Building Briefs – September 8th

McLaughlin & Harvey has completed the new STEM Building at Fife College’s Levenmouth Campus.

The building is the first of its kind in Scotland. Situated alongside the new Levenmouth Academy, the facility will offer pupils, students and the community a wealth of opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

The college has now opened its doors with the first students starting their courses this week.

Ayrshire Housing completes energy efficient homes in Ayr

A development of 22 flats and houses on the main road into Ayr’s town centre has been officially opened after being delivered by Ayrshire Housing.

The homes on King Street are grouped around a courtyard called Cross Gait and have been designed to a meticulous energy efficiency brief by John Gilbert Architects, with particular attention given to air tightness, insulation, and the choice of durable and sustainable materials.

The flats have glazed balconies which provide thermal benefits beyond the Building Standards as well as space for clothes airing and relaxation. All the dwellings have mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems.

Prestwick based Ashleigh Building has built the development to a very high standard, even improving on the rigorous air tightness target.

The total cost of the project is £3.1 million and a Scottish Government grant of £1.4m made it possible to rent the houses at affordable rents. The balance of the cost is being funded through a loan from Allia who are managing the Scottish Government’s affordable housing bond.

Hjaltland Housing Association delivers new Lerwick development

Hjaltland Housing Association has announced the completion of 14 homes at Wista in the north of Lerwick.

The £1.9 million development was designed by local architectural firm Redman + Sutherland Architects and delivered to a very high standard by E&H Building Contractors Ltd.

The contract has been funded through Scottish Government grant support and £700,000 in private finance from the Bank of Scotland.

The Association is not resting on its laurels with a further 33 homes currently on site; 12 one bedroom flats at Fort Road and 21 one, two and three bedroom homes at the Observatory due for completion over the next 12 months.

Dumfries and Galloway street lighting scheme completed ahead of schedule

Dumfries and Galloway Council has revealed it will complete a street lighting replacement scheme one year ahead of schedule.

The initiative began in 2013 after a report by the Scottish Futures Trust revealed Scottish council’s could save up to 70 per cent on lighting bills by switching to LED street lighting.

So far, energy and carbon consumption has fallen by 28 per cent, saving £255,000 per year and reducing carbon emissions in around 971 homes.

The local authority is now one of the top three council’s in Scotland for both energy reduction and the number of lights replaced with LEDs.

A report on the street lighting scheme’s progress will be presented to councillors on 13 September.

Transport Minister welcomes A83 progress

The A83 taskforce has been updated on the on-going maintenance and landslide mitigation work that has taken place on the route this year to help keep Argyll open for business.

The meeting was the first since Humza Yousaf was appointed as transport minister and he underlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to working alongside all partners to maintain access to the area.

Since the last taskforce meeting in January, further improvements include:

In the coming months, major work is planned at Strone Point and the Local Diversion Route along the Old Military Road will also be widened to help speed up journey times if it is brought into use.

Residents receive keys to first phase of £12m Fife housing project

Fife residents have spoken of their delight after they received the keys to their new homes in Methil.

Ten families have moved into their new properties following a recent handover ceremony held at the Methil Brae site.

A mixture of one to five bedroom homes including semi-detached units, bungalows and cottage flats form the £12 million Fife Council development, which is being built by Robertson Partnership Homes, with timber frame supplied by Robertson Timber Engineering.

The site contributes to the council’s affordable housing target of providing 2,700 homes across the region by March 2017.

Work on the site saw Robertson Partnership Homes transform an area of derelict, brownfield land into a development which will ultimately include 100 homes.

Perth & Kinross window and door upgrade scheme reaches landmark

A Coupar Angus resident has become the 500th Perth & Kinross Council tenant to have new windows and doors fitted to his home under a rolling programme of improvements.

The £6,600,000 window and exterior door replacement programme is being carried out in council homes right across the area by the council in partnership with local company Sidey.

Council tenant Stuart Heron received a visit from housing and health convener Councillor Dave Doogan to mark the milestone.

All the new windows are triple-glazed and, along with the new exterior doors, are designed and manufactured to the current BSI Kite mark standards to provide high levels of security, soundproofing and insulation. Maintenance-free finishes to the window and door frames improves the appearance of the properties and reduces the need for future maintenance work.

The window and door replacement programme is just part of the council’s ongoing programme of improvements and planned maintenance to its council stock. Other work includes central heating upgrades, kitchen/bathroom replacement, external insulation cladding, re-roofing and controlled door entry installation.

So far in 2016, 896 houses have had new central heating fitted, 95 council houses have been fitted with external wall insulation and 257 houses have been re-roofed.

This range of works represents significant investment by the council to ensure that its housing stock meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. As of 31st March 2016, 94.57 per cent of council homes met the Standard.