Building Briefs – November 28th

Hardies Property & Construction Consultants have been instrumental in helping FetLor Youth Club construct their new building to provide a multi-purpose facility for generations to come in Scotland’s Capital.

Hardies fulfilled the roles of Project Management, Quantity Surveying and Principal Designer Services at the new FetLor Youth Club facility at Crewe Road South.

Working over an eight month time period, during which the original building was demolished and construction of the new build facility was completed, Hardies had initially helped FetLor with the brief and design for the building before vital fundraising commenced to bring the project to fruition.

FetLor is Scotland’s oldest Youth Club, and has been providing safe haven for local children for nearly a century. Today the club caters for 8 to 18 year olds.

Hardies Edinburgh office has recently submitted a proposal fee for another Edinburgh Youth Club it hopes to work with in the near future – North Merchiston Youth Club and Community Centre. Hardies, who are Scotland’s largest multi discipline surveying firm, would be looking to provide the same services as for FetLor – QS, Project Management and Principal Designer Services.

Perthshire housing proposals lodged

Developers have submitted plans to build more than 200 homes in Perthshire, the Evening Telegraph has reported.

Springfield Properties has lodged its proposal for 217 houses, a quarter of which will be affordable, to Perth and Kinross Council for the site at Glenalmond Road, Rattray, by Blairgowrie.

The company, who is also behind the Bertha Park project for west Perth, cite the area of the proposed housing scheme as being within the TAYplan as a ‘tier two’ location.

Springfield state: “This highlights the area as being a place which the collective TAYplan local authorities believe to be of major regional economic importance. In order to accommodate this economic growth, the stimulation of new house building is essential.

“Perth and Kinross is identified as a key rural growth area in national planning policy and the Glenalmond Road development will contribute toward this predicted demand. Springfield aim to create an attractive and exciting place for people looking for rural living, hoping to assist in combating the out-migration of populations from rural Scottish areas.”

Among the papers submitted with the council is a planning support statement which claims Springfield will create a “new sustainable housing development.”

Calls for ideas on potential Cairngorms development sites

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) has called for ideas to be submitted on potential new development sites in the region.

Community councils and associations are being asked to give their views for possible sites as part of the next Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan (LDP) 2020-2025.

As there are significant constraints on development within much of the Cairngorms National Park, maps have been prepared to show areas that are subject to particular environmental protection and some broad search areas.

Once all the ideas have been assessed, a full consultation will follow in spring 2017.

For more information, visit here.

Commissioning begins on £154m Glasgow Renewable Energy Centre

Pennon Group has revealed that commissioning has begun at parts of the delayed £154 million Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre.

Interserve started building the project in 2013 and the scheme was due to begin operations earlier this year. However, a number of technical problems and issues resulted in Viridor serving the contractor with a notice of termination earlier this month.

In a statement, Pennon said: “Whilst contractor delays and underperformance are delaying the full completion of Glasgow ERF, commissioning of parts of the facility have begun and the project will now be completed by an experienced team assembled by Viridor.”

A9 ground investigations to start next week

Motorists are being asked to plan ahead for traffic restrictions on a section of the A9 between Glen Garry and Kincraig.

The ground investigations, part of the A9 Dualling programme, will begin on Thursday 8 December and are expected to take 16 weeks. The work will be stopped over the Christmas and New Year periods from 23 December to 9 January.

Although most of the work will not be carried out on the existing road, the traffic management measures will be in place to allow work beside the carriageway to be carried out safely.

The traffic management arrangements will include short, alternate single file traffic sections controlled by temporary traffic signals.

Housing minister visits Orkney development

Minister for local government and housing Kevin Stewart MSP visited Orkney this month to see how work is progressing on a new housing development.

A total of 24 new local authority homes have been built at Walliwall, with a further 40 homes for Orkney Housing Association (OHAL) still under construction on the site.

The scheme is backed by almost £2 million of funding from the Scottish Government.

Mr Stewart met with council representatives and other agencies involved in providing social housing in the county.

A75 road maintenance project to begin

Scotland TranServ is to begin a major road maintenance project on the A75 between Annan and Gretna.

The company will today start carrying out over £500,000 of resurfacing work along the 1.5km route.

Work will take place between 7pm – 6am until Thursday, 01 December. A further closure will take place on the A75 Birkhill to Irvington from Friday, 02 December until Monday, 05 December. Diversions will be in place.

Ambitious plans for historic Newhailes House revealed

The National Trust for Scotland has unveiled the first stage of an ambitious plan to secure the future of one of East Lothian’s architectural jewels.

Newhailes House, near Musselburgh, dates to the 1680s and is rated as one of the finest Palladian-style stately homes in the country.

It was owned by the influential Dalrymple family for almost three centuries before the NTS acquired the estate in 1997.