Building Briefs – March 11th

The new Anderson High School project in Shetland has been shortlisted for a prestigious award that recognises the best in public private partnerships (PPP).

The £55.75 million development, which is being delivered by hub North Scotland on behalf of Shetland Islands Council, has been shortlisted in the Best Education Project category at the upcoming 2016 Partnership Awards.

Recognising the best in public private partnerships (PPP), the Partnership Awards are now in their 18th year and reward companies for working on new projects as well as operational schemes.

The new Anderson High School is a replacement for the current school and will cater for a maximum of 1,180 pupils. The project scope also includes the construction of a halls of residence as well as the refurbishment of the Clickimin Leisure Centre.

Progress on the site is continuing to gather momentum with construction of the facility’s concrete frame now approaching second floor level.

Morgan Sindall awarded £1.1m pool refurb contract

Moray Council has selected Morgan Sindall to carry out a £1.1 million swimming pool refurbishment in Forres.

The 20-week contract involves Forres Academy Swimming Pool being upgraded to make it more energy efficient.

Features include fitting external insulated cladding and stripping back the building’s roof before to installing a more modern and insulated structure.

The Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) system will also be improved to make it safer and more energy efficient.

In addition, the new system will contain an air handling unit to control the building’s internal temperature, which will be housed within a newly-built small extension.

The contract also includes some remedial works and a 12-month maintenance period for the delivered works.

The project is expected to be completed in early autumn 2016.

Tulloch sales boosted

Positive “winds of change” in Scotland bolstered sales at Tulloch Homes in the four months to June 30, 2015, the Inverness housebuilder said.

Tulloch said it chalked up pre-tax profits of £5.87 million on turnover of £27.9m in the quarter as confidence flowed back into the housing market.

The firm, which employs 180 people and has more than 300 subcontractors, sold 114 homes at an average sale price of £194,000 during the period under review.

It is the first time Tulloch has reported financial results since a management buyout last March.

Tulloch posted pre- tax profits of £964,000 for the year to June 30, 2013, following losses of £66.3m in the previous 18 months.

Council grant subsidy for affordable homes increased to £406m

Scotland’s 32 local authorities are to share £406 million in grant subsidy in 2016/17 to deliver more affordable homes, the Scottish Government has announced.

The funding, which the Scottish Government refers to as Resource Planning Assumptions (RPAs), is over £100m more than last year’s allocation.

It is part of the government’s overall investment of over £572m to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) in 2016/17.

The remaining £166m will be managed centrally, with £80m already announced to help up 2,000 first time buyers under the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme. The rest will go to other projects that promote innovation, greener homes and the Home Owners’ Support Fund.

The overall funding will support delivery of between 8,000 – 9,000 affordable homes, the first part of a £3 billion investment to deliver 50,000 homes by 2021, and an increase of 28 per cent more homes than the average output in the last two years.

In addition to knowing their planning assumptions for 2016/17 councils also need as much advance notice as possible of their full RPAs for 2017/18 and beyond.

Therefore the Scottish Government is now committed to a new offer of five year resource planning assumptions for councils following the 2016 Spending Review.

Superglass says turnaround is on track

Insulation maker Superglass, which employs 150 people in Stirling, has said its turnaround programme is on track with the company on course to make a full year trading profit after cutting first half losses by around 75 per cent.

The company said it expects to post a £0.5 million loss before interest depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the six months to 29 February compared with £1.9m in the preceding year as efforts to reshape the business bear fruit.

Stock market-listed Superglass sustained heavy losses after focusing much effort on markets that were driven by Government sponsored schemes for which take up rates proved to be very low. These included the supply of insulation for retrofitting in existing homes.

Councillors mark start of work on £45m William McIlvanney Campus

There’s just a week to go before construction work begins at the new £45 million William McIlvanney Campus at Sutherland Drive, Kilmarnock, named in honour of the world-renowned author who was born and educated in the town.

The Campus will be provided by East Ayrshire Council through the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future programme.

This will be delivered through the Scottish Futures Trust’s hub programme by hub South West, with construction work being undertaken by Kier Construction.

The William McIlvanney Campus will host the new James Hamilton Primary School and Early Childhood Centre, with Kilmarnock Academy and James Hamilton Academy also transferring and merging to a new Kilmarnock Academy.

A third new school, Sgoil na Coille Nuaidhe, offering Gaelic language provision will replace the Gaelic Medium Education provision currently offered at Onthank Primary School and Grange Academy.

Marking the start of the countdown, Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of East Ayrshire Council welcomed MPs, MSPs, local elected members, officers from the Scottish Government and council, pupils, teachers and contractors to the site.

Work is set for completion in 2018.

Plans for Dundee sports centre kicked into touch

A football group’s final hope for building a sports centre in Dundee has been dashed after their appeal to overturn a planning refusal was knocked back.

Active Soccer took their case to the Scottish Government after Dundee City Council blocked proposals for the facility on Baldovie Industrial Estate.

But the appeal was dismissed, with planning permission refused again due to the location being safeguarded for “industrial and allied uses.”

The proposals included building an indoor football centre, complete with five 3G football pitches and a multi-sport pitch.

Dundee and Dundee United football clubs expressed support for the plans, which would have brought 30 jobs to Dundee according to the applicant.

Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust launches self build loan fund

The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust (HSCHT) has announced it is now accepting applications for the new £4 million Highland Self Build Loan Fund (HSBLF).

To be administered by HSCHT, the Scottish Government fund was revealed by Margaret Burgess MSP at last month’s Rural Housing Scotland Conference.

The HSBLF has come about after it was recognised that there was a gap in the lending market, to provide funding for self builders, prior to mortgage facilities being available. The fund allows HSCHT, acting as agent to the Scottish Government, to provide a revolving fund to help self builders.

The new fund will allow individuals and families to borrow up to £150,000, to help them reach build completion. The loan is then repaid when the applicant is able to access a traditional mortgage.

For more information, or to download a brochure or application form, please click HERE.

Bridges to Schools scheme gives civil engineering experience to Angus pupils

Young people in Angus are getting hands on experience building bridges towards a career in civil engineering.

The Bridges to Schools scheme sees young people in P7 and S1 constructing a 15m cable-stayed bridge at the new Brechin Community Campus. The scheme gives them an early insight into the challenges of Civil Engineering - while having some fun along the way.

As well as learning about bridges and civil engineering, the young people also develop team-working skills and when the bridge is constructed they walk across it to understand the strength of the construction.

The scheme has been co-ordinated by Angus Council, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and principle contractors on the Brechin Flood Prevention Scheme, Morrison Construction. The event promoted as part of the Community Benefits associated with the Brechin Flood Prevention Scheme works and officers from the council, ICE and Morrison Construction were on hand to assist the young people building the bridge.