Building Briefs – May 24th

Angus Council has started work to transform the old Chapelpark School in Forfar into high quality affordable homes.

Over the course of the next 16 months, the £5.6 million project will deliver 29 affordable council homes for social rent within the empty B-listed buildings, comprising 18 one-bedroom flats, six two-bedroom flats, one three-bedroomed flat and four five-bedroomed townhouses.

The local authority is financing the project with a £1.6m grant subsidy provided by the Scottish Government. Local firm Andrew Shepherd Construction will carry out the construction work for the council.

All of the homes will be completed to the silver standard of sustainability, which measures energy efficiency and carbon output. Each home will be highly insulated and heated by a district heating system producing a lower carbon footprint and lower fuel bills for residents.

The properties will be pre-allocated so that tenants can be involved at various stages of the development prior to receiving the keys to their new homes around the anticipated completion date of summer 2017.

Early handover for Dundee’s Harris Academy

Pupils will move into the stunning new Harris Academy next month in Dundee after hub East Central Scotland handed the building over ahead of schedule.

The new £31 million school includes a swimming pool, recording studio, a games hall with four badminton courts and a science hub.

The project was led by hub East Central Scotland in partnership with Dundee City Council, Scottish Futures Trust and Robertson Tayside and the building includes many original features of the old school, including the clock tower and stone entrance portico.

The school will open for senior pupils in June, with the building open to all year groups in August. Pupils will also transfer to Harris Academy from Menzieshill High School, which the council has agreed to close.

Funding boost for Hermitage Park project

Argyll and Bute Council’s Hermitage Park project has received another boost with £250,000 from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.

Part of the council’s £3 million project to restore and redevelop Argyll and Bute’s only urban park, the armed forces money will go towards the improvement of the leisure area and the installation of a new multi-use pavilion.

The masterplan, developed through extensive public consultation, includes:

The new covenant fund was launched in June 2015, demonstrating the Government’s long-term commitment to supporting schemes under the Armed Forces Covenant.

Fifty-nine small grants totalling almost £1m were awarded in late 2015 and a further 93 small bids worth £1.46m and 24 larger bids exceeding £7.4m have now been announced. Community integration projects involve civilian and military communities working together and increase understanding between them.

Construction wages increase amid skills shortage and Brexit fears

Wages of construction workers have soared as the industry’s skill shortage continues to take hold and fears over the EU referendum remain.

A survey conducted by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation reports that bricklayers are able to earn up to £1,000 a week as building companies compete for workers to keep infrastructure and housebuilding schemes on target.

63 per cent of recruitment agencies reported an increase in demand for temporary construction workers over the past 12 months. 69 per cent claimed that a shortage of bricklayers, labourers and other tradesmen represents the first or second most substantial risk to their business.

The recruitment of bricklayers was reported by 43 per cent of respondents as being especially difficult. Evidence from recruiters supplying London-based businesses noted an increase wages, with £15-25 an hour the current going rate.

Construction recruiters have forecast that a Brexit vote would only escalate the skills shortage within the industry. 59 per cent said that a vote to leave the EU would make recruitment more difficult, while just 5 per cent thought it would improve the issue.

The results of the poll follow the Office of National Statistics (ONS) release detailing the latest employment figures, which show a year-on-year increase in wages in the construction sector of 7.5 per cent excluding bonuses.

The ONS also revealed that as of December last year, there were 2,238,000 jobs in construction, making up 6.6 per cent of all employment.

The construction sector was the second largest employment sector in 2015, accounting for a quarter of job growth.

Restaurant plan for Kirkcaldy waterfront apartment development

A new luxury apartment block in Kirkcaldy could also become home to a new eaterie.

Developer Alex Penman has submitted plans to adapt the ground floor of the recently-opened Cannon Court complex, located on the town’s Esplanade, in to a new restaurant.

The street level floorspace has already been prepared for retail units, with advertisements seen at the site stating that shop space is available.

However, a planning application lodged this week is requesting that permission be granted to change the space’s use from retail to a restaurant or bar, on what used to be the popular nightspot Jackie O’s.

Ardenglen Housing Association maintenance manager Tommy Gray

Ardenglen Housing Association is sad to announce the sudden but peaceful death on 18th May 2016, of its friend and former colleague Tommy Gray.

Tommy was maintenance manager at Ardenglen for eight years and previously worked for Oak Tree and Whiteinch and Scotstoun housing associations, as well as having a long career as a clerk of works, where he worked on many Scottish housing association contracts.

Tommy was also chair of the SFHA maintenance forum for a number of years.

An Ardenglen spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Tommy’s partner and our work colleague Pauline, as well as his sons Craig and Brian and the rest of his family.”

A funeral mass for Tommy will be held Friday 27th May at 10am at St Brigid’s R.C. Church, Toryglen. Thereafter to Linn Cemetery. Family flowers only.

NHBC Foundation celebrates decade of housebuilding research

The 10 year anniversary of housebuilding research body NHBC Foundation was celebrated by leading industry figures at an evening reception in London last week.

The milestone event, hosted by NHBC Foundation chairman, Rt Hon Nick Raynsford, celebrated a decade of research. Set up in 2006, The Foundation’s purpose is to deliver useful research and practical guidance that would be of genuine value and interest to the UK housebuilding industry.

In the ten years since the Foundation’s first report, A guide to modern methods of construction, more than 80 guides and reports have been published on a wide array of topics and issues relevant to the industry. Over the years its activity has expanded to cover a broader range of research, not only for those in the housebuilding sector, but also looking at factors affecting homeowners such as the debate around ‘bin blight’ or the effects of tenure integration.

The NHBC Foundation’s 10 year celebratory issue of Foundation Facts was also launched at the event, demonstrating the long-lasting positive impact the work of the industry-led research has proven to benefit the sector.