Building Briefs – September 25th

Consultation is underway on Fife Council’s £1.4 million Kirkcaldy waterfront regeneration project.

The proposal aims to improve connections between the High Street and the waterfront by changing the four-lane dual carriageway to a standard two-lane road, improving pedestrian crossings, adding more on-street parking near the leisure centre and adding features to the spaces around the buildings and waterfront.

The streetscape will also be upgraded to improve the area between the High Street and the waterfront. Natural stone finishes will be used to match the existing streetscape at Redburn Wynd, Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre and Tolbooth Street, along with more street furniture, planting and better signage.

The council plans were developed alongside Kirkcaldy Waterfront group, the Kirkcaldy’s Ambitions Partnership and Kirkcaldy 4 All.

Proposals can be viewed online at www.fifedirect.org.uk/waterfront until 08 October 2018. Two consultation events will also take place in Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre on Wednesday 03 (2–5pm) and Thursday 04 October (4–7pm).

A planning application will be submitted later this year following feedback from local residents and businesses.

The project is due to start construction in spring 2019.

Law firm commits to long term lease at BAM’s Capital Square in Edinburgh

International law firm Pinsent Masons has signed a lease for 25,000 sq ft of office space in Edinburgh’s Capital Square development.

The project being developed by BAM Properties, in partnership with Hermes Investment Management, the £35.3 billion manager, is under construction in the Exchange business district. It is scheduled to be completed in May 2020 with Pinsent Masons expected to take occupancy after a period of fitting out.

The design and fit-out process, which will be heavily influenced by the opinions of the Pinsent Masons team, will focus on promoting well-being in the workplace and will follow the firm-wide policy of encouraging an agile working environment.

The firm’s 200-plus Edinburgh lawyers and support staff currently work between offices in Princes Exchange and nearby Edinburgh Quay. They will come together under the one roof following the signing of a lease on 25,256 sq ft of space on two floors of the eight-floor Capital Square scheme.

Dougie Peters, managing director, BAM Propertiesm said: “We are delighted to welcome Pinsent Masons to Capital Square which represents our second major letting success in recent weeks. More than half of the building is now pre-let which demonstrates how attractive Capital Square is as a working environment and location for modern occupiers seeking to attract and retain the best talent.

“Quality Grade A accommodation is key for Edinburgh to remain attractive to occupiers and Capital Square is providing first class office space at a time of limited supply in the market.”

Next phase of Wellgate car park improvements underway in Dundee

As Dundee’s Wellgate shopping centre undergoes an exciting period of change, car park users are to benefit from a second phase of ambitious upgrading works.

Contractor Castle Group is carrying out repair and improvement works to the 580 space car park.

The works will provide a much brighter parking environment, with significantly clearer line marking and more visible spaces. The car park will remain open throughout and the works will cause minimum disruption to customers.

A9 dualling ground investigations to begin

The first in the latest series of ground investigations for the A9 Dualling programme are to get underway next week.

The work is to start on October 1 on the southern stretch between Tay Crossing and Ballinluig and is expected to last around ten weeks.

Some traffic management measures will be required when necessary to allow work beside the carriageway to be carried out safely. This will include alternate single file traffic sections controlled by temporary traffic signals.

As some of the work will take place at the same time as the popular ‘Enchanted Forest’ event, held in the nearby town of Pitlochry, any traffic management required will seek to minimise the impact on road users. The contractor will continue to monitor traffic volumes and take steps when necessary to ensure that any delays are kept to a minimum.

Design plans developed for Drummers Corner revamp in Peterhead

TGP Landscape Design has developed design plans for the redevelopment of Drummers Corner in Peterhead.

The plans include an improved Drum shelter, improved lighting and new seating.

It is part of a wider regeneration programme ongoing in four of the area’s northern towns.

The designs were developed in consultation with Buchan councillors, Peterhead Community Council, Light Up Peterhead, Rediscover Peterhead and Peterhead Scottish Week.

A budget has been agreed by Aberdeenshire Council through the Peterhead Development Partnership Vision and Action Plan to deliver the designs.

Works will go out to tender in October, with work expected to take place in the New Year. It is expected to be complete by spring 2019.

£1.1m refurb complete on Bishopbriggs War Memorial Hall

A £1.1 million refurbishment has been completed on Bishopbriggs War Memorial Hall.

The hall, located on the Balmuildy Road, was officially reopened by Provost Alan Brown last week.

First built in 1961, the building now includes an improved entrance lobby, updated function spaces, a refurbished cloakroom and toilets and a new kitchen.

The refurbishment, along with the remodeling of the Bishopbriggs Community Hub, which was officially re-opened in May this year, represent an investment of £3.1m by East Dunbartonshire Council into the Bishopbriggs community.

Public arts plan for former Perth church

Perth’s former St Paul’s Church on Old High Street is to be transformed into a new public arts and events space.

The shape of the unusual hexagonal building and the spire will be retained, although the roof will be removed to create an outdoor space.

The 60-week-long programme of work will begin on 15 October.

While the work is ongoing the section of the High Street next to St Paul’s will close to all traffic. This section of road, which is restricted to buses and taxis even when open, will remain closed throughout the works.

Perth & Kinross Council completed the purchase of St Paul’s Church in early 2017. Since then work carried out on site to date has included:

Cumnock Flood Prevention Scheme makes significant progress

Significant progress has been made on the Cumnock Flood Prevention Scheme with phase one substantially complete.

The work, currently taking place at the Leggate in New Cumnock, will form part of the £4.7 million scheme planned for the area.

Barhale Construction has been working on-site since April, with the diversion of a major high-pressure water main completed by Innovative Utilities.

Phase two of the works, which will see flood prevention measures being installed along both banks of the Afton Water, New Cumnock protecting homes on either side of the river, is expected to start in April 2019. A major gas main will be diverted before phase two begins.

Smart meters rolled out in the Outer Hebrides

Smart meters from Our Power have been rolled in the Outer Hebrides with further installations scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around eight installations were carried out in South Uist with plans to install 24 more meters in Lewis by the end of September.

Chair of Hebrides Energy, Carola Bell, said: “The UK Government has asked energy suppliers to offer a smart meter to every home in the UK by 2020. However, customers in the Outer Hebrides have been far down the priority list for the large energy companies. We are delighted that Our Power have committed to doing these installs here.”

Our Power’s community project manager, Georgy Davis, added: “It’s fantastic to see Our Power’s first batch of smart meters being installed in the Outer Hebrides. Unfortunately, customers in remote regions are often disadvantaged in terms of accessing the benefits that new technology can bring. Our Power is committed to ensuring that this is not the case for our Hebrides Energy customers.”

Resurfacing works to begin at Nairn’s Riverside Park

G F Job is to begin resurfacing works at the Riverside Park in Nairn starting next month.

The works will be phased starting first with the section of path from the Jubilee Bridge to just beyond the car park and will replace the existing path with a 1.2 metre pathway. This work is expected to take up to five days and the footpath will be closed to allow safe working.

At the request of the Nairn Access Panel, a section of path just along from the car park will also be included in the project to address an issue with the camber of the footpath.

Work will then commence on the resurfacing of the car park by the football pitch and this second phase is expected to take up to three days. Parking will be limited over the first phase of the works. The car park will then be completely closed during the second phase.