Building Briefs – March 10th

A former paper mill in Aberdeen is to be converted to make way for 950 homes after developer Barratt signed a £30m agreement with landowner Manse.

The deal unlocks a project which has sat on the back burner for five years, forming a new riverside quarter named Burnside around Davidson’s Paper Mill and land to the south of Muggiemoss Road.

Designed by Optimised Environments the scheme will incorporate a range of terraced and detached homes on ex industrial lands overlooking the River Don.

Located four miles from Aberdeen city centre it will offer a range of three and four bedroom homes catering for oil workers.

Planning consent was initially given back in 2013 for an initial phase of 121 homes by Stewart Milne.

Funds approved for Inverness Castle’s tower revamp

Funding of £100,000 has been approved for a project to turn Inverness Castle’s North Tower and its look-out into a new tourist attraction.

The money has been allocated from the Inverness Common Good Fund.

Highland Council has set aside £200,000 and Highlands and Islands Enterprise could provide £60,000 to the £360,000 project.

The rest of the 19th Century building would continue to be used as a sheriff court.

CCG starts work on new Honda dealership in Irvine

A new Honda showroom at renowned multi-franchise car dealership Parks Dreghorn in Irvine is being built by CCG. The new purpose built showroom is part of multi million pound expansion programme by Parks Motor Group which has seen Dacia, Fiat, Nissan and Suzuki franchises added to the original Renault dealership.

This showroom continues CCG’s partnership with Parks Motor Group with work recently completed on the construction of Scotland’s first dedicated McLaren showroom in Hamilton.

The development architects are CAF Designs and the project is due to be completed in Summer 2015.

Cala to build 89 homes at mill site

Cala Homes has added a site on the edge of Edinburgh to its portfolio after taking on a development that had hit on hard times.

Property consultancy GL Hearn said it had sold Kinleith Mill to Cala Homes who will develop the site for an 89-house development.

GL Hearn was acting on behalf of Kinleith Development Company, which is in administration. The firm was appointed by administrators in 2012 to asset manage the site, which extends to 11 acres next to the Water of Leith, in the Edinburgh suburb of Currie.

A76 resurfacing works to begin

Road users are set to benefit from £50k of improvement works on both the north and southbound lanes of A76 Dettingen Roundabout, Cumnock.

Scotland TranServ on behalf of Transport Scotland will carry out resurfacing works from Tuesday 17 March to Thursday 19 March to improve the quality of the road surface for the years ahead.

The works will be carried out in separate phases over three nights between the hours of 7pm to 6am to avoid peak periods.

Charity Bank loan secures social housing boost for Glasgow

A Scottish property investment company has taken a big step forward in helping to address the chronic lack of social housing in Greater Glasgow as it secures funding to buy 80 properties to rent to people on benefits or low incomes over the next two years.

Homes for Good Investments acquires and refurbishes properties for rent to social tenants, such as those on benefits or low incomes, creating a pipeline of affordable homes. Its sister company Homes for Good CIC (Community Interest Company) rents homes to people on social housing waiting lists. In addition, tenants receive support from the agency including budgeting advice, financial planning and employability assistance.

Homes for Good Investments has secured a £2 million loan from ethical bank Charity Bank, which matches a £2m investment from Impact Ventures UK, a social impact fund managed by LGT Venture Philanthropy, to buy 80 properties over the next two years.

£500m M8 M73 M74 motorway improvements project reaches major milestone

Construction of one of Scotland’s largest infrastructure projects has reached a major milestone as the first works on the main routes get underway next month as part of the upgrading of Central Scotland’s motorway network.

The £500 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project represents a significant investment in Scotland’s trunk roads, and aims to tackle congestion problems on the A8/M8, M73, M74 and at key junctions including Raith (M74) and Shawhead (A725/A8).

Roads users are being warned to expect some disruption as traffic restrictions come into force across the project roads from 20th March 2015, and are being advised to plan their journeys accordingly, especially during peak times.

To ensure the safety of road users and the workforce on the road network, traffic management will be introduced on the main trunk roads. This will include the introduction of a general speed limit of 50mph; reduced locally where required to maintain safety and the installation of safety cameras to enforce the limit.

Rail works to Edinburgh Glasgow Rail Improvement Programme (EGIP) will also get underway during the summer months. This will include the closure of Winchburgh Tunnel from 13th June until 27th July to allow major engineering works to be carried out during the summer months when transport networks which are traditionally quieter and less likely to be further impacted by weather events.

The schemes aim to boost Scotland’s economy by improving connections between the commercial centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh and beyond.