Building Briefs - February 8th

• Popular Whiteinch café provided with support by Glasgow contractor

The Association has appointed CCG Asset Management, a division of the CCG Group, to undertake a suite of upgrades to over 1,000 households as part of a four-year programme.

As a direct result of the £8.5 million contract, which includes the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms amongst other upgrades, CCG has been able to donate new kitchen cabinets, worktops and components as well as vinyl flooring to the Whiteinch Centre Café on Northinch Street, just off Dumbarton Road.

Since the Centre opened, the café has been run by businesses renting the space but last year, Whiteinch Centre Ltd (WCL), the charity who run the building on behalf of the community, took over the running of the café directly with a view to extending the range of affordable food, catering and training opportunities available on site. However, with the temporary closure of the Centre, as a result of the COVID lockdown, it was established that new fittings were needed before the café facility could re-open.

CCG Asset Management manager, Stephen Riley, added: “The CCG Group is well-known for our community support and we are acutely aware of how valuable it can be during these current times so we were all too happy to help the Whiteinch Centre We hope the new appliances are put to good use and they continue to deliver a valuable community service to the people of Whiteinch.”

• Regional Land Use Partnerships piloted to fairly optimise land use

The Scottish Government is to enable Regional Land Use Partnerships to help develop Scotland’s approach to land use in support of its green recovery and transition to net-zero.

The Partnerships will help national and local government, communities, land owners and stakeholders work together to find ways to optimise land use in a fair and inclusive way - meeting local and national objectives and supporting the journey to net zero.

They will be piloted in Cairngorms National Park, Highland Council, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, North East Region (Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Councils) and South of Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders Councils).

The Scottish Government will work with the pilot groups to test approaches to partnership governance that best suit the local situation and priorities. This will help inform future decisions on wider establishment of Partnerships.

• BAM Construct UK launches national charity partnership with the British Heart Foundation

BAM Construct UK has chosen the British Heart Foundation (BHF) as its national charity partner for the next two years.

Beth Kidd, BAM’s national community engagement coordinator, said that the BHF was a good fit for the UK-wide built environment company, which has a longstanding ‘enhancing lives’ strategy, part of its broader approach to sustainability.

The partnership is commencing with a range of virtual events and will include a focus on mental health as well as physical health and healthy eating. When conditions allow, there will be more physical events.

BAM’s previous national charity partners include CLIC Sargent, the Alzheimer’s Society, Macmillan Cancer Support and Barnardos, and since 2011 have, collectively, raised around £900,000.

• Industrial premises with redevelopment potential in Irvine for sale

Shepherd Chartered Surveyors is marketing substantial industrial premises with redevelopment potential in Irvine for sale.

The 74,523 sq ft property is located on Arkwright Way within the North Newmoor Industrial Estate area north of the i3 development area and south of Montgomerie Park, an area of residential development lying east of Irvine town centre and the A78 trunk route which passes through the town north to south.

The detached industrial property occupies a 4.65 acres site with a secure 1.2 acres yard area to the south of the building accessed from Arkwright Way. A secondary parking/yard area is located north of the building and is mainly unused other than for office parking.

Accommodation comprises two linked workshop bays, a staff canteen, staff lockers/W.C. facilities, three offices and office W.C. facilities.