Building Briefs - October 30th

• Kier Construction Scotland manager wins at leading industry awards

The awards event, run by the Chartered Institute of Building, is one of the most prestigious built environment awards and also one of the most unusual: it is the only event in Europe that celebrates excellence in construction management. 

Andy McTavish won the title of Construction Manager of the Year Award in the Higher Education category in recognition of his work at Ayr Academy for hub South West and South Ayrshire Council- a £24m state-of-the-art school that Kier Construction built to accommodate an additional 300 students over three storeys, providing a modern, creative and social learning environment with shared indoor and outdoor spaces.

Brian McQuade, managing director of Kier Construction Scotland and North East said: “Only the very best in the industry reach the final of these awards so it’s extra special that Andy has won this prestigious accolade.

“Awards like these are so important in recognising the talent of individuals within the industry, particularly as the sector strives to combat the skills shortage by encouraging new and diverse talent to consider a career in construction.”

• Barratt Homes win three prestigious awards for excellence

Allan Barclay

Three site managers from Barratt Homes have been recognised by the National House Building Council (NHBC) for excellence in on-site management for developments in Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Edinburgh.

Allan Barclay, Peter Lawrie and Colin Graham were all awarded with a ‘Seal of Excellence’ at the 2018 NHBC ‘Pride in the Job Awards’ for their work at the Westburn Gardens (Aberdeen), The Heathers (Dunfermline) and Greenacres (Edinburgh) developments.

The awards, organised by the UK’s leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes, aim to recognise the outstanding performance and achievement of the country’s best site managers.

Douglas McLeod, regional managing director for Barratt Homes Scotland, added: “The exemplary work done by our winners is testament to the high quality of the homes that they build and in delivering a five-star service to our customers.

“We are always working hard to improve how we work and our standards. It’s through the exceptional leadership and expertise from our site managers like Allan, Peter and Colin that makes us the country’s best and most successful housebuilder.”

Each year, more than 16,000 site managers are judged by the NHBC and leading experts. Winners must consistently score highly in categories such as quality of workmanship, leadership and technical expertise.

This year Barratt Homes has won 83 ‘Pride in the Job Awards’ the highest number delivered by any national housebuilder.

Barratt Homes recently secured the coveted five-star rating from the Home Builders Federation for the ninth consecutive year. To be ranked as five-star, more than 90 per cent of customers have to recommend a home to a friend and Barratt Homes is the only national housebuilder to achieve a nine-year run of success.

• Link Group names Jon Turner as new CEO from 2019

Jon Turner

Link Group has named Jon Turner as its new chief executive officer with effect from January 2019.

Mr Turner, currently group director of treasury at Wheatley Group, will lead delivery of Link’s strategic vision.

He succeeds Craig Sanderson, who will step down after 43 years of service at the affordable housing provider, including 31 years at the helm.

Ross Martin, chair of Link Group’s board, said: “We are delighted to announce Jon as our new CEO. This is an exciting time for Link as we move into our next phase of development and I’m confident we’ve found the right leader in Jon to take on this unique, high-profile challenge.”

Mr Turner will lead the development of activities and the range of services across the Link group of companies, which serve more than 15,000 customers across Scotland.

• Council to consult on ‘ambitious’ Granton Waterfront regeneration plans

A regeneration project at Granton Waterfront will take a step forward next month when the City of Edinburgh Council will begin an intensive six month period of public engagement into plans to deliver a vibrant, well connected, new city quarter.

The council’s vision for the area is for around 4,000 new homes, services, retail and high quality public realm to be built over the next 15 years.

The first phase of public engagement will start on Thursday, 8 November, with future events planned for January and March.

A Development Framework and high level masterplan will be developed over the next six months and presented to the Planning Committee in late Spring 2019 for approval as non-statutory planning guidance. This will help ensure that the community and placemaking remain at the heart of this regeneration by providing guidance for future planning applications.

To strengthen collaborative working with key public sector partners who have an interest in the area, the council is also proposing that it signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) alongside Edinburgh College, National Galleries Scotland, Scottish Futures Trust, Scottish Government and National Museums Scotland.

Further events and drop-in sessions will be held as plans develop in the coming years.

The first community event will take place on Thursday, 8 November at Madelvic House from 2pm-7pm, 33 Granton Park Avenue, Edinburgh EH5 1HS.

• New homes given the green light in Glasgow’s East End

Glasgow City Council bosses have approved plans for nine new houses in the East End of Glasgow.

Persimmon Homes will now develop the three and four-bedroom houses on Bredisholm Road in Broomhouse.

The green light comes some months after the national housebuilder withdrew proposals for 22 homes in the same area following an objections from residents.