Building Briefs – March 24th

Provost of North Ayrshire Councillor Joan Sturgeon and Barr Construction MD Barclay Chalmers were on-site to commend work starting at the £20 million contract to build Irvine’s new leisure centre.

The new leisure centre will create a single venue for sports, cultural events and exhibitions in the centre of the Ayrshire town.

The new facility will feature a main pool, a teaching pool, six-court sports hall, studios, a state-of-the-art fitness suite, and both wet and dry changing areas. Both pools will have a viewing area at mezzanine level for spectators.

An existing Grade B Listed townhouse will be integrated into the new facility and the property will be restored and refurbished to compliment the leisure centre by installing a reception area, offices, research and creative rooms. The facility will also include a function hall and exhibition areas.

The team will work closely with North Ayrshire Council and the surrounding schools to provide a range of community benefits during the project, including work placements for young people who want to get involved in the industry.

Irvine Leisure Centre is set to open its doors in January 2017.

Perth College on track for £6.5m sport academy

Construction of a centre of sporting excellence will begin in Perth later this summer.

The multi-million-pound project on land at Perth College’s Crieff Road campus has been approved by council officials less than three months after the proposals were first revealed.

The £6.5 million Academy of Sport and Wellbeing will offer a wide range of facilities — including basketball and badminton courts and a hockey pitch — to help students train to a national level.

It is hoped the new centre, which is due to open later next year, will become a launch pad for a new generation of professional athletes.

The building will include a multi- purpose sports hall with bleacher seating for about 430 people. It will have six badminton courts, with markings for hockey, netball and basketball games.

The academy, which will also have facilities for indoor cricket, could even boast an electronic scoring system and climbing chamber with structures for all ages and abilities.

A fitness wing and modern hair and beauty therapy suite is also planned.

A site next to the current student union will be cleared to make way for the new development. College bosses said it was important to place the expansion “at the heart of campus life”.

Independent school unveils £4m revamp plans

The independent school Glenalmond College in Perth has unveiled a £4 million development programme to be spent on improving the school’s facilities and infrastructure.

Half of the total investment comes from the Bank of Scotland, with the remaining £2m to be generated through donations and fundraising.

Half a million pounds has already been raised for the revamp, which will include a programme of upgrading classrooms, developing information technology infrastructure and new lecture and seminar facilities.

There will also be upgrading of the boarding accommodation and development of Glenalmond’s sporting facilities.

Aberdeenshire flood scheme approved

A flood protection scheme for Huntly in Aberdeenshire has moved a step closer following recommendation from a Scottish Government Reporter to progress without modification.

The news follows a public hearing in the town in February, which provided an opportunity for the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) to consider objections to the scheme.

Four objections were raised; two of which were resolved but the remainder of which were left outstanding.

Aberdeenshire Council had already taken a preliminary decision to support the project last year despite the objections, however.

The project is aimed at reducing future flood risk in the Meadows area of the town, which has been affected by flooding in the past. Design work has been progressing on the £2.9m project since councillors gave the go-ahead in April 2011.

Inverness Campus on track

Infrastructure secretary Keith Brown has visited the site of the £100 million Inverness Campus that will bring together business, research and education on one site when it is officially opened later this year.

The state of the art facility which is being developed by Highland and Islands Enterprise who have invested around £30m in the campus that occupies 215 acres of prime development land at Beechwood, Inverness.

Independent research estimates the campus has the potential to support up to 6,000 jobs over the next 30 years and generate £38m GVA to the Highlands and Islands economy every year.

Mr Brown was yesterday given a tour of the new Inverness College UHI building which will open to students August 2015. The £52m project, which will also see the refurbishment of the Scottish School of Forestry at Balloch, will deliver an exciting array of further and higher education courses to over 6,500 students and is being supported by the Scottish Government through the NPD pipeline.

£120k investment in Ayrshire’s trunk roads

Ayrshire road users are set to benefit from a further £100k of essential improvements which will get underway tomorrow at Hansell Village on the A77 northbound from Dutchouse Roundabout to Bellfield Roundabout.

Scotland TranServ, operating on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out the re texturising works to improve resistance on the existing road surface during a single night closure.

Almost half a million pounds has been invested in Ayrshire’s trunk roads since January 2015; improving these vital trunk roads ahead of the busy summer tourist season.

Care village plans approved

Plans for a major new care village in Glenrothes have been passed by councillors.

The complex — which will feature a 60-bed care home and 30 separate care houses — was given the go-ahead by members of the local authority’s central area planning committee.

The new facility is to be constructed in the South Parks area of the town, on the site of the former Glenwood Health Centre and Southparks House, a care home that is currently in use.

Fife Council officers had advised the approval of the project, with the Glenrothes area said to be one that is in need of more care facilities for the elderly.

Approval suggested for Glen Ullinish Wind Farm on Skye

A 14-turbine wind farm proposed for Skye has been recommended for approval by Highland Council planning officials.

Crofters have been working with Perth-based Kilmac Construction on the Glen Ullinish Wind Farm.

The development involves installing turbines between Ose and Struan at Allt Dughaill on Skye and could generate enough power for 23,000 properties.

Highland councillors will consider the planning application for the project at a meeting on Tuesday.

Edinburgh student flats bid approved

The £2.9 million sale of an Edinburgh site earmarked for student accommodation was given the green light.

The transaction will see an area of land at Potterrow sold off to Macdonald Estates, which wants to build a 52-room student housing complex.

Approval came after 20 initial offers were narrowed down to a shortlist of six, with Macdonald emerging as preferred bidder.

The deal follows other student housing applications in the south of Edinburgh including Unite Students’ bid to build a 579-bed complex on St Leonard’s Street and Edinburgh University’s outline plans to create more housing on Meadow Lane and Buccleuch Place.

Proposals have also been lodged to build around 187 residences in a Causewayside printing office.

Waitrose shelves plans for Corstorphine store

Waitrose has abandoned multi-million-pound plans for a Corstorphine store, blaming “changes in trading conditions”.

The company had been planning to open its third branch in the capital on the corner of St John’s Road and Manse Road to replace empty retail units.

But developer Realis will no longer submit proposals for a 21,000sq ft store after Waitrose pulled out.

Supermarket chiefs pointed to a trend towards more frequent shops rather than a “big shop”, the rise of internet shopping and falling food prices.

The decision leaves a question mark over the struggling row of shops which the store would have replaced, and Realis said it would have discussions with the owners about the future of the site.