Building Briefs – July 17th
Reading time: 11 minutes
Ryden expands project management team
Property consultancy Ryden has made two strategic hires within its Project & Building Consultancy Group.
Donald McKinnon and Alan Booth have both joined the team and are based in the firm’s Glasgow office.
McKinnon joins as a consultant, having 40 years’ experience across the construction and development industry. He has held numerous senior positions including managing partner and director-level roles and worked on the £100 million BBC Scotland HQ project at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
New associate Booth joins from SCOT Sheridan Estates, where he was projects director following a six-year period as a consultant for the firm. He has worked across all sectors and during a 25-year career, has managed projects spanning one million sq ft of space and projects valued at £500,000 to £20m.
Craig Tennant, partner in Ryden’s Project & Building Consultancy team in Glasgow, said the appointment would significantly strengthen the firm’s existing offering for clients.
Last year, the group, which is one of the strongest resourced in Scotland, surveyed over 9 million sq ft of commercial property and handled construction projects with a total value of £96m.
Old Glasgow college site could be used for new homes
Around 75 flats could be built at the site of a fire-ravaged college in the West End of Glasgow, according to reports.
New plans for the homes, at the former Balshagray campus, on Broomhill Drive, are set to go before Glasgow City Council by the end of this month.
The site, formerly owned by Anniesland College, was hit by fire earlier this week, with firefighters called out to a blaze in the derelict building on Tuesday night.
The extent of the damage is not known but Edinburgh-based architects EMA, who are drawing up the plans for the new development, said the fire would not affect their proposals.
A spokesman said they were working on designs for a major development for Glasgow-based Kelvin Properties.
Permission was granted last year for around 45 homes at the site but the property company pulled out, the spokesman said, and Kelvin Properties came on board.
He said the property firm could have taken over the previous scheme with the planning permission in place but wanted to extend the development to include the swimming pool. It was not previously part of the plans so a new planning application is required.
The new development would see between 70 and 75 homes being built.
He said they had already held meetings with the council and described them as ‘positive.’
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed the fire was not being treated as suspicious.
Flats plan for vacant Aberdeen office block
An Aberdeen city square could be home to up to 13 new apartments under plans tabled for a former office block.
West Coast Estates is seeking permission to transform a vacant building in Aberdeen’s historic Golden Square. Developers said the £3.5 million work would help regenerate the city centre while preserving the character of the historic building.
One in five people in their sixties ‘future proofing’ their homes
A fifth of people aged 60-69 are making adaptations to their homes to make them suitable for their needs as they age, new research has revealed.
The study, from Age UK Trading, revealed that over a quarter of these had made the changes because they believe thinking about the future is important in order to ensure they can stay in their homes as long as possible.
Dubbed ‘future-proofers’ because of their desire to plan ahead, a fifth of those in their sixties who had carried out home improvements said they wanted to prepare for their future, with one in ten citing their independence and wanting to manage on their own as the reason behind the adaptations.
However, of this age group one in twenty confessed to not wanting to think about getting older. Almost one in five said they would only think about adaptations to their home if they were advised to by their GP, with a quarter saying they would only consider making changes to their home if they had an accident which affected their physical ability.
In contrast, a third (33 per cent) of people aged 70 and over who had carried out adaptations, cited the fact that their home was no longer suitable for their needs as the reason behind the changes. Of this age group, one in ten had been advised to make changes by their GP, with the same number saying the adaptations had been done by their family in order to help them manage better. Nearly a third of over-70s had made the changes to make caring for a relative easier.
CCG digs deep for community project
Contractors CCG, who are building new homes for River Clyde Homes in Port Glasgow, have donated a rotary cutter to a local community project.
Parklea Branching Out is a voluntary organisation that provides local people with support needs giving them access to training, work experience, supported employment and recreational activities. The new rotator from CCG breaks up the soil, a process formerly done by hand, before planting and growing vegetables.
CCG is currently on site at Phase 3 of River Clyde Homes’ Woodhall project, delivering 16 energy efficient homes. The homes are due for completion in December of this year.
Social landlords launch non-profit energy company
A new independent energy supply company, the first in the UK operating on a non-profit distributing basis, plans to be selling heat and power to tenants in 200,000 homes across Scotland by 2020.
Our Power Energy, a subsidiary of Our Power Community Benefit Society, has been founded by 35 member organisations including some of Scotland’s largest housing associations, and local authorities.
The company will enter the market at the end of 2015 as an Ofgem licenced supplier of gas and electricity to provide lower cost energy to the tenants and communities of its member organisations.
It expects to save its members up to ten per cent on their household utility bills compared to standard commercial tariffs.
Over the next five years, this could see up to £11 million of savings for households in some of the most disadvantaged communities across the country.
Our Power, a living wage employer, is backed by £2.5m from the Scottish Government and another £1m from Social Investment Scotland, both in the form of repayable loans.
In the future, Our Power hopes to develop renewable energy projects as part of its business for the benefit of local communities.
