Building Briefs – March 29th

• P1 Contractors teams up with plant nursery to transform iconic listed building

The former Donaldson’s hospital site has been turned into luxury apartments with prices ranging from £250,000 to £1,625,000 making it one of the most expensive residential development in Scotland.

The A-listed building was formally built as a hospital for destitute and vulnerable children and was opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria who is reported to have said that the building was more impressive than many of her own palaces.

Residents of the new Donaldson’s development will enjoy 16-acres of private parkland which will include formal parterres, sweeping lawns and mature trees. Landscaping has also taken place in the chapel garden, morning and afternoon terrace, the park, the courtyard and parterre terrace.

Johnsons’ supply of plants started in 2017 and has been worth over £125,000 to date with varieties including 5,000 rootball Buxus (Box) for formal parterres, over 400 Taxus (Yew) rootballs for formal hedging, 7,000 shrubs and herbaceous plants, 83 trees, including 42 which were pleached specimens, and a large number of topiary boxed balls.

• AWPR sections to be de-trunked

Transport Scotland will transfer the management of sections of the A90, A92 and A96 to Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council on Monday in line with the orders published in 2010 and 2012, as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project.

This process, called ‘de-trunking’, will result in the local authorities operating and maintaining four sections of road.

The A92 (previously the A90) from Charleston to the Haudagain roundabout (Stonehaven road, Bridge of Dee, Anderson Drive) will become the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council.

The A92 (previously the A90), from Haudagain roundabout to Blackdog (The Parkway, Ellon Road) will become the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council.

The A96, from Craibstone to the Haudagain Roundabout will become the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council.

The A90 (to be reclassified as B977) between Balmedie and the A975 (Newburgh road) junction will become the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council.

The de-trunked sections of road will no longer form part of the trunk road network although other sections of the A92 and A96 will continue to be the responsibility of Transport Scotland.

• Renewable electricity at record levels

Renewable electricity generation in Scotland reached record levels in 2018, the latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) show.

Generation in Scotland was 26,708 GWh, a 6.1% increase on the previous record in 2017.  This output of electricity is the equivalent of powering all households in Scotland for more than two-and-a-half years.

The latest statistics also show the growth of Scotland’s renewable electricity capacity continues – rising from 10.0 GW in 2017 to 10.9 GW in 2018.

2018 saw a big increase in electricity generated via offshore wind, with capacity and generation both more than doubling compared to 2017. Generation increased from 616 GWh in 2017 to 1,369 GWh in 2018.  Capacity has increased from 246 MW to 623 MW

It was also a record year for electricity exports in Scotland; net exports have almost doubled from 12,868 GWh in 2017 to 24,379 GWh in 2018.

• Digital transformation lined up for Highland communities following full fibre deal

The delivery of public sector services in four Highland locations is to undergo a dramatic transformation thanks to a project that will bring new full fibre infrastructure – the fastest, most reliable digital connectivity – to the region.

As part of Capita’s Scotland-wide SWAN programme, the project will bring transformational and future-proof gigabit-speed services to schools, libraries, offices, hospitals, health centres and university campuses. In total, over 150 public sector sites across Inverness, Fort William, Thurso and Wick will be connected to a newly built full fibre network, constructed by CityFibre.

This innovative project has been made possible by a pioneering collaboration between the Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage, NHS Highland, the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

Working in partnership with the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network Fund, these five Scottish public sector organisations have awarded a £9.5m contract to Capita for the delivery of gigabit-capable services to 152 sites by March 2021. In addition, CityFibre has committed a multi-million-pound private investment to construct the fibre network connecting the sites, which it will design, operate and own.