Building Briefs - October 26th

• Refurbished multi-let property in Aberdeen goes up for sale

The imposing period property, which was extended in the mid-1990s and vacated by KPMG last year, was comprehensively refurbished and reconfigured to provide energy efficient multi-let office accommodation. 

The property was fully let within six months of completion in a very challenging market which is testament to the high quality space provided by the developer. Four established tenants are signed up - Azets, Savills, RockRose and Shepherd & Wedderburn - giving investors a rare opportunity to own a prime office with income diversified across a wide range of business sectors.

• Local jobs for local people at Troon affordable housing project

The local Ayrshire community has benefited from more than just new affordable homes, thanks to the ‘added value’ aspect of the current development programme being progressed by Ayrshire Housing in partnership with Cruden Building West.

Four new jobs have been created, including a four-year joinery apprenticeship and a trainee site manager as part of a £7 million affordable housing development at Troon. 

The development which is currently in construction will deliver 52 new affordable homes for the client as part a 600 plus new homes expansion masterplan for the northeast of the town which includes both private and affordable housing.

• Property director goes for the chop for charity

Bravehearted Isla McDermott, a director of Park Property Management, recently had her long hair cut off for charity in support of a fellow colleague who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

With the help of Glasgow hairdresser Grace Lang of Hair & Glamour in Mount Florida, Isla had 14.5 inches cut from her proud locks which had been her trademark for more than 20 years. Her bold move led her to raise over £3,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

At the same time, fellow director Paul McDermott cycled more than 300 miles over last month and raised a further £1,500 for Cancer Research UK. Staff also held a coffee morning raising £600 for Macmillan.

Paul said: “We wanted to show our support to our colleague, Elaine, who is currently receiving cancer treatment. Although I think Isla maybe sacrificed the most as anyone who knows her appreciates how much her long hair was part of her identity, but she felt it was a small price to pay in comparison with the treatment Elaine is having to go through.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has supported our fundraising and we’re so pleased our efforts have raised £5,600 however, we’ve got more ideas planned for the coming months.”

• Repairs scheduled for B9176 Struie Hill Road

Following a successful bid for grant funds from the Strategic Timber Transport Scheme, the Highland Council can confirm that repair work on three sections of the B9176 Struie Hill road will start from Monday 1 November.

The contract has been awarded to Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd which is due on site from next Monday for a period of five weeks. The work will be carried out in three locations and will include mostly patching and overlay works with additional drainage and ditching carried out when required. 

The works for the first two sections that run through Ardross and continue north on the B9176 to Strathrory Bridge will be carried out under a convoy traffic management system (Mon-Fri, 8am – 6pm).

The work in the third area includes resurfacing at Dalneich Bridge (also known locally as Newbridge) and due to the poor road width and alignment these works will be done under a full road closure. This will complete Highland Council funded work which began in August 2021 but couldn’t be completed due to Covid 19. 

• Council tenants move into new homes in Arbroath

A site where lock-up garages once stood now provides much-needed high-quality accommodation for affordable rent for Angus Council tenants.

Tenants have moved into 13 new highly energy efficient homes in the Muirton area of Arbroath, which were delivered by the council’s strategic construction partner CCG (Scotland).

The Scottish Government provided additional grant funding for the project and the new properties will be managed by the council’s Arbroath Community Housing Team.

Community engagement with tenants and homeowners helped to ensure that plans to deliver affordable housing reflected local views. This saw an area of Bloomfield Park (Donkey Park) absorbed into the development and improvements made to the local play park.

The Muirton site now includes new play equipment for children to play and a new footpath/cycle path with lighting that will improve active travel and safe routes to school. Additional car parking spaces have been provided for residents and families visiting the park. A programme of tree-planting will take place in the park this autumn.

The new Muirton development is made up of one, three and four-bedroom properties. They provide much sought-after accommodation for families, couples and single occupants and are all highly energy-efficient, taking advantage of solar power to help minimise energy costs for tenants. 

CCG Scotland successfully navigated several challenges that arose as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, including social distancing and materials/workforce availability.

• DunBear to be lit up green to mark COP26

The iconic DunBear sculpture, located at DunBear Park, Dunbar, will be lit-up green to mark COP26 in Glasgow (31st October – 12th November).

The five-metre high steel sculpture of a brown bear, designed by Andy Scott (who also designed The Kelpies), was erected in 2019 and is the focal point for DunBear Park, a low carbon mixed-use development located beside the A1 at Dunbar. The lights are powered by onsite solar panels.

The sculpture is a tribute to John Muir, the Dunbar-born naturalist and conservationist who emigrated to the USA with his family. He travelled extensively throughout the country, later helping to form the Sierra Club which has gone on to be one of the largest environmental organisations in the world.

It is lit-up at various points throughout the year, including the birthday of John Muir in April (blue and white), Remembrance Day (when it is illuminated red, as it will still be this year) and St Andrew’s Day (blue and white).

Aware of the need to tackle the climate emergency, DunBear Park aims to be an exemplar low carbon community.

A highly sustainable development, located within walking distance of the town centre, it will adopt the latest low carbon technology to generate renewable heat and power on site. This will reduce the need for fossils fuels and thereby lessen carbon emissions, as well as supporting the post-Covid-19 green recovery.

• Teambuild UK 2021 rescheduled for March 2022

The popular UK construction industry competition Teambuild UK has announced that it is rescheduling the event to take place in Spring 2022.

The event which has enjoyed support from leading professional bodies and UK construction companies for the last 30 years is now due to take place from 4th to 6th March 2022 as a result of the ‘perfect storm’ taking place as the industry regroups following the impact of COVID, teamed with issues around transport, delivery and more recently energy prices,

“Teambuild has taken place each year for the last 30 years,” says chair of Trustees Patricia Bessey. “In 2020 we held an online event due to lockdown restrictions and COVID. This year however, although we have a strong core of entries and excellent support from sponsors, we have received feedback from companies to the effect that they would appreciate us running the event in the spring when there has been time for the sector to restructure following the impact of the unprecedented conditions which have impacted the industry in recent times. The competitors at Teambuild always consist of a strong and diverse group of participants who reflect the high standards of the event and we have taken the decision to reschedule the event to ensure this continues.”

The competition is once again supported by major industry bodies including CIOB, the CET, WCC, WCCA, RIBA and RICS and more recently GIRI. It is now due to be held at Lane End Conference Centre near High Wycombe from 4th to 6th March 2022. In addition, past and future participants and other stakeholders will be invited to a networking event in late November where they can meet the judges and find out more about the competition and those who organise and support it.

The cost per entry is £475 plus VAT per entrant but there is a discount for entries from teams of three or more members which will be charged at £425 plus VAT per entrant.

For more information or to book a place visit www.teambuilduk.com or email admin@teambuilduk.com.