Building Briefs – September 5th

Page\Park’s Hawkhead Centre in Paisley for Scottish War Blinded has reached practical completion.

Scottish War Blinded provide free support and day centre facilities for ex-service men and women with visual impairments. To support them in doing this the Hawkhead Centre includes a sports hall, gymnasium, art room, IT room, workshop, teaching kitchen and dining area, amongst other amenities.

The building opens onto a sensory garden at the west end with a bespoke greenhouse and potting shed as part of the facility.

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The new building sits to the south of the new Royal Blind Jenny’s Well Care Home by architects Unum Partnership.

 

Lochore Meadows new visitor centre begins to take shape

Work is progressing on construction of the new visitor centre at Lochore Meadows Country Park.

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Fife Council’s convener of the Cowdenbeath area committee, Cllr Linda Erskine, recently visited with former councillor Willie Clarke, whom the centre will be named after.

The much needed new centre will consist of a café, two educational rooms with a retractable wall for flexible use, an outdoor decking area and public toilets with disabled access and baby changing facilities.

There will also be an interpretation area that will display information about the history of the park and interactive displays to help people navigate around the park and get the most from their visit.

Work is expected to be completed by the end of October, weather permitting.

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Esh employability programme reaches record number of students

Record numbers of Scottish school children are set to benefit from an award-winning employability skills programme, as Esh Border Construction’s Building My Skills launches for the third academic year.

The initiative, which will engage 42 businesses and 2,000 students from 14 secondary schools across Scotland, brings together pupils and employers.

Its aim is to offer students a well-rounded introduction to the world of work, equip them with valued employability skills, and deliver relevant and worthwhile advice from real business people.

Students from schools across the Central Belt, Fife, the Lothians, and Borders will receive five 45-minute sessions from a range of business sectors, delivered across the academic year

Businesses taking part include: Edinburgh Airport, Peace Recruitment, Jewson, Peter Brett Associates, Contract Scotland, Kwik Fit, NHS Borders, Dyslexia Scotland, Fife Council, and Rabbie’s Tours.

Each session is delivered by a different business guest who will provide an insight into their career path, their sector, valued employability skills and support the completion of a ‘checkpoint’.

The scheme is backed by the Developing Young Workforce (DYW) programme – which aims to better prepare children and young people aged 3–18 for the world of work.

Students who successfully complete the programme will be invited to the regional mock interview day – where they will be put through their paces by a local employer.

The scheme, which is now underway, has received national plaudits including nomination in the CSR category at the flagship Scottish Business Awards, Business in the Community’s coveted ‘National Big Tick for Education Partnership’, and CECA National Inspiring Education National awards.

Companies wishing to take part in Building My Skills can contact addedvalue@esh.uk.com for more information.

 

Scotland-wide promotions at DM Hall

Two new directors have been appointed with immediate effect in Aberdeen by chartered surveyors DM Hall.

A further appointment to director in Falkirk will be made from 1 October 2017.

The two Aberdeen promotions are Kevin Jackson and Robert Eunson, both of whom work in the firm’s commercial property sector. David Telford, in Falkirk, operates on the residential side of DM Hall’s business.

In addition, David Burrup, from the firm’s East building consultancy practice and Ian Johnston at the firm’s Paisley residential office, have been promoted to associate.

 

£1m Ice Plant opens at Scrabster Harbour

Scotland’s newest Ice Plant has been officially opened by cabinet secretary for the rural economy & connectivity Fergus Ewing MSP.

The new facility will be able to produce 30 tonnes of ice per day and has storage capacity for 60 tonnes. The Ice Plant at Scrabster Harbour, the UK’s fourth largest landing port for fish, will allow fishing boats to take on ice at any time of the day or night, protecting the quality of their catch. The £1 million Ice Plant entered service in August 2017 and produces ice in plate form, which is better suited to modern fisheries.

The harbour required a new facility as the privately run ice plant closed in December 2016. Scrabster Harbour Trust invested in a new ice plant to provide facilities for fishing vessels while operating a temporary ice supply arrangement in the interim.

A total of £685,000 funding was awarded to purchase and install the new ice plant. Funding of £542,000 has come from European Maritime and Fisheries Fund via the Scottish Government and a further £143,000 from the Nuclear Decommissioning Association. Norwegian company FrioNordica supplied and installed the ice plant, with local companies Alan Gow Groundworks and G Anderson Electrical Ltd contracted to undertake the civil and electrical works.

The official opening of the Ice Plant comes after a new independent report found the harbour currently generates £25m gross value added (GVA) in Caithness and supports over 400 jobs.

The opening of the Ice Plant is the latest investment in infrastructure made by the Scrabster Harbour Trust, with over £35m invested in port infrastructure in the last 25 years.

The Trust is looking to redevelop the St Ola Quay to create further deep-water harbour infrastructure at an estimated cost of £15 million and is also exploring options to create additional laydown at the port.

 

More than 200 affordable homes planned for Dalmarnock

Springfield Properties has submitted planning application notice to Glasgow City Council announcing its plans for 204 affordable homes along Dalmarnock Road.

Situated opposite the Dalmarnock train station, the 2.3ha of land was previously used as a goods yard before closing in 1960. The pocket of land has lain vacant since then.

The developers are proposing to transform this space with 4-6 storey apartment blocks surrounded by open communal spaces in keeping with the urban feel of the area.

With the area covered by the Clyde Gateway Regeneration programme, one of the largest in Scotland, Springfield affordable housing director, Tom Leggeat, feels the timing is great.

