Building Briefs – September 29th

A new £23 million facility for virus research has been officially opened at the University of Glasgow.

The Sir Michael Stoker Building is home to the Medical Research Council–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), and was funded by the University, MRC and a Wellcome-Wolfson Capital Award.

The building houses cutting-edge facilities including state-of-the-art laboratories, offices and social spaces and supports the world-leading scientific research by the UK’s largest grouping of human and veterinary virologists.

The building, located at the University’s Garscube Campus, was constructed by Laing O’Rourke and forms a striking landmark on the estate. It takes its name from Sir Michael Stoker, the first Chair of Virology at the University of Glasgow and in the UK, and one of the country’s most pre-eminent post-war scientists.

Restaurant to replace Arnotts in Paisley

A landmark building in Paisley town centre is to be restored to its former glory and brought back to life as a restaurant.

The Cardosi brothers, Stefano and Riccardo, will next summer open a new 120-seat restaurant covering the entire ground-floor unit in the former Arnotts department store.

The restaurant is part of a much bigger development on the Gauze Street site, with work set to finish this year on 11 luxury apartments on the upper floors overlooking Paisley Abbey and Town Hall – most of which have already been snapped up.

Residents have already moved into 31 new flats on the corner of Gauze and Lawn Streets, owned by Link Group.

The Arnotts site is owned and marketed by Park Lane Developments Renfrewshire LLP, a limited liability partnership between Renfrewshire Council and Park Lane Developments.

Scaffold firm takeover

An Invergordon construction services company is under new ownership after a local takeover.

The sale of Safety, Welding and Lifting (International), to McDonald Scaffolding (Services), comes after founder and managing director Dave Stephen decided to retire.

McDonald said its acquisition allowed it to diversify, while Safety, Welding and Lifting (SWL) and its 22-stong workforce are also expected to benefit from improved prospects.

Funding agreed for Kinloss Abbey tower

Moray councillors today agreed to fund urgent repairs to a structure which forms part of historic Kinloss Abbey.

The £15,700 will enable the Kinloss Abbey Trust to carry out masonry works to improve the structural safety of the tower of the Abbot’s House.

The ruins of the abbey lie within the graveyard at Kinloss which is owned and maintained by Moray Council.

There are concerns that unless work is carried out to stabilise the tower, it could be in danger of collapse.

The site has been fenced off for some time to prevent public access for safety reasons.

The council’s policy and resources committee heard that the trust hoped to acquire the abbey through a community asset transfer and had sufficient funds for a feasibility study with a view to safeguarding the future of the building.

Housing minister opens Loreburn Housing Association’s new development

Loreburn Housing Association welcomed Scottish minister for housing & welfare, Margaret Burgess MSP to officially open its newly completed development at Hallam House, Henderson Close in Beeswing.

Working with strategic partners including Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Scottish Government, Loreburn has provided five purpose built, supported housing units plus a dedicated staff base. The new homes incorporate assistive technology and a number of energy efficiency measures including a ground source heat pump. The project was funded by The Scottish Government through its Affordable Housing Supply Programme, securing £212,400 of funding for the region.

In addition to this Dumfries and Galloway Council contributed £25,000 towards the renewable heating system and Loreburn contributed over £700,000 of private finance.

The site at Beeswing was already in Loreburn’s ownership and was previously used as a training centre. Planning permission for the new development was secured in April 2013.

From the outset of this project we have worked very closely with Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Social Work Services to design homes that will meet the needs of the new tenants. This development has allowed Dumfries & Galloway Council to provide much needed adapted accommodation for a number of adults, some of whom were being cared for out of region.

The building project was undertaken by local firm TAS Building Supplies and commenced on site in November 2014. After nine months on site the properties were completed to a very high standard. It is hoped that the new tenants will move in around early November 2015.

Scottish Water completes £3.2m Galloway groject

Scottish Water has completed a £3.2m flood alleviation scheme in Galloway.

The two-and-a-half year project involved reducing the risk of sewer flooding and improving the quality of stormwater discharges in Creetown.

The first phase of the works was carried out by Carillion, with phase two being delivered by Byzak/Amey.

Works included building a new storm water pumping station at Duke Street to double the capacity of the existing pump station.

The facility will also provide fine screening to remove solids from storm discharges to the local watercourse.

In addition, the main sewer passing through Creetown Caravan Park was upgraded, with the pipe increased from 200mm to 450mm in diameter.

The project also involved developing a new storm water pumping station at Balloch Burn.

The station can pump up to 220 litres per second or nearly 50 gallons of water per second, discharging storm water away from the village’s sewer network and into the estuary.

The new pumped systems have full automatic 100 per cent standby capacity and are remotely monitored by Scottish Water’s control centre.

Other improvement works included fitting new screens to a series of outfall pipes into the Moneypool Burn.

£6m South Ayrshire affordable homes project on schedule

Work on a £6 million affordable housing project in South Ayrshire is on target to finish in May 2016, the local authority has announced.

Councillors were on site at the Lochside housing development to get an update on the project. Work by Cruden is on schedule and has been progressing at a steady pace to ensure that some of the houses are finished this October. Houses will then be finished in phases until the project is complete in May 2016.

Elected members and South Ayrshire Council officials were shown round some of the 58 houses which are nearing completion and were updated on the phases of work that have still to take place as part of this landmark development. Each of the houses are modern, bright and energy efficient and when complete will be set in carefully landscaped areas.

This is not the only success story coming from the development. Mark McGhee, one of the council apprentices working on the Lochside project, has just been named Apprentice of the Year by South Lanarkshire College for advanced bricklaying.

Mark is in the final year of his council apprenticeship and is due to take his bricklaying trade test around Christmas time. The work at Lochside has seen Mark working on foundations and finishing brickwork.

Council approves bid for solar panels at Perth prison

Prison chiefs have gained permission to install solar panels on the roof of HMP Perth.

The energy-saving system will feed directly into the Edinburgh Road establishment’s power supply and is expected to slash electricity bills.

The Scottish Prison Service said the £41,200 panels will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53 tonnes each year.

Similar projects are being carried out at HMP Low Moss and the Polmont young offenders facility.

Perth and Kinross Council has now granted planning permission for the rooftop installation.