Building Briefs – January 9th

Plans have been unveiled to demolish part of an Aberdeen church to form a block of 20 flats.

Proposals submitted by Andrew Buchan for the former Rutherford Church building in the city’s Rosemount area will see the category C-listed building retain its façade.

The main church building is also owned by Mr Buchan, who converted it into flats in 2012, while the existing property currently consists of a dental surgery on the ground floor, an office on the first floor, and a disused health spa to the rear.

A design statement from Neil Rothie Architects said: “The proposed development of 116 Rosemount Place is to change the use and alter and extend the existing building behind the existing façade to provide residential apartments as an extension of an existing serviced residential business. The use as serviced flats or apartments to the adjoining building to the west has been established over the past two to three years and the extension of this operation is both logical and advantageous.

“High-quality materials are to be used throughout as it would have been when originally built as a church and church hall.

“The design will make a positive contribution to the listed building and to the wider conservation area and to Rosemount town centre by bringing more people to the area.”

The church was built in 1870.

Morris Leslie acquires four Hewden depots

Administrators for Hewden have sold the depots in Inverness, Whitehaven, Willenhall and Bedford to Morris Leslie Plant Hire with all 38 employees transferring to the new owner.

EY has now sold all eight Hewden depots as ongoing concern.

The Warrington and Bangor depots have been sold to JK Ashbrook, the Brighton (Lewes) depot has been sold to Gap Group and the Nottingham depot has been sold to Nixon hire.

Joint administrator Colin Dempster said: “We are pleased to be able to arrange the sale of these depots as ongoing concerns, so that the employees and business can continue in these locations.”

Bovis Homes searches for new CEO

Bovis Homes chief executive David Ritchie has handed in his notice after eight years in the job and 18 with the company.

Ritchie will remain with Bovis until the end of February 2017 to smooth the transition to his successor, whoever that should be.

His departure announcement comes on the back of a profits warning last week.

Finance director Earl Sibley, 44, has been named interim chief executive and put in charge of the process of finding a permanent successor, which is expected to take several months.

SRA Ventures kick-starts 2017 with £2.2m raft of acquisitions

Edinburgh-based property investment specialist SRA Ventures has kicked off 2017 by announcing a raft of acquisitions totalling £2.2 million.

The company has just concluded missives to purchase an extensive 27,000 square foot warehouse within Edinburgh’s Sighthill Industrial Estate from storage specialists Len Lothian Limited – and it is currently the only property of such a scale that is available in the capital.

SRA expects to quickly let the warehouse in Bankhead Drive, which is located next to Catalyst Trade Park and the Burton’s biscuit factory.

The warehouse has already commanded strong rental interest from a number of potential large-scale users, including a national trampoline park operator and food distributor.

SRA plans to appoint Ryden and Graham + Sibbald to jointly market the site, the latter having been instructed by SRA to acquire a number of sites over the past 12 months.

SRA has also purchased a trade warehouse in Hamilton’s Allanshaw Industrial Estate, with the Peacock Drive site currently occupied by Carpet Ways and The Bathroom People.

The property investment specialist plans to develop and expand the accommodation by creating a number of additional units, with a national retailer of trade tools and accessories among those immediately vying for tenancy.

Furthermore, SRA has taken ownership of a mixed use industrial site with residential consent in Edinburgh’s Northfield Broadway, which will likely be redeveloped in the near future.

SRA owns and manages a diverse range of industrial, retail, commercial and mixed use asset properties across Scotland, focusing on under-performing commercial assets.

Harris Pye begins work on Kishorn Port dry dock gates

Global engineering group Harris Pye has started work on refurbishing the historic dock gates at Kishorn Port, last opened nearly 25 years ago.

The contract value is £340,000 and the work will be undertaken in a six week period.

The hollow concrete gates were last opened when the Skye Bridge caissons were constructed there in 1993. The dock was also where the Ninian Central production platform, one of the largest concrete structures ever to have moved across the face of the earth, was constructed in the late 1970s.

The owners of Kishorn Port have identified a number of key markets that need access to sheltered deep water, big lay down areas and a large dry dock – Kishorn is one of the largest in Western Europe at 160m in diameter with 13m of draft available.

These include the offshore renewables industry which has a requirement for the serial production of large concrete structures (with an on-site quarry and concrete production facilities Kishorn is ideally placed); oil and gas fabricators; and the expanding oil and gas decommissioning sector.

Contractor continues work on £3.3m Muir of Ord crossing

Contractor George Leslie Ltd is continuing work to build a new £3.3 million railway crossing in Muir of Ord.

All 22 prefabricated concrete parapets have now been installed for the new structure, which will replace the existing bridge carrying the A862 over the main Inverness to Dingwall rail line.

Recent surfacing works to the west of the new bridge have also been completed, allowing vehicles to switch away from the existing route on to a new temporary surface.

Alongside utility works, the western wing-walls have been poured and work has begun on pouring the copes of the eastern retaining wall which will support the vehicle safety barrier.

Other works currently underway include drainage, up-filling, and construction of the new North West Road – Corrie Road junction.

The Highland Council said it is estimated traffic will be able to start using the new structure, under traffic management, in February, while demolition of the existing bridge is expected to begin in March.

The overall development is scheduled for completion by the end of May.

New charity support centre opens in South Lanarkshire

A new purpose-built facility to support people with life-limiting illnesses has been built in Clydesdale, South Lanarkshire.

The building was developed after the Haven Caring Counselling Communication Centre outgrew its former premises at a flat in Forth.

Working with the council and funding organisations, it was decided building a new custom-designed facility was the best approach to offer the full range of services that the charity wished to provide.

Funding of £169,083 was granted from the Renewable Energy Fund, which distributes Community Benefit Funds from windfarms. In addition, £340,000 was allocated from the Levenseat Trust, which uses Landfill Tax Credits and donations from landfill and recycling company Levenseat Ltd to support projects aimed at improving the environment for the benefit of local people.

Considerate Constructors Scheme announces 2017 monitoring Checklist

The Considerate Constructors Scheme has announced a new Monitors’ Checklist.

The Checklist, which came into effect on 1 January 2017, is the key method which Scheme Monitors use to assess and score sites, companies and suppliers’ performance against the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice.

The Scheme has identified two pressing issues requiring a more concerted effort from the construction industry – tackling illegal working and improving road safety.

Although the 2017 Checklist has undergone minor changes in all five sections, there are new questions within the Specific Data section - which captures key information and identifies trends within the industry. The first set of questions have been introduced to encourage sites, companies and supply chains to examine how they are ensuring the legitimacy of their workforce:

Two questions have also been added to encourage greater adoption of a more considerate road safety culture. The questions assess the extent to which CLOCS - the national standard for Construction Logistics and Community Safety - is embedded across Scheme-registered sites, companies and suppliers.

This enhancement to the Checklist will gauge the level to which those registered with the Scheme are helping to raise safety standards for every road user and pedestrian affected by construction vehicles. Recognising this important industry standard for the protection of vulnerable road users has been part of the Scheme’s monitoring Checklist for a number of years. In October, the Scheme became a partner in delivering the CLOCS Standard, further strengthening its support of this important initiative.

Road maintenance to begin on £500m M8/M73/M74 improvements project

Road maintenance works are to begin on the £500 million M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project.

Contractors will start resurfacing Raith Roundabout from Friday, 13 January. Works are scheduled to be completed on Monday, 16 January. Traffic management and diversions will be in place.

When complete, the infrastructure scheme will significantly reduce congestion across the central Scotland motorway network.