Building Briefs – November 27th

A £5 million housing project in Glasgow’s south side has created 39 affordable riverside homes.

The Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association-built properties in Holmbank Avenue, Shawlands, are proving a hit with residents.

The development was created in partnership with Glasgow City Council, which provided a £2 million grant towards the project. Overlooking the River Cart, it provides much-needed new affordable housing in a very high demand area and includes a first-floor communal deck area. Sanctuary’s Holmbank Avenue development features a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats. Twenty flats were made available to rent to tenants on Sanctuary Scotland’s waiting list. The remaining 19 flats have been marketed through the Scottish Government’s shared equity scheme, with many already sold.

Construction firm CCG Scotland built the development for Sanctuary Scotland. The project’s community benefits included the provision of picnic benches at St Conval’s Primary School, decorating work within Pollokshaws Road’s Glad Café and the renovation of the toilet facilities at South Shawlands Church.

Banned canister blamed for Glasgow Art School fire

The fire that gutted Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building was started by gases from a canister of expanding foam used in a student project, a fire investigation has confirmed.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) report said the gases ignited as they came into contact with the hot surface of a projector in Studio 19 in the basement. It has emerged use of the foam had been prohibited by the school.

The findings concluded a build-up of “flammable propellant gases” in a projector was the source of the blaze on 23 May.

Art school bosses say progress is being made on plans to restore the building. An appeal fund has raised £12 million, including pledges from the UK and Scottish Governments, and secured Brad Pitt and GSA alumnus Peter Capaldi as trustees.

New Aberdeen recycling facility planned

Plans for a £23m recycling centre in Aberdeen could save the city £5m each year, according to the project’s developers.

Waste management firm SITA UK have put forward a proposal for a facility at Altens Industrial Estate in the south of the city.

SITA claim the recycling centre could process “virtually all” of the city’s waste, effectively eliminating its £5m annual landfill bill.

The facility is expected to open in 2016 if councillors approve the plan. A proposal of application notice, the first step towards full planning permission, has already been submitted.

The facility would be capable of dealing with mixed recycling from both homes and businesses. Waste which cannot be recycled could be sold on and used in energy from waste plants.

The four-hectare site at Altens Industrial Estate was chosen as SITA UK’s preferred location because of its size, industrial setting and distance from homes.

SITA will hold a series of public exhibitions in January and February next year before a full planning application is submitted in early spring.

Consultation for new Oban and Campbeltown schools

The team behind new secondary schools for Oban and Campbeltown are keen to hear the views of people in the community.

Public events outlining the proposals for the new Oban High and Campbeltown Grammar schools will take place in December and people who would like to find out more and share their views are invited to come along.

In Oban, the proposed location for the town’s new high school is within the existing school site and land to the north east, at existing grass playing pitches at Dalintart/Glencruitten.

The new Campbeltown Grammar School would be built on the site of the current school building and grounds.

At the public events, people will be able to see outlines of the sites of the brand new school buildings, associated car parks, playing fields, outbuildings and bus drop-off areas. They will also have the chance to meet members of the project team and ask questions.

The new schools project will be taken forward by Hub North Scotland on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council.

Household numbers projected to rise in most areas

The number of households is projected to grow in the regions around Scotland’s biggest cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Figures published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show projected rates of household change in the regions around Scotland’s biggest cities, where around three quarters of the population of Scotland live, and in the National Parks.

The projected growth over the next 25 years ranges from 13 per cent in Glasgow & Clyde Valley to 28 per cent in Aberdeen City & Shire.

Over the same period, the number of households is also projected to increase in Cairngorms National Park (by 12 per cent). However, the number of households in Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park is projected to fall by four per cent.

Scotland’s Empty Homes Champions to be announced

The Scottish Empty Homes conference, ‘Helping More People, Filling More Homes’ – run by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership takes place today at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.

Delegates from across Scotland will hear from keynote speaker Malcolm Fraser, author of the National Review of Town Centre’s report. Malcolm will present the importance of empty homes work in promoting the town centre living agenda.

Closing the conference, Ineke Hulsholf a leading architect from the Netherlands will give her perspective and approaches used in innovative refurbishment of empty property in the Netherlands including disused office blocks transformed into modern residences.

The winners of the coveted Empty Homes Champion of the Year awards for Outstanding Project, and Individual, Best Use of the Media and Best Before and After Photo will all be announced.

There are over 23,000 long-term private sector empty homes in Scotland, many of which blight their local area causing safety concerns for communities. The awards are a celebration of the best projects and rising stars across Scotland for their achievements in bringing empty homes back into use.

Plans to expand Blairgowrie with up to 400 homes

Developers have revealed plans for a huge expansion of Perthshire’s biggest town.

A new master plan for Blairgowrie envisages hundreds of homes as well as a hotel, supermarket, care home and possibly a new school.

The development, which is earmarked for about 70 acres of agricultural land on the western edge of town, was revealed to residents as part of a consultation drive.

Up to 400 homes could be built over three phases if the ambitious vision is formally adopted.

If approved, a supermarket, believed to be either Aldi or Lidl, would be built on Perth Road alongside a budget hotel and new businesses, creating scores of jobs.

Perth and Kinross Council has asked for part of the huge development to be zoned for education, potentially a new primary school.

Yeoman McAllister Architects is developing the master plan on behalf of developers Westpark Partnership.

Shepherd appoints building surveyor to Glasgow office

Shepherd Building Consultancy has appointed chartered building surveyor Alasdair Orr to strengthen its expanding building consultancy department in Glasgow.

A graduate of Glasgow Caledonian University, Orr qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2008. Prior to joining Shepherd, he worked for local and national commercial surveying firms, including international Loss Adjusters.

At Shepherd, Orr joins a rapidly expanding team responsible for commercial building surveying services, such as project management, development monitoring, contract administration, pre-acquisition surveys, schedules of condition, schedules of dilapidations, EPCs and reinstatement costs assessments.

First-time buyer loans in Scotland up 15 per cent year-on-year

New Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data on lending in Scotland during the third quarter of 2014 has shown it remains driven primarily by lending for house purchase.

The CML figures revealed that the third quarter saw 7,500 first-time buyer loans in Scotland – 1 per cent down on the previous quarter, but 15 per cent up on Q3 2013.

First-time buyers in the period borrowed £810 million - up 1 per cent on the previous quarter and 23 per cent on Q3 2013.

This was the highest quarterly total lending value since mid-2008.