Building Briefs – November 15th

Major funding packages totalling £3.4 million have been secured to revitalise the centre of Gorebridge and turn a disused building at Newtongrange railway station into a community space and bistro.

The Borders Railway Blueprint Programme, set up to maximise the economic opportunities of the line supported by £10m of Scottish Government money, agreed match funding of £1,038,000 for ‘Gorebridge Connected’ and a further £191,000 for the Newtongrange, Track2Train initiative.

The Blueprint commitments bring the total amount to be invested in both projects from various sources to £3.437 million.

Prepared by the council in partnership with Gorebridge Community Development Trust, Gorebridge Connected will see:

The council is also working with Track2Train, a charity established by, and closely associated with, Apex Scotland to redevelop the Newtongrange station building, currently owned by the ScotRail Alliance.

The hub will be a great community space and, through Apex Scotland, which works with people in the criminal justice system, it will also offer excellent training opportunities for ex-offenders and those at risk of offending.

Deeside hotelier gets green light to build staff accommodation

A Deeside hotelier has been given approval to build staff accommodation despite a number of objections to the plans.

Highland Hospitality, the owners of the Fife Arms in Braemar, had sought permission to build a timber-clad facility consisting of 15 bedrooms for hotel workers.

Opponents of the scheme raised concerns the 5,1880 sq ft, two-storey property would be too large for the site and overshadow neighbouring properties.

However, after a lengthy debate, Aberdeenshire Council’s Marr area committee voted five to four in favour of the application.

Flat profits for McCarthy & Stone

Specialist retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone has posted flat full year profits.

Revenues for the group – whose Scottish developments include properties at Anstruther, St Andrews, Blairgowrie and Perth – came in 4% higher at £660.9 million for the year to August 31. However, pre-tax profits were 1% lower, falling £0.8m to £92.1m.

CEO Clive Fenton said the firm had achieved a strong second-half result and was moving into 2018 with a strong order book and balance sheet.

Bovis Homes targeted completions ‘fully sold’ for 2017

Housebuilder Bovis reports it has “fully sold” its targeted completions for the 2017 year and expects to end the year with “at least” £100 million in cash.

The group said trading in the period 1 July to 10 November remained “robust” and expects the average sale price per unit for the full year will be higher than last year, “driven by changes in mix with a modest increase in underlying prices”.

Bovis reported in first-half results home completions had fallen 6% to 1,512, which saw pre-tax profits fall 31% on the prior year to £42.7m.

Demolition starts at Glasgow’s Western Infirmary

Demolition of one of Glasgow’s oldest hospitals has started.

The Western Infirmary, which was built in 1874, is being redeveloped by the University of Glasgow as part of a £1 billion expansion scheme.

The 14-acre site was sold to the university for £14 million as part of a historic land agreement that will see new buildings for health, business, chemistry and the arts and performing spaces.

The first £430m phase, lasting five years, will see the construction of new buildings, together with clearance of the Western Infirmary site and landscaping.

Among the first to be completed will be a learning and teaching hub, a research hub, an Institute of Health and Wellbeing, premises for the Adam Smith Business School, a base for the College of Arts, including performance spaces, and an upgrade of the Joseph Black Building.

A second phase of work is scheduled to start in 2023 on a new engineering centre, an “innovation quarter” to engage with local industry and a building for research into chronic diseases.

An estimated 2,500 jobs are expected to be created during the construction period, with the university promising that the development will bring significant community, economic, environmental and cultural benefits.

James Frew completes work on £2.8m North Ayrshire sheltered housing refurb

Work on a new £2.8 million sheltered housing complex in North Ayrshire has been completed.

Contractor James Frew Ltd carried out the refurbishment of Robert W Service Court in Kilwinning and the development was officially opened yesterday by Provost Ian Clarkson.

Featuring 23 sheltered homes along with two-bedroom wheelchair accessible property, the scheme involved refurbishing the previous complex, providing a modern, fit-for-purpose housing environment for the residents. Highlights include refurbished residents’ bathrooms allowing them to benefit from accessible wet-floor shower rooms which promote independence.

In addition, a new residents’ car park has been created, communal areas redecorated and a visiting services room developed. Elsewhere, a new scooter store and a series of internal and external improvements have been carried out.

Construction work is also currently under way at Canal Court in Saltcoats, Dickson Court in Beith and Glencairn House in Stevenston to create modern living environments designed specifically for older people.

Edinburgh remains ‘most attractive’ UK hotel investment destination outside London

Edinburgh has been revealed as the most attractive hotel investment destination in the UK outside of London for the fourth consecutive year, according to a new survey.

Almost half of the respondents to Deloitte’s European Hotel Investment Survey selected the city ahead of Manchester (39%), with the university towns Cambridge (30%), Oxford (29%) and Bath (13%) completing the top five.

According to the survey, hotel investors are broadly optimistic about 2018 growth prospects in the Regional UK hotel market, with the majority of respondents expecting RevPAR growth to be between 1-3%. Growth is expected to be highest in the larger cities, including Edinburgh, according to 32% of respondents, and Manchester (28% of respondents).

However, when asked about 2018 expectations for gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR), respondents were more pessimistic, with a quarter (25%) expecting no GOPPAR growth in the Regional UK.

More than two-thirds of respondents (69%) cited Brexit as the biggest risk to the UK hotel industry, followed by slow economic growth (48%) and a shortage of skilled labour (38%). When asked about the current UK hotel investment cycle, more than a fifth (23%) believe that we have already passed the peak, with a quarter (26%) believing that the peak will occur within the next 12 months. However, 47% of respondents felt that there was more than a year to go before we reach the peak in the investment cycle.

Fire-ravaged Dundee church to be partly knocked down

Permission has been granted to partially demolish a historic Dundee church after it was ravaged by fire.

Earlier in the year, plans were in place to convert Lochee Old St Luke’s Church into 11 flats with work being “close to starting”, but they were put on hold when flames engulfed the 1830 B-listed building on September 4.

Planning consent for the demolition was sought by an applicant named as VVA Partnership and granted by Dundee City Council.