Building Briefs – November 20th

Granite House in Glasgow changes hands

Granite House has been sold to Ambassador LB Holdings LLP for in excess of £33 million.

Located on Stockwell Street in Glasgow city centre, diagonally opposite Marks & Spencer (Argyle Street store), Granite House provides 148,989 sq ft of office accommodation and 33,956 sq ft of retail space.

High profile office tenants include Clydesdale Bank PLC, House of Fraser, Ingeus and Utilita Energy and the ground floor retailers include Tesco, Poundland, Specsavers and Shelter.

Argyll Community Housing Association opens eight new homes in Oban

Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA) has just completed eight new family homes in Oban.

The properties are located in Glenshellach Glen and are part of the Association’s new build programme in this area, which has been ongoing for the past four years.

The housing mix comprises two and three bed properties to a value of £1.2 million. Funding for the development came from the Scottish Government, Argyll and Bute Council and ACHA.

The homes were built by MacLeod Construction of Lochgilphead, employing local tradesmen throughout the development.

These new homes take to 65 the number completed by ACHA in Glenshellach Glen out of a total to be completed by 2019 of 107 units.

The total investment in these new homes will be £15.4m over five years sustaining hundreds of jobs.

New social enterprise initiative launched by Whiteinch and Scotstoun Housing Association

Whiteinch and Scotstoun Housing Association has set up a social enterprise company employing six people to handle all its close and back court cleaning and provide concierge services for its sole multi-story block.

WS Estate Services Ltd was set up this year as a new social enterprise company, with a £125,243 grant from the Scottish Government’s Aspiring Communities Fund backed by European Union Social Fund and £100,000 investment on commercial terms from Whiteinch and Scotstoun Housing Association.

The team will be headed by experienced operations manager Steven McLaughlin who joined WS Estate Services from Cadder Housing Association in north Glasgow.

The new social enterprise team will be responsible for cleaning once a week 197 closes, and 205 back courts.

Close cleaning includes brushing and removing all litter and debris from landings and stairs, and a thorough weekly wash. The back court services will ensure that bin stores are cleaned and any bulk uplifts are removed to collection points agreed with the city council.

The team will also provide a 12 hour concierge service 365 days a year from 8am to 8pm at the association’s multi-story block in Curle Street and CCTV support service outwith these hours.

The new service will in total cover 1,300 housing association tenants and 550 owner occupiers.

Housing plans for Art deco Fife hotel

A distinctive East Neuk hotel could be demolished to make way for modern townhouses.

The Balcomie Links Hotel, in Crail, will be demolished and replaced with seven new homes if the green light is given to Falkirk-based Enchance Properties.

Arka Architect, acting for the applicant, said the current owner intends to retire and the need for an extensive upgrade of the hotel had discouraged potential buyers.

It said it was hoped the proposal would be seen as a positive contribution to the architectural fabric of Crail.

Plans for Dundee bottling site to go on display

Plans to redevelop the site of a historic Dundee bottling plant are set to go on public display.

Under the proposals, the former Stewart’s Cream of the Barley building could be demolished to make way for 90 homes built by Persimmon Homes.

The Stewart House site owner, Bruce Linton, said the building was “all but vacant” and structurally unsafe. The plans are now set to be exhibited publicly at St Ninian’s Church House on Kingsway East between 3pm-7.30pm on Thursday November 30.

Details of the development, along with “indicative concept proposals” showing how it could look, will be on display.

Representatives of Persimmon will be on hand to answer any questions.

The event is taking place ahead of an application to build on the site being submitted to the city council, in line with local planning policies. As such, feedback forms will be available at the event, while comments from those unable to come can be submitted directly to planners Emac Planning until December 15.

The Stewart House plans could be worth as much as £10 million, and would see the homes built directly across from Kingsway East fire station.

Residents invited to find out more about Dunblane electrification work

Residents are being invited to find out more information about railway electrification work in Dunblane.

Piling work between Kippenross Tunnel and Dunblane Station, as part of work to electrify the railway from Stirling to Dunblane Station, is due to begin from Monday, 08 January 2018.

Locals are now being invited to attend a drop-in event to meet the team, learn more about the work and ask any questions about the project. The event will take place between 4pm – 7pm at the Dunblane Centre on Tuesday, 28 November.

The piling work will create the foundations that provide the base for the overhead electrification masts, which will be erected later in the programme.

The electrification project also includes bridge works at Perth Road in Dunblane and Kerse Road in Stirling, and enhancements to station platforms at Falkirk Grahamston, Larbert and Camelon with work on this phase of the project set for completion in 2019.