Building Briefs – November 21st

New life for former school site as work starts on 75 new homes

Work has started on 75 new affordable homes on two sites in West Dunbartonshire.

Cube Housing Association is building 44 flats for social rent on the site of the old Bonhill Primary which closed in 2010.

And in Carrick Terrace in Dumbarton a further 31 Cube homes for social rent, together with new premises for a local shop, are starting to take shape on the site of old tenement flats.

Cube tenant and Board member, Jennifer Williamson, was joined by West Dunbartonshire Council’s housing and communities convener, Diane Docherty, to mark the start of the work at the £4.5 million Bonhill development in Main Street.

The Bonhill homes, a mix of one and two bedroom flats, are being built by contractor Keepmoat and funded through a £2m Scottish Government grant and private investment secured through Cube’s parent company Wheatley Group. The land, occupied by Bonhill Primary until 2010 when pupils moved to a new school nearby, was sold to Cube by the council for £1.

The £3.5m development at Carrick Terrace will see a mix of one, two and three bedroom flats and terraced homes. They are being built by contractor Cruden Building & Renewals and are also funded by Scottish Government grant and private investment secured by Wheatley.

Both sites are being developed as part of Cube Housing Association’s Strategic Partnership with West Dunbartonshire Council.

Confidence returning to Aberdeen property market

House sales in Aberdeen continue to show signs of improvement, with good quality family homes in Royal Deeside and Donside in particular remaining ever popular, according to independent property consultancy Galbraith.

The latest figures compiled by Galbraith indicated another strong quarter in terms of residential activity for the firm’s Aberdeen office, with an 88% increase in the number of viewings conducted during the three-month period ending 30 September 2017, compared with the previous quarter and a 49% increase in the number of potential buyers registering with them.

The Aberdeen office also brought 6% more properties to the market and reduced the average time taken to sell, compared with the preceding quarter.

Construction work starts on Highlands housing development

Compass Construction has started work on the first phase of a new affordable housing development at Drumnadrochit in the Highlands.

A total of five new homes are being built as part of the Benleva development, which includes 23 homes for social rent and four for low-cost home ownership.

Forming part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, which is a joint initiative supported by up to £315 million investment from the UK and Scottish governments, the project has been assisted through loan funding made available to the developer utilising the Infrastructure Loan Fund set up with funding provided by the Scottish Government and the Highland Council.

To mark the start of construction last week, a turf-cutting ceremony was held with council leader Margaret Davidson joining project partners from the Scottish Government, Highland Housing Alliance and Albyn Housing Association.

It is expected the homes will be complete by November 2018.

Minister opens Osprey’s latest Aberdeenshire development

Housing minister Kevin Stewart has officially opened the second phase of a popular Aberdeenshire development for Osprey Housing.

Mr Stewart was visiting the new homes at Blackdog and met some of the tenants who have just moved into the £3.6 million development.

The second phase at Blackdog consists of 15 units and is a mix of social and mid market rental (MMR) homes.

The site was developed with the help of a £1.5m grant from the Scottish Government.

The social rented homes at the development will be let in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council.

Osprey Housing has 27 homes in total at Blackdog, which is part of the Group’s £30.9m development plans for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray to 2020.

Former Fraserburgh supermarket to become place of worship

Plans to turn a former supermarket into a place of worship have been approved.

The Assembly of God in Fraserburgh submitted plans to Aberdeenshire Council in July.

Having lain empty for a number of years, the building on Albert Street was criticised for being an eyesore due to it showing signs of becoming dilapidated.

As part of the plans, a new entrance to the property will be formed, the exterior re-clad, new windows and doors will be installed and internal alterations will be made.

John Lawrie Group rewarded for having circular economy

Metal reprocessing, tubular supply and decommissioning company John Lawrie Group was one of the winners at last week’s VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards.

