Building Briefs – March 26th

A major regeneration project in Edinburgh has taken another step forward with work starting on 70 new affordable homes.

Dunedin Canmore, part of Wheatley Group, is behind the latest development at Craigmillar in the south east of the city.

The new £8.5 million development at Greendykes will be made up of 39 homes for social rent and 31 for mid-market rent. The mid-market homes will be let and managed by Dunedin Canmore’s partners in Wheatley, Lowther Homes.

It follows Dunedin Canmore’s earlier phase of work which began in March 2017 and will see 111 new homes built in nearby Craigmillar town centre.

Councillor Kate Campbell, housing and economy convener, the City of Edinburgh Council, and vice convener, Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron, were joined by staff from Dunedin Canmore and Wheatley Group, and the contractor Persimmon Homes as well as Dunedin Canmore Modern Apprentice, Lewis Munro, to mark the start of the latest development.

The development is being part funded by a £3.4m grant from the City of Edinburgh Council’s Affordable Housing Programme. The homes, a mix of flats and family houses, should be ready by winter 2020.

The project is part of the wider council-led regeneration of Craigmillar. Over £110m of investment has seen the completion of 324 homes in Craigmillar/ Greendykes area over last three years, a further 422 homes are currently under construction and 194 homes are due to start on site in the Spring.

Tenants moving into the completed homes will be well served by public transport and local amenities with regular buses to the city centre just four miles away. There are also plans for community and amenity parks and a major new public parkland.

Energy efficiency drive sees cheaper bills for almost 900 South Ayrshire homes

Hundreds of poorly insulated properties in South Ayrshire are benefitting from lower running costs thanks to an ongoing energy efficiency drive.

South Ayrshire Council is now on site to enhance properties in Troon, which is the latest area to benefit in 2018 following similar work in Ayr and Tarbolton.

In the past two years, nearly 900 homes across South Ayrshire have either had external insulation fitted to their homes or are in the process of having the work done. Tenants and owners benefit from greater insulation at no personal cost, with savings of £200 per year expected to be delivered through improved energy efficiency.

The latest work will benefit 104 properties on Brown Avenue, Donald Crescent and Logan Drive in Troon. Other locations that have already benefitted include Ayr, Girvan, Prestwick, Tarbolton and Troon as part of a £6 million energy efficiency project. The improvements are being funded by South Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland, and in partnership with the Energy Agency.

A breakdown of the areas where the work was carried out can be found here.

Housing development in Blantyre opens its doors to local young people and MSP

Clare Haughey MSP joined a group of local young people last week on a visit to a new development of affordable homes under construction in Blantyre.

The development on Victoria Street, which is being constructed by Lovell on behalf of Clyde Valley Housing Association, welcomed the visitors as part of Open Doors Week. Delivered by Build UK in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the nationwide event offers the chance to look behind the scenes of construction projects in local communities.

During the visit, Ms Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, and a group of young people aged 16 – 18, supported by Skills Development Scotland, met representatives from Clyde Valley Housing Association and received a tour of the development led by Lovell. This visit offered them the opportunity to explore the construction work on the development of 38 affordable houses and flats.

The new timber-framed development at Victoria Street, which is scheduled for completion in May 2018, will provide smart, modern homes built to high energy-efficiency standards, helping minimise residents’ energy bills. Some of the properties will meet the Scottish Building Standards Silver level (Aspects 1 and 2) thanks to their low-energy heating systems and reduced carbon emissions.

Since work commenced in March 2017, the site has delivered various community benefits including a competition with Auchinraith Primary School which tasked children to create model buildings using recycled materials, donations to local foodbanks and a local labour clause giving local people priority for employment and training on the site.

Union Chain Bridge awarded National Lottery grant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWC8dHs985M

A significant step has been taken in the campaign to secure the status of the historic Union Chain Bridge, which spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe in England and Fishwick in Scotland.

A first round Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid by Scottish Borders Council (SBC), Northumberland County Council (NCC), Woodhorn Charitable Trust and community group Friends of the Union Chain Bridge was approved this week. The project has secured a £360,000 development grant.

It means the £7.3 million project can now move into a one year development phase to progress the scheme further, ahead of a second round submission.

Built by Captain Samuel Brown in 1820, the Union Chain Bridge is currently the oldest operational suspension bridge in the world still carrying vehicles, and through securing National Lottery support, it is anticipated that the bridge project can also deliver numerous cultural, heritage, educational and community benefits.

The first round HLF bid focused on conserving and raising awareness of the internationally significant bridge, which celebrates its 200th birthday in 2020.

The project also aims to raise the profile of nearby attractions, providing learning opportunities for young people inspired by the bridge’s innovative engineering, and developing meaningful cross-border heritage projects and partnerships.

This includes using the bridge and its conservation to develop educational resources and case study materials for the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths subjects from primary schools up to postgraduate level - to inspire a new generation to choose careers in science and engineering and to follow in the footsteps of Captain Samuel Brown.

Cruden Homes donation aids a monumental effort

A donation of £500 from Cruden Homes is proving a great help to Aberlady Community Association in their efforts to restore the East Lothian village’s important war memorial in time for the centenary commemoration of the end of the First World War in November of this year.

Donald Hay, the present chairman of the Aberlady Community Association, explains the background: “The existing war memorial is sited in a Garden of Remembrance, situated at the west end of Aberlady adjacent to the village kirk and graveyard, but sadly, over the years, has fallen into a state of disrepair.

“Originally a memorial to the Boer War and situated in Gosford Estate between Aberlady and Longniddry, the monument was moved to its current location in 1919 on land donated by the then, Lord Wemyss to be used as a war memorial naming Aberlady villagers who had fallen in the First World War. The garden was dedicated by Lady Wemyss on ‘All Saints’ Day of the same year, with the planting of memorial trees and years later, further names were added to the memorial in memory of the fallen from the Second World War.

“The monument has always been the main focus of attention on Armistice Day every year since 1919. The garden, with its high hedge, gives an atmosphere of seclusion and is ideal for personal reflection for all visitors who visit the site.

“This year, 2018, is the centenary of the end of the Great War and with this in mind, members of the community decided to initiate a fund for the refurbishment of the memorial to coincide with this significant occasion.

“At our first meeting with Cruden Homes’ head of construction, Gordon Fullarton at the new Meadowside housing development in Aberlady, I had mentioned our situation regarding the monument and he indicated that he could pursue the matter further, which has resulted in the company’s generous contribution of £500 to our funds.

“On behalf of the villagers and community, we are very grateful to Cruden Homes for their support. We plan to unveil a plaque when the work is completed which will list all the contributors to the fund and be a long term reminder of their generosity. Cruden Homes’ name will certainly be among the main contributors. We will also be inviting company representatives to attend the rededication ceremony once the restoration work is complete.”