Building Briefs – April 27th

Up to 180 homes could be built in and around the village of Bowmore on Islay, following approval of Islay Estate’s strategic masterplan.

Argyll and Bute Council’s planning committee voted to approve the plan, which identifies areas for the homes as well as 4.9 acres for business development and a further area for community use.

20 affordable flats have already been built by Argyll Community Housing Association as a first phase in the development.

Dundee considers schools revamp

Councillors in Dundee will tonight decide whether to improve £1.5 million of improvements to schools across Dundee.

The city development committee will consider contracts submitted to carry out works at seven schools. New modular buildings will be supplied at two primary schools, while pupil toilets are to be upgraded at four other primaries.

The committee will also consider a £930,000 tender to refurbish the changing areas and sauna at Lochee Swimming & Leisure Centre.

Aberdeen council to roll-out LED lights

Aberdeen City Council is converting more than 1,000 streetlights to LED lighting in a bid to save money through energy efficiency.

The council is aiming to cut its total energy costs by around 50 per cent by replacing conventional street lighting with LED streetlights, which also have a longer lifespan and lower maintenance costs.

Housing and environment convener Cllr Neil Cooney announced the initiative last week, highlighting the existing roll-out of LED street lighting on Union Street and identifying areas such as Chapel Street as next on the agenda.

Residents contact Forestry Commission over land sale

Residents in Culrain have written to the Forestry Commission to object to the sale of woodland to a private developer as part of the sale of a Highland castle.

The residents say the public land is used by locals and should not be sold, despite the Forestry Commission’s supposed “in-principle agreement” to sell 100 acres of land including Carbisdale Castle to a private developer.

A spokesman for the Forestry Commission in Scotland said they were “aware of local community concerns about the potential sale and the developer is organising a meeting with all the interest parties to discuss the proposal”.

Regulator explains how it deals with potentially serious issues

The Scottish Housing Regulator has published the first in a new series of information notes about how it works.

This first information note explains how the regulator works with registered social landlords (RSLs) about a potentially serious issue or concern.

The regulator plans to publish more in the How we work series to provide information about how it regulates in practice. The next information note will be about how the Regulator assesses risk in both registered social landlords and local authorities.