Building Briefs – September 30th

Ryden to relocate Edinburgh HQ

Ryden has signed a lease at The Exchange in Edinburgh and will relocate its HQ to the city’s business district in October.

A 10-year lease has been agreed for the 582sq m ground floor of 7 Exchange Crescent, Conference Square following the firm’s 25 years at North Castle Street; All 45 Edinburgh staff will relocate.

The interior design and project management of the fit out is being handled by the firm’s Project & Building Consultancy team. The office will be contemporary in style and is being designed to maximise team working by arranging workspaces around a central hub, with dedicated quiet areas.

Ryden joins Shepherd and Wedderburn, Morrisons, Colliers, Logic Now and Pure Gym among others at Exchange Crescent.

Breedon employees given shares

Employees of Breedon Aggregates have been handed a fifth anniversary present by bosses in the shape of shares in the business.

Breedon has 304,750 shares in the company to 1,219 employees, equivalent to 250 shares per employee. The share price is currently 53.5 pence.

Participation in the employee share issue was offered to Breedon employees, but not directors on this occasion, to mark the fifth anniversary of the creation of the business in September 2010.

New business units completed at Burghead harbour

A terrace of four new industrial units has been completed at Burghead harbour.

The development has been part funded by the Scottish Government and the Moray Fisheries Local Action Group European Fisheries Fund (EFF) Axis 4 programme.

The units, which range in size from 58sq metres to 110sq metres, have easy access, parking and disabled toilet facilities.

The new premises will provide five or six jobs for new or growing businesses in the area.

Three of the units have already been leased – to a marine engineering firm, an artist and a co-operative which provides training and recycles furniture and wood. Interest has also been expressed in the fourth unit.

The project is part of the last tranche of EFF Axis 4 funding, with the programme scheduled to close at the end of October.

Carter Bar turbine proposals dropped

A wind farm company has dropped plans to site seven turbines close to the Carter Bar crossing point between Scotland and England.

More than 100 letters of objection were tabled against Infinis Wind Holdings’ Cummings Hill scheme.

An action group was formed in nearby Chesters to fight the application.

Organisations from both sides of the border, including Scottish Natural Heritage and Northumberland National Park, were also against the bid.

Meanwhile, an appeal has gone to the Scottish Government over Scottish Borders Council’s rejection of another wind farm.

Infinis UK wanted to site nine turbines at Windy Edge.

The application attracted 300 objections before being refused in June by the planning committee.

The Scottish Government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals will consider the appeal over the coming months.

Bellway wins Property Team of the Year

Bellway’s staff at Eastfields were crowned Property Team of the Year at a glittering awards ceremony in Glasgow on Thursday 24th September.

The team located at the development in Carntyne won the prestigious title at The Herald Property Awards for Scotland 2015 held in the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.

Since 2008 Bellway has been building at Eastfields, transforming a derelict gap site into a thriving community which will feature 750 new homes in total when it is completed.

Judges praised Bellway for their “strong team ethic” and tireless work in creating a really special environment in the East of Glasgow.

Bellway was also a finalist in the Best Family Home for developers building more than 50 units per year with the Birkdale showhome at The Marches in Stepps.

Memorable night for Robertson Homes at Herald Property Awards

Robertson Homes is celebrating the success of its development in St Andrews at last Thursday’s Herald Property Awards.

Orchard Row at Abbey Park received the Best Luxury Home award, in recognition of the terrace of bespoke townhouses being constructed in this picturesque Fife town.

The nine-strong panel of judges were particularly impressed with Orchard Row’s unique Georgian-influenced architecture, which is exclusive to this development. The rear half of each storey in these grand townhouses has been dedicated to an open-plan family dining kitchen, a stunning drawing room, and a master bedroom complete with its own dressing room and en-suite.

Abbey Park was also a shortlisted finalist in the Development of the Year category, at last Thursday’s glittering ceremony in Glasgow.

The Herald Property Awards also saw Robertson Homes being commended in the Best Show Home category, for the Savannah Grand property style at Ferniegair’s Chatelherault Mill development. Abbey Park and a sister development at Strathearn Gardens in Auchterarder were also on the Best Show Home shortlist, while Chatelherault Mill’s on-site team were finalists in the Property Team of the Year category.

Housing developer gives £1,500 boost to North Ayrshire community group

Community group Pennyburn Regeneration Youth Development Enterprise (PRYDE) which runs The Playz community centre in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, has received a £1,500 boost from Lovell.

The donation was a thank-you from the housing developer to people in the area for their help and support throughout the company’s construction of a major housing regeneration development for Irvine Housing Association at the Pennyburn estate, Kilwinning.

Twenty-two energy-efficient new homes for social rent built by Lovell opened this summer at the estate, replacing 48 flats previously on the site.

The community donation has been used by PRYDE to help fund its busy summer programme of children’s and family activities in which 3,000 local people took part this year. The boost for PRYDE came about through Lovell’s partnership with Irvine Housing Association which is a strong supporter of the charity’s work.