Building Briefs – October 28th

Construction staff from David Wilson Homes at Phoenix Park in Motherwell swapped their regular hi-visibility gear for pink hats and jackets on Friday to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Campaign.

Staff at the house building firm put their weight behind the charity’s Wear it Pink day with a donation of £190 to fund vital and lifesaving research.

Crane drivers vote for strike action as construction sites face shutdown

UCATT members at HTC Plant Limited have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay.

The 180 plus crane drivers had a vote of 94 per cent in favour of strike action and 94.6 per cent in favour of industrial action short of strike action. The turnout was in excess of 80 per cent.

UCATT is now in consultation with its activists at the company and the exact dates and nature of the industrial action will be announced by the end of the week.

Sites that are set to be affected by the industrial action includes: Crossrail, the London Bridge redevelopment, Nova Square Victoria, Elephant and Castle redevelopment and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermarston.

Major construction contractors who will be affected by the industrial action include: Kier, Lend Lease, Bam, Costain, Mace and Vinci.

Scotland’s top young surveyors compete for prestigious national award

Three of Scotland’s brightest, young industry professionals have been shortlisted for the RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards 2014.

Hundreds of young surveyors from across the UK were nominated for these prestigious awards and the finalists have now been announced.

Out of the 11 awards categories Scotland has finalists in the following:

The awards seek to recognise those excelling within their surveying roles and inspirational role models and ambassadors for the surveying profession.

The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on 14 November 2014 at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London, hosted by Perrier award winning, ‘Mock the week’ and ‘Have I got news for you’ regular Ed Byrne.

National Housing Trust brings new homes to the Highlands

Finance secretary John Swinney has announced a deal to deliver new affordable homes for rent in Inverness, providing a boost to the local construction sector and wider economy.

The deal, for nine new homes at Balvonie Braes, is being delivered by Albyn Housing Society through the Scottish Government’s National Housing Trust (NHT) initiative.

This will bring the total number of NHT homes in the Highlands to over 175. Almost 100 of these homes are already complete, with households settled in their new, high quality NHT homes.

The Scottish Government estimates that the NHT in the Highlands is unlocking around £24 million in housing development, and supporting approximately 225 jobs.

When complete, the homes at Balvonie Braes will be available for rent at mid-market rates for a minimum of five years.

Bid to save Union Chain Bridge for bicentenary

Residents on both sides of the border between Scotland are England are rallying together to help save the famous Union Chain Bridge.

The crossing was the first large scale suspension bridge in the world and is the oldest iron chain suspension bridge still in use in Europe.

Since it opened in 1820, the crossing at the River Tweed has welcomed travellers from either side into Scotland and England. Drivers with an eye for detail who slow down will even be able to read the engraved maxim on structure, which proudly states ‘Vis Unita Fortior’ or United Strength is Stronger.

However, the grand old bridge has been neglected for years, prompting Scottish Borders Council to consider closing it altogether last year.

Now, with the bicentenary of the bridge six years away, the communities who live near the bridge are proving the maxim is true by launching a formal campaign for its full restoration in time for 2020.

Scores of people attended a meeting in Horncliffe village hall last week to mark the inaugural meeting of the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge.

The organisation said that the as well as being a “magnificent feature” in the Borders landscape and a valuable local transport link, the bridge is of “global significance in the history of engineering.”

Sports facility proposed for Bishopbriggs

Progress continues to be made on plans to build a new sports facility in Bishopbriggs.

The Huntershill sports project, which would involve a new 3G pitch, grass pitch, six-lane running track, tennis courts, changing pavilion, access road and parking facilities. The total cost of the project is said to be £3.4 million.

The project is being proposed by East Dunbartonshire Council, in partnership with the East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) Trust.

Some £2.9m of capital funding was made by the council for the scheme, with £500,000 of this pledged by EDLC to run the facility. An in-principle award of £500,000 from sportscotland has also been secured which will allow for a higher-specification pavilion to be created, subject to planning permission.

A planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of next month, with the aim of opening the facility in August 2016.

Neglected Edinburgh landmark for £6m restoration

Plans have been revealed for the transformation of Riddle’s Court, a courtyard house near Edinburgh Castle, into a 21st century centre of learning, inspired by one of the capital’s leading figures in the education field.

Sir Patrick Geddes, the pioneering town planner and educationalist, stepped in to save the Lawnmarket building in the late 19th century and transformed it into one of Edinburgh’s first ­university halls of residence.

Now the summer schools that Geddes used to run there, and his legacy as one of Edinburgh’s greatest thinkers, are inspiring the plans for the new-look Riddle’s Court, which is due to be unveiled in 2017, if the final stages of an ongoing fundraising campaign are successful.

