Building Briefs – October 24th

Buccleuch Property has continued to strengthen its industrial portfolio with the recent purchase of West Telferton industrial estate in Edinburgh for £2.5 million, representing an initial yield of 7.2%.

The property investment and development company acquired the 3.27 acre site from IPIF, which consists of 11 units totalling 29,061 sq ft, across six terraces and two stand-alone buildings.

The multi-let industrial park has excellent transport links with easy access across the city and the central belt of Scotland, as well as the A1 down to England. The units vary in size from approximately 1,900 sq ft – 4,000 sq ft with only one void on the estate. Current occupiers include Hermitage Garage, Style Flooring Edinburgh and Richard Wylie Ltd.

Phil Eves, director at Buccleuch Property, said: “This new acquisition further enhances our presence in Edinburgh, delivering a well located industrial estate within the city bypass. We intend to work closely with existing tenants to improve the current environment and their ability to serve the East side of the capital and its surrounding area.

“There is strong demand for this type of industrial accommodation and we continue to seek new investment and development opportunities of this type, across Scotland and the rest of the UK.”

Buccleuch Property was advised by Ryden.

Callander set for 50 new affordable homes as Lovell secures local partnership

Partnership housing provider Lovell has been chosen as Rural Stirling Housing Association’s preferred partner to design and build 50 new affordable homes near the town of Callander.

The first partnership between the two organisations will see the development of one, two, and three bedroom homes for social rent on land at Claish Farm, located to the east of the A81, south of Callander and within the boundary of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.

Lovell is now working with Rural Stirling Housing Association as well as with the National Park Planning Authority, SEPA, Scottish Water, Scottish Natural Heritage, and Transport Scotland on final plans for the £5 million development. The site at Claish Farm is the largest area highlighted for development within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s Local Development Plan.

In agreement with the National Park Planning Authority, a strategic working group comprising representatives from planning, SEPA, Scottish Water, SNH, the local roads department and Transport Scotland, has been put in place to progress the development.

Bute House closed for urgent repairs

The First Minister’s official residence has been closed after it was found the building requires “essential repair work” to its ceilings.

Bute House, a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town, has been the official residence for all First Ministers since the Scottish Parliament was created in 1999.

Monitoring of the building’s structural integrity has revealed urgent ceiling repairs are required alongside further probes on the townhouse’s health.

The A-listed building is also used to house meetings of the devolved Scottish Cabinet.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said Cabinet meetings will now take place at St Andrew’s House while the repairs are being completed.

Bute House is owned by the National Trust and the repairs will be coordinated by Historic Environment Scotland.

AWPR beam lift for A90 Stonehaven Bridge this weekend

Five 40m beams which will form the new A90 northbound carriageway at Stonehaven are expected to be lifted into place this weekend, as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project.

In preparation for the beam lift, the B979 Netherley Road is expected to close from 8pm on Friday 27 October until 6am on Monday 30 October to enable the crane to be positioned, the beams to be installed and the crane to be dismantled. These works are weather dependent and therefore may be subject to change.

The beams will be installed in three lifts, overnight on Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October. The A90 mainline will be brought to a complete halt on each night for around 15 minutes to allow the beams to be safely lifted into position. These will take place overnight when traffic is at its lightest.

CCG completes kitchen contract for Forth Housing Association

CCG Asset Management has completed a kitchen replacement contract for Forth Housing Association.

After commencing works in September, all 29 properties located in the area of Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, have been upgraded with new plumbing and electrical services, kitchens, and decoration.

The contract was awarded directly by Forth Housing Association through the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) KB3 Workstream 2 Framework. Fully OJEU compliant, the KB3 framework allows public sector organisations to be given immediate access to contractors that are assured of quality whilst also being able to fast-track project start dates.

New Moray railway station complete

Work on a new railway station in Moray is now complete.

The new Forres station has been developed as part of the Scottish Government-funded Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project.

It was completed as part of a recent 10-day closure of the line, during which the railway was moved onto a straighter, double-tracked, alignment to the north of the old station.

As well as improved passenger facilities, the station’s two platforms are linked by a fully accessible footbridge and lifts. In addition, the car park has more than doubled in size to 58 spaces, while a new road bridge over the railway links the station to the town.

Further works carried out during the 10-day closure, which was delivered by main contractor BAM Nuttall and Network Rail, includes:

Improvement works between Aberdeen and Inverurie are scheduled to be finished by the end of 2019.

Endangered East Ayrshire property gets a council makeover

A Ballochmyle sandstone building in Catrine’s Conservation Area and dating from 1903, is all set for a new lease of life, thanks to the determination of its owners and help from East Ayrshire Council’s Town Centre Vacant and Derelict Buildings Grant Scheme.

19-25 St Germain Street, a three storey tenement which houses 6 flats and 2 commercial units, is the first property to benefit from the council’s brand new grant scheme, aimed at restoring buildings which are at risk or subject to Dangerous Buildings notices due to their poor state of repair.

Originally commissioned by the Co-Op in 1903, the building was designed by William Newlands and Gabriel Andrew, who was the “retained” architect for Johnnie Walker & Sons at the time. In recent times, as with many aged buildings, it had fallen into disrepair. In March 2012 a Dangerous Building Notice was issued, meaning that a structural engineer was appointed to carry out regular inspections and make recommendations.

The main issue lay with the balustrades on the first and second floor which give access to the flats via open fronted balconies at the rear of the building. The owners and tenants had to be evacuated while the engineers designed and installed a temporary system of props to allow safe passage until the balconies, which had come to the end of their structural lifespan, could be replaced.

In the meantime, the owners of most of the 8 properties within the building got together, set up a Trust and deposited funds in a bank account to contribute 50% of the costs of the £62,000 project which is being carried out, in accordance with a design drawn up by CMS Structural Designs, by Donald Reid & Sons, a local building firm.

The work is due to be completed in mid November.

AJ Engineering completes upgrade at CS Wind’s Machrihanish facility

AJ Engineering has helped to deliver new stairs, hand-railing and flooring for CS Wind at its manufacturing site in Machrihanish, Argyll.

Contracted by Morrison Construction, the company was tasked to fabricate and install the facilities to an existing building at the company which houses one of its production lines.

CS Wind manufactures ‘ready to install’ tower solutions for the onshore and offshore wind energy market.

Work starts on Kirkcaldy road resurfacing project

Road resurfacing work is underway in Kirkcaldy.

The three-week project is being carried out on Victoria Road.

It will be delivered in phases between the east end of Victoria Road at the Dunnikier Road junction to the Bennochy Road junction. Temporary traffic lights and side road closures will be in place.

The council said it apologises for the inconvenience and delay caused by these essential works and will try to keep any disturbance to a minimum.