Building Briefs – November 8th
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Ogilvie begins work on new Grangemouth school
Children and young people with additional support needs in the Falkirk area will benefit from a modern new facility thanks to the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future building programme.
Cabinet secretary for the economy, jobs and fair work, Keith Brown, led the sod cutting at the site for the new £9 million additional support needs secondary school that will replace Carrongrange School.
The project is being delivered by hub East Central Scotland for Falkirk Council in partnership with Ogilvie Construction and is part of the Scottish Government’s £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future building programme which will see 112 schools replaced or refurbished across Scotland.
Nigg Bay harbour expansion steps closer
The £415 million Aberdeen harbour expansion project took another step towards fruition yesterday after the project received consent for dredging and construction.
Colin Parker, chief executive of Aberdeen Harbour Board (AHB) hailed the approval from Marine Scotland as an “important milestone” in the ambitious project which has been in the planning stages for close to four years.
Yesterday the Scottish Government directorate responsible for the seas announced the award of two marine licences in support the harbour’s expansion into Nigg Bay to the south of the port.
The licences cover both construction and dredging and were issued after concerns raised by environmental and wildlife groups were allayed.
Dunbar Grammar’s new £10m extension ‘should be ready by August 2018’
Dunbar Grammar School is to be extended to accommodate 350 extra pupils.
Dunbar’s growing population means Dunbar Grammar has to be able to open its doors to many new pupils. By August 2018, the new campus extension will allow the school to cater for 1199 pupils, an increase of 350 places.
Phase One of the project involved expansion of the pupils’ Social Space and the provision of a classroom sized temporary modular unit at a cost of £380,000.00 and was completed in August 2016.
Phase Two represents a major expansion of the school, comprising the building of a large two-storey extension to the east, providing new-build teaching and ancillary accommodation, significant alterations to various areas within the existing school, a new all-weather pitch, and associated external works.
Phase Two of the works will be delivered through Innovate and will include funding from developers’ contributions gathered as a result of the additional houses that have been built in the area.
Link begins work on new social housing development in Clydebank
Link Group Ltd has begun the £3.4 million construction of 30 new homes for social rent which will be completed by August 2017.
The development will consist of one and two-bedroom flats and two and three bedroom terraced houses.
The new homes are being built by McTaggart Construction and will meet Link’s Design Guide, Housing for Varying Needs and Secured by Design requirements.
Link worked closely with McTaggart Construction, West Dunbartonshire Council and the Scottish Government to agree costs and timescales for the project. The proposed housing mix is consistent with West Dunbartonshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy and Local Housing Needs Analysis.
Link has been involved in the regeneration of Clydebank during the past eight years – having previously provided 134 new and improved homes at Jellicoe Street, Castle Street and Beardmore Place.
Council approves framework for new Elgin business park
Work is progressing on the development of a 30-hectare business park in Moray.
A strategic framework for the scheme located to the east of Elgin was approved by councillors last week.
The document will be used as a material consideration in determining future planning applications for the site at Barmuckity. In addition, it provides for a range of land uses such as business, industrial, retail, leisure and housing. The layout of the park will include a wetland water feature within a parkland setting.
A report to Moray Council’s planning and regulatory services committee stated the balance of uses within the framework “aims to promote delivery by ensuring the project is economically viable.”
Council to invest £1.5m in Oban berthing facility
Argyll and Bute Council is to invest £1.5 million in developing a new berthing and maritime visitor facility in Oban.
A full business case has been approved for the North Pier Maritime Quarter – Transit Berthing and Maritime Visitor facilities at Oban waterfront.
The facility will have dedicated showers, toilets, changing areas and secure lockers. It will provide up to three nights’ berthing for visiting craft and day stops for leisure businesses.
The council’s Policy and Resources Committee, which has agreed to drawdown funds for the scheme allocated in the Campbeltown, Helensburgh, Oban, Rothesay and Dunoon (CHORD) budget, will now move the process of tendering.
Glasgow Gigabit City transformation underway
Glasgow city centre is now being transformed as part of an upgrade of the city’s digital infrastructure.
Pure fibre infrastructure provider, CityFibre, has now begun a new phase of construction as part of the Glasgow Gigabit City project which will see the city centre connected to CityFibre’s existing 31km pure fibre network in Glasgow.
Work has commenced on Ingram Street, Renfrew Street and Douglas Street, and will be expanding to bring next-generation, ultra-fast internet connectivity within reach of more than 7,000 businesses. Some of the first businesses to benefit from this state-of-the-art connectivity will include design studio Graven Images, Michael Laird Architects, The Beacon and Laings Jewellers.
