Building Briefs - September 1st

• Work starts on new £1.8m Keith nursery

Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS), which currently operates the nursery out of Longmore Hall, will continue to run the new nursery being built by Moray Council as part of the Scottish Government’s expansion of ELC entitlement to 1,140 hours a year.

The new nursery, situated next to Keith Grammar School, is expected to be complete by summer 2021.

Now it’s over to the community to suggest names for the new nursery, as ‘Keith Nursery’ is already in use.

Name suggestions can be submitted via email to Eleanor.Smith@fcss.org.uk. After 30 September the suggestions will be shortlisted and a poll opened for locals to choose their favourite from those shortlisted with a winning name to be announced prior to the new building opening.

• Cambus O’ May storm damage repair works underway

Works have started on the repair of the flood-damaged Cambus O’ May suspension bridge.

The Edwardian structure over the River Dee was severely damaged by the floods during Storm Frank at the end of 2015.

It forms part of the Cairngorms National Park’s Core Path network and has always been a popular spot for locals and visitors as it crosses the river at such an eye-catching spot.

But for the time being the public is being urged to avoid that stretch of the river to allow the works to progress safely.

The area that had traditionally been used as a parking area has been fully closed off and is now the site compound and there is no access down to the riverbank.

Due to difficulty with works vehicle access, a 20mph speed restriction has been imposed on the stretch of the A93 past the site.

The works are programmed to take 16 weeks although the critical stage to bring the bridge back into alignment is essentially complete.

The bridge was built in 1905 and was a gift to the public from Alexander Gordon some ten years after his death, along with the Polhollick Bridge and several other buildings in Ballater. It is a Grade B listed structure, which had to be re-built in 1988 for safety purposes and was then re-opened by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

• Ground investigations to start for A9 Dualling Crubenmore to Kincraig scheme

Ground investigations work on the A9 Dualling Crubenmore to Kincraig scheme is to begin on September 7 and is expected to take four weeks to complete, subject to weather conditions.

This is a restart to an earlier contract which had been paused due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contractor will at all times be operating under, and complying with all current Scottish Government guidance to ensure the safety of the public and the workforce.

The work will involve two sets of traffic management with traffic lights which at times may be operating simultaneously at separate locations to allow the workforce to operate safely while carrying out coring on the existing carriageway.

• Plans submitted for six new homes near north-east village

Plans have been lodged to build six new houses near the Aberdeenshire village of Newmachar.

Oldmeldrum-based Suller and Clark planning consultants have submitted blueprints to Aberdeenshire Council for the project at Brownhills Farm on behalf of developer Rob Ingram.

According to a design statement, it would be a “modest residential development” and would form part of a wider scheme.

• Moray residents with empty properties may be eligible for COVID-19 grant

Moray residents with empty properties may be eligible for a COVID-19 grant to reduce their levy payment.

The grant offers assistance to taxpayers who are liable to pay the levy in the period 23 March to 23 September 2020. The grant can be equivalent to the levy added to the taxpayer’s account for a maximum three-month period, and it will be credited directly to the taxpayer’s Council Tax account.

The levy is applied to long-term empty properties and is part of the Scottish Government’s strategy to encourage owners to return them back into use.

Taxpayers trying to renovate their property - or trying to sell or lease it - may have experienced delays due to the current pandemic, and the grant scheme is designed to recognise this impact.

Applications for a grant may be made by taxpayers trying to sell their property, offer their property for rental, repair or renovate their property so that it could be occupied, or dispose of their property in some other way.

In each case, the actions may have been prevented from happening by the COVID-19 pandemic.