Building Briefs - December 21st

• Cruden builds mountain of donations for foodbanks across Scotland

Cruden staff across 21 different construction developments have got into the festive spirit by coming together to gather and make donations to foodbanks in the areas they are building in. The equivalent of £25,000 worth of collections, a whopping 7.5 tonnes of food donations, are now being delivered to local communities surrounding Cruden developments.

Staff from Cruden Building, with support of foodbank charity the Trussell Trust, organised the distribution to foodbanks throughout the country. Cruden Group’s own registered charity, The Cruden Foundation, has also donated a further £5,000 on top of the £5,000 which has been raised by Cruden employees, their clients and supply chain companies through their Just Giving page which will be given to the Trussell Trust in Scotland to provide toys and additional food parcels over the coming weeks and months.   

• Forth Road Bridge main expansion joint replacement works complete

The Forth Road Bridge will be free of long-term roadworks for the remainder of this winter, with work to replace the main expansion joints in the southbound carriageway now complete.

Restrictions were lifted this morning and the full capacity of the bridge is now open to buses, taxis, and other vehicles permitted to use the public transport corridor.

The completion of these works means that the Forth Road Bridge can be used as an emergency diversion route, should the Queensferry Crossing have to close for an extended period.

Work to replace the main expansion joints in the northbound carriageway will commence in April 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of October 2021.

Work to replace smaller joints in the west footpath will be carried out between January and April 2021. Some short-term lane closures will be required to allow components to be lifted in and out of position, but these will be rescheduled if the bridge is required for use as a diversion route.

The replacement of the main expansion joints forms part of a significant investment by Transport Scotland to strengthen and refurbish the Forth Road Bridge following decades of heavy use. Other recent improvements have included the redesign and replacement of the truss end links, resurfacing of the approach viaducts and upgrading of underdeck maintenance walkways.

• Time capsules buried at Sighthill regeneration project

A piece of Sighthill’s history was marked last week with the burial of two time capsules at the Sighthill Circle, the stone circle in the area.

The Sighthill Circle - now moved to a more prominent site as part of the £250 million regeneration of the area - had seen a time capsule buried at its original location when first erected in 1979.

The new time capsule was laid alongside another one containing the contents of the 1979 capsule, with both containing paintings, books and other objects from local schools, as well as newspaper and magazine articles and objects from the respective eras.

In attendance at the ceremony were Baillie Jacqueline McLaren, chair of the Sighthill Local Delivery Group; Duncan Lunan, science writer and manager of the original Sighthill Circle project; and children from the Sighthill Community Schools Campus.

The regeneration of Sighthill - the Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Area (TRA) - is being delivered by Transforming Communities: Glasgow, a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Housing Association, the Scottish Government; and is part-funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

• Steel ramp installed on Glasgow to Loch Lomond cycle path

A 212ft-long ramp is being installed in the latest stage of a new section of cycle path between Glasgow and Loch Lomond.

The steel structure will provide access to a restored former railway swing bridge over the western end of the Forth & Clyde at Bowling in West Dunbartonshire.

This will form part of a new 500m- long “linear park” at Bowling harbour called The Bowline to be opened next summer.

It will link the canal towpath with a national cycle network route between Glasgow and Loch Lomond which is largely off road.

The 65-metre ramp, made by Coatbridge Engineering, is being installed by Mackenzie Construction.

• Kingdom and Campion help stock The Pantry this Christmas

Kingdom Housing Association and Campion Homes are supporting The Pantry project in Inverkeithing, Fife, with a joint donation of £500 to help local families in need during the festive season.

As the regeneration of Fraser Avenue in Inverkeithing continues, Phase 2 will see 61 high quality, energy efficient, distinctive and affordable homes for social rent delivered in an area classed as one of the most deprived in Scotland.

Kingdom’s joint donation is part of its wider community benefit commitment being provided through the Phase 2 contract to enhance employability opportunities and to promote life chances in the area. To date that includes the creation of six jobs and two new apprenticeships, as well as allowing three existing apprenticeships to be sustained.

Founded in June 2020, the Pantry Project is managed by Inverkeithing Trust and supported by Fife Council community staff and aims to alleviate pressure on local foodbanks while encouraging community connections.

The Pantry is part of the FareShare Scotland scheme that aims to prevent food surplus from local shops going to landfill and already has the support of Stephens The Bakers, the Co-Op, Dalgety Bay and ASDA, Dalgety Bay. Project volunteers use financial donations to purchase additional food items that are required to top up the food bags.

Phase 2 of the Fraser Avenue regeneration project is due to be completed in June 2022 at a total cost of £9.6 million.

• East Lothian learning estate review pre-consultation announced

A review of East Lothian’s learning estate will be carried out shortly to ensure that the county has buildings and facilities which are fit for the future.