Building Briefs – November 17th

Rail stakeholders and the public are being given the opportunity to have their say on future rail prioritisation at a series of workshops launching this week.

The consultation, which gets underway today, will be open for three months. It will be used to inform the development of the Scottish Government’s High Level Output Specification (the “HLOS”) and broader rail investment strategy.

During the consultation period, workshops will be held at key locations across the country. This will reflect all distinct routes and markets that Scotland’s railways serve, to further engage with local stakeholders directly, and understand the needs and priorities of rail customers in these areas.

Expansion plans for Dundee golf and leisure resort

A Dundee golf and leisure resort will be “thoughtfully and sensitively expanded” after being sold for £25 million.

The 600 acre Piperdam resort has been bought by holiday park operator Coppergreen Developments Ltd.

The resort currently includes 77 holiday lodges, a golf course and a wedding and conference centre.

The new owners said they would add an additional 28 lodges and further provision for mountain bike trails and quad biking.

Chevron to create £8.5m maintenance facility at Prestwick Airport

Aircraft maintenance firm Chevron has announced plans to establish a £8.5 million ‘Centre of Excellence’ at Prestwick Airport.

The engineering, maintenance and training facility is set to create up to 82 jobs and is expected to be operational by early 2017.

The development, which is supported by a Regional Selective Assistance grant of £2 million from Scottish Enterprise, is being undertaken in response to increased customer and market demand.

Chevron has signed a ten-year lease with the Airport to set up the 150,000 sq ft maintenance centre, which will feature a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangar facility, bespoke teardown / parts processing facility, aircraft parking area and management offices.

Glasgow City Council outlines £5m home energy efficiency programmes

Over £5 million is to be allocated to three affordable warmth and energy efficiency programmes in Glasgow, councillors have been told.

Glasgow City Council’s regeneration and the economy committee recently considered a report which detailed how the funding will be spent over the course of the current financial year.

Over £4.3m for home energy efficiency programmes (HEEPS-ABS) was allocated to projects such as the installation of external wall insulation and a hybrid insulation to both internal and external walls in a number of areas, including Haghill, Dennistoun, Riddrie, Priesthill, Milton and Greenfield.

Another programme was the Scottish Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP), a national scheme from the Scottish Government, with £620,400 going to projects such as wall insulation on pre-1919 tenements; upgraded insulation and building fabric, as well as a new heating system for Linthaugh Nursery in Rosshall; connecting (opening in 2017) Dalmarnock Nursery School to the energy centre at the Athletes’ Village; and the installation of wall insulation and a heating upgrade at the Greater Easterhouse Supporting Hands centre, where 32 community and care organisations provide services and activities for over 600 people each week.

Another £340,000 has been made available to five housing associations in Glasgow to allow them to meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH). The housing associations are: Maryhill (central heating replacement for 20 homes); Cassiltoun (window replacement for 10 homes); Thenue (external wall insulation for 19 homes); Govan (boiler replacement for 16 homes); and Elderpark (external wall insulation for 15 homes).

Arbroath school officially opened

Pupils, staff and officials gathered at Timmergreens Primary School in Arbroath to officially mark the school’s opening.

Angus Council depute provost Alex King unveiled a commemorative plaque to formally mark the advent of the modern learning facility, surrounded by guests including Cllr Sheena Welsh, convener for children and learning, head teacher Jacqueline Smith along with children and staff and representatives from contractors Robertson Tayside and procurement partners hub East Central Scotland and Rev Alasdair Graham.

They were joined by a number of former staff and pupils in admiring the current school roll’s 21st century surroundings.

The official opening of Timmergreens comes at the conclusion of the £12.6 million first phase of the Arbroath Schools Project, which has also included the construction of a new Warddykes Primary School and razing of old school buildings. Warddykes will be officially opened next week.

The original Timmergreens school buildings was constructed almost 50 years ago and opened to pupils in 1969 and demolished in 2014 to make way for the new school.

Timmergreens provides seven classrooms for 200-plus children to learn, along with a nursery that accommodates around 30 pre-school children. The new building, designed by the council’s property section, also boasts a multi-purpose hall and library, as well as general purpose rooms and tutorial spaces.

The design maximises the use of natural light, with near-full height windows and a clerestory around the central activity spaces. The main teaching spaces surround the playground space outdoors, which means that it can be accessed from every classroom as required.

Perth’s Canal Street multi-storey car park reopening

The multi-storey car park on Canal Street in Perth will once again be open to members of the public this weekend.

The car park has been closed since September 26th to allow for a £1.7 million refurbishment to further improve the parking offering in Perth.

There are still elements of the refurbishment to be completed and the car park will initially be free to all users. Perth & Kinross Council’s normal charging rates for parking will come into force at a future date.

Scotland TranServ to start £300,000 road maintenance project

Scotland TranServ is to begin a £300,000 road investment programme in Dumfries and Galloway.

The company will start improving the condition of the A77 trunk road at Cairnryan South Gateway from Monday, 21 November.

The scheme involves resurfacing the carriageway in both directions as well as replacing the white line markings and traffic loops.

For safety reasons, a convoy system will be in place from 7am – 7pm for each day of the project until Sunday, 27 November.

New sports pitches open in East Lothian

Two new sports pitches have officially opened at Port Seton, East Lothian.

The facilities were unveiled by East Lothian Council leader Willie Innes on Monday, 14 November.

The project involved developing a new 3G surface for football, a multisport polymeric surface and a new modern fence to cater for numerous sports such as basketball, tennis, hockey and more. Improved access for wheelchair users was also developed.

The scheme was jointly funded through the council and sportscotland lottery funding.

Work begins to create new public space in North Glasgow

Work has started to create a new public space outside Old Basin house in North Glasgow.

The project is being carried out at Applecross Basin by Scottish Canals and its partners.

The first phase of work will last for six weeks and is scheduled to finish in late-December.

It involves creating a new access road behind Scottish Canals’ office and lowering the boundary wall around the site to open the area up and providing new seating on Applecross Street.

In addition, the project will form the gateway into the Claypits local nature reserve.

New era for Cumnock as Glaisnock Centre is demolished

It was the end of an era, as Cumnock’s Glaisnock Centre faced the bullodozers, heralding the dawn of new age of retail in the town.

First built in the 1970s, the outdated centre is being redeveloped, with a new Farmfoods, retail unit for rental and extra car parking.

Former owners and tenants of the former shopping centre have now moved into seven new purpose built units, developed by East Ayrshire Council on Townhead Street.