A701 Shieldhill to Blairhall Road work to begin
Road users are set to benefit from £415K of resurfacing works on the A701 from Shieldhill to Blairhall Road (located approximately 5 miles north of Dumfries), taking the investment from Transport Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway in the past 12 months to over £4.5 million.
Scotland TranServ, on behalf of Transport Scotland will resurface almost 1km of carriageway from 7pm on Sunday 26 July to 6am Friday 7 August.
September launch for Aberdeen Crowne Plaza
A Crowne Plaza Hotel will open at Aberdeen International Airport on September 1, owner Dominvs Hospitality has announced.
The hotel, based 100 metres from the passenger terminal, will have165 luxury bedrooms, a grill restaurant with a menu based on fresh seasonal local produce, and two bars.
Its business facilities include a conference centre with its own entrance and 10 meeting rooms, in addition to a gym, complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, USB charging points in bedrooms, a Starbucks cafe and 24 hour room service.
There will also be more than 250 car parking spaces.
Council agree funding for Crichton development plans
Councillors have agreed to fund two projects to help increase public use of a “hidden” area of Dumfries.
They hope the scheme will promote the Crichton university and business complex as a visitor attraction.
A total of £650,000 will be used to create a visitor centre in the crypt of the historic memorial church.
It will also help to complete the redevelopment of the former hydrotherapy suite in the south wing of Easterbrook Hall.
A swimming pool will be reinstated and a spa, bar and restaurant created.
The cash had been previously committed by Dumfries and Galloway Council to the Crichton Trust, which manages the site of the former psychiatric hospital.
Now the local authority’s economy, environment and infrastructure committee has endorsed the trust’s plans for the funds.
Plans for eco-church in Monifieth
An Angus congregation has revealed plans for an eco-church.
Monifieth Parish Church wants to knock down the existing overspill building on High School and replace it with a 21st century facility.
The site is currently home to a dilapidated period church hall that formerly belonged to South Church.
None of the three period church buildings which are still in use were deemed fit for purpose and it was decided further evaluation should be given to the idea of a new, modern church.
Fife skate park extension work to begin
Work is scheduled to begin on a skate park extension in Cardenden.
The site, located at Wallsgreen Park, will have additional equipment and lighting added to it, funded by Fife Council’s area budget.
Area committte chair, Councillor Willie Clarke and Executive Committee member Councillor Mark Hood recently visited the park to mark the occasion.
Work is expected to be completed in September.
Council announces B920 resurfacing works
Fife Council has announced resurfacing works on the B920 from Stationhead Road, Lochgelly to Glencraig.
The works will take place from 20 July for approximately three weeks.
During the first week of works, the junction at Stationhead Road and Station Road will be closed to traffic, instead the council will use a convoy system.
Works at the junction with Cartmore Industrial Estate will be carried out on Sundays and temporary traffic lights will be used to control the traffic.
Council purchases school in tranent
East Lothian Council has purchased St Joseph’s School in Tranent.
The acquisition means the council can now withdraw its planning application for a proposed development at Lewisvale.
National Trust reveals new Ayrshire play park
The National Trust for Scotland has unveiled a new adventure play park at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire.
Adventure Cove, Culzean’s adventure play park, is located at the Swan Pond and mimics many of Culzean’s features.
The park contains a viaduct, smuggler’s caves and its own ‘Eisentower’ in honour of the castle’s US connection.
The £250,000 redevelopment of the Swan Pond area is part of a programme of improvements planned by the National Trust for Scotland.
The grand opening of the facility will take place on 25 July.
Aberdeenshire leisure facility information event to be held
Aberdeenshire Council has announced a drop in information event is to be held as work begins on a new leisure facility.
The sessions have been designed to let residents in Banff and around the Banff Academy know about the forthcoming works, likely disruption and the importance of construction site safety.
FMP Construction will begin work shortly to develop indoor and outdoor sports and community facilities at Banff Academy.
The new centre will include community and office areas along with viewing galleries for the sports hall and squash courts. Other features include an outdoor terrace, car parking and landscaping.
New football pitches will be developed along with running and cycling tracks, upgraded tennis courts, a refurbishment of the PE department and swimming pool.
A new pavilion and football pitches will be created in Macduff and the existing pavilion at Canal park, Banff will be renovated.
Construction in Macduff will begin in October. Currently, preparatory works are taking place.
The drop-in sessions will occur at Banff Academy on 16 July from 4pm to 6pm, and 25 July between 11am to 1pm.
Programme of Scottish Borders school improvements gets underway
A programme of school improvements is underway in the Scottish Borders region.
The projects are being led by Scottish Borders Council’s in-house team of architects and the works will be carried out by a variety of local contractors.
A number of projects are centred on Early Years services and while not all will be completed in the summer holidays, the most disruptive aspects of the work will take place over the coming weeks while schools are empty.
Works include:
Further school improvements are set to be rolled out in the coming months.
Share this article:
Subscribe to our newsletter to not miss articles like this one:
SUBSCRIBE
