Building Briefs – July 17th

• Highland Council’s affordable housing work restarts

Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, work was underway on 312 homes. A further 191 were in the tender process and 134 were waiting for tenders to be received.

Contractors are now back working and the overall value of contracts on site and about to be let is in excess of £60 million. This investment is set to provide a massive boost to the local construction industry. 

The Highland Council’s overall affordable housing targets are set out in its Local Housing Strategy that commits to a five-year programme, with over 600 new council homes being built or ready to go on-site in the region. 

In the strategy, there is an agreement to fund the new build council house element utilising monies from Scottish Government grant funding, City Region Deal, council borrowing supported by rental income and the council’s land bank facility. 

• Gym planned for basement of Edinburgh’s former BHS department store

The basement of the former BHS department store on Edinburgh’s Princes Street is set to be transformed into a large gym.

Work on demolishing the well-known flagship listed site and rebuilding a £20 million mixed use development of retail, hotel and leisure has been ongoing for months.

Included in the original blueprints are a massive retail space on Princes Street, a rooftop hotel, and two restaurants on Rose Street.

• Eurogarages begins work on development at Forfar business park

Forecourt retailer Eurogarages has started work at its new development at Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar.

The two and a half acre site will expand Eurogarages operations in Scotland with plans for the site to include a petrol station, retail unit, restaurant, drive-through and coffee shop. In addition, the site will provide electrical charging hubs, further increasing the network available in Angus.

The new development at Orchardbank will add to the current occupiers who include McDonald’s, KFC, Marston’s, the Guide Dogs Scottish Training Centre, Astute (Scotland) Ltd and Angus Council’s own headquarters.

• Braemar community-led housing project receives funding boost

A community-led housing project in Braemar is set to be the first in Scotland to benefit from loan funding from the CAF Venturesome Community-Led Housing Fund. 

The £120,000 unsecured loan will be used to finance pre-development work on a project which aims to create 15 new affordable homes for rent and one self-build plot in the Aberdeenshire village.

The money will be used to allow the community to work closely with an architect-led team to develop designs, submit applications for planning and building warrant approval and secure tenders from contractors to build the homes.

The project team plans to submit the planning application by the end of 2020, with construction starting by summer 2021.

Rural Housing Scotland is working with Braemar Community Limited on the project.

The CAF Venturesome Community-Led Housing Fund has been supporting community-led housing projects since 2008, but the fund has only recently opened up to communities in Scotland. 

It supports community-led housing projects at various stages of development.