The Aberdeen-headquartered company, which has operations across Scotland and in the United States, picked up the Circular Economy award at the ceremony held in Edinburgh on Thursday afternoon.

John Lawrie Group collected the award in recognition for demonstrating its commitment to sustainable development and reducing environmental impacts. These are two themes which underpin its business and are supported by its robust environmental management system. The circular economy looks beyond the current ‘take, make and dispose’ industrial model, instead adopting a restorative and regenerative approach that relies on design and innovation.

Now in its 18th year, The VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards is dedicated to recognising and rewarding businesses that are contributing to the country’s sustainable environment. Winners of the nine awards were selected following a rigorous judging process that included a visit by a team of judges to each business to assess their environmental procedures.

Established in Aberdeen in the 1930s as a metal merchant, today John Lawrie Group specialises in metal recycling and reprocessing, the supply of new and used steel tubulars, and oilfield and industrial decommissioning services.

Having won the circular economy award at the 2017 VIBES, John Lawrie Group is now eligible to enter the 2018 European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE).

Coltness welcomes 400th new North Lanarkshire Council tenant

An official opening of North Lanarkshire Council’s latest development of new homes in Coltness took place, marking a significant milestone as the council welcomed its 400th tenant to move in to a council new build home.

Coltness is the 18th council housing development completed as part of its NL Homes new build programme, which will see 2,150 homes built by 2027.

The Provost of North Lanarkshire, Councillor Jean Jones, unveiled the plaque officially opening the new development of 20 homes.

Also marking the occasion were Councillor Allan Graham, convener of enterprise and housing; local councillors, Nicky Shevlin, Robert McKendrick, Cameron McManus and Louise Roarty and representatives from North Lanarkshire Council and Robertson Partnership Homes.

The 400th tenants, Mr & Mrs Welsh, are loving their new home, and are both in agreement that it’s the best move they’ve ever made.

This Walkerburn Drive development, built by Robertson Partnership Homes, features twenty new homes: five, two bedroom homes; two, three bedroom homes (one of which is a wheelchair designed bungalow); one, four bedroom wheelchair designed home; two, two bedroom bungalows (one amenity and one wheelchair designed); four two bedroom cottage flats and six one bedroom cottage flats.

All of the new homes are built with energy efficiency in mind to help minimise running costs for tenants. They meet Housing for Varying Needs standards and are ‘Secured by Design’ accredited, which involves Police Scotland architectural liaison officers having input into the layout and design to ensure safe and secure environments.

The Scottish Government contributes towards the development costs at each site.

Residents invited to help shape future Cairngorms Local Development Plan

Residents are being invited to submit their views on the next Local Development Plan (LDP) for the Cairngorms National Park.

A 15-week consultation has been launched on the Main Issues Report, which sets out the Park Authority’s ideas for how things should look in the future.

While many sites and policies in the current Plan are expected to be carried forward, some significant changes are also being proposed.

Several key questions for residents include:

Following the Main Issues Report consultation, the views gathered will help inform the preparation of the Proposed Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2020. It is expected that this will be published for public comment in September 2018.

The consultation will close on Friday, 02 March 2018.

120 new affordable flats proposed for Dundee’s City Quay

Plans have been unveiled to build 120 new affordable flats at an empty site at Dundee’s City Quay.

Edinburgh-based JM Architects has submitted a proposal of application notice (PAN) to Dundee City Council for the homes along with parking facilities on an area of land to the west of Thorter Row and south of South Victoria Dock Road.

The site, close to HM Frigate Unicorn, is currently used as a car park. Despite several apartment blocks being built at City Quay in the last couple of decades, the land has remained vacant, as previous proposals for new homes have failed to materialise.

According to the PAN, the development would also include a retail unit, green space, and cycle and refuse storage.

A meeting will be held at the Apex Hotel on Tuesday December 12 to discuss the plans.

Representatives from the community council and the Stobswell Forum, along with ward councillors, have been invited to attend — with members of the public also welcome.