Building Briefs – October 29th

A significant milestone on the £10 million Inveramsay Bridge Improvement Project has been reached with the successful installation of 14 concrete bridge beams over the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line.

Balfour Beatty, the contractor responsible for designing and building the project recently lifted the 14 precast concrete beams safely into position. The works were completed through the night over a three week period to avoid disruption to the rail service.

Time lapse video footage has been released by Transport Scotland showing the beams, which weigh around 30 tonnes and are approximately 20 metres in length, being lifted and manoeuvred into place to form the new bridge structure.

The new bridge will carry the new A96 Trunk road over the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line, which is currently being constructed to the north of the existing A96.

Persimmon Homes targets last greenfield site in Perth

Ambitious plans for a major housing scheme on the edge of Perth will be unveiled to residents next week.

Developers Persimmon Homes are hoping to breathe new life into the city’s last vacant greenfield site off Crieff Road, next to McDiarmid Park.

The company’s plan for the 17-acre Newton Farm, which will include new homes and shops, will be revealed at a consultation event on Tuesday November 3.

Feedback from the session, which takes place from 2.30pm to 7pm at McDiarmid Park’s Campbell Suite, will be used to shape a future planning application.

Details on housing numbers and retail space have yet to be finalised.

Persimmon Homes is also working on a £16 million housing project, including nearly 100 properties, at nearby Cherrybank, off Glasgow Road.

A planning application for the Crieff Road plan is expected to be lodged with Perth and Kinross Council planning officers in the coming weeks.

Aquamarine Power calls in administrators

Edinburgh-based wave energy company Aquamarine Power has called in administrators, blaming the current economic climate for the decision.

The move comes only weeks after the firm announced it had been awarded a £580,000 grant from the European Union to help it accelerate the development of commercial wave energy technology.

Aquamarine said its 14 employees would be retained as attempts were made to sell it as a going concern.

The company has already built and run two full-scale wave energy converters, called Oysters, at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.

James Stephen, from administrators BDO, said the economic climate had “significantly affected” Aquamarine’s business.

Glasgow Caledonian University secures green infrastructure funding

Dr Ian Duncan MEP has welcomed a crucial vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg which resulted in the award of 1 million Euros to Glasgow Caledonian University to fund research into green infrastructure projects.

The funding bid was worked on jointly by Ian and Rohinton Emmanuel, Professor and Subject Leader in Sustainable Design and Construction at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The money will help develop a set of standards to assist the creation, management and governance of green infrastructure projects. The ultimate goal will be to improve the use of green space, such as parks, and to reduce emissions.

Plan progress for new Glasgow tennis courts

Plans to build new tennis courts in the East End of Glasgow have taken a step forward.

Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council confirmed they are looking into building public courts at Garrowhill Park and Glasgow Club Easterhouse.

It is hoped at least four courts can be built on the sites.

Any finalised plans will be subject to planning permission.

West Dunbartonshire Council invests over £1m in new play parks

Thousands of young people in West Dunbartonshire have benefitted from a £1 million council investment to create dozens of new play areas.

Parks across the area have been transformed with new play equipment, providing a challenging and safe outdoor area for families of all ages to have fun.

New play areas have been created in Argyll Park, Alexandria; East End Park, Dumbarton; Freelands, Old Kilpatrick; Thistleneuk, Old Kilpatrick; Dalmonach Park, Bonhill, Tontine Park, Renton; Wylie Park, Renton; Milton Park; Dalmuir Park, Clydebank ; Faifley Friendship Park; Breval Crescent, Clydebank; West Thomson Street, Clydebank and New Street, Clydebank.

Housing associations join innovative energy renewables initiative

Several rural housing associations have partnered on an innovative energy renewables initiative which has generated free electricity for tenants and reduced fuel poverty levels.

East Lothian Housing Association (ELHA) and Berwickshire Housing Association worked in partnership with Edison Energy to install solar PV panels which have generated free electricity for tenants.

However, as part of the Eastheat project, Edison Energy, ELHA and Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association worked with Sunamp to add a battery to the solar PV system, which has resulted in even more free electricity for tenants.

Sunamp designs, produces and sells non-toxic, compact highly efficient heat batteries that can be used to store heat for a number of applications, including many renewable and low carbon technologies. The heat batteries make the renewable technology more effective, as the batteries deliver heat and hot water on demand.

The Eastheat project will target up to 1,500 properties. Tenants have benefited from free energy and heat, and the housing associations’ properties are meeting the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

Thousands of school kids visit and learn about Queensferry Crossing

The visit of 50 S4–S6 pupils from Greenfaulds High School triggered the milestone, which has been achieved in only two full academic years - a mark of the project’s ‘outstanding commitment’ to forging an educational legacy.

The Schools Programme began in September 2013, following the opening of the project’s Contact and Education Centre in South Queensferry earlier that year. Since then, over 400 primary and secondary school visits have taken place with schools from all over Scotland visiting to find out more about the construction of the Queensferry Crossing and undertake Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related challenges.