The network also connects seven hospitals, including the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
CityFibre is currently completing Gigabit City projects in 19 UK cities including Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
Over £55,000 granted to repair Scottish war memorials
Twelve war memorials across Scotland are set to be conserved and repaired after being awarded a share of £55,000 worth of grant funding by War Memorials Trust, through the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund.
The recipients are spread across Scotland, with memorials in Fife, Perthshire, the Western Isles, East Lothian, and the Highlands all set to benefit from funding. The grants range from nearly £13,000 to carry out major repair and conservation works to the war memorial in Prestonpans, and roof repair of a war memorial hall in Dairsie, down to smaller grants of around £1,300 for minor, but important repairs and necessary cleaning.
The fund – which is managed by War Memorials Trust on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland and the Scottish Government – allows communities throughout Scotland to apply for financial help to conserve and repair their war memorials.
HSE injury statistics reveal downward trend
The HSE’s annual ill health and injury statistics have revealed a downward trend in the number of falls from height.
Regardless of a drop in fatalities from 42 in 2014/15 to 37 in 2015/16, falls from height still remain the single biggest cause of fatalities on site and in the workplace. In addition, they also accounted for 5,956 non-fatal injuries over the 12 month period to 31 March 2016.
According to HSE, three-quarters of fatal injuries in 2015/16 were accounted for by just six different accident types, with falls from height at the top of the league table:
Ryden makes three key hires in Edinburgh
Property consultant Ryden has unveiled three key appointments at its Edinburgh headquarters.
Clare Edgar joins the firm as an associate within its property management group and has over 14 years’ experience in property management and lease advisory services. She was previously at BNP Paribas Real Estate where she managed the firm’s Scottish portfolio of property management clients.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, David Moore joins the firm as a senior project manager. Holding similar posts at Turner & Townsend, University of Glasgow and Davis Langdon, he brings a wealth of experience and will play a crucial role in helping the team bolster its service offering and advising an ever growing client base.
Returning to Ryden from Glasgow City Council is Monica Forde. She re-joins as a planning consultant specialising in planning and research projects for both public and private sector clients.
UK Property Awards success for Aberdeen PRS development
Aberdeen’s first private rental scheme (PRS) development has been named the best residential high rise development in the UK round of the International Property Awards, at which the company received a total of nine prizes.
Forbes Place at Stoneywood by developer Dandara received a further two 5-Star awards at the ceremony in London including best apartment (North-east Scotland) for its studio property type and best development marketing (Scotland).
Dandara also received a 5-Star award for the three bedroom Cherry bungalow house style at its Hazelwood development in Aberdeen, which was named best residential property (North-east Scotland). Its Knights Wood development in Kent also received a five-star title.
Having secured five of the coveted 5-Star awards, Dandara will now progress to the “world’s best” round of the awards, which is judged later this year.
Dandara also received Highly Commended awards for two other communities in Aberdeen. The Beech Walk phase of the Hazelwood development in Aberdeen’s West End, was recognised in the residential development (North-east Scotland) category and the townhouse at Stoneywood estate received the prize for architecture single residence (North-east Scotland).
Dandara received a further two Highly Commended awards for developments in Kent and Isle of Man.
Scots urged to vote for Forth in UK civil engineering awards
The Scottish public can choose to make the Forth first in a UK-wide People’s Choice vote to select their favourite civil engineering project.
The competition puts the winning project of this year’s Saltire Civil Engineering Awards, the Forth Road Bridge Truss End Links Repair, back in the spotlight.
Voting has opened online for the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award, allowing everyone that uses infrastructure to shine a light on the UK’s greatest civil engineering achievements this year. The Forth Road Bridge project is one of 12 nominated projects from across the UK, and the public have until November 30 to decide their favourite. The winning infrastructure project will be announced in January 2017.
To find out more, and to vote for the Forth Road Bridge visit http://bit.ly/2f9U4Uf.
The full list of nominees is:
Arbroath pedestrian crossing refurbishment works
Refurbishment work to three pedestrian crossings in Arbroath is set to start next week.
Work will begin at the crossing at the Saltire Centre on the A92 Montrose Road from Monday 14 November.
During a scheduled two weeks of work, Tayside Contracts and Siemens Mobility will then work at the crossing at A933 Cairnie Street, at the shops near Lochlands Street and then on Keptie Road at Angus College.
The project involves tracking across the carriageway to install new ducts and cables, refurbishment of existing traffic signals, as well as associated localised footway works at three crossings.
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