Building Briefs – October 25th

• Whiteburn announces full letting at 100 West George Street

Founded by Glasgow entrepreneur Paul Reynolds, Stack and Still is committing to a new 15 year lease on 6,935 sq. ft. across the ground and lower ground floors at the building.

Formerly RBS’ Glasgow HQ, 100 West George Street comprises 19,696 sq. ft., in total across six floors.

The building was built in late 1980s in the post-modern style, with a stone-clad bay window frontage and concrete frame and waffle slab construction.

John Shepherd of Whiteburn said: “We have succeeded in transforming the whole building to encompass a new hub for start-up businesses, satellite offices, co-working and meeting space  that is underpinned by a growing local restaurant and lifestyle operator with an established following.”

Whiteburn and L&SI carried out a complete DDA compliant landlord refurbishment with renewed services, in preparation for letting to Spaces for their own fitout, as well as creating a separately accessed restaurant unit  that is now let to Stack and Still.

• J&D Pierce MD shortlisted for entrepreneur award

The managing director of structural steelwork contractor J&D Pierce has been revealed as one of three finalists to be named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 Summit Entrepreneurship Awards.

Named from 250 nominations, Derek Pierce is the only finalist from the construction sector in any of the seven categories.

 The 2018 Summit Entrepreneurship Awards recognise the outstanding achievement of entrepreneurs of Scotland, and shines a spotlight on the country’s innovators, visionaries and game-changers.

These candidates will now take part in challenging judging days on 30th October and 1st November 2018 in Glasgow.

The winners will be announced at the awards night to be held at SWG3 in Glasgow on 22 November.

• Housing minister opens Tollcross Housing Association’s new headquarters

Tollcross Housing Association’s new £2.9 million headquarters on Tollcross Road, Glasgow was officially opened by minister for local government, housing & planning, Kevin Stewart MSP.

Tollcross currently owns and manages over 2200 houses and flats in the Tollcross, Carmyle and Lilybank/Newbank area. The investment in the new office building is the result of amalgamation of staff following a stock transfer.

The new headquarters will provide an easily accessible one-stop-shop which will bring a variety of benefits to residents. The purpose-built facility will also provide a range of cost efficiencies including savings on overheads and heating.

In addition to opening the new office, Mr Stewart also visited residents of the Dunira Street, Phase 1 development which is situated beside the headquarters. The 47 houses that sit adjacent to Tollcross Housing Association form part of the £8.5m regeneration project at the site, which was made possible due to grant funding from Glasgow City Council. As well as a modern new office for Tollcross Housing Association, the development will also provide much needed affordable homes for the area.

• Aberdeen office lettings double in 2018 year to date

The Aberdeen office market continued to galvanise with the completion of 74 office lettings in the year to date, nearly double the number of deals to complete than in the same period last year (45 lettings), according to Savills.

Research from the international real estate advisor found that the activity sees take-up for the year to date total 276,240 sq ft (25,663 sq m). Take-up for the whole of 2017 totalled over 400,000 sq ft (37,160 sq m) across 67 deals, with the city’s two largest deals accounting for almost 50% of annual take-up.

Key deals include: Aberdeen Journals, RBS and NHS at Marischal Square; Verus Petroleum, Barclays and CATS Management at The Silver Fin Building; and Noble Drilling’s acquisition of The Stratus Building at ABZ Business Park.

• Ayrshire Growth Deal partners hopeful of £300m investment package

Organisations behind the Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) have said the ambitious transformation project for Ayrshire has taken a “major step forward”.

The partners, which include the three Ayrshire councils and national agencies, with support from the private sector, said that they were now hopeful that it will secure much-needed funds from both the UK and Scottish governments – which will help deliver a £300m package of investment in key assets and sectors.

During a recent visit, Lord Duncan of Springbank, parliamentary under secretary of state for Scotland, was given a tour of three sites – Hunterston in North Ayrshire, Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire and Prestwick in South Ayrshire – and met with some of the partners involved.

