Building Briefs – July 19th

Edinburgh’s Leith Street will reopen to traffic in both directions by 6am on Saturday 28 July, ahead of this year’s Fringe, following a programme of infrastructure improvement works which began in September 2017.

Comprehensively reconfigured from the intersection with Waterloo Place to the junction with Little King Street, both southbound lanes and one northbound lane will be reopened to road traffic for the first time in 11 months. Bus services will also return to Leith Street on Saturday 28 July.

The northbound inside lane from Waterloo Place to Greenside Row will remain closed as part of the safety initiatives in place during the construction of the adjoining Edinburgh St James site. As enabling works continue on Picardy Place, some traffic management will also remain in place at the northern end of Leith Street.

Overseen by Laing O’Rourke, the main contractor at Edinburgh St James, the works programme has created a high quality and much-improved environment along Leith Street, which better serves pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and road traffic alike. Below ground, infrastructure and utilities have also been renewed, greatly reducing the need for any future works or repairs.

Pavements along the full length of the road have been reconstructed using high quality materials and widened, largely by removing the central reservation that existed on the old road layout, creating a much safer and more accessible route for all pedestrians.

The new layout has also been designed to better meet the needs of those with physical disabilities and those that are sensory impaired, with a total of four primary crossing points on Leith Street, a new signalised junction at Calton Road and tactile paving at each crossing point.

The pedestrian crossing at Waterloo Place has also been significantly improved with a larger footway provision and wider crossing.

A dedicated two-way cycle way has been created between Calton Road and Picardy Place, which will continue to be extended as part of upcoming improvement works at Picardy Place, eventually joining up with the existing infrastructure already in place on Leith Walk. Cyclists can also make a left turn at the top of Leith Street on to Waterloo Place.

The existing carriageway along Leith Street has been resurfaced and in many instances has been fully reconstructed, creating a safer and smoother environment for road traffic. Traffic will not be able to turn right from Calton Road northbound on to Leith Street, right from Leith Street on to Calton Road or left from Leith Street on to Waterloo Place. Calton Road will reopen and the diversion route on George Street will return to its original operation this weekend, whilst the diversion route at Easter Road/Montrose Terrace/London Road will be removed after the August festival period, in early September.

Local authorities given funding for emergency water supplies

Funding from the Scottish Government is to be made available to local authorities and Scottish Water to ensure that emergency supplies of drinking water are provided to communities where their private water supplies have run dry.

Although the vast majority of Scotland has access to public water supplies, nearly 4% of the population rely on private water supplies. The majority of these are from springs and burns which are vulnerable to lengthy periods of dry weather.

The recent Water Scarcity Report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows that the river flows are low in many areas, increasing the risk that private supplies will run dry.

Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham and finance and economy secretary Derek Mackay have written to all local authorities to ask them to work with Scottish Water to ensure that affected communities are provided with emergency supplies.

RICS: Scotland’s retail sector ‘still under pressure’

Much of the Scottish retail sector is under pressure, as contributors expect occupier demand to fall further, according to the Q2 2018 RICS UK Commercial Property Market survey.

The quarterly survey results show a continued downturn across the retail sector in Scotland, in contrast with the industrial sector which attracted solid demand from occupiers and investors.

Demand from occupiers across all sectors during Q2 remained quite flat throughout Scotland, however, the retail sector was the only area to post an outright decline, with 42% more respondents noting a fall in demand over the period. By way of contrast, office demand held broadly steady, while tenant enquiries continued to rise in the Scottish industrial sector.

This pattern is also reflected in the availability of space with empty retail units becoming increasingly visible but a lack of good quality industrial/ logistic opportunities. Given the demand supply picture, it is unsurprising that rents are predicted to increase for both prime, and to a lesser degree, secondary industrial space. By way of contrast, although the pressure is most intense on secondary retail, the prime retail rent indicator is also now in negative territory across the UK. Prime office rents are also expected to show modest gains with the secondary office space, at least at a headline level, broadly flat.

West Lothian Council pledges £200k to improve local roads

Around £200,000 has been put forward by West Lothian Council to improve seven local roads.

The funding aims to improve road safety with a programme of work designed to reduce road casualties.

Roads receiving investment through the scheme include: the B7015 junction with the C13 east of Freeport; the B8020 from A904 to Winchburgh; the B7031 bend at Kirknewton House Cottage, Kirknewton; Livingston East Roundabout at Deer Park, Livingston; Almondvale Boulevard/Almondvale Avenue at Bubbles Roundabout in Livingston; Menzies Road junction with Whitburn Road in Bathgate; and Knightsridge East Road junction with Ladywell East Road in Livingston.

Second consultation on Midlothian school proposals

Proposals for a new primary school and community facilities in Danderhall, Midlothian, are to enter a second consultation period next month.

The proposals, planned at the site of the existing Danderhall Primary School, also include a new library and leisure centre.

Midlothian Council is hosting public drop in sessions on the plans at Danderhall library, 1a Campview, from 2pm - 8pm on 07 August.

The upcoming consultation follows on from a previous session this year where most local residents expressed their preference for a new primary school and community facilities such as a cafe, sports hall, library, meeting space and activity spaces for children.

Aberdeenshire road set for essential work

Essential white-lining works are to take place on the A90 between Blackdog and Balmedie this weekend.

The contractor is completing the works as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project.

An overnight convoy will be deployed from 21-23 July to ensure the works are completed.

The A90 southbound diverge slip road at Balmedie Junction will also be closed overnight on 20 July for finishing and surfacing works.

Aden Country Park secures over £1m for restoration project

Aden Country Park in Aberdeenshire has secured more than £1 million to support its major restoration and redevelopment project.

As part of the project, Aden’s historic buildings and landscape will be restored, along with the creation of a brand-new play area, improvements to park accessibility and signage, as well as supporting a programme to enhance biodiversity.

The £1.25m grant was awarded by the National Lottery as part of the ‘Parks for People’ programme.

It is expected that the total project cost will be £2.13m, with the rest of the funds coming from other grants, non-cash contributions, volunteer time, developer obligations and investment from Aberdeenshire Council.

The main works proposed for the project include:

Work is due to start on the project before the end of 2018 and will take five years to complete.