Building Briefs – January 8th

Around £3 million of funding has been agreed for a ground-breaking Highland project that could transform the lives of people with complex health needs as part of the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal.

The business case for the ‘FitHome’ assisted living project was approved in November last year with £3m funding from the Scottish Government. The project, led by Albyn Housing Society in partnership with Carbon Dynamic and NHS Highland, aims to establish a new concept for health and care delivery at home by utilising data-capture and Internet of Things capabilities to predict and prevent episodes leading to ill health. This in turn will enable people to live independently at home for as long as they want, while potentially allowing for early hospital discharge.

The FitHome concept, which will be piloted initially with the construction of 12 homes at Dalmore, Ross-shire, won the Saltire Award for innovation in housing last year and recently hosted a showcase event at the Scottish Parliament.

The Inverness and Highland City Region Deal funding will support the purchase and development of 32 additional homes across several Highland locations. It is anticipated that the first City-Region Deal project will be in Nairn. One of the clusters will be built in Inverness City to suit the needs of veterans.

Interserve wins new five-year deal with Thomas Cook

Interserve has secured a new five-year contract to deliver facilities services for holiday company Thomas Cook.

The deal will see Interserve build on its previous agreement with Thomas Cook to deliver facilities services across its 180,000 sq ft corporate estate. This includes the provision of cleaning, security, reception, maintenance and electrical services for its office in Peterborough, its Manchester office and its contact centre in Falkirk.

From spring 2018, the contract will cover all of Thomas Cook’s 680 nationwide retail stores and its Manchester aircraft hangar.

New plans for Montrose retail site

A planning application has been lodged for significant changes to a Montrose development.

A retail centre in Brechin Road is under construction, but the developers have had to redraw plans after failing to secure a business for one of the outlets.

Home Bargains and Farmfoods have already agreed to move into two of the stores in the development at the town’s former distillery.

Originally it was intended for there to be three units, but plans to subdivide the one without a business interest in place into two smaller units have now been lodged, saying it is the “only viable option” for the site.

Costa Coffee and Pets4U have stated an interest in smaller units at the development.

The documents states the proposed changes are the “only viable option” to secure a Pets4U store in Montrose and that Costa also intimated there are no suitable sites in the town centre for their needs.

If approved, the 4,000 square feet unit will be made into two units of 2,000 square feet each.

The council is expected to make a decision on the new plans by March 2.

Plans approved to turn former Aberdeen nursery back into home

Plans to turn a former nursery back into a house have been given the go-ahead.

The building on Great Western Road was most recently used as pre-school nursery Jumping Jack’s but plans have been submitted to Aberdeen City Council to change the use of the property back to a residential home.

In their report, city planners said: “It was previously acknowledged that the use as a nursery would not negatively impact on the land designation.

“It is therefore considered that changing the use of the property back to residential would have less of an impact on the surrounding area.”

Green light for Perth McDonald’s revamp plan

Perth and Kinross Council has approved a proposal by fast food chain McDonald’s for its site at Broxden, which will result in a new ‘folded’ roof, improved operation of its ‘drive-thru’ service and increased parking.

The company decided to embark on the upgrading of its eatery, which is located just off the Broxden roundabout on the outskirts of Perth, due to the current ‘drive-thru’ operation only being managed on what they term an “ad hoc basis,” along with a general feeling that the building needed a new “fresh” look.

The reconfiguration of the drive-thru lane will include building a new island and introducing new kerb lanes.

McDonald’s state that the refurbishment of the building will also provide an extra nine parking spaces.

Scottish Gas Networks begins Hamilton roadworks

Scottish Gas Networks (SGN) has begun the final stage of its upgrade to the gas network in the Muir Street area of Hamilton.

The £74,000 project involves essential work to replace the old, metal gas mains with new plastic pipe.

Work began today and will continue for seven weeks.

CVJV to install new waste water pipe in Glasgow

Work is to begin on a sewer network improvement project in Glasgow.

Contractors Costain Vinci Joint Venture (CVJV) will start installing a new 55-metre stretch of waste water pipe on Aikenhead Road from today.

The project aims to increase capacity and reduce the risk of flooding to properties and roadway. In recent years, four properties on this section of the road have experienced internal flooding, while flooding has also occurred on the road and footpaths due to an issue with the capacity of the local waste water network in the Toryglen area.

The work forms part of Scottish Water’s £250 million investment in the upgrade of parts of the waste water network across the Greater Glasgow area.

To carry out the works, a section of Aikenhead Road from its junction with Prospecthill Road to its junction with Curling Crescent will be closed from Monday. Traffic management and diversions will be in place.

Scottish Water said the closure and diversions will be in place for five months while the scheme is being carried out.