The AGD partnership has been working on the development of the Growth Deal and its associated projects since Prime Minister Theresa May announced her commitment to the Deal in March.

The partnership has been in regular dialogue with the UK and Scottish governments in recent months to ensure their business cases fit in with the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy and the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy.

When implemented, the projects will create thousands of jobs, build on Ayrshire’s assets and strengths and promote an economy where inclusive growth – creating opportunities for all – is at its core.

Speaking after the meetings, Lord Duncan said: “It’s fantastic to see and hear about so many ambitious plans for unlocking Ayrshire’s potential. Ayrshire has a huge amount to offer, from manufacturing to life sciences, to tourism and space.

“I want to see a Growth Deal that is inclusive and enriches the whole of Ayrshire and it’s clear from today that there are real opportunities to bring transformative investment to achieve just that.

“The UK Government has already committed £3.5m to the HALO Kilmarnock project and I am determined to see a wider Ayrshire Growth Deal become a reality.”

• Dundee pub granted permission for extension

Planning permission has been granted to transform part of a Broughty Ferry pub.

The Eagle Coaching Inn on King Street was given approval to extend the public house.

A single-storey extension will be added to the rear of the two-storey building.

The space will accommodate a disabled toilet.

Existing features within the premises are set to be retained during the proposed changes.

• Pre-determination hearing set for Aberdeenshire substation development

Aberdeenshire Council has set a pre-determination hearing to discuss a planning application for a proposed electricity substation near Rothienorman.

The proposed development by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Plc consists of a platform area, control building, associated plant and infrastructure, ancillary facilities, access track and landscape work at land to the west of Wood of Middleton.

A pre-determination hearing is a formal process allowing those who have already submitted valid representations, as well as the applicant and consultees, to express their views to councillors before any decision is taken.

These hearings are not public consultation events.

A site visit will take place before the meeting, with councillors visiting the relevant site prior to the hearing, but will not hear arguments for or against the proposals during the visit.

Although no decision will be made on the application at the hearing, it will be minuted and all points raised will be placed before both the Garioch and Formartine Area Committees when they discuss it.

A report will then go to a meeting of the full council detailing local views on the application, where councillors will be asked to decide on it.

• New East Dunbartonshire school proposal moves to next stage of consultation

East Dunbartonshire Council is set to move to the next stage of the statutory consultation process on its proposal to close the area’s two special schools – Campsie View School in Lenzie and Merkland School in Kirkintilloch – and invest £23.5 million to build one state-of-the-art school in Kirkintilloch.

Having launched a consultation in April, a report on the findings has been published and will be available to view in accordance with Scottish Government legislation.

Under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, this consultation report must be published for at least three weeks before the council can decide whether or not to implement the proposal. This ‘extended consideration period’ is intended to allow interested parties to read the report and to make their views known to their councillors.

Parents, residents and other interested parties can view the report on the council website.

• Job success for Hillcrest apprentice joiners

Two young apprentices have secured full time employment with Hillcrest Maintenance Services (HMS) after completing modern apprenticeships.

Ross Grant and Jackson Couper both achieved SVQ Level 3 in Joinery after completing the four year course at the Dundee-based maintenance company.

• Scottish Water to hold information event ahead of major improvement works

Scottish Water has announced an information event ahead of water mains works in Stonehaven.

The information event will allow customers to find out more about a major investment in the water network in the town.

The utility’s alliance partner, Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), will be carrying out a £900,000 upgrade of the mains network in the coming months. This will see the rehabilitation of over 27km of mains, with lining and flushing of pipes. There will also be replacement of some mains where needed.

The information event on 31 October, which is being held at Stonehaven Town Hall, will offer the opportunity for customers to speak with the team involved in the work.

Representatives from Scottish Water and CWA will be there to explain details about the project, and to answer any questions.