Building Briefs – March 31st

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) works at Craibstone will take another significant step forward over the next two weekends when 20 beams are planned to be delivered to form the AWPR bridge over the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness trunk road.

The beams are planned to be delivered on special abnormal load trucks, which will carry one beam each, between Saturday 2 April and Sunday 3 April and between Saturday 9 April and Sunday 10 April.

Ten 31m beams will be escorted to the site from Loirston by Police Scotland. These beams will be delivered on each Saturday. The remaining beams, which are 21m in length, will be delivered unescorted. All the deliveries will take place from 7am onwards.

New affordable housing development makes its mark in Glasgow’s new East End

A new affordable housing development in Glasgow’s new East End has been put firmly on the map with a giant Google map pin.

Cruden Homes’ multi-million pound Baron’s Vale development will comprise a total of 139 flats and 98 terraced homes and semi-detached homes.

The first phase of homes for private sale will see 30 two and three bedroom terraced and semi-detached properties released and available to reserve off plan in advance of the homes being built to meet high levels of market demand. Purchasers may also be able to take advantage of the Scottish Government-backed Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme which allows buyers to own a home with only a 5 per cent deposit.

Adjacent to the site, 30 two bedroom flats will be built on behalf of Glasgow Housing Association in the first phase, which will be made available for mid-market rent.

Each of the new homes will incorporate low energy design principles using sustainable materials.

In recent years, Glasgow’s East End has seen huge levels of investment and regeneration which has transformed the area and changed the perception of it. Cruden had huge success as part of the City Legacy consortium in delivering the Athletes’ Village in the East End of Glasgow.

Cruden’s strong heritage in successful regeneration projects will also see further opportunities for apprenticeships, training and employment for the community as well as recruiting a number of local sub-contractors.

Plans for 54 Aberdeenshire affordable homes back on track

Two council housing developments in Aberdeenshire worth more than £8 million are back on track a year after the contractor for the works went into administration, the Aberdeen Evening Express has reported.

Aberdeenshire Council said it expects to complete 54 affordable homes in Fraserburgh and Inverurie by August and September respectively.

Both of the projects, which are to lead to the creation of homes in Barrasgate, Fraserburgh and Martin Brae, Inverurie, were up in the air after Dundee-based Muirfield Contracts went into administration in March last year.

Robertson Construction has stepped in to finish the project in Fraserburgh, which includes the creation of 30 low-energy homes forming part of the council’s three-year vision to boost affordable housing numbers.

The council has estimated it expects the £5.1m development to be finished by August.

Meanwhile, a £3m development in Inverurie consisting of 24 affordable units, which Bancon Homes will be responsible for, is also back on track and expected to be finished in September.

The council also confirmed work is continuing to deliver a further 169 new council homes across eight sites in the area.

Of the total, 82 have been delivered with the remaining 87 due for completion later this year.

An additional 92 affordable homes are also expected to be completed by the end of the 2017/18 financial year.

Melville opens its doors at Dalkeith Corn Exchange

Melville Housing Association has welcomed the first customers to its new office at the renovated and restored Dalkeith Corn Exchange.

The new office at 200 High Street has improved facilities, particularly for customers with disabilities, better meeting rooms, and is easier to access by car.

Restoration of the Grade A listed building was made possible thanks to grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland in addition to Melville’s contribution.

When complete the Corn Exchange will play host to a new permanent museum for Dalkeith, managed by the Dalkeith History Society. The museum, which is expected to open later this spring, will have its own St Andrew Street entrance and be fully accessible to the public.

Developers given one more year to work on crumbling Perth bar

Developers have been given extra time to progress plans for a crumbling Perth building, despite calls for urgent repairs.

The former Clachan Bar on South Methven Street has been earmarked for demolition.

Local firm Zack Developments want to replace the three-storey block with eight flats, a restaurant and a pub.

The plan was first raised nearly a decade ago, but planning permission – which was extended in 2012 – has now expired.

Now Perth and Kinross Council has agreed to give the company an extra year to begin work on the property.

It follows an objection by nearby estate agents McCash and Hunter, who warned that giving the developers more time could pose a further risk to the public.

Plans submitted for 44 Aberdeen homes

Plans to build more than 40 homes on the outskirts of Aberdeen have been lodged with the local authority.

