Building Briefs – October 2nd

Prince Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, attended the official launch ceremony on Saturday for the new state-of-the-art Peterhead Fishmarket.

CHAP Group, the main contractor for the build, was among more than 500 invited guests who were entertained by Scottish musicians, including singer Fiona Kennedy, fiddler Maggie Adamson, Turriff Pipe Band and local school pupils.

The fishmarket opened successfully in June this year and is a significant improvement on the former market at Merchants Quay. The new facility substantially increases the sales capacity, in terms of both quality and efficiency, and is part of the ambitious harbour development undertaken by the Peterhead Port Authority.

Mark Anderson, CHAP Contracts Manager for the project, described the event as an “exciting celebration” and that they “were extremely proud to have been involved in a project that will make a step change in the lives of the fishing community in Scotland”.

Prince Charles took his time to meet and thank all the exhibitors, which included contractors who worked on the project, fisheries organisations and heritage groups. His Royal Highness congratulated all those “who played such an important part in building this new development and above all delivering it on time and on budget…a great achievement”.

He added: “I know this new market, I’m sure, will make a huge difference not only to the local economy here in Peterhead, but also more widely in this part of Scotland.”

Work begins on Penicuik High Street improvements

Work is due to begin soon on a £400,000 scheme to improve Penicuik High Street.

Part of the wider Penicuik Heritage Regeneration project, the aim is to improve the appearance of the High Street and to make it safer and more comfortable for pedestrians.

The work will include resurfacing the road and making it narrower at the pedestrian crossing point. Footpaths on the south side of the street and top end of The Square will also be widened and repaved with natural sandstone slabs, while parking and loading areas will be laid with granite setts. Existing guardrails will be replaced with more attractive railings and old or unused pieces of street furniture will be removed.

Midlothian Council has appointed building and civil engineering contractors Noel Regan & Sons to carry out the work, which is due to start on October 8 and will be complete by the Spring of next year.

Road improvements for Strathaven

Major improvement works are to take place on roads in the Strathaven area over the coming weeks.

As part of South Lanarkshire Council’s £126 million Roads Investment Programme, the package of works will see resurfacing carried out along the A726 East Kilbride Road, B743 Muirkirk Road, the B7086 Lesmahagow Road and the town’s Overton Road.

For safety reasons, all of these works will require the roads to be closed.

The timetable for the works is:

Mountain railway forced to close over safety fears

The Cairngorm funicular railway has been forced to stop operating “for several weeks” as a safety precaution.

Investigations are being carried out into new concerns raised relating to structures supporting the track following a routine inspection.

Specialist engineers have been commissioned and excavations are required to inspect the foundations.

The findings of the detailed investigations are expected in November, when it should be established what remedial work is necessary and how long that is likely to take to complete.

Tradesman gets first Graduate Apprenticeship at Stewart Milne Group

An apprentice joiner is on his way to securing a degree in Construction and the Built Environment thanks to Stewart Milne Group and Robert Gordon University (RGU).

Michael Rough, who joined Stewart Milne Group in 2013 as an apprentice joiner, has been selected to take part in the group’s first Graduate Apprenticeship. Michael started his Graduate Apprenticeship in BSc (Hons) Construction and the Built Environment last month.

He will learn about the principles of construction project management, traditional and alternative procurement methods, how to build sustainably and more.

Developed by Skills Development Scotland, Graduate Apprenticeships aim to build the skills and knowledge Scottish industries need while providing people with an alternative pathway to a degree qualification.

As a member of the Stewart Milne Group workforce, Michael will be able to apply his learnings to real-life projects and gain additional knowledge and experience relevant to his course of study. Academic learning from RGU will be provided through online teaching platforms and on-campus days.

To support him throughout his apprenticeship, Michael will have an experienced mentor. Bill Ross, senior construction manager for Stewart Milne Homes, will provide technical and organisation expertise and knowledge to Michael throughout each stage of the Graduate Apprenticeship.

More than 34,000 households needed every year until 2031 to meet demand in Scotland

Scotland needs an estimated 34,367 units of housing annually across all tenures until 2031 to meet demand, according to new analysis from the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

The latest UK Housing Review Autumn briefing paper also suggests that just over 7,000 of these homes should be for social rent and a further 5,920 for other affordable tenures such as shared ownership and mid market rent.

The extent of housing need in Scotland is revealed in the UK Housing Review 2018 Autumn briefing paper,.

Launched today at Sheffield Town Hall, the briefing paper draws on the latest statistics to assess the impact of new policy and market developments across thirteen key topic areas, as well providing an analysis of housing need across the UK.

Planned maintenance continues in Drumchapel

CCG’s expert planned maintenance Asset Management division has commenced a second contract with Drumchapel Housing Co-operative.

Located on Southdeen Road, around 60 properties are set to benefit from brand new bathrooms and UPVC windows.

The contract follows on from the successful upgrade of 84 properties undertaken earlier in the year that covered a similar level of planned improvements.

Much needed Elgin social housing welcomed by Moray Council leader

A new social housing development at Stonecross Hill in Elgin has been welcomed by the leader of Moray Council as he visited the construction site.

Councillor Graham Leadbitter visited Hanover Scotland Housing Association’s new 16 home site at Stonecross Hill which is being delivered on a design & build basis in partnership with Springfield Properties and Moray Council and part funded by the Scottish Government. Joining him on his visit was Councillor Louise Laing, chair of Moray Council’s communities committee.

The new development of affordable housing, which will be known as Stonecross once completed, is expected to open in March 2019. It will consist of 16 general needs homes, ranging from one-bedroom cottage style flats to three and four-bedroom semi-detached houses. Hanover Scotland has a common housing register in Moray and is working closely with Moray Council on the future allocation of Stonecross houses.

Hanover Scotland has 26 developments in Moray, including Varis Court which was opened by the First Minister in July 2017 and Linkwood View which was officially opened by Christina McKelvie MSP, minister for older people and equalities, just last month. Stonecross is one of two developments that Hanover Scotland is currently delivering in the Elgin area, the other being at Hamilton Gardens at Spynie.

During their visit, Councillor Leadbitter and Councillor Laing met with senior managers from both Hanover Scotland and Springfield Properties and were given a tour of the site, learning more about the design and the work being carried out by the construction team.