Building Briefs – October 21st

Electrical engineering apprentice wins national title

An apprentice from New College Lanarkshire has been crowned Scotland’s top first-year electrical engineering apprentice.

Mark Savage, 23, from Holytown, Motherwell, received a gold award at the SECTT Apprentice of the Year final after impressing a panel of experts.

SECTT (Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust) runs the only industry-approved training scheme for electrical apprenticeships in Scotland.

It hosted a regional contest at New College Lanarkshire’s Motherwell Campus in June at which Mark excelled in a practical test and theory exam to be named the West of Scotland winner.

The regional winners from across Scotland were then invited to a final held recently at the Original Rosslyn Inn in Roslin, Midlothian where they were interviewed by a judging panel.

The panel comprised of Fiona Harper from the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB), John Noble of John Noble Contractors and SECTT Trustee Scott Foley.

Extra £700,000 to upgrade Glasgow Gaelic schools

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has revealed an extra £700,000 to upgrade two Gaelic schools in Glasgow.

The funding will be used to improve the learning environment for pupils at Glendale Gaelic School and Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu.

In addition, the money will also be spent on upgrading school facilities to help tackle an increase in demand for places.

Highland Council anticipating up to £72m savings amid ‘unprecedented’ budget fears

The Highland Council is anticipating it may have to make savings of up to £72 million over the next three years.

The local authority said it faces a £26m gap in its budget next year and is struggling with an “unprecedented degree” of uncertainty over its finances.

Options for potential saving will be provided once the Scottish Government’s council funding settlement is announced on December 15.

The council said it will likely have to make cuts totalling between £47m and £72m over three years from 2017/18.

Facelift for Ayr flats paves way for cheaper bills

A major facelift for more than 100 flats in central Ayr is set to drive down heating bills for tenants and residents.

South Ayrshire Council is taking forward a £900,000 project to transform flats in Wallacetoun as part of a project to deliver energy efficient homes.

The council recently secured £500,000 from the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland that is being used to help fund the project. The work will improve energy efficiency at 123 properties by replacing external cladding in buildings that are hard to adapt internally.

Tenants and residents living in flats in Kings Court, Limonds Wynd, Philip Square, and Russell Drive in Wallacetoun will benefit from greater insulation at no personal cost, with expected savings of £200 savings per year expected to be delivered through improved energy efficiency.

The project is part of a three-phase programme that will eventually benefit 191 properties in Wallacetoun, an area identified as experiencing high levels of fuel poverty.

Work on the first two stages is expected to begin in January 2017, and scheduled to last for six months.

The final stage of work, for a further 68 properties, is expected to be completed in 2017-18.

New £11.5m primary school opens in East Dunbartonshire

A new £11.5 million primary school has been officially opened in East Dunbartonshire.

Council leader Rhondda Geekie unveiled the new Lenzie Meadow Primary School and Early Years Centre during a ceremony last week.

The project was delivered by Lendlease and hub West Scotland as part of the council’s £48m Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP).

The new school is built on the site of the old Lenzie Moss Primary and is a merger of both Lenzie Moss and Lenzie Primary Schools. Features include classrooms with LCD touchscreens, Wi-Fi throughout the building, multi-use games area in the grounds, covered outdoor learning areas and small and large group work spaces.

The building was designed through close consultation with parents, pupils and teachers and is based on the new Lairdsland Primary School building, the first of the council’s PSIP schools which has been established as a reference design for primary schools in Scotland.

New training facility will ensure Dundee apprentices are on the boil

Apprentice plumbers at Dundee and Angus College have been taking advantage of a new training facility which could help them earn the accreditation they need in their careers.

The facility, funded through a partnership between the college and heating appliance company Worcester Bosch, allows the education institution to teach OFTEC oil courses – the qualification needed by heating engineers and plumbers before they can work on oil-fed boilers.

Council seeks residents’ views on Orkney planning guidance

Orkney Islands Council is inviting residents to submit their views on planning guidance linked to Orkney’s historic sites and cultural heritage.

The guidance, along with supervision relating to the county’s natural environment, is set to be updated and draft proposals have been published.

A six-week consultation on the documents has now been launched and the public is encouraged to provide ideas to help shape their final versions.

One set of guidance provides a range of information about the planning process when developments are likely to have an impact on the buildings, archaeological remains and other sites that form Orkney’s historic environment and cultural heritage.

The other document provides similar advice and guidance for projects involving Orkney’s natural environment and includes updated information about areas identified as Local Nature Conservation Sites.

To view the documents, visit here.

Average house prices up 2.4 per cent in a year

House prices in Scotland continued to push up in August as two thirds of local authorities witnessed growth, according to the latest Your Move/Acadata House Price data.

The average house price increased by £700 (0.4 per cent) on the previous month to reach £169,834. It is now £4,000 above its level at the same time last year, an increase of 2.4 per cent annually.

Across the country, two thirds of local authority areas (21 out of 32) saw prices grow in August, led by Inverclyde (up 5.7 per cent), Clackmannanshire (5 per cent) and South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire (which both saw prices up 4.4 per cent).

Despite a small fall in August (of 0.1 per cent), the average price in the City of Edinburgh is now £242,518, up £16,585 or 7.3 per cent on last year. East Renfrewshire, with average prices almost as high (£241,472) as Edinburgh, has also seen strong annual growth, of 8.7 per cent. The fastest growing areas over the past year, however, have been the Shetland Islands (up 11.7 per cent annually), and Na h-Eileanan Siar (up 10.8 per cent, despite a fall of 5 per cent last month), which is also the cheapest local authority in Scotland, with an average price of £105,755.

The biggest falls have been in Aberdeen City, down 8.8 per cent over the year, followed by Dumfries & Galloway (down 6.1 per cent).

The latest ONS transactions figures are also up, increasing 7 per cent in May over April, with 7,131 transactions, but down 17 per cent on the same month last year. This is due to large numbers of property purchases brought forward to March ahead of April’s introduction of an additional 3 per cent Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) surcharge on second homes.

Housing minister visits Dundee affordable housing development site

Housing minister Kevin Stewart was in Dundee yesterday to see progress on an affordable housing development in the Hilltown area of the city.

Dundee City Council and Hillcrest Housing Association have formed a partnership to build 81 social rented houses on land south/east of Alexander Street where four multi-storey housing blocks were demolished in summer 2011.

The local authority has invested £4.2m in order to build 33 homes while Hillcrest has put in £5.4m for a return of 48 homes.

The Scottish Government has also backed the scheme with grant funding to the tune of more than £5.6m.

Kevin Stewart MSP said the project is just part of a nationwide effort to provide more affordable places to live.

Engineers complete sinkhole repairs at Aberdeen playing fields

Remedial work to repair Harlaw Playing Fields in Aberdeen is now complete.

The facility was shut earlier this year after a sinkhole appeared at the site. The pitch was built on a former dye-bleach works, where several underground ducts had been left in situ.

Specialist engineers carried out works to establish the extent of the hole and ducts underground before beginning repair works.

The facility is now set to reopen on October 24.