Building Briefs – September 13th

Thirteen apprentices have joined Clark Contracts’ Academy, taking their first steps to becoming qualified joiners, bricklayers, decorators, plasterers and administrators.

The new trade apprentices will gain experience working across all divisions of the organisation; Construction, Fit Out, Small Works, Maintenance and Joinery Workshop, the experience gained on site supporting the modules they will study at college.

They will spend four weeks at Clark Contracts’ offices in Paisley and Edinburgh, before their college courses commence at West College Scotland and Edinburgh College. Each new apprentice will have a mentor at Clark Contracts, who themselves started their careers as apprentices with the company and have progressed to supervisory and management positions.

The two new administration apprentices will work full time with Clark Contracts whilst studying a Modern Apprenticeship in Administration.

Work begins on Kingdom Housing Association’s new flats in Alloa

Work is underway on the construction of 16 new flats on the site of a former derelict warehouse in Alloa.

The £2.4 million project is the latest development by Kingdom Housing Association in Clackmannanshire and images of the new affordable flats, that will be available for Mid Market Rent (MMR), have been released for the first time.

The project is being developed on a site close to the centre of Alloa which was previously partly occupied by a derelict warehouse with a larger area of the site used for parking.

The site was owned by Clackmannanshire Council which has worked in partnership with Kingdom to bring the flats on stream.

The council sold the site to Kingdom in 2015 and the demolition works began in May 2016. The site works are progressing and construction on the new homes begins this month, with the project programmed for completion by the end of March 2017.

The total project cost is £2.4m. Around £1.2m was provided by the Scottish Government to support the project and Clackmannanshire Council provided a further £75,000 in subsidy.

The new flats and the surrounding landscaped area will be highly visible from the main road through Alloa and once completed; will provide an attractive gateway to the town centre.

All the new flats will be constructed to Kingdom’s normal high design standards. They will achieve the Greener Sustainability Standard which will help minimise demand for energy use and reduce costs for tenants. Whole house ventilation systems will be installed to improve indoor air quality and help create a healthier environment.

The project has been designed to achieve Secured by Design accreditation and training placements and employment opportunities will be created as part of Kingdom’s Community Benefits Strategy.

Kingdom’s contractor for the project is Campion Homes from Dunfermline and Tillicoultry architects Bracewell Stirling were the designers, along with McGregor McMahon & Associates (Engineers) and Hardies, both from Dunfermline.

Work begins on £3m Renfrewshire community centre revamp

Work is underway on a major community centre refurbishment programme in Renfrewshire.

A total of £3 million will be spent on upgrading community facilities at Johnstone Castle, Cargill Hall, Foxbar, Gallowhill, Glenburn and Ralston over the next 12 months.

Works are likely to include repairing or replacing the roof, re-rendering external walls, replacing the windows, redecorating, replacing floor coverings, ceilings, toilets and sinks, re-wiring, new lighting and the replacement of under floor heating with more efficient systems.

Average Scottish house price rises 3.4 per cent

The latest publication of the UK House Price Index (UK HPI) has revealed that the average price of a property in Scotland in July 2016 was £143,711.

This represents an increase of 3.4 per cent on the previous year and an increase of 1.3 per cent when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £216,750, which was an increase of 8.3 per cent over the year and an increase of 0.4 per cent when compared to the previous month.

The top five local authorities in terms of sales volumes were the City of Edinburgh (872 sales), Glasgow City (826 sales), Fife (491 sales), South Lanarkshire (430 sales) and North Lanarkshire (404 sales).

The biggest price increase over the last year was in East Renfrewshire where the average price increased by 10.7 per cent to £216,382. The biggest decrease was in the City of Aberdeen, where prices fell by 6.9 per cent to £178,977.

CCG creates new Uddingston affordable homes

CCG has completed a new environmentally friendly affordable housing development in Uddingston.

Taking the total number of new social houses built by the firm in Lanarkshire to over 170 over the past twelve months, the Hornal Road development comprises 60 state-of-the-art, two-bedroom flats which will be available for rent through the Clyde Valley Group. Twenty-four homes have been let to applicants from the housing waiting list with the remaining 36 allocated on a mid-market rent basis.

