Building Briefs – September 14th

Clydebank East residents and local councillors were given a look at what the future could hold when they visited a nearby regeneration project.

West Dunbartonshire Council approved plans to develop a regeneration strategy for Clydebank East earlier this year and after consultation with residents the final options will be presented at the council’s housing and communities committee in November.

A group of residents, councillors and council officers recently visited the Kingsway Court flats in Scotstoun, which are in the process of undergoing a £10.8 million redevelopment by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA).

Two high rise blocks were demolished in this area to make way for a mix of houses and flats, including seven flats built to wheelchair standard.

In addition, GHA has also invested £12m on a major upgrade of the four remaining high-rise blocks at Kingsway Court which will be kept long-term.

As the council continues to engage with residents in the process to shape the future of Clydebank East, viewing the work at Scotstoun provided the opportunity to see the type of regeneration which could be achieved in Clydebank East.

One in five homes in Scotland ‘has a dangerous gas appliance’

More than half a million people in Scotland are putting their health and finances at risk by not getting their gas appliances safety checked every year, according to new figures.

Gas authority Gas Safe Register found dangerous gas appliances lurking in one in five of the 4,267 homes it has inspected in Scotland in the past five years.

Scotland has the third highest number of homes with unsafe gas appliances in the UK, behind Wales and the West Midlands. These types of dangers have led to six deaths and over 300 injuries in the last year alone across the UK.

In the last year alone, there have been more than 67,000 gas emergency call outs to homes in the UK, the equivalent of 186 every day.

Common problems associated with faulty or badly maintained gas appliances include black staining on surrounding walls, burst gas pipes, excessive condensation and in extreme cases, house fires and explosions.

The public can find out the number of unsafe gas appliances and gas incidents there have been in their local neighbourhood by visiting Gas Safe Register’s interactive gas map at www.staygassafe.co.uk.

Revamped public square opens in Banchory

Works to transform Scott Skinner Square in the heart of Banchory have been completed.

Designs were commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council and created by DUFI Art.

A new open seating plan incorporating two benches, 15 seats and a table as well as bespoke cast block paving with text inserts at the main entrances to the square have been created, with three new stainless steel lighting columns with elevated backlit sculptures also erected.

The paving has been re-levelled and additional planters added, with planting designed and donated by Dr Mair of Raemoir Garden Centre.

Councillors urged to approve plan for vacant Clydebank industrial unit

A Clydebank gymnastics club is hoping to move into a permanent new home if plans to convert a vacant industrial unit are given the go ahead.

On Wednesday September 23, Councillors will be asked to approve plans which would see a unit in Clydebank Business Park which has been vacant for three years transformed into a permanent base for the club.

The business which operates from the unit next door has already submitted a letter to the planning committee supporting the move.

New national heritage body for Scotland granted charitable status

The new national heritage body for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has received charitable status from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

The move marks another important milestone in the establishment of the new organisation, which takes up full operational powers on October 1st, following the merging of Historic Scotland and The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) into a new public body.

As a new Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with charitable status, HES will operate with a degree of independence while still being accountable to Scottish Ministers and Parliament.

The move brings the new body closer in line with other national cultural bodies including the National Library of Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland, The National Museum of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh. HES Chair, Jane Ryder has now written to the Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee, MSP Stewart Maxwell, informing him of the new body’s successful application to become a charity.