Building Briefs – March 28th

Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre is cooking up growth plans with a £1.5 million investment in its food court.

The shopping complex, which is famous for its vast glass roof, will offer increased seating and an “enhanced dining experience”.

It also incorporates a wider variety of seating, USB charging points that will enable shoppers to take full advantage of the centre’s free wi-fi and an upgraded children’s play area, which is due to be completed by the end of April and includes a buggy park and “interactive play equipment”.

Clackmannanshire Council agrees £57m capital budget programme

Councillors in Clackmannanshire have approved the revenue budget of £118.096 million to spend on services in 2017/2018.

A capital budget programme of £57.3m was also agreed for the five year period until 2022, with over 70 projects in the plan including funding for locality hubs, improvements to schools and investment in roads, footpaths and associated infrastructure in communities and investment to establish new models of care and improved financial planning in social work.

Bridge demolition works to begin on A90 at Stonehaven

Demolition works are expected to begin on the Stonehaven bridge which carries the A90 southbound carriageway over the B979 Netherley Road from week commencing April 3, as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project.

Between April 3-7, the contractor is planning to cut the existing bridge into two sections, separating the northbound and southbound carriageways.

These works will assist with the demolition of the southbound carriageway.

On April 7, this road is again planned to be closed from 8pm until 6am on April 10, it is anticipated that the southbound A90 carriageway will be demolished using specialist plant including breakers. Reconstruction works will then begin.

Work to start on railway bridge replacement in Falkirk

Work is to begin on a railway bridge replacement project in Falkirk.

The scheme at Glasgow Road in Carmuirs aims to replace the structure over the A803 between Camelon and Bonnybridge.

Features include replacing the deck and parapets, as well as improving the bridge’s resilience in the event of a vehicle strike. The work will also prepare the structure for future projects to upgrade track and electrify the line.

Work is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, 01 April with completion scheduled for Sunday, 30 April. Glasgow Road will close to traffic Saturday, 08 April until Friday, 21 April.

The scheme was originally scheduled to start in autumn last year, however it was postponed after the construction team failed to gain sufficient ‘access time’ to the railway line.

Open doors at Barrhead High School

BAM Construction, the Scottish Contractors Group and BuildUK will welcome East Renfrewshire MP Kirsten Oswald and local residents onto the site of the new Barrhead High School on April 1 as part of the ‘Open Doors’ construction initiative.

Open Doors takes place once a year and allows members of the public to see what a modern construction site looks like behind the hoarding and also to get a sneak preview of what is going to emerge from behind the wraps.

Located on Aurs Road next to the existing school, the new 900 pupil Barrhead High School will be completed this summer. Designed as a ‘school of the future’, the new building includes comprehensive community facilities which will be open to the public outside school hours.

Limited places on the tours, which take place from 9am until 10am or 12 noon to 1pm, are still available and can be booked by visiting here.

The building represents a £29.7 million investment and BAM Construction is delivering the new building in partnership with hub West Scotland on behalf of East Renfrewshire Council.

£630,000 funding approved for former St Eunan’s Primary site in Clydebank

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has approved funding of £630,000 to help transform the site of the former St Eunan’s Primary School in Clydebank into a community greenspace area.

West Dunbartonshire Council had already approved funding of £900,000 for the project and SNH has now given the green light for the remaining £630,000 of the overall £1.5 million plan.

The Drumry site is currently vacant and off-limits to local people after the discovery of asbestos in the soil following the demolition of the old school. The works will see the land safely ‘capped’ with a protective barrier to seal in any contaminants indefinitely.

Top soil would then be added and the area transformed into a multifunctional community greenspace and biodiversity park featuring wildflower meadows, an outdoor classroom and natural activity areas for children, an outdoor gym, a sensory garden, raised bed allotments and pathway routes through the site.

The plans will go before a future meeting of the council’s planning committee and it is anticipated that work to cap the site will begin in early 2018.

Further updates will be issued throughout the process.