Building Briefs – October 13th

New £2.4m social housing development for East Glasgow

West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA) has started construction on phase 10 of development in Camlachie, East Glasgow.

The £2.4 million development will consist of 18 amenity cottage flats designed for older people with two of the ground floor flats being designated for wheelchair users. The project, funded by Glasgow City Council and West of Scotland Housing Association, will also include a community car park.

Work began on the development at the end of September with an expected completion date of summer 2016.

Plans to turn former Kirkcaldy cinema into major music venue

Plans to turn a withered old Kirkcaldy cinema into a potentially world class-entertainment venue have been unveiled.

Campaigners believe the former ABC site in the High Street, which has fallen into disrepair after lying empty for more than 15 years, could be transformed into a 2,000-seat concert theatre that could attract some of the biggest names in music and the arts.

Kings Theatre Kirkcaldy Limited, the group behind the ambitious blueprint, have launched a crowdfunding bid to raise the £30,000 needed to take the project to the next level.

Heat generated from renewables rises by over a third

The amount of heat generated by renewable sources in Scotland increased during 2014, the Scottish Government has announced.

New figures by the Energy Saving Trust show a 36 per cent rise, while it is estimated over 1 gigawatt of renewable heat capacity was in operation in Scotland last year.

Overall, the figure accounts for an estimated 3.8 per cent of the total non-electrical heat demand.

The report covers heat from heat pumps (ground and air) biomass, waste, and solar thermal and is used to measure progress towards the Scottish Government’s target of 11 per cent heat coming from renewables by 2020.

In addition, non-electrical demand in Scotland reduced by 2 per cent in 2013 to just over 82,000 GWh.

GRAHAM named as one of UK’s top growth companies

GRAHAM Construction has been ranked at 26 in The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250.

The contractor employs in excess of 250 people across Scotland, with a regional specific turnover of around £130 million.

GRAHAM is involved in a number of projects across Scotland including the SPT modernisation programme in Glasgow, a new Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit (IPCU) in Stratheden Hospital, Fife and the new £6.985m ‘Rosemount Gardens Housing with Care’ facility, in Bathgate.

The company has rapidly progressed through the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250, from 140 in 2012, to 73 in 2013, 43 in 2014 and 26 this year.

New rock trap to be installed at Edinburgh Castle

A new permanent wall and rock trap is to be installed at Edinburgh Castle, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has announced.

The project, in collaboration with the council, will replace the temporary barrier installed in mid-2013.

The structure will consist of a one metre high stone boundary wall, with 1.5 metre high metal railings on top.

The current structure is three metres high but the loss in height is compensated for by increasing the wall’s distance from the base of the rock, creating a rock trap and gravel blanket at the base of the castle.

Work began on Monday, 12 October and is to be complete in March 2016.

Historic Polhollick suspension bridge reopens

A historic Deeside suspension bridge has been officially reopened.

Polhollick Footbridge, near Ballater, needed repairs running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It is a feature of the path network within the Cairngorms National Park and is part of the Seven Bridges Walk which passes over the rivers Dee and Muick.

The B-listed bridge has been closed since May to allow the work to be carried out. Aberdeenshire Council approved funding of £300,000.

A898 Erskine Bridge works this weekend

Essential inspections on the A898 Erskine Bridge are set to get underway on Friday 17 October 2015.

Scotland TranServ’s engineers, on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out detailed inspections to the two above deck towers which provide cable support to the Bridge.

A CCTV camera located at the top of the south tower will also be replaced with a newer, more efficient system.

West Lothian Council invests £85,000 in swimming pool facilities

West Lothian Council is to invest £85,000 in a swimming pool at a high school in Livingston.

The facility at Inveralmond Community High School is currently undergoing an upgrade programme and will reopen next month.

Work includes the renewal of specialist drainage channels, new partitioning throughout, replacement of fire protective coatings, specialist wall finishes, and replacement of the existing vinyl flooring with new anti-slip resin flooring.

Swimmers will be able to access the pool from 25 November.

South Lanarkshire Council carrying out bridge upgrade works

Essential upgrading work is being carried out to a bridge in South Lanarkshire, the council has announced.

The work began on October 12th and is expected to take three weeks. Works include the installation of high containment kerbing and other related improvements at Dublin Bridge in Kirkfieldbank.

Carriageway lane closures using temporary traffic lights will be put in place at the bridge to ensure that pedestrian and vehicular access is maintained during the works period.