Building Briefs - December 14th

• Property agent selling her books to raise money for children’s hospital

Priya, who works in Cushman & Wakefield’s Scottish Rating Team, is donating profits from sales of her popular Harriot McDougall books to the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity (GCHC) and the NHS which treats thousands of children from across the country every month.

The books, aimed at the 3-7 age group, follow the adventures of a Scottish lass from the Highlands and her animal friends Bonnie the Shetland Pony, Haggis the Highland Cow and Fergus the Scottish Terrier dog.

Copies of the fun-packed books, which are priced at £4.99 each, are currently available here.

• Civil engineering contractor appointed on 13-turbine wind farm in South Lanarkshire

A civil engineering firm has been awarded the contract for a 13-turbine wind farm in South Lanarkshire.

Brookfield Renewable UK Limited (BRUK) has engaged Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK to deliver Kennoxhead Phase 1, a 60 megawatt development near the village of Glespin.

Jones Bros’ activity will include the design and construction of turbine foundations, a 24m bridge, the substation building and approximately 25km of trenches for cabling.

In addition, the civil engineering firm will upgrade 14km of existing and build 9km of new site tracks as well as provide temporary site offices and facilities.

Jones Bros, which employs more than 500 from its head office in Ruthin, has already added six local plant operatives to its 30-strong Scotland team, with the contractor likely to add to this number in the coming months.

• HHP marks 500th new home milestone

Having set out to deliver 245 new homes within ten years when it formed in 2006, Hebridean Housing Partnership (HHP) has now announced the completion of its 500th new home.

Calmax Construction Ltd has completed work on three new homes at Winfield Close and Torlum, Isle of Benbecula. Both developments add to the aim of the Comahirle’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) with 55% of new affordable homes being developed in rural areas.

With these three new homes, HHP has now completed 421 homes for social rent and 81 homes under the Scottish Government’s Low Income First Time Buyers and New Supply Shared Equity Schemes, since 2006.

Each of these new build properties provides individuals and families with quality affordable homes, built to a high specification and represent a great opportunity for people to lay down roots and enjoy family life in communities right across the Outer Hebrides.

HHP said it was grateful to everyone who helped bring these homes to life including its staff, those who provided land, partners at the Comhairle and Scottish Government, contractors and development agent Tighean Innse Gall (TIG) for its continued support in achieving this build programme and helping it fulfil its wider aims as a Registered Social Landlord.

• Scottish Water awarded Fair Tax Mark certification

Scottish Water’s commitment to fair and ethical practice has been confirmed by double benchmarking success.

The publicly-owned utility has been awarded the Fair Tax Mark certification, for the first time, in recognition of its open and transparent approach to taxation.

And the organisation has also been rated as being a leader in the water sector as well as against nearly 100 other UK organisations in Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Tracker.

The Fair Tax Mark is a world-leading independent accreditation which sees Scottish Water join a growing number of UK organisations which have secured the gold standard for fair and responsible tax conduct.

To achieve the recognition, Scottish Water demonstrated it acts ethically in its tax affairs, with a published tax strategy of exemplary transparency, and a firm commitment to forgo offshore profit shifting and complex tax structures.