Building Briefs – May 18th

Kirkwood Homes has revealed plans to build 150 homes at Linlathen Village, Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry following outline discussions with Dundee City Council.

Each property will range in scale from three-bed terraces to five bedroom detached houses.

Outlining their design development the house builder claimed: “The vision for the overall development framework is to create a diverse and varied mixed-use development creating distinct, identifiable areas within the overall new neighbourhood.

“The creation of identifiably distinct and legible places, with key landmark features integrated within the design and layout of the site has been a design priority and critical to the overall development ethos for this phase and future phases of development at Linlathen. It is considered crucial to prevent a monotonous feel to the development and instead create a sense of place, which relates to the context and location of the site.”

Kirkwood Homes added that its design is likely to evolve further through the planning process with delivery anticipated to be phased in lock step with market demand.

Impending ‘second homes tax’ sparks house sales surge

The number of house sales across Scotland has increased by more than a fifth in a month as landlords rushed to buy up property ahead of changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).

The House Price Index for Scotland by Your Move/Acadata found home sales rose by 21 per cent between February and March by 1,343 to 7,770 sales.

Analysts point to buy-to-let landlords rushing to beat the introduction of the 3 per cent increase on LBTT for the upswing, which led to the strongest March Scottish property sales performance in eight years.

According to the data, the average house price increased by £1,400 (0.8 per cent) to £169,379 between February and March but fell 9.7 per cent year on year from £187,646 in March 2015.

Scheme put forward for Aberdeen student flats

Plans have been lodged to build new student accommodation close to a football stadium in Aberdeen.

Planning permission is being sought to erect a 40-bed student block on Pittodrie Place.

The proposals are for the site of the former Gordons Garage, which was hit by a significant fire in 2012.

As well as the 40 serviced apartments, there would also be a bike store and amenity space created if the Ardmuir Developments plans are approved.

Aberdeen approves plans for first Scottish Cruyff Court

Plans to create a world-renowned multi-use community sports facility in Aberdeen have been given the green light by councillors.

Catherine Street Court is to undergo an extreme make-over as part of regeneration plans to create Scotland’s first Cruyff Court – the brainchild of Dutch footballing legend Johan Cruyff.

The Cruyff Court is a hi-tech, all-weather astroturf playing area which gives children and young people from regeneration areas opportunities to play and be active in an urban environment and the new venture has been backed by Aberdeen sporting legend Denis Law.

There are almost 200 Cruyff Courts in more than 15 countries around the world which have provided safe play areas for thousands of children and young people and numerous professional footballers have credited their success with having access to Cruyff facilities growing up.

More than £250,000 has been committed by Aberdeen City Council in partnership with The Denis Law Legacy Trust and the Johan Cruyff Foundation for the project which will include planned sports activity for all children and young people.

The Denis Law Cruyff Court, which has been designed with the help of Communication Design and Architecture students at RGU, will enable access to a wide range of free sessions, including Freestyle Football, Street Hockey and Street Dance.

Milestone reached on £41m Edinburgh Gateway Project

A major milestone has been reached on a £41 million railway station construction project in Edinburgh.

Engineers have finished installing the link bridge between the train and tram station at the Edinburgh Gateway Interchange development site.

The two-day project included installing the bridge using 130 and 500 tonne cranes to lift the final main sections of the station structures and the 40 tonne main bridge section into position.

Overall, 115 tonnes of the framework was lifted into place and connected using around 1,700 bolts.

The £41m train station is part of the £742m Scottish Government-funded Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

The Interchange will consist of two 265-metre, 10-car platforms with 1,500m2 of concourse and circulation space.

A step-free access bridge will link the platforms within the station and connect to the tram stop via lifts and escalators, while an underpass beneath the A8 will provide access from the nearby Gyle centre.

The station is due to open to the public in December 2016.

Prep works begin on Glasgow Shieldhall Tunnel

Preparatory works are underway on the £100 million Shieldhall Tunnel project in Glasgow.