Muir Homes’ proposals at Newton of Charleston in Loirston, consist of 44 two, three and four-bedroom semi-detached homes and apartments close to the A90.

£45m Saddle Hill windfarm plan rejected

Angus planning councillors have unanimously thrown out an “industrial-scale” windfarm opponents claimed would have decimated the tourism market of Glen Isla.

Developers Wind Prospect said the £45 million Saddle Hill scheme would have provided enough power for a fifth of the homes in Angus and delivered a £4m community bounty over the next 25 years.

But the area’s development standards committee meeting in Forfar backed the refusal recommendation of officials after hearing the 115-metre high turbines would be visible from Perth, the Sidlaws and the Angus Munros.

Glen Affric hydro scheme work begins

Green Highland Renewables (GHR) has started work on two £13 million river hydro schemes in Glen Affric.

The two projects are being built on land managed by Forest Enterprise Scotland, SSE and part of Wester Guisachan Estate.

The 2MW scheme on the Abhainn Gleann nam Fiadh, the largest of the tributary burns in the glen, and a 1.5MW development on the Allt Garbh, received full consent from the Highland Council in 2013.

The projects, which will operate for a minimum of 40 years, are scheduled to finish in spring 2017 and together the two schemes will produce enough power to supply approximately 2,750 homes.

Deep geothermal well to provide heat for AECC

A pipe stretching nearly 1.2 miles into the ground could deliver heating from the earth to the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) and nearby homes, a report has found.

A feasibility study revealed that a deep geothermal well would cost around £2.3 million to build and would save 22,170 tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime.

The project – if it goes ahead – would use the skills of the region’s oil and gas industry to deliver and could become a major attraction at the AECC showcasing the benefits of deep geothermal energy.

Aberdeen City Council has said it is “willing to support” a bid to fund the scheme through the Scottish Government’s Geothermal Energy Challenge Fund, which funded the feasibility study.

The report, undertaken by a London-based consultancy Geothermal Engineering, the University of St Andrews and engineers Ove Arup, has proposed a “deep geothermal single well” (DGSW) system for the Rowett site. One of the benefits of the proposed system is that it does not require hydraulic facturing or “fracking” to deliver which means that it is unlikely to cause earthquakes.

The well would also be designed to work with the anaerobic digestion plant that is currently proposed for the AECC site – which would save the £500,000 cost that would have been required for a gas boiler to power the anaerobic plant.

The report estimates that the project could be up and running in two years. The AECC is due to open its doors in 2017.

New solar panels helping to keeping capital’s water clean

A thousand solar panels have been hooked up at a water treatment works serving Edinburgh and parts of West Lothian.

The green energy generators now provide a quarter of the energy needed at the Marchbank Water Treatment Works near Balerno, which serves 68,000 properties.

The development is one of a number of projects completed by Scottish Water Horizons, a subsidiary of the public utility.

In the past two years, Scottish Water has doubled the amount of renewable energy that can be generated at treatment works and in water mains to over 50GWh.

There are now 27 hydro turbines that harness the natural flow of water through their pipes to produce electricity, as well as several wind and photovoltaic schemes.

Energy is also extracted from sewage sludge, while more than 4,000 smart meters have been installed to measure consumption and target opportunities to use less energy.

South Lanarkshire road widening project to begin

Work is due to begin on a road widening project in South Lanarkshire, Transport Scotland has announced.

The B756 Bellshill Road in Uddingston is due to be closed for around two weeks from 04 April.

The works, between Wilkie Road and Fallside Road, are part of the M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project.

The closure will allow the safe demolition and widening of the M74 motorway bridge over Bellshill Road.

Firm appoints new director for highways business across Scotland and Ireland

Mott MacDonald has selected Norrie Westbrook to lead its highways business.

As a chartered civil engineer, Mr Westbrook has 20 years’ experience in the highways sector and previously worked at Mouchel as highways operating group director.

In his new role as development director, he will be responsible for developing customer partner organisation relationships, business planning, winning new work and managing collaboration between teams.

At Mouchel, Mr Westbrook was responsible for business development and the company’s highways business across Scotland and Ireland.

In addition, he led the company’s strategic interests on the Scotland Transerv joint venture with Balfour Beatty.