Building Briefs – October 4th

Mechanical and electrical services contractor Arc-Tech (Scotland) Ltd has added to its reputation for reliability by successfully delivering the £1.7 million building services element of the overall construction contract for the recently completed Centro House in Stirling.

The contract was completed within the agreed 32-week programme and incorporated the installation of all lighting, LV connections and distribution, heating and plumbing as well as ventilation, security and fire detection systems. Arc-Tech also assumed responsibility for the erection of the partition walls in partnership with VQ Construction.

The Arc-Tech works formed a major part of the newly opened Centro Student Living development in Stirling city centre. The purpose-built facility comprises a high specification facility with 122 bedrooms where students of Stirling University can enjoy all the benefits of city centre living whilst still being only a short journey from the Campus.

MSP’s pride in local housebuilder following award win

An award-winning manager at Miller Homes’ Regents Gate development in Crossgates has been personally congratulated for his commitment to developing quality new homes by West Fife MSP, Douglas Chapman.

Calum Punton, 48, based at the Fife housing development, met with the MSP following his successful Quality Award win at this year’s Pride in the Job awards – beating over 16,000 other entries across the UK to receive one of the building industry’s highest accolades.

As further proof of his commitment and dedication, Calum has received two promotions since receiving the highly coveted award, becoming the senior site manager and, as of this month, a further promotion to contracts manager.

Calum will now progress to the next round of the Pride in the Job awards, taking place at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow this month. In this stage, he will have the opportunity to win the Seal of Excellence accolade, as well as compete against some of the top site managers from across Scotland for the Regional title.

Rothesay Ferry Terminal works delayed

Argyll And Bute Council has announced that work to protect the long-term integrity of the quay wall at Rothesay Ferry Terminal has been delayed by up to four weeks.

The works had been due to begin in September, however, due to an extended period for contractor off-site fabrication and design, the start date for the works has been delayed by approximately four weeks. An amended start date and contract duration will be announced in due course.

An £833,000 contract has been awarded to contractor Lochshell Engineering for the project, which will see a series of protective screens installed. The ‘scour baffle screens’ measure 8m wide x 5.6m high and will minimise the effects of propeller wash which currently affects the masonry quay wall located beneath and to the rear of the suspended deck of the ferry berth.

The work will mostly be carried out overnight to minimise disruption to ferry services.

£900,000 investment in Borders rural roads

Almost £900,000 has been committed to four rural road improvement schemes in the Scottish Borders.

A total of £601,208 has been awarded by the Strategic Timber Transport Fund for the routes, alongside £270,108 of investment from Scottish Borders Council (SBC).

The location of the works are:

Major road improvement works announced by South Ayrshire Council

South Ayrshire Council has announced a major programme of road improvement works, which will invest more than £450,000 in a number of improved pavements.

The council said that footways across South Ayrshire have borne the brunt of sharply contrasting weather conditions in recent months alongside the expected wear and tear. In order to maintain the sections most in need of repair and replacement a programme of works has now been approved, with work to get underway between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.

Managed by the Ayrshire Roads Alliance the Footway Improvement Plan has been prioritised to realise maximum benefits across the whole council area, contributing to wellbeing and regeneration in target areas.

Pavements in Ayr, Ballantrae, Barr, Girvan, Loans, Maybole, Mossblown, Prestwick and Tarbolton are to be improved.

Antonine Wall project awarded £980,000 funding from National Lottery

A project to promote the rich history of the Antonine Wall has received £980,000 funding from the National Lottery.

The Rediscovering the Antonine Wall project will use the money to raise awareness of the 63km World Heritage Site – part of which lies within Goldenhill Park, Clydebank.

The wall marked the most northerly point of the Roman Empire and Council areas it passed through – West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk – have joined forces with Historic Environment Scotland to bring its fascinating story back to life.

The additional funding will be used to support the £2.1 million project for the next three years.

The group plan to place replica distance markers based on the Roman originals at five sites along the Wall with information about its history. The West Dunbartonshire replica stone will be located in Old Kilpatrick.

The Antonine Wall is one of just six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Scotland.

River restoration project announced by East Dunbartonshire Council

East Dunbartonshire Council has announced details of a new river restoration project designed to restore the Glazert Water to a more natural condition and minimise the likelihood of flooding in the River Kelvin Catchment

The proposal for the Glazert River Restoration Project in the heart of Lennoxtown is the result of a study commissioned by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Scottish Government to restore natural waterways.

The aim is to provide flood risk benefits to the River Kelvin and to reduce the likelihood of flooding to communities in Kirkintilloch and Torrance. The restoration work will physically restore the Glazert watercourse in Lennoxtown.

This will also enhance the water quality and revitalise the wildlife corridor serving the communities of north Kirkintilloch, Milton of Campsie, Lennoxtown, Clachan of Campsie and Haughhead.

SEPA will provide technical expertise on the project and have received match WEF (Water Environment Fund) funding from Scottish Government.

The project aims to reconnect the river back to the original flood plain which will have benefits for areas downstream where risk of flooding will be reduced. Improved water quality will help to increase biodiversity. Historically, industrial pollution including red ore from mining in the area had reduced the water quality of the Glazert river.

The next stage is to produce a detailed plan which would then be subject to approval. If the proposal gets the green light, the project would take three years from detailed design to completion in 2021.

Resurfacing project begins on A82 to Inverness

A £860,000 resurfacing project is underway on the A82 route between Fort William and Inverness.

The work will take place at four locations between Invergarry and Invermoriston and will involve surfacing upgrades and drainage improvements.

Work will be completed in five weeks with some overnight road closures in place while the project is being carried out.

MSP becomes an apprentice for the day at Lovell building site

A local MSP has visited a building site in Bathgate to gain insider knowledge of the important work being undertaken by apprentices.

Gordon Lindhurst, a Lothian Region MSP, paid a visit to the Wester Inch development, currently being delivered by provider of partnership housing Lovell, in order to shadow apprentice joiners Jay Baker and Zach Brown.

The trip was organised by Skills Development Scotland as part of its Apprentice for the Day initiative which aims to raise awareness of the contribution apprentices make to Scotland’s economy by challenging MSPs to spend time working alongside apprentices in a variety of sectors across the country.

During his visit, Mr Lindhurst assisted second year apprentice Jay and new apprentice Zach as they carried out second fix works under the instruction of Lovell’s sub-contractor M&G Joinery. He also met with other members of the team and received a tour of the site where Lovell is currently delivering 86 new council homes on behalf of West Lothian Council.

Renewable electricity generation continues to grow

Renewable electricity generation in Scotland has increased in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, the latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) show.

Renewable electricity generation in Scotland increased from 12,194GWh in the first six months of 2017 (which was a record year) to 12,421GWh for the same period in 2018.

Installed capacity continues to grow as an increase of 8% seen more renewable projects come on line. At the end of Q2 2018, there was 10,336 MW of installed renewables electricity capacity in Scotland, an increase of 8% (742 MW) over the year from Q2 2017.

Funding for environmental supports doubled to £1m

Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham has announced a number of new supports for innovative projects aimed at tackling marine plastic pollution.

A total of £1 million – double the initial commitment of £500,000 set out in the Programme for Government – is now available to support solutions in marine plastics capture, collection and recovery.

This includes funding from Marine Scotland to trial demonstration technologies in Scotland, aimed at addressing the issue of litter sinks and the removal of plastics from our seas.