Contractors have started to carry out ground consolidation work in the Titwood Road area of Crossmyloof. As a result, traffic management and diversions will be in place.

The scheme is part of Scottish Water’s £250 million five-year programme of work to improve river water quality along with the natural environment and to tackle flooding.

The project team (Glasgow Tunnel Partnership) is a commercial joint venture between Costain and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, called CVJV, with additional local partners George Leslie and AECOM. Technical support is being provided by CH2m.

New £1m regeneration grant set to breathe life into Torry community

Aberdeen City Council has agreed to set aside almost £1 million for regeneration projects in Torry.

The funds would be used to carry out external repair works to homes on Victoria Road as well as improving community green spaces for use by residents in the area.

Additional investment would also help to transform a number of back gardens in Tullos Place by removing the washhouses and carrying out landscaping works.

Members of the communities, housing and infrastructure committee have agreed the recommendations and housing officers will now carry out consultations with all residents, including private homeowners to seek feedback on the plans.

The proposed repair works at Victoria Road are expected to cost up to £806,000 of which Aberdeen City Council will fund £428,571 through the housing revenue account with the remaining contributions coming SITA (Scottish Landfill Communities Trust) and private home owners.

The environmental works at Tullos Place, Tullos Circle and Grampian Place are expected to cost £379,000 which will be met by Aberdeen City Council’s housing revenue account with the remaining coming from SITA.

House prices rise over five times faster than wages

Average house prices across the UK have increased 5.1 times faster than average weekly earnings over the last five years, new figures have revealed.

Resolution Foundation analysis of the latest ONS House Price Index (HPI) shows that house prices have increased by 36 per cent since April 2011, while average weekly earnings have risen by just 7 per cent in nominal terms over the same period.

This decoupling of house price and earnings growth has been even more striking in London and the South East, where house prices have increased by 57 per cent and 39 per cent respectively. While average weekly earnings have increased by 5 per cent across the South East, they have actually fallen very slightly in London – reflecting both reductions in bonuses at the top of the earnings distribution and strong employment growth in lower paying roles.

Even in Scotland and the North East of England, where house price growth has been most modest over the last five years, it has been roughly double the pace of average earnings growth.

The Foundation says that post-millennial house price rises have led to a dramatic shift in housing tenure. Home-ownership rates have fallen from around 70 per cent to 55 per cent over the last decade for those on low to middle incomes. The proportion of people renting privately has doubled over the same period to 27 per cent. Londoners are now more likely to rent privately than own with a mortgage.

Highland Council to purchase specialised road repair vehicle

The Highland Council is to purchase a specialised road repair vehicle in an effort to ramp up efforts to improve its road network.

The machine uses a spray injection patching process and is capable of filling a pothole in around five minutes.

In addition, it is considered to be the most efficient means of repairing road defects at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional methods.

An additional two vehicles will be hired during a 13-week period in the summer to help tackle a backlog of road repairs in the region.

Smart Energy GB launches new fund to support smart meter rollout

A new fund has opened to not-for-profit organisations which can help engage people and communities across Britain with information about how to get and use smart meters.

The Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund has been launched by Smart Energy GB, the voice of the smart meter rollout. Every home in Britain will be offered a smart meter by 2020 at no additional cost, and Smart Energy GB is responsible for helping everyone in Great Britain understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use the new meters to get their gas and electricity under control.

The Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund is seeking applications from not-for-profit organisations that can reach those who may face barriers to getting a smart meter, including:

Small grants of up to £10,000 are now available for community organisations who will work directly with one or more of the priority groups on projects to be completed in 2016. Applications will open from 6th June for large grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 for regional organisations that will help reach priority groups.

Alongside the fund, a new online resource centre will offer materials, such as posters, leaflets and training resources, to any organisation that wants to help people benefit from smart meters.

The announcement is part of the Smart Energy GB in Communities programme, which is delivered by a consortium of charities - National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland, Media Trust, and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).