In total, CCG has created more than 170 new social houses for the Lanarkshire-based social housing provider, including 39 new semi-detached houses and flats on Bogside Road in Kilsyth in May 2016, 20 new homes in Sixth Street, Uddingston, 30 in Patchy Park, Larkhall and 32 in Brunel Way, East Kilbride.

All of the houses have been built using off-site construction methods.

A926 to be resurfaced

Work to resurface the A926 Blairgowrie to Alyth Road from Carnes Park to the Blackbird Inn is due to commence on Thursday.

The road will be closed during the hours of 9.00 am - 4.00 pm on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September. The road will then re-open for Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th, but will be closed again at the same times from Monday 19th – Wednesday 21st September.

The signed diversion for vehicles is via B954 Alyth to Meigle, A94 Meigle to Coupar Angus and A9243 Coupar Angus to Blairgowrie.

Roads maintenance programme begins in South Lanarkshire

Work is underway on a roads maintenance programme in South Lanarkshire.

The junction of B7018 (Dillarburn Road) to Nicholson’s Plastic factory is being resurfaced as part of an essential repairs programme.

The first phase of roadworks from the A71 Garrion Bridge to the A73 Steel’s Cross was completed last week.

Works will continue until 16 September and diversions are in place.

Morgan Sindall leads recruitment of best young civil engineers

Morgan Sindall is continuing its successful long-term initiative with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) to identify, support and promote the Civil Engineering talent of the future.

Alongside sister firm Morgan Sindall Professional Services (MSPS), the construction and infrastructure company is leading corporate partners for an annual scholarship programme to encourage high-achieving and driven A-Level students to choose a career in Civil Engineering.

Morgan Sindall has been working with the ICE for ten years to inspire and mentor the sharpest young minds as they embark on Civil Engineering degrees. The culmination of the application process is the annual Queen’s Jubilee Scholarship Trust (QUEST) interview day, this year held on 9th September.

The interview day sees leading employers take part in a ‘speed-dating’ process to recruit future civil engineers from a final shortlist of 124 candidates chosen from over 400 applicants.

QUEST was set up in 1977, to encourage talented A-Level students into choosing civil engineering degrees. The ICE and their corporate partners offer annual scholarships and placement opportunities to selected students, enabling them to develop a strong relationship with future employers from the start of their degree.

This year Morgan Sindall will be sponsoring 18 students to work on sites across its Infrastructure Division and MSPS offices in Salford Quays, Manchester and Eurocentral, Scotland.

Students move into £13m Edinburgh development

The first Edinburgh Napier University students have moved into a new £13 million accommodation development on the site of a former warehouse in the city’s Dalry area.

The 234 en suite student bedrooms were built in four separate blocks in Orwell Terrace, within easy reach of the university’s three campuses and the shops, bars and restaurants of the city centre.

The development - which complements the university’s modern accommodation at Bainfield and Slateford - also boasts landscaped communal areas and cycle stores, and good access to public transport, including Haymarket railway station.

The blocks, named after the Edinburgh hills, have been called Carnethy House, Caerketton House, East Kip House and Scald Law House.

The Orwell Terrace development saw the latest offsite construction methods used to build high quality and environmentally efficient accommodation.

Public asked for views on Selkirk town centre improvements

Plans to improve the centre of Selkirk can be viewed at Doors Open Day on Saturday 17 September.

The £450,000 plan – which aims to revitalise the town centre and is part-funded by the Selkirk Conservation Regeneration Scheme (CARS) – will go on display in Victoria Halls from 10am to 4pm for Souters and visitors to comment on.

Scottish Borders Council has been working with the Selkirk Stakeholder Group, made up of representatives from organisations across the town, on the programme of streetscape works.

The town centre works have a series of aims, including providing safer and improved areas for bus passengers to board and better seating and pavement surfaces, while working to complement and enhance Selkirk’s historic conservation area.

The programme will also look to improve some pedestrian crossings in the town centre, and build in flexibility to allow Market Place to be easily used for events and markets.