The plans are due to be officially submitted before the end of the year with a public consultation scheduled September 6 at the Legacy Hub, part of the Chris Hoy Velodrome in Dalmarnock.

 

Plans on show for 100 homes at former Forfar Guide Dogs base

People in Forfar residents were given a chance to see plans for 100 houses on the former training base of Guide Dogs Scotland.

Scotia Homes invited residents to see its plans for the site of demolished Princess Alexandra House, off Dundee Road.

Guide Dogs were granted outline permission for up to 120 houses in 2006, but the development was not brought forward.

The pink and red housing will be bungalows, with the two-floor homes in mauve

The new project is for a smaller number of homes, with more single-level buildings and larger gardens.

A spokesman said the development, between the town’s main southern road to Dundee, Airlie Crescent and Northampton Road, will “breathe new life” into an “unsightly” parcel of land.

The main access for 90 homes will be from the main road, with a pedestrianised zone leading to Airlie Crescent in the direction of Strathmore Primary School.

Access for another 10 would be built off Northampton Road.

John Buchan of architects Michael Gilmour Associates said the response to the consultation had been generally “supportive”.

 

Link completes new development for social rent in Luss

Link Group Ltd’s development at Beinn Dubh View in Luss has been officially opened by Councillor Robin Currie, Argyll and Bute Council’s policy lead for communities, housing, islands and Gaelic.

The £1.045 million construction of five homes for social rent commenced in September 2016, using £535,335 from the Scottish Government, £80,000 from Luss Estates and £60,000 from Argyll and Bute Council.

The land for the homes was gifted to Link by Luss Estates in May last year to help retain and attract young families to the area.

Built by J R Construction Ltd, the five homes include a mix of two and three-bedroom properties, and one wheelchair exemplar unit.

Link worked closely with Luss Estates and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority to ensure the design and look of the properties could blend in with the surrounding conservation area.

Each property has been designed to achieve the Building Regulation Silver Standard, with high levels of insulation and Air Source heating systems, creating comfortable, energy efficient and economical homes.

 

Housing improvements in pipeline for Dundee

Almost 100 homes in Dundee could be in line for major upgrades if councillors approve a pair of tenders next week.

Dundee City Council’s neighbourhood services committee will be asked to agree to £750,000 of work to kitchens, bathrooms, central heating and window replacement by the council’s construction services division.

If it gets the go ahead the window replacement work at properties in Midmill and heating kitchen and bathroom work at various sites across the city is likely to start later this month and be completed by spring next year.

The neighbourhood services committee meets on September 11.

 

Building bid for ancient woodland site rejected

Plans for more than 100 homes on ancient woodland near Dunblane have been rejected by the Scottish Government.

Campaigners including the Woodland Trust had opposed the plan to erect 129 homes and infrastructure at Wanderwrang Wood, which is present on the earliest ordnance survey maps of the area.

The 12.9 hectare site, near Keir roundabout south of the town, is designated as ancient woodland on the Scottish Natural Heritage Ancient Woodland Inventory.

 

Watchdog objects to historic Arbroath mill plans

A move to bring a vacant Tayside mill back to life has been halted after objections over flood risk.

Baltic Works in Arbroath has been a loom linen weaving factory and a whisky bond in its 165 years, and has been empty for the last three decades.

Owner Cullross Developments submitted plans to Angus Council to transform the derelict factory into 24 flats, with a further 16 new-builds on the site.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said development could add strain to the nearby Brothock Water defence, which has a one in 25 year flood risk. A one in 200 year risk can be regarded as high for new buildings.

The developer has indicated it will reapply for a smaller development in the mill, without the new buildings.

 

Partick Housing Association’s Broomhill Gate shortlisted for award

Partick Housing Association’s new build development at Broomhill Gate has been shortlisted in the Affordable Housing Development of the Year category for the prestigious Herald Property Awards 2017.

The mixed development on a brownfield site, designed by MAST Architects, consists of 14 three-bedroom townhouses for social rent, 18 two-bedroom flats for mid-market rent and a 14 person supported accommodation facility managed by Crossreach.

All the properties promote long term sustainability, by maximising solar gain, including high levels of sound insulation, and minimising carbon dioxide emissions and energy loss.

The specification for the development included selecting local or Scottish products and materials wherever possible to reduce transportation and used recycled or recycleable material where appropriate.

 

Garrion People’s Housing Co-operative window replacement work complete

Work on a window replacement project in Wishaw for Garrion People’s Housing Co-operative is now complete.

CCG Asset Management delivered the contract to around 40 properties in the Gowkthrapple area.

 

Renfrewshire pupils’ garden designs to be brought to life

Two young pupils from schools in Renfrewshire will see their dream garden designs become a reality thanks to David Wilson Homes.

The housebuilder recently launched a competition with a pair of schools to design gardens at two of its show homes – with the winners now selected.

Alexander Glass of St Columba’s School in Kilmacolm and Archie Hopley of Kilbarchan Primary School were chosen by the panel of judges for their impressive bee and bird friendly garden designs.

Those designs will now be brought to life by experts from David Wilson Homes at the Weirs Wynd development in Brookfield.

Alexander’s design consisted of large spaces to play football – his favourite sport – and also lots of space in the garden for colourful flowers. Throughout the garden there is also a selection of raised beds, borders and decking.

Archie’s design had plenty of space to play and relax and also included a number of areas to grow strawberries, lavender, sunflowers as well as an edible food and herb patch.

The two show homes due to launch in the coming months are The Strathmore and The Balbardie.