Building Briefs – October 20th

CMS Window Systems has completed a Sale & Rentback deal with TOM Vehicle Rental which has seen its fleet of vehicles purchased and replaced with more modern, fuel efficient vehicles.

The fleet outsourcing unlocks both financial and operational benefits for CMS by avoiding downtime and repair costs as well as freeing up capital for reinvestment in its core activities as the business grows, having recently invested in new state of the art machinery at their main Castlecary factory to increase their operational capacity to service their growing trade and domestic windows and doors market.

The mixed fleet of 37 vehicles provided by TOM consists of cars, small vans, 3.5t Luton vans, 7.5t Box vans and 7.5t Dropsides on a mix of flexible rental and contract hire terms to suit CMS’ ideal fleet profile.

Plans lodged to expand Aberdeenshire village by more than 500 homes

Developers have submitted plans to build more than 500 homes in an Aberdeenshire village.

Bancon Homes’ proposals to increase the size of Mintlaw won the support in principle of the local authority two months ago despite concerns surrounding roads will be unable to cope with the extra traffic.

The Banchory firm has also earmarked land for a primary school and a care home.

It has now officially submitted a planning application with Aberdeenshire Council.

Public consultations on the scheme, however, had raised concerns about the safety of the road network in Mintlaw.

Traffic Scotland also feared that the development will “exacerbate” the congestion on the A90 Fraserburgh to Aberdeen road which cuts through the village.

Aberdeenshire Council hopes to prevent this by conditioning a cap on the number of homes that can be built in each phase, to allow for route upgrades as and when required.

Councillors approve plans for 43 new Dundee homes

Dundee City Council has approved plans by InverTay Homes to build 43 properties on an area of empty land in Whitfield.

Featuring eight two-bedroom, 30 three-bedroom and five four-bedroom homes, the development will extend along Summerfield Terrace as far as Summerfield Avenue.

It’s the latest phase of the ongoing regeneration of the area, which began in 2006 and could see up to 1,000 new houses built.

Fraser Middleton of ARKTX, the architects for the project, said it was an “exciting development” for the area.

Work to start on Lyness visitor centre and museum refurb

Work is to start on a renovation project at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum in Lyness.

The project will get underway at the end of this month and involves the restoration of the historic buildings, the enhancement of interpretation and displays, and the creation of a new building to house an exhibition space, café, toilet facilities and information areas.

Earlier this year The Heritage Lottery Fund announced a £1.1 million grant towards the project.

This completed a funding package made up of grants from Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Orkney LEADER fund and Orkney Islands Council’s capital Projects programme.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Daytime closure of A7 road for surface works

A two day closure of a section of the A7 road for improvements to the route will take place next month.

The road will be shut from immediately north of the Torwoodlee Golf Club junction to Bowland crossroads on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 November, from 9am to 3.30pm on both days.

The closure will allow patching and resurfacing works to take place, with motorists advised to use the A68 instead.

New Aberdeen pedestrian priority zone proposed

Plans have been unveiled to create a new pedestrian priority area in Aberdeen.

A report on developing new cycle routes, improved streetscape and lighting on Justice Mill Lane, Langstane Place and Windmill Brae will go before the city council in early 2018.

The area is identified as a ‘key area’ for pedestrian priority in the City Centre ‘Masterplan’.

Features include turning the three streets into pedestrian and cycle only during the evenings, through the night and into the early morning, seven days a week.

Also under consideration is the prohibition of vehicles from a short stretch of Langstane Place between Dee Street and Crown Street, at all times, and the permanent introduction of a section of one-way on Windmill Brae between Crown Street and Bath Street.

Should the scheme progress, proposals would be subject to a period of statutory public consultation under Traffic Regulation Order procedures.

Russell Roof Tiles hits £9k charity jackpot

Russell Roof Tiles has smashed its original target of raising £5,000 for charity by bring in a whopping £9,000 following a brutal 40-mile challenge by 40 staff across Hadrian’s Wall.

Staff from Russells Lochmaben and its Burton on Trent factories, took part in a battle – starting at different sides to the country - to see who would be the first to get to a central point – with the final result being a draw.

The Lockerbie Legion (starting at Bowness to the West) and Burtoneers (starting at Wallsend to the East) raced across the wall’s length – with the finish line being the central point, The Twice Brewed Inn. The gruelling challenge took a total the whole teams 20 hours and resulted in lots of blisters, minor injuries and lost toe-nails.

The significant triumph for the event was in almost doubling the target of £5000 for the two Blood Bikes charities nominated: Dumfries & Galloway Blood Bikes (D&GBB) and Shropshire Staffordshire Cheshire Blood Bikes (SSBB).

Over the past year and a half RusseIls’ fundraising efforts have included a charity golf day, football matches, a sponsored weight loss, a charity dancing competition, and their own version of the BBC sports competition programme “Superstars”. The hike proved to be the longest activity yet in terms of its duration and perhaps the most physically demanding.

Urban Union opens doors to first time buyers with Muirton Living event

Regeneration company Urban Union is hosting a special event for first time buyers at its Muirton Living development in Perth on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October.

The firm is holding the event to make house buying an easier alternative for those not on the property ladder. For one weekend only, first time buyers can reserve their home for just £99 and will only have to put down a 1% deposit instead of the standard 2.5%.

The mortgage advice bureau team will also be on hand to offer free financial advice to those looking to buy their first home. Anyone who reserves a property over the exclusive weekend will receive free family swim vouchers for Perth Leisure Pool, which boasts training water, leisure water, flumes, a gym, health suite among other state of the art facilities.

The development is set within close proximity to Perth’s town centre with easy access to public transport links and sits within the catchment area of five local schools, both at primary and secondary level.

Urban Union has been working in conjunction with its partners Caledonia Housing Association and Fairfield Housing Cooperative, to create a vibrant living area in which people not only want to live but are proud to be part of the local community.

Urban Union is a unique partnership formed by McTaggart Construction and Robertson Group Holdings to specifically deliver large-scale regeneration projects. Both partners have a proven track record in delivering mixed tenure projects and working to deliver ‘community benefits in procurement’ in Glasgow, Edinburgh and further afield. Urban Union is currently delivering three large-scale regeneration projects – Pennywell Living, Edinburgh; Laurieston Living, Glasgow and Muirton Living, Perth.