Building Briefs – May 23rd

Residents and road users are being invited to submit their views over design plans for the future of Byres Road in Glasgow’s West End.

The road is being transformed through a multi-million pound public realm project - funded by the Glasgow City Region City Deal - that will see the street redesigned to include widened footways, improved surfaces, reduced street clutter, pavement seating and safe cycle routes.

Proposals have been developed after a number consultation events in recent years, with representation from local residents, businesses and community groups.

The consultation will run from 23 May until 27 June, and there will be drop-in events from 3 - 7pm on 24 May (Partick Library) and 31 May (Hillhead Library) where council officers will be on hand to answer any queries about the proposals.

Average Scottish house prices increase by 6.7% in a year

The average price of a property in Scotland reached £146,009 in March 2018, an increase of 6.7% on the previous year and an increase of 0.5% when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £224,144, which was an increase of 4.2% on March in the previous year and virtually unchanged when compared to the previous month, the latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) has shown.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in January 2018 was 5,909 – a decrease of 7.4% on January 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 12.0% in England and 7.3% in Wales in January 2018, and 12.4% in Northern Ireland Quarter 1 - 2018.

Average price increases were recorded in the vast majority (27) of local authorities in March 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in Falkirk, City of Edinburgh and West Lothian, where average prices increased by 12.7% to £123,800, 12.5% to £252,992 and 12.0% to £153,550 respectively. Decreases were recorded in Aberdeen City and Inverclyde where prices fell by 2.1% to £160,464 and 1.4% to £97,924 respectively.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in less than one quarter (7) of local authorities in January 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in Stirling and East Ayrshire, where volumes increased by 21.0% to 121 sales and 11.3% to 128 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Moray, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, where volumes fell by 32.8% to 86 sales, 25.1% to 191 sales and 24.7% to 216 sales respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in March 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.6% to £121,637. The average price of flatted properties showed an increase of 5.9% to £104,160, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in March 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £117,837 – an increase of 6.2% compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £175,306 – an increase of 7.1% on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £134,530 – an increase of 6.2% on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £151,344 – an increase of 6.9% on the previous year.

Court building transferred to Stonehaven Town Partnership

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has transferred the Stonehaven Sheriff Court building for a nominal sum after the Stonehaven Town Partnership (STP) successfully demonstrated the financial viability and benefit to the community of its plans.

SCTS has been working with the STP and the local community to seek a successful and sustainable transfer of the former sheriff court building.

Part of this consideration was the submission of evidence of an achievable and sustainable plan for the ongoing use of the courthouse for the benefit of the local community. This is compliant with the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which highlights the fact of transferring the ownership in a sustainable manner.

Scotframe director aims to cycle 158 miles in one day for charity

Malcolm Thomson, sales director at Inverurie-based offsite timber frame company Scotframe, is set to complete a gruelling 158-mile cycle in just one day to raise money for charity.

Malcolm is part of a group of eight people from various UK timber frame companies who will take part in the Structural Timber Association’s Coast to Coast challenge on Saturday (26th May) by cycling from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Whitby in North Yorkshire.

The epic journey, which is likely to take the team around 12 hours to complete, cuts through the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, and includes the infamous and extremely steep Hardknott Pass. The group hopes to raise £5,000 for Children in Need and the Timber Trades Benevolent Society.

Malcolm said: “The route is one that is cycled by hundreds of people every year, but they usually do it in about three days rather than one, especially as there are some very hilly parts! We’ll be starting off very early in the morning, at about 5am, and if all goes well we hope to get to our destination in time for some well-earned dinner.

“We’ve passed the £4,000 mark now with our fundraising, so it would be a great boost if we could reach our target by the time we set off on Saturday.”

Malcolm will be joined by representatives from Oakworth Homes, Flight Timber, Lowfield Timber Frame and Timber Constructions.

If you would like to make a donation to Malcolm and the team, please visit

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/stacycleforcharity.