Building Briefs – November 25th

The environmental credentials of window, door and curtain walling designer, manufacturer and installer CMS Window Systems have once again been recognised with the company named a winner in the 2016 Scottish Business Awards.

CMS was delighted to receive the ‘People’s Postcode Lottery Green Business of the Year’ award, an accolade that comes hot on the heels of the company’s recent wins in the Scottish Resources Awards and the European Business Awards for the Environment. The winner was announced at a prestigious event in Edinburgh at which Leonardo Di Caprio delivered the keynote speech.

With its commitment to sustainability at the core of its business strategy, CMS impressed the judging panel with its wide-ranging and unique recycling processes and state-of-the-art learning and showcase facility - the CMS Innovation Hub – as well as its zero-carbon window option that is capable of transforming the energy efficiency of Britain’s homes.

The company recycles thousands of tonnes of waste annually and reintroduces as much recovered PVC, aluminium and glass as possible directly back into the manufacturing process at levels which no other UK window and door business of its kind can do.

Link completes new development for social rent in Dunbeg

Link Group Ltd’s new development at Dunbeg, Oban has been officially opened by Argyll and Bute Council’s policy lead for strategic housing, Gaelic, community and culture, Councillor Robin Currie.

The £3.5 million construction of 25 homes for social rent commenced in February 2015, using £1.6m funding from the Scottish Government and £646,593 funding from the Argyll & Bute Council strategic Housing Fund.

Built by TSL Contractors Ltd, the homes include one and two-bedroom flats, two-bedroom semi-detached / mid terrace houses and three-bedroom end terraced houses. The properties will all be managed by Link’s subsidiary West Highland Housing Association.

The properties benefit from a Biomass heating system and the development has achieved the ‘Silver Standard’ in sustainability which is the first project to achieve this accreditation in this area.

In November 2015, Link invited Dunbeg Primary School to name the street on which the new development is built. The unanimous winner was MacVicar Court – named after the school’s long serving Head Teacher, Sine MacVicar.

This is the second phase of this development, the first 50 properties having been completed for Rent-To-Buy in 2014 /15.

Morrison to begin Inverness Royal Academy demolition

Morrison Construction is to begin a major demolition project in the Highlands.

The contractor will work alongside hub North Scotland and specialist sub-contractors to level the former Inverness Royal Academy building.

The work will begin on Monday, 28 November and is expected to be completed in early 2017.

Once demolished, the former school site will be make way for a school playground, school car parking, and form part of two new all-weather pitches.

However, it is known asbestos is present within the former school buildings, with all locations and types of asbestos recorded on an asbestos register.

Work to begin on new M73 northbound on-slip

Work is to begin to build a new motorway on-slip to the M73 northbound from Daldowie.

The scheme, which will also see improvements carried out to the existing roundabout, is part of the £500 million M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project.

As part of the works, the M74 Junction 3A, Daldowie, will be closed for two weekends between 8pm – 6am from:

The works will be carried out by contractors Scottish Roads Partnership, a consortium with a construction joint venture of Ferrovial Agroman and Lagan.

Crinan Canal towpath upgrades

Sustrans Scotland is investing £880,000 towards upgrading Crinan Canal’s towpaths in Argyll and Bute.

The scheme involves improving the final three stretches of the towpath starting with Ardrishaig to Oakfield, moving onto Dunardry to Bellanoch and finishing at Bellanoch to Crinan Ferry Bridge.

In addition, LED solar lights will be installed on the edge of the Ardrishaig to Oakfield stretch to help improve visibility.

Works will begin on Monday, 28 November. Completion is scheduled for late March 2017. Once finished, the whole of the Crinan Canal towpath will be one consistent route.

Work continues on £120m water network upgrade project

Scottish Water is continuing work on a £120 million investment to upgrade the drinking water network for Ayrshire and parts of East Renfrewshire.

The company’s alliance partner, Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), is installing around 30 miles of new water mains to connect the system in Ayrshire with the Greater Glasgow area’s network.

Part of the project involves installing a new water main stretching from Waulkmill Glen reservoir near Newton Mearns to Amlaird Water Treatment Works near Fenwick. In addition, a new water main and pumping station will be developed at the Gorbals Water Treatment Works in Darnley.

To deliver this phase, a new underground power supply cable needs to be installed which will follow a four-mile route from Crookston to Darnley.

As a result, traffic management will be in place on the Dovecot Roundabout until Monday, 28 November. This will then move along Aurs Road with the route being reduced to one lane with two way traffic lights from the Dovecot Roundabout to the junction of Lyoncross Avenue until Wednesday, 30 November.

After this stage, a two-week rolling programme of work will begin with temporary traffic lights along Aurs Road and Glasgow Road.

Local housing associations often ‘squeezed out’ of development, warns GWSF

Community controlled housing associations are often losing out on the chance to develop new social housing because local authorities are giving priority to larger regional and national associations, according to the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF).

On the day of its Annual Conference in Glasgow yesterday, addressed by housing minister Kevin Stewart, the Forum said that under pressure to maximise output, some councils seem to be ‘seduced’ by large and often mono-tenure project proposals, regardless of whether the project will have the right impact on the local community.

GWSF believes some of the larger associations have an aggressive policy of buying sites whatever the cost, even if that means high density developments to make them stack up financially.

The Forum also says that the new housing will often have the impact of displacing tenants from stock owned by the local association.