Building Briefs – May 23rd

The latest step in the regeneration of a Glasgow community took place yesterday when a block of flats was demolished to make way for new homes.

A 25-storey multi-storey at Rosemount Street, Roystonhill, in the north of the city was brought down in a controlled explosive demolition.

The demolition allows Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) to clear the site and carry out the next phase of a major regeneration programme.

Scotland’s biggest social landlord is building 100 new homes in the area – with 55 houses already completed and handed over to GHA tenants following the demolition of a neighbouring multi-storey block in 2013.

The new-build homes at Rosemount Street are part of wider plans to regenerate the north of the city which includes 141 new homes at Sighthill and a further 157 in Barmulloch.

A decision was taken to demolish and clear the block following a decline in popularity of the flats.

Around 500 tenants in nearby properties were temporarily evacuated for the demolition.

Beatrice wind farm to go ahead in Outer Moray Firth

Energy giant SSE is to go ahead with the construction of the £2.6 billion Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (Bowl) project.

It will see 84 turbines installed in the Outer Moray Firth, which will generate 588MW of power once operational in 2019.

The Scottish Government gave the project consent in March 2014 and granted an investment contract by the UK government in May that same year.

Construction work is expected to start next year.

The harbour at Wick will be used for the shipping in and out of equipment, turbines and construction workers.

Stirling Council names next schools improvement project

Strathyre Primary School is to be the next school estate to benefit from improvement works by Stirling Council.

Thanks to an allocation of £100,000 from this year’s Capital Budget for future school investment, the work and plans are now being enabled and the project is to be delivered in 2017/18 at a cost of around £1 million.

All schools in Stirling are now in either an excellent or good condition (A or B rating) but there remains room for improvement to ensure each property can respond to changes in population demands and legislative change. There has been an overall Capital allocation of £690,000 for school facility investment, which will be allocated to those projects deemed priority cases.

Ongoing improvement works include a new building which will accommodate both St Margaret’s Primary School and Cowie Nursery from the start of the next academic year, and the new build St Ninian’s Primary School which is due to be completed in Autumn 2016.

A School Estate Asset Management Plan will also be developed, following council’s approval of the Strategic Asset Management Plan 2016-2021.

hub West Scotland hosts building skills event at Inverclyde primary school

hub West Scotland has held a building skills event for pupils at Kilmacolm Primary School in Inverclyde.

The organisation is currently delivering a £4.2 million refurbishment project at the school in partnership with Inverclyde Council.

Features include a complete internal upgrade, creating a new multi use games area and re-lining the playground.

The Building Challenge event saw representatives from hub West Scotland, the council and main contractors CBC, stage a series of challenges to show pupils which key skills are required to work in the construction industry.

Activities included designing and building towers, bridge building and an architectural challenge.

The refurbishment project is scheduled to reach completion in October.

Public meeting to discuss future of Ayr Grammar

A public meeting discussing plans to relocate Ayr Grammar is due to take place tomorrow, South Ayrshire Council has announced.

Approximately £11.6 million would be allocated to facilitate the project, which involves redeveloping the former Ayr Academy building on Fort Street into a new home for the school.

In addition, to creating a learning hub, other features include facilities to help preschool learning, childcare, expand the town as a centre for arts and culture.

Pupils would also benefit from separate dining and PE facilities, improved learning and teaching space and modern ICT / resources.

Increased parking and additional play areas will also be developed, along with a community art gallery.

The meeting will take place at 7pm in Ayr Grammar Primary School on Tuesday, 24 May.

Council to consider Paisley Abbey extension proposals

Renfrewshire Council is to consider proposals to create a new international tourist attraction at Paisley Abbey.

Plans have been put forward to develop a fourth cloister and visitor centre at the A-listed 850-year old church.

Features include a new entrance, shop and visitor centre, as well as work to open up the mediaeval drain, which forms part of the Abbey complex, as a visitor attraction.

If approved, councillors would commit staff and consultant time to be paid for from the existing Paisley town centre regeneration budget.

The council’s Economy and Jobs Policy Board is to consider the proposals when it meets on May 25.

Scottish out of town offices see boom

A lack of suitable office space in Scotland’s key cities, combined with rising rents, is leading to companies looking to take offices in locations outside the city centre, according to Savills Scottish Office Market report.

Savills says take-up of office space outside the central business districts of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow was 4 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2016 than the previous quarter.

The firm believes this trend is set to increase as occupiers continue to be attracted by the low rents on offer in out of town locations, where in some cases there can be a 50 per cent discount on the £30 per sq ft prime rents being achieved in the city centre.

As a result Savills predicts Scotland’s strongest rental growth could be seen in the out of town markets of both Edinburgh and Glasgow, where rents in the early £20’s could be achieved in the next three years.

Lowood Bridge two day closure required for inspection works

A detailed inspection of a bridge near Melrose will require a two day closure.

Lowood Bridge, which is B-listed and over 250 years old, will be closed on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 June, between the hours of 9.30am and 4pm.

The closure is needed to allow a large mobile platform to be used by structural engineers to access all areas of the bridge, which will mean a detailed assessment of the bridge’s current condition can be made.