Building Briefs – September 27th

More than 600 new homes will be built by Angus Council and local housing associations in the county over the next five years, with the support of a £25 million Scottish Government funding package.

The announcement this week came as the council’s communities committee approved the Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan which will both help to drive the delivery of the new homes for people in Angus.

The Local Housing Strategy sets out how an improvement plan for housing throughout the region and how the supply of affordable homes will be increased to help match demand and people’s needs, as well as enabling them to live independent lives. It states how the council will improve the quality and energy efficiency of all its housing to help tackle fuel poverty and reduce domestic emissions.

Supporting the ambition of the strategy, the Strategic Housing Investment Plan will drive the delivery of the strategic objectives.

Those objectives include the delivery of 124 affordable homes each year over the next five years (by Angus Council and housing associations), including more than 30 homes each year for people who need adapted or specialised housing. The investment plan shows how those targets, which represent a doubling of new build rates, will be delivered and so contribute to the 50,000 national target of new affordable homes.

Angus Council is committed to delivering 350 affordable homes over the next five years, including units at Viewmount and Chapelpark in Forfar that are set for completion later this year. Work begins onsite at Abbey Quarter in Arbroath shortly.

Both the strategy and the report have good foundations to build upon. Members of the communities committee heard that 87% of Angus Council Housing tenants are satisfied with the quality of their home with 80% considering that they get good value for money for the rent they pay.

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Bellair refurbishes Wallace House in Stirling

Property developer Bellair (Scotland) Ltd has invested over six figures in one of its prime office buildings to ensure existing and potential occupiers are presented with the highest quality facilities.

The Falkirk-based company has undertaken a capital improvement project on its Wallace House multi-let office building located on Maxwell Place, Stirling. The works have seen a complete refurbishment of the common areas along with upgrading services within the building to create Stirling’s best high quality office accommodation.

Bellair originally acquired Wallace House in 2013 attracted by its central location and close proximity to the city’s railway and bus stations. It also represents the only open-plan office space available in Stirling’s city centre.

The completed work is in keeping with Bellair’s investment policy, which is applied across its entire portfolio and has already yielded results this year including re-gearing the leases to Body & Sole and Dyslexia Scotland; removing the break from Phoenix Broadband’s lease and completed a new letting to Sue Ryder. One further suite is currently under offer and Bellair is in negotiations to extend another tenant’s lease.

This was the same approach used at Falkirk Business Hub where Bellair regularly changes artwork and reinvests profits to enhance the property.

The company is applying this refreshing approach to marketing commercial property by adopting the same proactive methods that homeowners and landlords use to sell and let homes.

Pagan Osborne collapse hits property firms

Property organisations are among those facing the fallout from the collapse of Pagan Osborne, The Herald reports.

Joint administrators of the firm Tom MacLennan and Iain Fraser of FRP Advisory said Pagans had 53 creditors who were owed about £185,000 in total when it collapsed.

Of this figure, significant sums were owed to property organisations. Registers of Scotland is the largest creditor, owed £34,000. Mapeley Steps, an estate agency, is owed £30,000.

Real estate advisers CBRE are meanwhile owed £18,900, while County Property Searches, based in Perth, is owed £8,422 and Tourmyhome, a firm that makes videos for property marketing purposes, is owed £5,502.

The administrators expect there to be “sufficient funds to make a distribution to unsecured creditors”.

They explained that the firm collapsed because it was unable to satisfy subprime loans that came with “exorbitant annual interest rates”.

James Frew Ltd employee reaches staggering 25 years continuous service

Celebrating an amazing quarter of a century with James Frew Ltd, David Stevenson was awarded with gift vouchers from Roddy Frew, managing director, as a thank you for his long service with the business.

David, who lives locally in Saltcoats, started with the business back in 1988 and served a 4-year apprenticeship.

After the apprenticeship was completed, David moved on for a few months, before returning in 1992 where he has worked as an advanced plumber in the Modernisation Division.

NHBC Foundation research makes it clear on window design

Small tweaks to the design of windows can lead to major improvements, lowering space heating costs, reducing overheating risk and maximising daylight according to the latest guide from the NHBC Foundation.

Windows - making it clear, Energy, daylighting and thermal comfort offers new analysis to help designers optimise their window design. The results were modelled using the ‘Passivhaus Planning Package’; specialist software designed to provide sophisticated analysis of energy use and comfort within homes. Researchers looked at how energy efficiency, daylighting and overheating were affected by changes to glazing, frame width, window area and the orientation of the property.

The guide studies four types of home, ranging from an average two-bedroomed mid-floor apartment to a four-bedroomed detached house. It provides solutions according to design priority and in addition it suggests worst and best case window options for each home type.

