Building Briefs – November 18th

Detailed planning permission is being sought for a major housing development on the site of Aberdeen’s iconic Marcliffe Hotel.

The five-star hotel - a popular venue for wedding receptions and functions - has been at its North Deeside Road venue since 1993.

Housebuilder Stewart Milne wants to demolish the hotel and create 189 properties.

The owner, Stewart Spence, is retiring, and sold the site.

Meanwhile, the former Victoria Road Primary School in Torry has been earmarked for redevelopment.

Barratt has submitted a proposal of application notice with Aberdeen City Council to build more than 50 homes at the site.

Edinburgh luxury development scheme to add 14 units

A luxury development of serviced apartments in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town is to undergo a £1.5 million expansion.

Old Town Chambers, which is operated by Lateral City, is to add a further 14 apartments to its offering. The mix of studio and one-bedroom facilities will be completed in May 2015, less than two years since the scheme was launched.

The expansion, by Chris Stewart Group, will take the total number of serviced apartments up to 50, which will sleep up to 200 guests at 100 per cent occupancy.

Kirkmichael Primary recognised for education design

Kirkmichael Primary School, South Ayrshire, has won an education design award by the Glasgow Institute of Architects in recognition of its contemporary interpretation of the village’s rural character.

Acting as a visual focal point the £2.3m school is conceived as a series of linked farm steadings incorporating teaching and break out areas as well as a nursery and gymnasium.

Designed by Holmes Miller, Kirkmichael Primary accommodates up to 75 pupils and replaces a 1970s facility.

Forensic archaeologists begin work at the Mackintosh Library

Forensic archaeologists have begun sifting through the ashes of the fire-damaged Mackintosh Library at the Glasgow School of Art.

The experts hope to find items that could be restored or provide information for the building’s restoration.

The library, recognised as being one of the world’s finest examples of art nouveau, was destroyed by fire in May.

Similar work was carried out after the Windsor Castle fire in 1992.

The work will be carried out by experts from Kirkdale Archaeology, which has carried our recent excavations at Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace and Linlithgow Palace.

Tourism bid for Inverness Castle’s look-out tower

A famous tower at Inverness Castle could soon be open as a tourist attraction if ambitious plans are given the go ahead.

Following continued calls over many years for the castle to be shut as a court building and transformed into a major attraction, Highland Council is leading a feasibility study looking at opening up the look-out tower to the public.

The North Tower commands panoramic views over the city of Inverness and the surrounding countryside.

It would offer a bird’s eye view over the city, down the Great Glen, across to Ben Wyvis and out to the Black Isle and the Moray Firth.

The council is working with the Scottish Government and a range of other partners including HIE, Historic Scotland, Visit Scotland, the Scottish Court Service and various other Inverness based organisations.

Brechin flood prevention scheme contract awarded

Contruction work on the Brechin flood prevention scheme is due to start in December and the work completed by March 2016.

The construction contract was awarded to Morrison Construction Ltd for £5.8 million, with the overall scheme estimated to cost £16m.

Update on A9 hairpin bend scheme

Locals are invited to have their say on the updated design solution for the hairpin bend at Berriedale Braes on the northern section of the A9.

The invite to a public exhibition in Berriedale on Wednesday 26 November comes as Transport Scotland publishes the draft road orders for the scheme on Friday.