Building Briefs – May 8th

Hardies Property & Construction Consultants has assisted the completion of the conversion of a former nursing home to six flats at The Scores, St Andrews on behalf of client Eastacre.

The Scores, arguably the premier address in the world of golf, is a one-way street reached from Golf Place beside the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse and the famous Old Course and runs along the clifftop to the north of the town. It was recently named Scotland’s most expensive street by the Bank of Scotland.

A development of six flats ranging in value from £1 million to £1.2m, the project is the second on which Hardies has worked with Eastacre, the property developer specialising in luxury properties in the heart of Old Town St Andrews.

The architect on the project was Andrew Black Design, the contractor was West End Joinery and the structural engineer was Morgan Associates.

Emtec Group celebrates 15th anniversary

Emtec Group is to mark its 15th year anniversary in business as a contractor in the building services sector on May 31.

The firm said: “We are extremely proud of our story and how our business has grown and diversified over the 15 years. The group now employs more than 500 people across our multiple locations throughout the UK, offering our clients a full service solution which includes building services, sprinklers, fire alarm and security, petroleum maintenance, property services, energy efficiency and renewables, air conditioning, ventilation, passive fire protection, diamond drilling and sawing, facility maintenance and branding signage and design.”

Emtec is looking forward to marking the occasion with clients and colleagues throughout 2018.

North Lanarkshire Council doubles affordable housing pledge to 5,000 new homes

North Lanarkshire Council has unveiled proposals to more than double its affordable home plans by pledging to deliver 5,000 homes by 2035.

Subject to committee approval on Thursday May 10, the plans will bring new jobs and opportunities to the area, regenerate local communities and ultimately transform town centres into vibrant, multi-use spaces that are more relevant to modern lifestyles.

The council intends to meet the 5,000 target by increasing its current commitment to build 2,150 new council homes, together with significantly expanding the purchase of properties through the Open Market Purchase Scheme and breathing life back into towns and derelict homes by means of the Empty Homes Purchase Scheme. Over 500 new homes are already complete.

These plans form part of the council’s long term ambition to provide better homes, regenerate town centres and create jobs, while investing around half a billion pounds across North Lanarkshire.

Consultation is already underway on the first stage of the housing plans which will likely see the area’s tower blocks demolished to make way for new attractive, accessible homes that the council believes will better meet the needs and aspirations of tenants. Initial feedback from the consultation confirms that there is strong support for the proposal and work will continue to identify new sites, including town centre areas, to increase the opportunity for housing development.

The Open Market Purchase Scheme allows the council to buy homes for sale in the local housing market to increase supply of available council homes to rent. Progress is already being made with early purchases almost nearing completion and many more in the pipeline. Over 100 homes have already been brought back into use through the Empty Homes Purchase Scheme.

Public consultation on Cross Tay Link Road design

The design for the second phase of Perth & Kinross Council’s largest ever infrastructure project is progressing well and is now at a stage where the views of the public are sought.

The Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) is a new road linking the A9 over the River Tay to the A93 and A94 north of Scone. It includes realignment of a section of the existing A9 dual carriageway, provision of a new bridge over the River Tay and construction of a new grade separated junction on the A9 between Inveralmond Roundabout and Luncarty.

The CTLR will help to alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution in Perth City Centre and Bridgend as well as facilitating sustainable development as envisaged in the council’s Local Development Plan.

The council appointed SWECO as design consultants for the CTLR in July 2017. Since then, SWECO and the council’s Roads Infrastructure Team have been busy progressing site surveys and investigations along with the initial design of the required infrastructure, as well as having discussions with affected land owners, environmental agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

Members of the public are invited to the following consultation events where there will be an opportunity to view the current design, meet the Council team responsible for the project, meet the designers, give their views and ask any relevant questions.

The events are planned for the following dates:

More information, including the current roads design, is available on the project website.

Buccleuch Property purchases £2.955m property in Livingston

Buccleuch Property has further strengthened its commercial property portfolio with the purchase of a substantial industrial unit at Oakbank Industrial Estate, Livingston.

A modern property on a standalone site, the industrial unit 4 – 6 Oakbank Park Place extends across 52,828 sq ft and has been divided internally to create two separate units, both encompassing over 25,000 sq ft with the benefit of office accommodation.

A steel portal frame construction, the property provides warehouse accommodation. Unit 4 has been extensively fitted out with floor to ceiling racking and a lean-to single-story office accommodation, while unit 6 benefits from three electric roller shutter doors and two raised loading bays.

Ryden celebrates Industrial Agent win at Scottish Property Awards

Ryden has been named Industrial Agency Team of the Year at the annual Scottish Property Awards for the second year in a row.

The awards celebrate the best commercial buildings and property teams in Scotland with the event attracting over 700 guests from the commercial property industry.

Ryden eclipsed rivals Colliers International and JLL to take the title. The firm was also nominated in the Office Agency Team and Investment Agency Team categories.

Other winners on the evening included Marischal Square, Aberdeen taking home Development of the Year (Commercial Use), presented by Ryden’s Derek Tillery, and Dundee Central Waterfront, who took home the title of City Regeneration Project of the Year, a development Ryden has worked closely on.

Accepting the award, Alan Gilkison, industrial agency partner, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won this award and to be recognised as the market leader by our peers. It’s been a busy year in terms of transactions and development work and it is particularly encouraging to see increasing levels of new build coming through thanks to investment by our clients. The year ahead looks very positive.”

Bill Duguid, Ryden managing partner, added: “It is always pleasing to gain the recognition of your contemporaries from within the industry for the hard work carried out by all our teams around the country and also great to see awards for several landmark developments we have been involved with. An active and confident commercial property industry is vital to the future of Scotland’s economy.”

Wheatley Group commits 10% of apprenticeships to people with a disability

Wheatley Group has strengthened its commitment to tackling exclusion and disadvantage by pledging to set aside 10% of places on its Modern Apprenticeship programme for young people with disabilities.

The new commitment was made in response to a plea from Glasgow councillor, Robert Mooney, who is also a Board member of City Building (Glasgow), which is jointly owned by Glasgow City Council and Wheatley.

More than 300 young people have taken up Modern Apprenticeships since 2009, initially with Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and now with its parent company Wheatley Group.

The award-winning scheme is funded by the group’s charitable trust, Wheatley Foundation, and helps tackle youth unemployment. More than 60% of young people recruited through the programme are from Scotland’s most deprived areas.

The apprentices work for Wheatley and its partner organisations across Scotland: GHA, Cube, Loretto Housing, YourPlace and West Lothian Housing Partnership, while studying for an SVQ qualification. The business areas include housing, environmental and grounds maintenance, finance, legal, communications and development.

Wheatley Foundation also works with Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL) to support people with disabilities into work through the GCIL Open Door Programme. People with a disability can have a paid nine-month placement within Wheatley Group or one of its partner organisations, gaining support, training and personal-development opportunities.