Building Briefs – May 31st

McLaughlin & Harvey (McL&H) has relocated its office in Glasgow to North Lanarkshire.

The company’s new facility will be based in Heathfield House, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill.

The offices are located over three levels and feature underground car parking, as well as transport links in central Scotland due to the recently upgraded motorway network.

McL&H said the move brings the company closer to many of its key construction clients and partners.

Newly refurbished Mortonhall Crematorium opens to public

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Mortonhall Crematorium has been officially reopened following a £2.1m programme of refurbishment.

The renovation project aimed to develop a modern, customer-focused facility at the same time as repairing damage resulting from a significant fire in 2015.

Amongst improvements are the creation of customer-facing offices, a new family room providing privacy and sympathetic surroundings and a refreshed external waiting room including updated décor and an oak site plan specially made by the Grassmarket Community Project.

In addition, the main chapel’s organ has been restored to improve sound quality, while the installation of high-definition web cameras will enable the streaming of services to the internet for those who can’t attend, or, for large funerals, to the smaller chapel for extra guests.

Barratt Scotland scoops four site manager awards for health and safety

A total of four site managers from Barratt Homes in Scotland have been recognised at the National House-Building Council’s (NHBC) national Health and Safety Awards, more than any other housebuilder north of the border.

The recipients of this year’s awards are Alan Grant and Tom Hill (both from Barratt West Scotland), Allan Barclay (Barratt North Scotland) and Gareth Lewis (Barratt East Scotland).

In total, nine site managers from across Scotland’s house-building industry were awarded the highly sought after commendation from NHBC, of which four are from Barratt Homes in Scotland. Others included Stewart Milne Homes (Central Scotland) Ltd , Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd and Bellway Homes Scotland.

Launched in 2009 by the NHBC (the leading standard-setting and consumer protection body for new homes in the UK) with support from the Health and Safety Executive, Construction Skills and Constructing Better Health, the awards offer builders the opportunity to gain independent verification of the effectiveness of their health and safety practices.

Work on South Lanarkshire railway bridge repair complete

Work to repair and refurbish a railway bridge in South Lanarkshire is complete.

The Cambuslang Road in Rutherglen has now reopened following the programme to strengthen the structure over the A724.

The project was carried out as part of Network Rail’s rolling programme of maintenance work to keep its network safe and reliable.

Engineers used approximately 50 tonnes of recycled glass to ‘blast’ the paint from the structure, 20 tonnes of new steel was used to repair and 1500 litres of paint were applied to waterproof and provide the aesthetic finish to the bridge.

The strengthening work undertaken will last 60 years, the steel repairs 30 years and the paintwork 25 years. The road closure also enabled Scottish Water and South Lanarkshire Council to undertaken improvement works.

£3700 worth of machinery stolen from Angus building site

Police are investigating after expensive machinery was stolen from a building site in Monifieth.

The diesel generator, valued at around £3700, was taken from a site near the town’s Victoria Street.

A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed: “Police Scotland is appealing for information after a blue diesel generator was stolen from a building site at the junction of Victoria Street and Hill Street, Monifieth, sometime between 5.30pm on Thursday May 25 and 8.10am on Friday May 26.

“Anyone with any information that may be useful should contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting CR/13454/17 or speak to any police officer. Alternatively information can be passed anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Aberdeen’s Upperkirkgate to be temporarily closed due to Broad Street revitalisation

A section of an Aberdeen city centre street is to be closed for three weeks as work is carried out to it as part of the £3.2 million revitalisation of Broad Street.

Part of Upperkirkgate is to be shut from 6am on 7 June until 12am on 23 June while works are carried out to install a shared surface roundel and the road is re-surfaced at its Gallowgate junction.

The section of Upperkirkgate to be closed is between its junctions with Flourmill Lane and Gallowgate.

The £3.2m Broad Street project will transform and revitalise it by making it pedestrian-priority, and will also improve the streetscape and turn it into an area capable of staging events throughout the year.

The design as part of the multi-million-pound 25-year City Centre Masterplan which had overwhelming feedback from the public was to have more pedestrian-friendly areas in the city, and more green travel which Broad Street is helping deliver.