The building will close for around two years from next spring to allow it to be transformed into a modern learning centre, as well as a new cultural venue and visitor attraction.

Almost £6 million is planned to be spent restoring the A-listed complex, which has played host to royal banquets, was once home to the philosopher David Hume and is the Fringe venue where comedy legends Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie first met.

Edinburgh-based LDN Architects, which was behind the transformation of the city’s Usher Hall, Assembly Rooms and Festival Theatre, have revealed images showing how Riddle’s Court will be transformed.

Public consultation launched over £320m harbour expansion plans

A public consultation has been launched over plans for a £320m redevelopment of Aberdeen Harbour.

Aberdeen Harbour Board announced plans to expand the port into Nigg Bay in 2012, motivated by an increase in activity and the need to accommodate larger vessels.

The project, which could begin in 2017, would create around 7000 jobs and contribute an estimated £1bn to the economy each year.

Aberdeen Harbour Board’s plans will be on display at the city’s Maritime Museum until October 31.

Protests against alleged blacklisting contractors

Trade unionists who have been blacklisted for up to 32 years hit out at Dundee City Council’s awarding of the V&A contract to BAM Construction Ltd last night.

Members of several trade unions, including GMB and United, staged a protest to lobby councillors ahead of meetings in the City Chambers.

The event was organised by banned electricians angry that BAM was named preferred contractor for the project.

Trade unionists, as well as Labour councillors, have alleged the firm was involved in blacklisting union employees although BAM maintains that the illegal practice did not take place north of the Border.

GMB will also hold a protest demonstration in Glasgow tomorrow against Gerry Harvey, HR development director at Balfour Beatty Engineering Services for his alleged part in blacklisting 489 construction workers.

This is the fifth date in a national ‘Crocodile Tears’ protest tour against 63 construction industry managers named as blacklisters who have yet to come clean and apologise for their actions.

Plan for 2000 homes near Edinburgh Airport

Plans for around 2,000 new homes next to Edinburgh Airport have been lodged with the City of Edinburgh Council.

The development, which will also include a string of shops and a school, would be built at a huge 75-hectare site at Maybury if planners give the green light.

The district may even have its own woodland and could be served by a planned railway station – on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line – to be sited near the airport.

Developer West Craigs Ltd, the development firm behind the new Maybury suburb, has been formed by a partnership between asset management firm Cardross and Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, which will deliver affordable housing on the site as part of the deal.

West Craigs Ltd has earmarked a site extending 40 acres beyond the city’s Local Development Plan – which dictates the Capital’s housing vision years to come.

Planning permission is already in place for the new railway station, dubbed “Edinburgh Gateway”, with work expected to be completed within two years.

Major works ongoing at Raith roundabout

Work is now well underway across the M8 M73 M74 Improvements Project Work to upgrade the core of Scotland’s motorway network.

In South Lanarkshire the Raith Junction roundabout linking the M74 motorway with the A725 Bellshill Bypass and East Kilbride Expressway will get substantial improvements which will benefit the whole of the Central Belt of Scotland.

CITB extends multi-year partnership with Pearson Vue

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has agreed to continue testing under contract with computer-based testing (CBT) firm Pearson VUE following the successful delivery of the health, safety and environment tests since April 2012.

The continued partnership, part of a series of client wins and extensions for Pearson VUE, will continue to allow candidates to undertake the test introduced in 2001 to ensure that everyone working in the sector has a minimum level of health, safety and environmental awareness. Candidates can take the test at a network of highly secure Pearson Professional Centres located throughout the UK.

The extensive test network means that candidates are able to take a test without having to travel long distances with the online booking system allowing tests to be booked on-demand, with a “walk-in” facility allowing even greater convenience.

Collapse of engineering firm leads to 89 job losses

A Scottish engineering company which began trading almost 150 years ago has gone into administration with the loss of 89 jobs.

John M Henderson & Co, which makes machinery for the steel and oil and gas industries at its factory in Arbroath, had been struggling for some time before calling in KPMG. The failure is being blamed on a downturn in key markets, leading to a reduction in orders over a prolonged period. Together with difficulties being experienced on large contracts, it meant the group was suffering from “considerable cash flow pressure”.

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said the directors had made a number of attempts to save the business, including injecting additional share capital, but by the time the appointment was made it had been wound down considerably.

The firm employed 95 staff at the time of the appointment, with six employees retained to complete outstanding orders and to assist the administrators.

The administrators are now marketing the business and its facilities to interested parties.