Building Briefs - November 16

River Clyde Homes has successfully demolished the last standing multi-storey block in the Belville area of the east end of Greenock by controlled explosion.

Hawick Court, which sat on at the top of a prominent hillside site, was built in the late 1960s as part of a high-density housing development of seven high-rise blocks and other property types in the Belville Street area of the town.

The other six blocks have been demolished in recent years and Hawick Court, which comprised 76 housing units, was blown down in the early hours of Sunday 15 November. Some 40kg of explosive were used in the controlled explosion.

Preparatory works by contractor SafeDem had been on-going for some months. This included removal of all timber, internal fittings and fixtures along with cutting out and drilling for the blowdown.

117 adjacent households, were evacuated as part of this major undertaking. Door-to-door visits to affected households took place to ascertain residents’ evacuation requirements.

Once cleared of the 7.5 tonnes of debris the site will be landscaped and used as a car park for nearby properties.

Sanctuary regeneration boosts Paisley charity

An award-winning local charity has received a £20,000 makeover thanks to Renfrewshire’s newest affordable housing development.

The STAR Project’s base in Paisley’s Wallace Street was refurbished as a community benefit of Sanctuary Scotland’s regeneration of Shortroods.

Sanctuary Scotland’s contractor McTaggart Construction decorated the building, replacing floors and improving the toilets.

The makeover has delighted staff, volunteers and the 500-plus Paisley residents who use the STAR Project each year.

The charity’s project manager Sharon McAulay said: “These improvements are a massive boost and would not have been possible without Sanctuary’s support.

“They allow us to focus on developing services the community needs, rather than focusing on finding ways to improve our building.”

Sanctuary Scotland has built 309 new Shortroods homes since 2002. The keys to the final 86 properties, which cost £9.6 million to build, were handed over to residents in September.

Landowners positive about letting agents code of practice

Scottish Land & Estates has said it is positive about new proposals to improve industry standards in the lettings sector.

The organisation has today entered its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a statutory code of practice and training requirements for letting agents.

Overall, Scottish Land & Estates said that it welcomed the principles of tightening regulations where a minority of the sector failed to provide a decent quality of service but that care needed to be taken that any new measures did not become too burdensome for the majority of agents that already maintain good practice and that training standards are being properly adhered to.

Katy Dickson, Policy Officer (Business and Property) at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “The provisions brought in under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 aim to improve the professionalism in the sector, which will benefit both landlords and tenants. Many people currently letting properties will already be working to these high standards and they should be reassured that those who are not will need to improve the quality of service they are operating or leave the sector.”

Regulator seeks views on new proposals for appeals and reviews

The Scottish Housing Regulator has launched consultation on proposals that would introduce new, additional ways to challenge regulatory decisions. Under the proposals the Regulator would establish new mechanisms for reviews and appeals.

The proposed review procedure would provide a process for the Regulator to look again at regulatory decisions quickly and informally. This would likely be the first method of challenge in most cases. The proposed appeals process would enable regulated bodies and individuals to request a formal re-examination of certain regulatory decisions.

Earlier this year the Regulator published a discussion paper seeking views on its early ideas on how appeals and review processes might look.

Kay Blair, the Regulator’s Chair, said: “We are committed to working openly and constructively. Our proposals for reviews and appeals would widen the existing opportunities for those who are directly affected by our decisions to challenge them. We also need to be able to exercise our regulatory judgement to operate effectively, and I believe our proposals strike the right balance.

“The consultation builds on good early dialogue with tenant groups, landlord membership bodies and funders around the ideas we set out in a discussion paper in September. I would encourage organisations to consider our proposals and give us feedback.”

The consultation package includes draft new detailed procedures for appeals and reviews along with an overview paper summarising key themes from feedback to the discussion paper and the Regulator’s response.

Consultation opens on £120m Aberdeen waste site plan

Consultations are well under way for the controversial £120 million Aberdeen incinerator service.

The facility, which would serve households in the city, Aberdeenshire, and Moray, would be built on a derelict industrial site at East Tullos.

Aberdeen City Council has released two images which show what the plant would look like ahead of two exhibitions showcasing the facility today.

Council representatives and technical advisers will be available at the drop-in events in Aberdeen to answer questions and provide further information.

Councillor Jean Morrison, convener of the authority’s zero waste sub-committee, said it is important local people make their views known.

“I would encourage local residents to engage with the council during the upcoming drop-in consultation events and make their views known prior to the submission of the planning application,” she said.

The first event, which runs from 10am to 9pm, will be held at St Fittick’s Parish Church on Walker Road. Another event is also being held in the Grandholm Suite of the Aberdeen Altens Hotel on Souterhead Road from noon to 9pm.