Building Briefs – April 25th

Work starts to build first East Renfrewshire Council homes for a generation

The ambitious project to build the first council homes in East Renfrewshire for a generation is underway.

Work has started at the Robertson Street site in Barrhead, which is the first project in East Renfrewshire Council’s plan to deliver 240 homes for social rent over the next five years. A mix of four three-bedroom semi-detached houses and nine one-bedroom amenity flats for residents 60+ will be built at Robertson Street and are expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

The next project at Fenwick Drive, Barrhead, will commence in early summer 2018, with plans for four three-bedroom terrace houses and six one-bedroom cottage flats approved.

A third site at Blackbyres Court, Barrhead, will see thirteen three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses, one four-bedroom house and six one-bedroom cottage flats built, with work expected to commence in Autumn 2018.

Each of the projects are being delivered in partnership with building contractor CCG (Scotland) Ltd.

The build project forms part of East Renfrewshire Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2018/19 - 2022/23, which makes the commitment to deliver almost 700 affordable homes across the authority over the next five years.

Extension works at Dunbar Grammar School

Pupils and staff at Dunbar Grammar School returning after the Easter break will be pleased to notice that work is continuing to progress on the latest phase of a multi-million pound extension at the school.

Phase one of the project included expanding the pupil social space to create a large, airy space to eat and meet, and was completed in the summer of 2016. Phase two comprises a new two-storey L-shaped block to the east side of the school which will include additional classrooms and staff bases, a new Home Economics department, a new library and learning centre with a dedicated IT space, additional PE changing rooms, and new suited accommodation for Pupil and Learning Support.

At the heart of the new accommodation will be a large covered ‘social hub’ – a flexible multi-use space that can be used for a variety of purposes including group and individual teaching, presentations, eating and other social uses. Alterations are also being made to the existing school building to maximise the use of existing spaces and will provide additional science labs, technology rooms, a new drama studio and more craft, design and technology spaces. There will also be a new full-sized, all-weather sports pitch in the school grounds.

East Lothian Council has procured the expansion works via the existing PPP Project contract with Innovate East Lothian Limited at a total cost of £10.38 million, and forms part of a wider council investment of almost £100m in new or expanded schools over three years.

The project is expected to be complete by the end of October 2018.

Ceremony held for new £6m Aberdeen community hub

The foundations for a new £6 million community facility in Aberdeen were laid this week at an event to mark the start of construction.

The state-of-the-art Tillydrone Community Hub is being built on Hayton Road and will house vital services for people living in the local community.

Aberdeen City Council has committed £4.1m toward this project with a further £1.9m awarded from the Scottish Government and COSLA Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

Aberdeen City Council spokesperson for regeneration and transport, Councillor Ross Grant, and Jim Young, construction director at CHAP Construction, joined on site by pupils from Riverbank Primary School and community representatives as the last of the building foundations were laid.

The hub will be a crucial resource for supporting individuals and families in Tillydrone and Aberdeen City Council has worked in partnership with residents to identify a wide range of services in order to meet local wants and needs.

East Lothian Council considers Ministers’ response to proposed Local Development Plan

A blueprint for potential development across East Lothian has taken a further step towards completion.

The Local Development Plan will be used by East Lothian Council to inform the determination of all planning applications submitted in the county over the next 10 years. It sets out where certain types of development will generally be acceptable and where they will not.

Elected members heard yesterday that Scottish Ministers had recently responded with their findings on the council’s proposed (LDP).

Norman Hampshire, depute council leader and cabinet spokesperson for environment, said: “The proposed LDP provides East Lothian with a sustainable strategy for jobs and homes, making the best use of existing infrastructure whilst allowing for new infrastructure including new schools and improved transport networks.

“We are pleased to have received Ministers’ findings, which support the council’s proposed strategy and policies and importantly confirm an adequate housing land supply. Some post-examination modifications have been recommended and we will incorporate these into the final LDP.

“A decision on adopting the LDP has to be made within three months of receiving the Ministers’ Report of Examination and a decision on this will be sought at a separate, later council meeting following the inclusion of modifications and the completion of resulting technical work.”

Edinburgh and Stirling homes set for full fibre broadband boost

Homes and businesses in Edinburgh and Stirling will be the next Scottish cities to benefit from gigabit speed full fibre broadband with work set to begin later this year.

The cities are to benefit from the same transformation as Aberdeen which saw Vodafone and CityFibre commit to delivering a citywide roll-out of gigabit-capable infrastructure in February.

The move is part of the partnership’s plan to deliver full-fibre access to at least one million homes by 2021.

CityFibre will invest at least £110 million of private funds in the two city-wide roll-outs. A detailed planning and build programme is underway for each city as part of this first phase deployment. The new infrastructure will build on both cities’ existing Gigabit City networks with homes set to benefit for the first time.

Edinburgh’s network already spans 150km, covering the City Centre and Leith to Lasswade, Portobello to Corstorphine, and beyond the City Bypass to Currie. The city-wide network is dramatically accelerating the digital capabilities of businesses and public sector sites, including schools, hospitals, libraries and community centres, by delivering ultra-fast, high capacity internet connectivity.

First announced in early 2017, Stirling’s existing network currently extends to around 24km, spanning from Bannockburn to the Stirling Agricultural Centre. The copper-free, ultra-fast network also connects the city’s public sector estate, laying the foundations for smart city deployments, improved business connectivity and domestic broadband expansion.