Building Briefs - July 5th

• CCG unveils first look at new homes for sale in Cambuslang

Western Terrace, located just off Western Road and within a short distance of the town centre, will comprise 81 homes in a mix of two and three-bedroom semi-detached and terraced house types.

Designer kitchens and bathrooms will be provided as standard as well as private, rear gardens and parking for up to two vehicles per plot.

Prospective buyers will be able to reserve upon the development’s formal sales launch which is expected to take place in the summer.

• Avison Young: Post-lockdown tourism boosts Inverness hotel market

Strategic real estate advisor Avison Young has predicted a busy summer for Inverness’ hotel market.

The firm has highlighted the incoming ‘staycation boom’ expected for the Highlands over the coming months, as the city’s newest hotel, the River Ness Hotel, prepares to officially welcome its first guests through its doors today.

The acquisition and investment in the River Ness Hotel, Scotland’s first Radisson Individual Hotel, was supported by Avison Young, who provided a feasibility study on behalf of Axcel Hospitality.

The hotel is a modern 76-room facility with its own bistro, bar, and gym, targeting both business and leisure travellers. Based in the heart of the city centre on Church Street, the hotel is only minutes from Inverness Railway Station and close to the main visitor attractions.

Avison Young has a long track record of supporting Axcel Hospitality projects, including the UK’s first new build Voco Hotel, which opened in Edinburgh earlier this year, as well as providing ongoing business rates advice.

• Urban Union helps provide £15,000 of support to Edinburgh community

As part of its community benefit programmes for the City of Edinburgh Council, Urban Union has teamed up with Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) to provide over £15,000 in ongoing support to the Muirhouse Millennium Centre in the north of Edinburgh since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

The Muirhouse Millennium Centre, run in partnership with Low Income Families Together (LIFT), aims to relieve poverty among the residents of the surrounding areas, provide recreational and leisure facilities, and promote education and training in skills of all kinds.

During the first wave of the pandemic, from March to October, the cash boosts from MHA and the developer behind Pennywell Living helped the Millennium Centre become a major player in food distribution in the north of Edinburgh. Since then and throughout the two lockdowns, the money has helped fund over 5,000 food parcels, 22,000 packed lunches, 6,000 ready meals, as well as baby formula and nappies for local families and homeless accommodation.

Adapting their recreational support service, the Millennium Centre also delivered over 500 play packs and activity resources, allowing children to continue taking part in the Centre’s homework and youth clubs through Zoom. In October, once children were allowed to be welcomed back, the Centre used the funding to deliver five sessions a week to reduce isolation and strengthen social skills after being at home for the duration of the first lockdown.

Urban Union has previously also supported Muirhouse Library’s Breakfast Club to ensure local children had a nutritious start to their day as well as helping Pennywell School build their STEM curriculum, recently launching a STEM-based learning project.

• Mactaggart & Mickel makes appointment to Cheltenham strategic land team

Glasgow-based Mactaggart & Mickel has bolstered its strategic land division with a new appointment to support the company’s growth in the South West of England.

Michael Gooch has joined as strategic land manager South West and will be based in the company’s Cheltenham office.

The 32-year-old, who has a Master’s degree in Planning Practice and Research from Cardiff University, joins Mactaggart & Mickel from planning consultancy Boyer where he was a principal planner in the Welsh capital.

Now Michael will have responsibility for identifying new strategic land opportunities from the West Midlands to Somerset and neighbouring Dorset and Wiltshire and guiding sites with development potential through the planning process for the housebuilding market.

Michael has bolstered a team led by Ken Hopkins, head of strategic land, and he will report to Nevin Holden, regional manager South West-strategic land, who is spearheading the company’s activity in the South West.

• HRH The Princess Royal visits Gannochy Trust’s new housing development in Perth

The Gannochy Trust welcomed HRH The Princess Royal on her scheduled visit to their new housing development in Perth on Thursday.

The Princess met with tenants and visited the new homes, as well as one of the original houses, before being introduced to Trustees and staff at the Trust’s head office.

A.K. Bell, the Scotch whisky entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the Gannochy Trust, is the inspiration behind the new housing, which was opened in October 2020. When A.K. Bell built the original estate in the 1920s, he wanted to create homes that promoted health, wellbeing and a sense of community. These are key design principles behind the new estate, which was built as part of the 75th Anniversary of the Trust, founded by A.K. Bell in 1937.

The Princess was impressed with the new homes, which range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom houses with generous gardens. The development is helping meet a local and national shortage of good quality houses for rent, providing long term security for the Trust’s tenants.

The new development is underpinned by three core design principles, inspired by A.K. Bell; ‘Healthy Homes for Life,’ ‘Lifetime Neighbourhoods’ and ‘High Quality Design,’ which aim to improve health, accessibility and connectedness for tenants, with the flexibility to adapt to their needs as circumstances change. These guiding principles will help the Trust provide rented accommodation to a wide range of people, from small families to single people of all ages, including those who need additional support to live in their own home.

In addition to the new housing, the Trust is also working hard to enhance the environment by improving existing buildings, natural habitats, biodiversity, and the wider estate.

The Princess was also interested to learn more about the Trust’s wider work in supporting the local community of Perth and Kinross and improving people’s lives. The Gannochy Trust provides annual funding of around £5 million in grants for the delivery of charitable work and capital projects locally and across Scotland.