Although final decisions on window selection for a specific home should be based on more complex individual calculations, the NHBC Foundation hopes the results of its research will steer designers quickly to the better or most suitable options.

STEM Programme to be brought to over 200 Kinross Pupils

More than 200 pupils at Kinross High School will now have the chance to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) thanks to the support of WSP.

The global professional services consultancy which originally sponsored 25 pupils to take part in the Design, Engineer Construct!® (DEC) programme in 2016, has extended its funding of the project for 2017 so that more pupils can learn about STEM subjects.

Kinross High School is one of the first schools in Scotland to roll out the accredited programme and registered on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).

The DEC programme at Kinross High School includes both theoretical and practical activities including lessons on the roles available within the construction industry and how a project goes from feasibility to construction.

Practical activities include site lessons on land surveying and how to use Building Information Modelling (BIM) software to create dimensional models of their own building designs.

Projects undertaken by WSP in Scotland include the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, the Edinburgh Gateway Interchange and Glasgow 2014 Athlete’s village in Dalmarnock.

New affordable housing development proposed for Aberdour Road in Dunfermline

Kingdom Housing Association, together with Curtis Jones Property Developments, has announced its intention to apply for planning permission in the coming weeks for a £4.5 million affordable housing development at Aberdour Road, Dunfermline.

The proposal is for some 42 flatted homes for mid-market affordable rent, on a vacant site close to a range of amenities.

In the run-up to lodging a planning application with Fife Council, Kingdom is carrying out a public consultation exercise locally, and will hold a public drop-in event in the hall of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 67 Aberdour Road, on Wednesday 4th October, from 3.30pm to 7.15pm, to which all neighbours and other interested parties are invited.

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Scottish Procurement Alliance delivers £1m rebate for reinvestment in communities

One year on from its formation in 2016, the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) used its first AGM to announce a rebate of £1,039,279 to its local authority, housing association and other registered social landlord partners across Scotland.

The SPA was created both by and for organisations that buy products and services for the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of social housing and public buildings in Scotland.

Its formation coincided with the introduction of new procurement regulations in Scotland, which placed additional requirements on organisations involved in procurement using public funds. Today the SPA has 54 Associate Partners in addition to its 14 Founding Partners.

The annual rebate to partners of the SPA is a percentage of the total value of contracts commissioned in a financial year using SPA frameworks. £67,000,000 of products and services were purchased in Scotland using SPA frameworks during its first year.

(Full story… )

Meticulous Abertay student hails ‘greatest opportunity’ at V&A Dundee site

Meet the meticulous Abertay University student tasked with checking each one of 5,000 fixing points integral to the stunning design of V&A Museum of Design Dundee.

Stephen Brindle has gained invaluable experience at the landmark museum site thanks to Abertay’s commitment to providing a guaranteed work placement for every Civil Engineering student – the only University in Scotland with such an offer.

Since the turn of the year, the 23-year-old has been working with specialist contractor Careys Civil Engineering, carrying out an array of jobs including extensive checks on 5,000 brackets – the mechanisms allowing the distinctive cladding to be fitted to the outside of the building.

Once finished, V&A Dundee will be covered with 2,500 of the pre-cast stone panels, which weigh up to 3000kg each and span up to 4m wide, creating the appearance of a Scottish cliff face.

It’s been a dream placement for BEng (Hons) student Stephen, who has also been paid a weekly wage by Careys Civil Engineering while gaining experience on one of the world’s most prestigious builds.

He said: “This placement has been one of the greatest opportunities I’ve had in my life to be honest, and I feel I got really lucky with coming to Abertay and getting to work here.

“To be working with Careys Civil Engineering is great because they are a brilliant company and there could be opportunities with them after my degree.

“It took a long time for us to check all 5,000 brackets but making sure everything is exactly right is an important job.”

For more information on Civil Engineering at Abertay, including Scotland’s only guaranteed work placement click here.

Plans unveiled for new cycle link in South Ayrshire

Plans have been unveiled to create a new cycle link between Ayr town centre and the Holmston Roundabout in South Ayrshire.

Two options for the project are being considered by the Ayrshire Roads Alliance following an initial review of four potential routes.

The options are:

On the north bank of the River, the multi-use path would run from Station Road towards the existing footbridge in the University of the West of Scotland’s Craigie Campus, cross the river, before joining Holmston Road, and then follow the A70 towards the A77.

On the South bank, the path would run from Station Road, follow the burn before Kyle Academy through to Overmills Road, and then onto the A70 Holmston Road towards the A77.

Ayrshire Roads Alliance will now conduct a feasibility study into the two preferred options, with a further report expected to be submitted to Councillors outlining the final preferred option in spring 2018.

Following this, funds will be sought to complete the project, with indicative costs suggesting the works could cost between £700,000 and £1.2 million.