Building Briefs – September 30

Graham’s The Family Dairy and housing developer Mactaggart & Mickel Homes have submitted fresh plans for a new town on green belt land in Stirlingshire.

The backers of the Airthrey Green development in Bridge of Allan said the multi-million project will bring 600 needed homes and hundreds of new jobs to the area.

Graham’s and Mactaggart & Mickel said the move would also mean school and infrastructure provision as well as shops and community facilities.

Robert Graham, managing director of Graham’s The Family Dairy, said the plan would mean a new £20 million dairy that would secure 400 jobs and create 450.

A public park with footpaths and cycle ways will remain designated green belt and features a flood alleviation scheme to address localised flooding in the area while protecting existing properties under flood risk in Bridge of Allan and Causewayhead.

As well as the new dairy it is hoped the plan will help finance a food and research facility on a purpose built location in Stirling.

Pub plan for landmark Post Office

One of Scotland’s landmark post offices is earmarked for closure next year, with plans to transform it into a major restaurant.

The Post Office confirmed it will shut the doors on its historic premises, one of the busiest in the country, in Glasgow city centre next spring.

It has been based at the St Vincent Street location since the 1990s when the former GPO building in George Square closed.

Tragic mum backing Ryder Cup bridge campaign

The mother of a teenage girl killed on the A9 is backing a campaign to have a permanent footbridge built over the busy road as part of the Ryder Cup legacy.

Cara-Lee Williams, of Auchterarder, said creating a lasting structure after removing the temporary one currently in place for the competition, may save lives.

Transport Scotland has installed a temporary footbridge over the A9 to allow thousands of golf fans to walk to Gleneagles after arriving by bus and train, but have stressed it will come down once the tournament finishes.

A ‘Save the Bridge’ campaign is appealing to the Scottish Government and Diageo, the owners of Gleneagles Hotel, in an effort to have the bridge at Gleneagles station retained.

The footbridge will be removed on October 4.

Apartment plans for former Aberdeen medical centre

A former medical practice building which was labelled “inadequate” by health chiefs could be turned into serviced apartments.

A change-of-use application has been submitted to Aberdeen City Council to turn the former Woodside Medical Group premises at 80 Western Road, Aberdeen, into 19 serviced apartments. The proposal comes after plans to transform the building into a block of seven flats – a mix of one, two and three-bedrooms – were submitted in February, and are still on the table.

Architect Richard Slater, of project agents John Wink Designs, said the properties could be operated as social housing.

The latest application would see the premises turned into staff accommodation and comes from Arnold Clark Automobiles.

The serviced apartment plan would include 19 individual double bedrooms, each with en-suite, and common room/kitchen and laundry facility.

Firm building on reputation with nominations

A Dunfermline architecture firm is in the running for two major awards.

Allan Corfield Architects (ACA) has been shortlisted as the UK’s best self-build architect and is in the best eco home category of the Build It Awards 2014.

It is the first time ACA, which specialises in one-off house builds, has been shortlisted at the awards, which celebrate Britain’s self-build industry.

ACA — which has increased its team six-fold in the last two years — has been nominated for its role in building Amor House at Gleneagles, a state-of-the-art Scottish eco home built with structural insulated panels (SIPS) that has already been nominated for house of the year and will feature in Home Building & Renovating Magazine this year.