Building Briefs – November 7th

A new public artwork by Ratho-based blacksmith P Johnson & Company has been unveiled at the village square in Millerhill at Shawfair, just outside Edinburgh.

The Millerhill Carbon Tower, a 3.2m-high sculpture depicting the coal-mining heritage of the area, was officially unveiled by Provost Adam Montgomery.

The piece was commissioned by family homebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel Homes to commemorate the genesis of a new community in Millerhill at Shawfair, the largest urban expansion programme ever undertaken in the Edinburgh and Midlothian area.

The brief was for a piece of public art which narrates the history and transition of the mining industry in the local area through to recent times, conveying a ‘sense of place’ for the new community.

P Johnson & Company won the commission following a competition overseen by Midlothian Council. Bruce Mickel, former chair of Mactaggart & Mickel Group, selected the winning entry.

The artists’ response is a pinnacle form which tells the story of coal mining in the area, from carboniferous plants, through hand-delivered buckets of coal and using pit ponies, to using machinery underground.

The sculpture is crowned by depictions of coal-mining families to convey the sense of community of early mining villages in the surrounding area, and is watched over by two canaries perched on top of the structure. The canaries – used to detect poisonous gases underground to give workers a chance of survival in early coal mining - symbolise hope and vision for the new community to develop as a vibrant and positive place to live and work.

Shawfair will contain 4000 high quality new homes. Three schools will be built for the new community as well as shopping, leisure, and health facilities. Shawfair also features its own railway station connecting to Edinburgh within fifteen minutes, and is surrounded by community woodlands and eight miles of cycle paths.

Mactaggart & Mickel Homes are developing the first phase of homes for the project, a 170-home development called Millerhill at Shawfair. The grounds feature an attractive village square, plenty of open green spaces and a mix of apartments and family homes which offer country living within a relaxed and safe environment.

Mactaggart & Mickel Homes have invested c.£50,000 in the project, which includes the work of art, viewing benches and landscaping, as part of their contribution to support the creation of a new Shawfair community.

James Frew upgrades call centre operations

James Frew Ltd was joined by Chris Watson, business growth manager, North Ayrshire Council and Councillor Alex Gallagher, cabinet member for economy, to celebrate the opening of the upgraded call-centre.

James Frew Ltd purchased the building adjacent to their existing office from North Ayrshire Council in 2016 to help support and sustain the potential growth of the business. The company’s strategy is to grow the number of private and commercial customers in the coming years and increase the size and capability of the existing call-centre to manage new potential customers.

Work commenced in early January and the upgrade was successfully completed by the end of April 2017.

In additional to the upgraded call-centre, the company’s project also included extra training for all staff. Management Training – to support the strategy of the business, Technical Training – to up-skill employees to be able to carry out additional work and Customer Care – for all staff to ensure a consistent approach and continually exceed customer expectations.

First tenants move in to new Berwickshire Housing Association homes in Duns

The first tenants have been handed the keys to their brand new homes at Station Drive in Duns, which have been built by Hart Builders for Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA).

The 16 properties, which were designed by architects Smith Scott Mullan, are a mix of 12 three-bedroom family homes and four one-bedroom flats.

The new homes are modern, spacious and energy efficient, having been built with very high standards of insulation, which will significantly reduce heating bills for tenants and help to tackle the issue of fuel poverty.

This new development is the first phase of BHA’s plans to build almost 100 new homes by the end of 2020. Hart Builders is currently on site constructing 30 new homes at Acredale in Eyemouth, which are due for completion in autumn 2018. These will consist of four one-bedroom homes, 13 two-bedroom homes and 13 three-bedroom homes, two of which will be wheelchair adapted.

Having just received planning approval, work will also begin in early 2018 on 25 one to four-bedroom new homes at Chirnside. A further 28 one to three-bedroom homes in Duns will go on site in autumn 2018.

Group on Skye first to acquire land under community scheme

An organisation in Skye is to become the first to acquire land under a new scheme to transfer publicly-owned forestry assets, to the benefit of local communities.

Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) launched the Community Asset Transfer Scheme earlier this year. Minginish Community Hall Association (MCHA) applied to purchase land close to the Fairy Pools, an increasingly popular tourist site.

FES have now agreed to transfer the land for £2,500, a discount of £27,500 on the market value, because of the substantial public benefit that will be delivered. MCHA intend to expand car parking facilities, alleviating long-term concerns for tourists and residents, as well as installing new visitor facilities.

Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop made the announcement while visiting to Skye to meet with local tourism interests, including launching a cross-sector strategic group to identify tourism-related issues in Skye and recommend where action is needed.

AWPR - weekend closure for B979 at Milltimber

The B979 at Milltimber Brae will close temporarily near its junction with the A93 from around 8pm on Friday 10 November until around 6am on Monday 13 November to enable essential surfacing works to be undertaken as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project.

A short diversion, via Milltimber Brae Road and the new Milltimber Brae Bridge, will be sign-posted. There will be no access to the closed section of road.

M8 Arkleston Resurfacing

As part of Transport Scotland’s £1.5 million autumn investment programme for the M8, Scotland TranServ will resurface 1.3km of the M8 at Arkleston, both East and Westbound from Monday 13th of November.

The M8 Eastbound Renfrew Road to Arkleston resurfacing project will start at 8pm on November 13 before switching to the M8 Westbound Arkleston to Renfrew Road project, which is forecast for completion on November 25.

In order to reduce the impact on local commuters and freight traffic, the project team will implement narrowed lanes on the works during the day, with the motorway reduced to one lane in each direction overnight (8pm to 6am). Additional overnight lane closures will be required to complete the remainder of the works, programmed for a later date to reduce impact.

Edinburgh’s suburban family homes showing highest increase in average selling prices

Three bedroom properties in the south-west suburbs of Edinburgh have shown some of the highest increases in average selling prices, which could be attributed to pressures caused by a shortage of properties on family homes in Edinburgh.

The latest data from ESPC reveals that the average selling price of three bedroom houses in the Corstorphine, Clermiston, South Gyle and East Craigs has increased by 20.2%, while three bedroom houses in Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green have increased by 18.5%.

As well as demonstrating an increase in average selling prices, properties in these areas are also selling quickly. The median time to sell in Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green is 18 days, down from 23 days the same time last year, and in Corstorphine, Clermiston, South Gyle and East Craigs the time to sell is 17 days, down 42.6% from the same time last year (30 days.) These time to sells are consistent with the Edinburgh average – currently 18 days, down from 22 days last year.

However in comparison, three bedroom properties in South Queensferry and Dalmeny have decreased by 4.6%, but this could be a levelling out of selling prices, after a surge in popularity last year.

Two bedroom flats in the prestigious New Town and the West End are continuing to be in high demand. These properties are being snapped up quickly, and showing an increase of 24.7% year-on-year to £410,122, making these the most expensive type of property in the region, when considering the number of rooms.

Young apprentice paints a perfect picture of success

A twenty-year-old apprentice painter and decorator training with Dundee and Angus College has reached the finals of the UK’s top trade competition.

Declan Collins, a third year apprentice with Dundee City Council and a native Dundonian, is one of only three painting and decorators from Scotland to be chosen.

Declan will compete in the UK National Final of SkillBuild in Birmingham on November 16th, 17th and 18th. He will face tough competition from around the UK and will be aiming to scoop one of the gold, silver or bronze medals on offer.

And although Declan has already proved himself to be one of the best young painter and decorators in the UK, the competition doesn’t end there as he could be chosen to compete with Squad UK at an international level.

Turbine plans near hill fort near Hawick rejected

Plans for a wind farm near the site of an ancient hill fort in the Scottish Borders have been unanimously rejected by councillors.

Historic Environment Scotland had noted the impact on Penchrise Pen but said it did not consider it of enough “national significance” to object.

Scottish Borders Council had been advised to approve the 12 turbines near Hawick by its planning officials.

However, they refused them due to the adverse scenic effect.

They also had concerns about the impact on local properties and on historic sites in the area.