Centre, which sits next to Urban Union’s Laurieston Living development – an award-winning regeneration site.

In addition to sponsoring the event, Urban Union was also responsible for The Construction Zone. This gave people a sample of life in construction and outlined the graduate and non-graduate opportunities available to those looking to pursue a STEM career in the industry.

 

Work begins on £8m Argyll and Bute roads improvements

Work will begin on more than £8 million worth of roads improvements across Argyll and Bute in the coming weeks.

A Capital Roads Reconstruction Budget of £8,382,000 was agreed by Argyll and Bute Council earlier this year, in addition to the day-to-day maintenance work like patching and filling potholes. The work is now due to get underway and residents can expect to see reconstruction of certain streets getting started over the summer.

The budget is allocated based on each area’s overall percentage of the roads network and a detailed breakdown on how the money is being spent in each area is available online.

Some of the work being carried out includes replacement of road surfaces; improvements to drainage systems; and work to repair or improve road edges.

In addition, a Capital Footway Reconstruction Budget of a further £250,000 was agreed and will be split across the four distinct regions.

  • Work scheduled in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles (OLI) region includes £430,000 of improvements to the roads network on Lismore and £250,000 of work on the A816 Scammadale Bridge South to Glengallen Bridge; £350,000 being spent on the A849 from Lochdon to Glenmore on Mull; and £150,000 of improvements on Coll, among others. Additionally, £38,250 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across the OLI region.

  • Work scheduled in the Bute and Cowal region includes £120,000 of improvements to the A844 Craigmore to Ascog Bridge and £100,000 of work to the B881 North of Kingarth on Bute. And in Cowal, £320,000 will be spent improving the A8003 Ormidale to Tighnabruich and the C6 Carrick Castle Road will benefit from £142,780 of work. Additionally, £82,500 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across Bute and Cowal.

  • Work scheduled in Helensburgh and Lomond includes a £280,000 improvement of the A817 Haul Road, £129,500 of improvements on the B872 in Garelochead and £140,000 being spent on West Montrose Street in Helensburgh. Other projects are planned for Church Road in Luss, the C73 Barbour Road and Tom a Mhoid in Rosneath, among others. Additionally, £84,250 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out in Helensburgh and Lomond.

  • Work scheduled in the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands (MAKI) region includes £165,642 of improvements to the B8002 Ardfern Road in Mid Argyll; £231,720 of improvements to the B842 South of Saddell in Kintyre; and £200,000 of work to the A846 North and South of Craighouse, among others. Additionally, £45,000 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across the MAKI region.

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    Opportunity to see development plans for Inverness Campus

    Plans for a major new development on Inverness Campus will be on display for public viewing on Wednesday 4 and Wednesday 25 July.

    The proposals are to create an innovative healthcare and life sciences multidisciplinary centre serving the whole of the Highlands and Islands region.

    It is a joint project between NHS Highland, the University of the Highlands and Islands and Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE), and is forecast to create around 189 new jobs.

    The exhibition will be held in An Lòchran, 10 Inverness Campus with project staff available to answer questions from 8am to 7pm. Between 4 and 25 July the display will remain in place for public viewing on weekdays during office hours but will not be staffed.

    The project builds on the success of the Centre for Health Science, which has shown the regional benefits generated by partnership working across agencies. Developed by HIE next to Raigmore Hospital, this project has been operating successfully since opening in 2008.

    The ‘Centre for Health Science 2’ will be housed within a building of more than 8,000m2 on Inverness Campus. Occupying the largest proportion of this will be a £34m elective care centre for the north of Scotland, led by NHS Highland. Due to open in 2021, this will have 28 inpatient beds, four operating theatres and day case and outpatient facilities.

    The University of the Highlands and Islands, which has been allocated £9m from the UK Government through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, will develop a Life Sciences Innovation Centre.

    The new building will also feature a life science business incubator. This will be created by HIE to support commercial engagement across the partnership. This facility will be used to attract innovative new life sciences businesses to the region. It will provide office and laboratory spaces for start-up and inward investment firms engaged in creating new products and services for the healthcare sector.

    The three parts of the building will intersect around open innovation space where partners and companies can interact within a vibrant workspace.

    HIE has been developing Inverness Campus to support the growth in the region’s life science sector. From the start of the development there has been an emphasis on collaboration between education, research and business.

     

    Budgets approved for Penicuik primary school extensions

    A total of £6 million has been secured to extend two primary schools in Penicuik, Midlothian, creating over 100 new school spaces.

    Cuiken Primary School will be extended with six new primary classes, costing around £2m.

    The further £4m funds will be used to increase the pre-school nursery capacity from 20 to 44 places for Sacred Heart Primary. A partial refurbishment and extension will also allow for an increased number of primary aged pupils.

    Work is expected to begin on both projects later this year.

    The extensions are to be open for the beginning of the new school year in August 2019.

     

    Renewable electricity generation on the rise in Scotland

    Renewable energy generation is on the rise in Scotland with a reported 11% increase compared with the same quarter of last year.

    The Q1 statistics also reveal an 11% rise in renewable electricity capacity over the same period.

    Provisional annual statistics for 2017 show that renewable electricity generation in 2017 was up 27% on 2016 and up 19% on 2015. An estimated 69% of Scotland’s electricity consumption was met from renewables.

    In 2017, Scottish renewable generation made up approximately 25% of total UK renewable generation.

     

    SGN to replace old gas mains in Hamilton

    SGN is to begin work to upgrade the gas network in Hamilton.

    The £118,000 project will see old gas mains and services replaced with new plastic pipes.

    Phase 1 of the works will commence on 02 July from Hillhouse Road at St Ninians Primary School along Hillhouse Road to its junction with St Ninians Road.

    The second phase will continue along Hillhouse Road to its junction with Farm Road, starting on 16 July.

    Work will commence on the final phase of the project on 30 July along Hillhouse Road to its junction with Clarkwell Road.

    Each phase of the project will take two weeks to complete.

     

    £1.6m announced to revitalise Gorebridge

    More than £1.6 million has been announced to revitalise the centre of Gorebridge in Midlothian.

    The funds will be used for the Gorebridge Connected Project.

    Works will include:

    • The redevelopment of former Gorebridge Railway Station House into a a cafe, gallery and office space, creating four to five full time jobs in the café and space for 10-15 employment opportunities in new, upstairs office accommodation in the building;

    • Hunter Square public realm enhancements;

    • The development of a heritage and signage project to connect Hunter Square and Gorebridge train station with other parts of Gorebridge and beyond. There is also potential for enhancement of up to three buildings on Main Street.

      • Work is expected to begin on the Hunter Square enhancements next month.

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