Building Briefs – October 25th

Property and planning consultancy Rapleys has acquired a site for a new flagship Jaguar and Volvo dealership in Glasgow.

The prominent Gateway Plot at Hillington Park fronting Junction 25 of the M8 Motorway was acquired on behalf of Lookers Plc.

Planning has been granted with construction due to commence Autumn 2016.

Work set to begin on Dundee commercial units

Construction work to transform former offices in Shore Terrace, Dundee into commercial units could be set to begin next month.

Councillors will consider a tender worth a total of more than £720,000 to alter and sub divide the former housing offices which now face onto the recently-opened Slessor Gardens.

Four units would be formed for potential new restaurant and café businesses, with partial fit out of one of them to provide amenities including kitchen extract, ventilation and air conditioning.

The city development committee will meet and consider the construction services tender offer on October 31.

Work would start in November with completion estimated for April next year.

Housing boost for Cairngorms National Park

Sixty new homes are set to be built in the Cairngorms National Park after three separate planning applications were given the go ahead for Grantown-on-Spey.

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) approved an application from Seafield & Strathspey Estates for a development of 43 plots and associated works close to the town’s Seafield Avenue as well as a related application from the Highland Council for 10 affordable homes on a neighbouring plot close to Beachan Court.

A third application from the owners of the Seafield Lodge Hotel to convert their property into six flats and one house was also approved.

The two developments between Seafield Avenue and Beachan Court are on areas designated for housing in the Local Development Plan and were recommended for approval by planning officers.

The Seafield Lodge Hotel application will also provide two affordable properties for Grantown, with the loss of this small-scale tourism accommodation not thought to be significantly detrimental to the town.

£53m Kilmarnock Campus opens

A new £53 million education campus has been opened in Ayrshire.

The 183,000 square foot Kilmarnock Campus was built by McLaughlin and Harvey for Ayrshire College.

The project involved redeveloping part of the former Diageo/Johnnie Walker Bottling Plant on Hill Street. Features include administrative and staff areas, teaching classrooms, HE and IT departments, technical workshops, music and drama, sports hall and MPH, changing rooms / showers and a full-sized 3G soccer pitch.

In addition, the building also contains a restaurant and beauty salon, operated by students, as well as event space and sports facilities.

CCG begins East Ayrshire property refurb project

CCG has begun work to upgrade the structure of seven properties in Cumnock, East Ayrshire.

The company’s Specialist Building Services (SBS) division has started refurbishing the units in Hearth Place and completion is scheduled for spring 2017.

Features include demolishing each of the properties’ interiors, including a full asbestos removal, with only the brick façade and roof remaining. To the exterior, SBS will install a new timber frame structure and perform all required roughcast works, roof re-tiling as well as installing a disabled ramp to the main entrance of each property.

Further works involve installing new heating and gas services, full plumbing services including wet room bathrooms, and performing all joiner works made up of new kitchens, windows and doors. The upgrades will contribute towards improving each property’s environmental performance.

Aberdeen approves next stage of energy from waste facility development

Aberdeen City Council has approved proposals that set out the next steps for an Energy from Waste facility to be built in the city and provide low cost heating for the Torry area.

In a special meeting of the full council, councillors agreed to enter into a second stage Inter-Authority Agreement with Aberdeenshire and Moray councils relating to initial project and procurement development work for the facility.

A similar paper is being put to Moray Council’s policy and resources committee today and to Aberdeenshire Council’s full council committee tomorrow.

The £150 million facility will help the city comply with national regulations which, from 1st January 2021, will ban Scottish councils from putting any biodegradable municipal waste into landfill.

Construction on the site is scheduled to begin in January 2019 and to go live in 2021. The facility will employ 20 people when it goes into operation and a further 200 workers during the construction stage.

CALA to build over 100 more homes in Aberdeen

CALA Homes has unveiled plans to build over 100 more homes in the Cults area of Aberdeen.

The housebuilder said the Craigbank development, which will launch next spring, will bring 119 homes to the area, including three, four and five bedroom detached, semi-detached and terraced homes, and a number of these have been designated as affordable housing.

Alongside this, there will also be investment in a sports and recreation area for residents.

The firm previously built the nearby Rosefield Gardens and Hayfield Grange development.

Northern Isles set for new fire training facilities

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is investing £1.2 million to boost firefighter training facilities in the Northern Isles.

The Scottish Government funding will see a new hot fire training unit developed at Kirkwall Airport, including teaching rooms, a canteen, offices and changing facilities.

In addition, a new unit will be built to teach firefighters how to avoid becoming entangled in wires while negotiating enclosed spaces in challenging conditions.

A77 improvements project

Scotland TranServ is underway with a £650,000 maintenance project on the A77 road.

The company is carrying out improvement works across three locations of the route on behalf of Transport Scotland.

The works, which involve resurfacing two miles of the route over a 21-day period, will help upgrade the road for around 4,000 vehicles which use the road every day.

Details of the projects are as follows:

Poll to name Balfour Beatty’s £47m secondary school in Aberdeen

A shortlist has been unveiled of the five most popular names for a new secondary school in Aberdeen.

The £47 million facility, which is being built by Balfour Beatty to replace the existing Torry and Kincorth Academies, is on schedule to be completed by mid-June 2018.

The names Wellington Academy, Lochside Academy, Altens Academy, Redmoss Academy and Calder Academy were suggested by eight schools comprising the Associated School Group (ASG) and voting will end at 5pm on Friday, 04 November. The announcement will be made shortly after.

The three-storey facility has been designed by JM Architects and will include an incorporated dance studio, a fitness suite, a games hall, a six-lane swimming pool, an adjacent garden and a 3G pitch.

To vote on the Academy’s name, visit here.