Building Briefs – May 16th

Deveron Homes lines up £5m to fund new developments

A North East property firm has unveiled its latest housing development in Moray and announced plans for further expansion in Aberdeenshire and Ross-shire.

Huntly-based Deveron Homes currently has 54 new homes under construction in Keith and a further 37 units under way at a hilltop site at Burntisland. Plans are also in the pipeline for the company to expand into other new locations as additional sites come on-stream.

The news follows successful Deveron Homes’ developments across the north in locations such as Alness, Aberdeen, Huntly and Inverness where the company restored and adapted a Victorian mansion to create luxury apartments. Improving the scope of affordable housing is high on the agenda for the Aberdeenshire company which is in the process of exploring a range of new construction methods which may be applicable to this market.

Angus timber specialist appoints MD

Specialist timber manufacturer Sturrocks Joinery has appointed Allan McGillivray as managing director.

The Angus firm is in its fifth generation of family ownership, since its inception in 1872. Mr McGillivray joins following a successfully trading year for Sturrocks Joinery, which saw the company post record growth, achieved principally because of it being the first-choice provider for replacement timber components for significant conservation and historic projects throughout the country.

Mr McGillivray joins the business with over 35 years’ experience in joinery manufacturing, 20 years of which was with Hall & Tawse Joinery in Aberdeen, where he was operations manager and latterly joinery director.

Chairman Alexander Sturrock said that Mr McGillivray was joining as part of a long-term strategic plan for the business.

Third Don Crossing name selected as Diamond Bridge

A new crossing over the River Don in Aberdeen is set to be named the Diamond Bridge.

The £22 million road bridge - which is expected to open next month - will link the Bridge of Don and Tillydrone.

Diamond Bridge was selected following a vote by local schoolchildren.

Councillors will be asked to approve the name, which is in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, as well as Aberdeen’s links to the naval destroyer HMS Diamond.

Luss Estates gifts land to Link for family homes

Luss Estates Company has agreed to gift a parcel of land to Link Housing to enable the building of five affordable homes in Luss.

The value of the land is in excess of £150,000, in addition to which Luss Estates has undertaken to provide further financial support, if required, to bridge the gap between available grant funding and the actual build costs of the new houses.

Link Housing has undertaken to work closely with Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority to ensure that the new houses blend in with their surroundings and take into account the architecture and heritage of Luss.

The provision of appropriate housing to retain and attract young families to Luss was key to the 2013 publication of the Luss Strategic Development Framework, which was produced by urban design and economic development team at Page\Park Architects and Roger Tym Associates. It followed eighteen months of extensive research and consultation with the local community and key stakeholders including Argyll and Bute Council and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority.

Increased investment cuts Dundee potholes down to size

Concentrating on repairing potholes permanently at the first time of asking is paying dividends for Dundee drivers.

A new report to Dundee City Council’s city development committee has revealed that pothole numbers have gone down as the focus has shifted to improving the quality of the work.

The road maintenance partnership between the council and Tayside Contracts has almost doubled the number of potholes fixed first time permanently to 7,201 in two years.

According to the report, in the last 12 months the partnership has consistently performed well against its various objectives, improving in a number of areas.

These include maintaining the condition of the city’s roads through a combination of preventative and corrective maintenance, better targeting of gulley cleaning and a structured and prioritised approach to winter maintenance.

The partnership will continue to monitor and review its service, in particular operational quality and customer perception.

New sports facilities launched in West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire Council has officially opened new sport facilities in Alexandria and Dumbarton after investing £865,000 to help hundreds of local young people and amateur athletes.

A full size 3G synthetic pitch has been constructed in Argyll Park, Alexandria, and a new, modern 3G pitch has also been installed at East End Park in Dumbarton to replace the existing facility.

The developments are part of a major programme of sporting investment in the area.

The new facilities have also each received major external funding.

The £565,000 all-weather floodlit pitch in Argyll Park meets FIFA and IRB standards and has been supported by £250,000 funding from sportscotland.

