Building Briefs – October 7th

  • Local community group and councillors give backing to Gorgie student scheme

Proposals for a 394-bedroom student scheme set to go to committee on Wednesday have received the backing of local councillors and a local community group.

Building Briefs – October 7th

(from left) Yvonne Weighland Lyle from Gorgie Collective; Steve McManaman, project manager for Harrison; Mario Alberto Gonzalez Robert, artist and Anggi Wulan from Gorgie Collective

Property developer Harrison Developments is seeking to deliver purpose-built student accommodation at Westfield Road, Gorgie, which will serve to redevelop a brownfield site comprising a former furniture retail store, vacant old office building and an associated car park.



Local councillors Cathy Fullerton and Donald Wilson have given their backing to the scheme, as well as local arts, crafts and cultural community group, Gorgie Collective.  

Part of the scheme will see the delivery of a community room, which came following discussions between the applicant and Gorgie Collective. This will not only benefit the local community through the establishment of a meeting space, providing vital facilities for local voluntary organisations, but local artists will also be commissioned to provide public art for the building once completed.

The proposal will also incorporate a gym, cinema room, games room and study space. Given the proximity of the development to excellent transport links and university and college campuses, only four car parking spaces are proposed with up to 400 cycle parking spaces.

The development will help to address the increasing demand for student accommodation in the city, reducing pressure on the private housing market as students, who would previously have been going into houses or flats, will be occupying purpose-built accommodation



While the potential to have housing on the site has been looked at, it has been demonstrated that a 50/50 split between this and student housing (as laid out in non-statutory student guidance) would lead to privacy issues and also not be financially viable. Only 104 individuals could be housed on the site in this scenario, compared with 394 if it is fully student accommodation, would fail to meet the objectives to reduce the pressure of the student population on the general housing stock.

It has been estimated that around £3.6 million per annum will be generated in expenditure by students on items such as food, clothes and eating out, providing a welcome boost to the local economy. This expenditure is estimated to support a further 30 jobs in retail and leisure industries.

Harrison has a strong track record in Edinburgh, having already completed a mixed-use scheme comprising retail, leisure, eateries and student accommodation at Haddington Place on Leith Walk. The success at Haddington place has been followed by the regeneration of Buchan House on St Andrew Square where a Malmaison will shortly open.

 



  • Progress welcomed on Inverurie Community Campus

Progress on one of Scotland’s largest school and community construction projects has been praised today following a visit by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and a host of local VIPs.

Inverurie Community Campus, which is due to open in April 2020, played host to the First Minister and local guests, keen to get an update on the construction project.

Once complete, the £55 million campus will be home to Inverurie Academy and St Andrew’s School, extensive community sports and leisure facilities such as a six-lane swimming pool, a multi-use games area and two all-weather pitches. The facilities on offer will be of use to the community and the school simultaneously and will be a valued space for pupils and residents alike.



The Aberdeenshire Council capital project is being led by developers hub North Scotland and built by Robertson Group. It is one of the main projects in the council capital plan and has been supported by investment from the Scottish Futures Trust.

Prior to arrival at the new Community Campus the First Minster had the pleasure of officially opening the Inverurie Health & Social Care Hub which is a joint project between NHS Grampian and the Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership.

 

  • Another Brick in the Wall as North East MSP backs call for professional electricians’ standards in Scotland

MSP Stewart Stevenson has become the latest political brick in the Wall of Support for better regulation of the electrical trade across Scotland.



Building Briefs – October 7th

Mr Stevenson with SELECT president Kevin Griffin

The representative for Banffshire and Buchan Coast has given his backing to the long-running campaign led by trade association SELECT for the recognition of electricians as a profession. The SNP member joins MPs and MSPs from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, the Greens and his own party on SELECT’s Wall of Support.

SELECT is calling for Protection of Title to help ensure that anyone calling themselves an electrician is actually qualified to carry out the work. It has been estimated that as many as 16% of all domestic electricians operating in Scotland are either unqualified or under-qualified


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