Building Briefs – September 19

Residents are being invited to view proposals and give their feedback on designs of the new Clydebank Care Home and Day Care Centre due to be built in the Health Quarter at Queens Quay.

A public drop-in event will be held on Tuesday, 27 September, between 5pm and 8pm in Clydebank Town Hall where residents will hear a presentation and view plans of the care home.

Residents can also ask questions, and neighbours can give their views on the proposals and provide comments to West Dunbartonshire Council before a planning application is submitted. The presentation will be held at 5pm and again at 7pm.

West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is building two new care homes with the sister project located at Crosslet House in Dumbarton. The combined cost of the two homes is £25.062 million.

The masterplan for the development of Queens Quay was approved by councillors in March this year and it is expected to take more than 10 years to fully develop the 23 hectare site.

Glasgow City Council to serve up £250k for Mackintosh’s Willow Tea Rooms

A £9 million project to save one of the key architectural legacies of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is set to receive a £250,000 funding boost.

The project aims to restore and secure the Willow Tearooms and the building, in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street, which was designed by the seminal Scottish architect and painter for Miss Catherine Cranston in the early 20th century.

The building, used for many years as tearooms, is currently shut and is about to undergo the major revamp planned by its owners, the Willow Tea Rooms Trust.

Now Glasgow City Council has recommended in a report that the restoration scheme receives a capital grant of up to £250,000.

Its verdict, to be considered by its executive committee on Wednesday, is that the “buildings are currently in a very poor state of repair and continue to deteriorate”.

It added: “They are in desperate need of urgent work, water is coming through the main roof and the gallery roof is sagging and dry rot is spreading.

“There is no heating source in the Willow Tearooms building and the electrical wiring is in a poor condition.”

The cash will enable the building to open to the public in 2018 and play a key role in the celebration of the 150-year anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth.

Spie to deliver M&E services on North Ayrshire campus project

Kier has selected Spie UK to carry out multi-technical services at a new learning campus development in North Ayrshire.

The £7 million contract will see the contractor deliver mechanical and electrical (M&E) works for the 17,000 m3 Garnock Community Campus.

Designed by jmarchitects, the facility will accommodate 1,200 secondary school, 260 primary school, and 45 early-years students once completed in December.

Spie’s range of works involve installing a Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) heating system, sanitary ware, LV switchgear, lighting and power, ventilation, fire alarms and security systems.

Caledonia and Cordale deliver new affordable housing in Renton

Caledonia Housing Association and Cordale Housing Association have provided 32 new homes to tenants in John Street and Main Street in Renton.

Caledonia Housing Association has recently completed the building of 32 new homes in Renton that will be managed by Cordale Housing Association and let to local people. These 32 properties are part of a large affordable housing programme that includes new housing in Renton and extends to Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire and will eventually produce over 80 new homes for rent.

The final houses in this programme will be let next month.

Ross-Shire Engineering to begin Fife sewer upgrade

Ross-shire Engineering is to begin a sewer upgrade project in Fife.

The contractor will start installing a new sewer pipe at the pumping station on Drummochy Road in Lower Largo from Monday, 03 October.

For safety reasons, the road will be closed for two to three weeks at the site of the pumping station.

Scottish Water said the scheme involves installing trench supports and the project team will work hard to minimise inconvenience and noise while work is carried out.

Council leader opens Partick’s £6.5m Broomhill Gate development

The official opening of Partick Housing Association’s new £6.5 million housing development at Broomhill Gate has been carried out by Councillor Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council.

This 46 unit development in Glasgow’s West End includes 14 three-bedroom social rented town houses, 18 two-bedroom mid market rent flats and 14 units of supported accommodation.

MAST Architects, Cruden Building & Renewals were among those involved in delivering the new homes.

A9 ground investigations to start next week

Ground investigations on two sections of the A9 – Tay Crossing to Ballinluig and Pitlochry to Killiecrankie are to get underway next week.

The stretch of the road between Dowally and Ballinluig will be progressed separately as both offline and online options are under consideration as part of the ongoing design work and no decision on the line of the route for this section has been taken at this time.

The ground investigations, part of the A9 Dualling programme, will begin on Monday 26 September and are expected to be completed by the end of November 2016.

Although most of the work will not be carried out on the existing road, the traffic management measures will be in place to allow work beside the carriageway to be carried out safely.

Perth building given new lease of life as high-quality council flats

A former children’s home in Perth which has been refurbished to provide new council flats was officially opened today.

The property in Nimmo Place has been converted into four new flats by Perth & Kinross Council. The council built another two new flats as part of development, producing six new units in total.

All of the flats have been built to the highest possible energy efficiency standards to help minimise the bills of tenants and reduce the carbon footprint of Perth and Kinross.

The development, which consists of two 2-bed flats and four 1-bed flats, was visited today by council leader, Councillor Ian Miller and housing and health convener, Councillor Dave Doogan.

In addition to the flats at Nimmo Place, former offices in St Catherine’s Road, Perth, have recently been converted into eight flats and a bedsit which have all been let to new tenants. And a former police station in Glengarry Road, Perth, has also been given new life as a development of four new council flats.

Council seeks views on £450,000 Selkirk improvement project

Local residents are being invited to view plans for a £450,000 town centre improvement project in Selkirk.

The scheme, which has been developed by Scottish Borders Council’s engineering design team and landscape architects, will revamp the town centre as part of the Selkirk Conservation Regeneration Scheme (CARS).

Plans for the project are to go on display from 10am – 4pm at Victoria Halls on Saturday, 17 September.

Key features include:

• Providing safer and improved areas for bus passengers to board

• Better seating and pavement surfaces

• Complement and enhance Selkirk’s historic conservation area

• Improve some pedestrian crossings in the town centre

• Allow Market Place to be easily used for events and markets.