DM Hall unveils new-look brand identity

Independent chartered surveyors DM Hall LLP has launched a new brand identity which celebrates a marked evolution of its highly-visible and long-standing image.

The firm, which was established in Edinburgh in 1897 and is poised to celebrate its 120th anniversary next year, is represented in 25 offices across Scotland.

Scottish Borders Council exceeds affordable housing targets

Scottish Borders Council has surpassed its affordable housing targets for the 2015/16 financial year and also over the last four years.

An updated report on the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2015-20 revealed that 220 affordable homes in the Scottish Borders during the 2015/16 financial year, taking the four-year total to 467.

Among the developments delivered during 2015/16 were 32 homes at Acredale, Eyemouth and 13 at Standalane Way, Peebles.

Significant additional funding from the Scottish Government to the council for affordable homes delivery will help contribute to the delivery of further projects and land acquisition.

Of the 220 homes delivered in 15/16, 184 were for social rent and mid-market rent by registered social landlords (RSLs), 12 for mid-market rent via the council’s National Housing Trust Local Authority Variant initiative Bridge Homes and 12 through the Scottish Government’s Open Market Shared Ownership mechanism. The remaining 11 homes were individual house purchases by RSLs.

Bridge Homes was legally established in 2014-15 as the Limited Liability Partnership which owns the homes produced by the council’s National Housing Trust initiative.

The initiative currently owns 10 homes at Castle View, Ayton, and Queen Elizabeth Drive, Galashiels. A further 13 homes were completed at Standalane Way Peebles and were officially opened by Margaret Burgess, minister for housing and welfare in January 2016. In April, a further eight homes were completed in Denholm, bringing the total to 31 homes for mid-market rent via Bridge Homes.

Current estimates see the delivery of 107 new affordable homes for 2016-2017, however this figure does not take account of open market shared equity, discounted sales or other opportunistic acquisitions that may be completed during the period.

Edinburgh villa to make way for 16 flats

Richard Murphy Architects have submitted plans on behalf of AMA to build 16 flats on the site of an existing villa at Kinnear Road, Edinburgh, by developing a substantial garden plot.

The proposed scheme will include a semi-basement car park above with a three storey elevation to Kinnear Road.

The flatted scheme is intended to act as a point of ‘transition’ between an eclectic mix of neighbouring properties.

Revised Dalry student residential proposals tabled

A revised application has been submitted to build new student flats at Murieston Crescent in Dalry, Edinburgh.

Kenneth Reid Architects plans to reduce room sizes to allow an increase in the number of self-contained studio flats from 101 to 123.

Built on the site of an old wireworks the scheme is described as ‘traditional in form but contemporary in detailing’ with a ‘shop-front like’ ground floor area housing student break out areas.

The flats have been conceived to tie in with Edwardian tenements along Murieston Crescent.

Edinburgh infill housing plan lodged

Lynsay Bell Architecture has put forward an infill housing project of six homes in Morningside, Edinburgh, on behalf of Thistle Property Group.

Replacing an existing garage on Jordan Lane, the scheme will marry with the conservation area.

Applications still welcome for £224m warm homes scheme

With more than £200 million of support still available, the 2000th customer of a Scottish Government scheme to help vulnerable people trapped by fuel poverty has urged people to take advantage of its “life changing” impact.

Lillias Anderson, whose Kilsyth home benefited from a new energy efficient boiler as part of the Warmer Homes Scotland programme Warmworks, says she is now confident about being able to heat her home thanks to the “exceptional” help she received.

Launched in September last year, the scheme offers a step-by-step experience for customers to help make homes warmer and more comfortable. As well as lifting people out of fuel poverty, it will help reduce CO2 levels in the country at the same time as improving the country’s housing stock.

Three organisations form the Warmworks Scotland joint venture – Changeworks, the Energy Saving Trust and Everwarm, part of Lakehouse plc – which is worth up to £224m over its seven-year term.