Building Briefs – April 16th

• Hardies enhances dispute resolution offering

Commenting on the development, Warner said: “As a business we are keen to promote formal evaluative mediation, which can provide a quick resolution to disputes, thereby avoiding more costly, time consuming and uncertain alternatives.

“With meditation, disputing parties remain in control of the process, working relationships are more likely to be preserved and positive solutions and outcomes are encouraged.

“We anticipate a growth in the requirement of such mediation over the coming years and consequently intend to train more of our construction professionals in formal mediation to further strengthen our dispute resolution teams across Scotland.”

• Westwood House conversion nears completion

Scotland’s housing minister has been given a progress report on a project to tackle the shortage of mid market rental homes across Scotland.

Kevin Stewart MSP was visiting LAR Housing Trust’s multi million pound development at Westwood House in the west of Edinburgh.

The project was the housing charity’s first commercial to residential conversion since launching in October 2015 and is set to provide 47 mid market rental flats.

Westwood House, which is being converted for LAR by Clark Contracts, is on schedule to open its doors to tenants by late summer this year and is one of 24 LAR sites across Scotland. The development consists of 18 one-bed, 27 two-bed and two three-bed flats.

LAR has announced it will start the search for tenants at the end of May and is expecting considerable interest in an area in desperate need of good quality affordable housing.

LAR has also purchased 40 homes in a second former office block in the area, Chesser House, with tenants also expected to move into that development by late summer 2019.

• Improvements proposed for 200 council homes in Dundee

Almost £1 million is set to be spent improving more than 200 Dundee homes if councillors give the works the green light.

Tenders for replacement boilers at houses in the Dens, Blackness and St Mary’s areas and replacement roofs in parts of Charleston are included in the programme.

Worth a total of £989,505, the work is recommended to go to Dundee City Council’s contract services division.

If approved, it will start at Dunholm Terrace and South Road later month going through the year with the last to finish being the boiler replacements in Corso Street in November.

The neighbourhood services committee meet on April 22.

• Shared vision launched for Fort William and Lochaber

A new shared vision has been published for Fort William and Lochaber.

The Fort William 2040 report (FW2040) includes a Vision, Masterplan and Delivery Programme all prepared with feedback gathered during a major public consultation last year.

The plans include tourism and leisure facilities, a school, road improvements, housing and town centre revitalisation.

FW2040 has been published as an innovative online ‘Storymap’ at www.highland.gov.uk/FW2040 and will provide easy access to information on the individual projects that various organisations, groups and businesses will be delivering. It is also aimed at pooling ideas and funding, and better coordinating investment and development opportunities.

Alongside the new FW2040 report, an ongoing dialogue has been agreed which will involve communities working alongside elected Members to monitor the changes that are happening.

The FW2040 report can be read in full here with an annual public engagement event set to take place this September.

• Two-storey extension planned for Dundee waterfront office

Dundee’s high tech office development Water’s Edge is planning a two-storey extension to meet demand for commercial space.

Tayforth Properties is looking into adding to the footprint of the listed building previously known as Transit Shed 25.

The City Quay development is a mixture of office suites, meeting rooms and a break-out space designed to encourage collaboration and stimulate new ideas.

The next phase of the development was to form a restaurant at the south end of the building.

However, the operator who planned to take the large unit backed out due to financial difficulties.

Managing director Stewart Clark told the Evening Telegraph the team were now planning to turn this space into five further offices.

He said a new extension to the building, which would contain a restaurant and a boardroom on the upper level, was being considered.

The extension would be formed to the south of the building.

Mr Clark said that, depending on the planning process, ground could be broken on the development as soon as September.

• Aberdeenshire bridges to close for essential maintenance

A number of bridges in Aberdeenshire are set to close over the summer for essential maintenance work.

Four bridges on the A957 Stonehaven to Crathes Slug Road - A957 Blairydrine Bridge, A957 Cowton Bridge, A957 Mowtie Bridge and A957 Findlayston Bridge - will be closed throughout July and August in a rolling programme.

The repairs are needed due to repeated impacts by vehicles and general deterioration due to age.

The continuous rolling closures over eight weeks are necessary to ensure the safety of the workforce.