Building Briefs - November 9

Glasgow City Council has submitted plans for a 150 bed residential care home and day care centre in Pollok, offering a range of facilities including sensory and treatment rooms.

Both centres will be located in a buff brick and aluminium clad block with separate entrances defined by pre-cast concrete panels.

In a planning statement the council observed: “The main elevation of the building faces south, affording views over the landscaped southern portion of the site and beyond to Haugh Hill.

“Courtyards are oriented toward the rear of the site to provide a quieter, more secluded environment, whilst the communal living spaces face west to enjoy afternoon sunlight.”

Three secure landscaped courtyard gardens are defined by the buildings footprint with interior spaces designed to impart a ‘non-institutional’ feel.

Ogilvie to re-start stalled Garnethill housing

Ogilvie Homes have submitted plans to finish off their Hill Street residential project in Glasgow with revised designs for the fifth and final block in its stalled Garnethill project.

These will reactivate the site which has lain dormant for seven years since the completion of ground and basement works on-site, extending the block around the original stair core to offer an additional 30sq/m of floorspace as well as cantilevered bays to the north and south.

Designed by Unum Partnership chartered architects the final block will be finished in matching cast stone and incorporate a total of 23 apartments.

The project dates back to 2009 when Ogilvie teamed up with Charing Cross Housing Association and Austin Smith Lord to infill a prominent hilltop gap site overlooking the M8.

East Ayrshire homes benefit from £5.5 million improvements

Seventy-three homes in Gatehead and 100 homes in Stewarton are warmer and more energy efficient after East Ayrshire Council carried out a large scale housing improvement programme.

Working with the Energy Agency, the Council secured funding from the Scottish Government which allowed the Housing Asset Services team to carry out external insulation programmes on a much larger scale.

Funding was offered to private home owners which meant that improvements could be carried out on whole streets when the Council’s housing improvement and energy efficiency programmes were already underway.

Energy efficiency features prominently in the Housing Improvement Programme, with £5.49m identified to be spent on external wall insulation and render works in the current year.

Hundreds of homes have already benefitted from external wall insulation and new render finish and this year alone 640 council houses will be upgraded.

As well as improving the thermal efficiency, the smart render finish lifts the appearance of the houses.

In Gatehead, 40 private houses and 33 council houses are in the process of being completely rejuvenated.

SELECT urges private landlords to remember new obligations

SELECT, the campaigning trade body for Scotland’s electrical sector, has urged private landlords to remember that five-yearly electrical checks will become mandatory from 1 December 2015.

The issue of electrical safety has been an important topic for landlords since Scottish Government statistics have shown that 69% of all accidental fires in Scottish homes (more than 3,400 annually) are caused by electricity.

The recently amended Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 includes statutory guidance on electrical installations and appliances in private rented property to ensure that a rented house meets the “Repairing Standard” at the start of and throughout any tenancy.

This includes a requirement for landlords to ensure that the installations in the house for the supply of electricity, the electrical fixtures and fittings and any appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.