Building Briefs – March 26th

Councillors in Midlothian have been told that work will begin on site as quickly as possible to build the replacement for Newbattle Community High School once circumstances beyond the council’s control are resolved.

The project is currently delayed because of a European ruling on how some investment projects, including the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) programmes - of which Newbattle is one - are classified.

At a full council meeting on Tuesday, councillors heard that council officers, along with its development partners and the Scottish Futures Trust, are working to make sure the contract to design and build Newbattle is ready to be signed as quickly as possible after the European situation is resolved.

The council’s development partner, Hub South East Scotland Ltd, is delivering the project and it has appointed Morrison Construction as the main contractor.

As well as a state of the art high school, local people will benefit from a new library, gym, swimming pool, sports facilities (including all weather pitch) and a range of community facilities on campus. The building will sit in playing fields adjacent to the current building.

Man fined over death of worker struck by excavator

The owner of an engineering firm has been fined £12,000 after he admitted breaching health and safety laws after a worker was crushed to death on a pier.

Welder and fabricator Christopher Hartley, 45, died after being struck by a moving excavator and crushed between its bucket and a fixed cabinet at the end of Longhope Pier in Hoy, Orkney, in November 2012.

Kirkwall Sheriff Court heard yesterday that Mr Hartley was working for William Reid’s E&M Engineering Services when the company was hired to replace the fenders on the RNLI’s pontoon.

Mr Hartley, of Thurso, and two other men were unloading steel and aluminium panels from a flatbed van onto the pier using an excavator.

After the last panel was lowered, the excavator operator heard Mr Reid shout that Mr Hartley was lying face down on the floor near to the hose cabinet and was unresponsive. He died at the scene.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although Mr Reid had carried out an assessment of the risks involved in the task, he had not identified mechanical lifting as a hazard and the risks associated with using an excavator.

It said reasonable precautions were not put in place to reduce the risk of a person being hit by the moving load or excavator.

Mr Hartley and another worker did not have their hi-visibility jackets on and the artificial lighting was also poor.

Reid, 64, of Scrabster, Caithness, had pleaded guilty to breaching the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

HSE said that the tragedy could have been avoided.

Aberdeen museum collections building started

Work has yesterday on the construction of a multi-million pound centre which will soon house Aberdeen’s artworks and artefacts.

City council leader Jenny Laing officially broke the ground at the Granitehill Road site in Northfield where the £5.85 million Museums Collection Centre is being built.

The 25,700sq ft facility will store pieces from the art gallery in Schoolhill, which has closed for two years while modification work takes place.

The contract to build the centre was won by the Robertson Group, which will be required to employ two apprentices on site. Construction is expected to be completed by November.

The unit’s name will be chosen in the next few months.

Keith Taylor, managing director for Robertson Construction Eastern, said residents would see the foundations of the development begin to take shape in the next six to eight weeks.

Sustainable construction at Dundee Waterfront

A key part of the £1 billion project to transform Dundee’s central waterfront has received national recognition.

Dundee City Council and contractors Sir Robert McAlpine have been awarded an Infrastructure Sustainability CEEQUAL Excellent Award for work at the waterfront last year.

Professor Tim Broyd a member of the CEEQUAL Board and vice president of the Institution of Civil Engineers was in the city to present the award.

The commended work included a considerable amount of diverting or installing underground services, the major junction realignment at Riverside Roundabout, demolition and rebuilding of Tay Road Bridge on/off ramps and creation of the new three lane Northern Boulevard.

Plans revealed for iconic Edinburgh concert arena

An iconic new concert and events arena would be built in Princes Street Gardens under plans put forward to the City of Edinburgh Council by a leading businessman.

Norman Springford, founder of the Apex Hotels group and a former owner of the Edinburgh Playhouse, is offering to plough several million pounds of his own money into a replacement for the crumbling Ross Theatre.

The developer said he would be happy to pay for an international design competition to come up with designs for a building he hopes will become as iconic a symbol as the Sydney Opera House or Bilbao’s Guggenheim museum.

The 70-year-old has offered to help put together a task force of industry experts to set up a charitable trust to pursue a new building, which would be used throughout the year.

Mr Springford admits the project could cost as much as £30 million, but has suggested financial backing could come from some of Edinburgh’s biggest corporate firms, philanthropic trusts and public funders including the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Video - Smithton and Culloden flood alleviation project update

During the months of July and August 2011, the eastern side of Inverness experienced localised high intensity rain causing burns to overtop. This caused roads to close and properties to flood.

A report produced by JBA consulting which focused on the impacts of the flooding associated with the Smithton Burn and Culloden Burn West has identified the flood risks and issues associated with these watercourses. The report concludes with both general and specific recommendations for The Highland Council to consider in its endeavours to reduce flood risk in the future.

At a public exhibition, The Highland Council and the scheme designer, JBA, presented what works that have been undertaken in phase 1 to 3, to tackle some of the issues relating to blockage risk.

Design workshops for Perth West expansion

Perth and Kinross residents are being invited to take part in drop-in events and design workshops at the end of this month to help shape a masterplan framework to take forward the western expansion of Perth City.

The ambitious expansion plans to the west of Perth will help to cement the area’s status as a city, stimulate economic growth and provide much needed additional housing and schools to support the increasing population.

The events are all part of a charrette approach to involving communities in planning developments, involving a series of interactive design workshops and presentations held over a number of days where the public, local design professionals and project consultants work together on developing a detailed masterplan for a specific area. A number of meetings are also held during this process which enable all stakeholders to discuss the key policies and issues relating to the site.

Skye residents give backing to wind farm project

A windfarm overlooking the famous Cuillins mountains on Skye is being backed by the local community.

Crofters have welcomed Highland Council’s decision to grant consent for the 14-turbine Glen Ullinish Wind Farm.

The development is to be located between Ose and Struan at Allt Dughaill on the Isle of Skye.

The Scottish Government, as the owners of the land, are supporting the partnership approach being taken between Kilmac Construction and local crofters.

The consented development will be able to generate 42MW, the equivalent of generating enough electricity to supply 23,000 homes per year.