Building Briefs – December 16th

Work is underway on a £4.5 million project to restore a former health centre in Renfrewshire.

Contractors CBC are now on site at the A-listed Russell Institute on the corner of New Street and Causeyside Street in Paisley.

Earlier this year, the council took over ownership of the building from the NHS, which had been empty since 2011.

Works involve a number of specialist contracts restoring the sites features, including the stonework, statues and railings.

Opening in late 2016, the building will contain a skills and training hub.

Developers reveal 100 ‘champion backers’ of Royal High hotel plan

Developers behind a £75 million plan to turn the former Royal High School into a hotel have unveiled a 100-strong list of “champion” backers ahead of a crunch vote on the scheme.

The list includes key business and trade figures such as Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar and Marshall Dallas, boss of Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) as well as newsagents and hairdressers.

The plan by Duddingston House Properties (DHP) to convert the A-listed neoclassical structure at Calton Hill into a luxury hotel, operated by five-star chain Rosewood, will go before councillors later this week.

Each backer has signed an open statement which says: “We support the proposals by Duddingston House Properties and Urbanist Group to save the former Royal High School building and restore it as a world-class hotel operated by Rosewood.”

Architect Sir Terry Farrell, designer of the EICC and MI6 buildings, Gordon Drummond, director of the Capital’s Harvey Nichols store, and Wedgwood restaurant co-owner Lisa Wedgwood are among other high-profile signatories.

Historic Antonine Wall site to get major makeover

A major makeover of West Dunbartonshire’s section of the Antonine Wall is set to get underway after the council secured a £10,000 Sharing Heritage grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The work will take place as part of a project to increase awareness and understanding of the historic site, including the area of the exposed Wall rampart which lies within Goldenhill Park, Clydebank.

West Dunbartonshire’s ‘Antonine Wall – Enhancing our heritage’ project will deliver a programme of events aimed at both physically enhancing the Wall and educating school pupils and the wider community about its importance.

An additional £2,500 will also help fund the project after a successful application to the Glasgow Airport Flightpath Fund. Clydebank History Society was instrumental in supporting the Council to secure both grants. The council is also contributing £20,000 of capital funding to the project.

Spanning from east to west across Scotland’s central belt, the Antonine Wall is one of only six UNESCO World Heritage Sites within Scotland and is of huge historic importance, nationally and internationally.

Work on the project will start soon with a full archaeological clean of the Wall rampart. The existing railings around the Wall will also be removed and replaced with new railings, which will be designed with input from pupils at Goldenhill Primary.

Dundee swimming and leisure centre revamp delayed

A major refurbishment of a Dundee leisure facility has been delayed for three months.

Lochee Swimming and Leisure Centre was due to open on Saturday after a £1 million makeover.

However, the centre’s managing body has now admitted that it will now not open until mid-March.

The centre, which is managed by Leisure and Culture Dundee, was closed on May 25 for the modernisation to take place.

A Leisure and Culture Dundee spokesman said that the project had been complicated due to the age of the building and its heritage classification, which it is seeking to maintain.

Among the additions to the leisure centre are the creation of a changing village that will increase changing facilities for disabled people and, it’s hoped, provide a more family-friendly environment. The facility’s sauna area will also be upgraded.

Highland councillors reject Culachy Wind Farm

Highland councillors have voted not to give the 13-turbine Culachy wind farm near the Corrieyairick Pass consent.

Developer RES said it was disappointed by the decision adding that the construction of the farm would have raised £3.6 million for the local economy.

The pass is popular with hillwalkers and was used as a route into the Highlands by government armies during the Jacobite Risings.

Opponents to the project included the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

Highland Council’s south planning applications committee voted 5-2 to reject the planning application.

A decision on Tom Nan Clach Wind Farm near Tomatin, which also involves 13 turbines, was deferred until January.