Building Briefs - June 8th

A new £10 million contract to deliver 80 homes for rent in Bishopton, Renfrewshire will bring an additional range of community benefits including new job and apprenticeship opportunities, the local authority has said.

Renfrewshire Council’s Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board approved awarding of the housing contract to Lovell Partnerships Ltd.

The 80 homes are funded through Council investment and the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Grant, providing a mix of flats, semi-detached and mid-terraced houses.

They are being built on two locations on land allocated at no cost by BAE Systems, who are leading the regeneration of the former Royal Ordnance Factory site into Dargavel Village, with 950 homes already occupied.

The regeneration project also includes a new M8 motorway junction to enhance Bishopton’s connectivity to the wider region, with the first phase completed on schedule last year and expected to open in early 2020.

Bishopton Programme Manager Jon Gettinby, from BAE Systems, said: “The new affordable housing scheme in Dargavel Village is another example of BAE Systems’ long-term commitment to transform the former Royal Ordnance Factory into a new community.

“We’re working hard to create an exciting mix of residential properties in the village as well as educational, health, commercial and recreational facilities, all of which is connected to the wider region by excellent transport infrastructure.”

The contract includes agreement to create four jobs for people new to the construction industry and two apprenticeships as well as a series of work experience placements, school visits and careers events.

On top of this, staff will be supported to complete qualifications through the benefits, developed in consultation with Renfrewshire’s Community Benefit Forum.

The new homes will be available to rent from Renfrewshire Council at Dargavel Village by 2019.

Plans to build 100-bed student accommodation in Kelvinhaugh given go-ahead

Glasgow City Council has approved plans for a block of 100 student flats to be built in Kelvinhaugh.

Developers have earmarked the site on the corner of Teviot Street and Gilbert Street as the location of the new building.

The building will comprise of 100 studio apartments and shared communal spaces as well as new landscaping when completed.

Centrica Innovations invests in world leading sustainable building manufacturer – Carbon Dynamic

Centrica Innovations has announced a £400,000 investment into Carbon Dynamic, a world leading manufacturer of sustainable modular buildings.

Carbon Dynamic designs and manufactures cost effective and low energy buildings using locally-sourced and sustainable materials, and is working in partnership with the Albyn Housing Society and NHS Highland to deliver a pioneering smart home initiative that could transform the way health and social care is delivered.

Proposed development announced in Bishopbriggs

Proposals have been publicised for a new supermarket and associated development in Bishopbriggs.

Morrisons has announced its intention to develop a site to the north of railway line, bounded by South Crosshill Road and Kirkintilloch Road – including part of the former Bishopbriggs High School land.

Councillor Billy Hendry, the Council’s Convener of Place, Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets, said: “The development of the former Bishopbriggs High School site has been a long-running aspiration and I will be very interested to see the detailed plans.

“I welcome the commitment from Morrisons to engage with the community on the proposals as they take shape and very much hope that any future development of the site leads to significant investment and the creation of jobs in Bishopbriggs.

“The Council is committed to supporting our town centres – including Bishopbriggs – and is developing long-term strategies for each, including a series of proposed actions for future improvements.”

A Proposal of Application Notice has been lodged with East Dunbartonshire Council.

Alternative property outperforms traditional sectors at the start of 2018

Data released by property consultant CBRE shows that Scottish commercial real estate had another strong positive quarter at the start of 2018, reflecting wider improvements reported for Scottish GDP.

Across this period the Scottish all property total return was 1.7 per cent, down from the 2.1 per cent achieved in the final quarter of 2017, but ahead of the 1.5 per cent return from the first quarter of 2017.

On an annual basis, most sectors in Scotland saw an improvement in returns. For all property, returns rose by around 25 basis points over the quarter to stand at 7.0 per cent for the twelve months to the end of March. This was in contrast to the general trend for the UK, which saw annual returns dip lower over the same period.

The performance across the three main sectors of office, retail and industrial property was average with very little change. It was the alternatives sector - a mixture of smaller, specialist real estate types ranging from student accommodation and care homes to pubs, hotels, leisure and roadside services - that outperformed everything else in the first quarter with returns of 4.0%, and 13.2% over the twelve months to the end of March.

Total returns for Scottish retail in the first quarter were 1.2 per cent, a slight decrease on the 1.5 per cent total return in Q4 of 2017. The annual total return for retail over the year to the end of March was 5.4 per cent.

During 2017, capital values for retail in Scotland were, on average, flat. Performance has edged lower this year due to weakening rental growth over the first three months of 2018. These overall figures for retail though are somewhat misleading given the diversity of local and sub-sector performance.