Building Briefs – June 14th

Senior appointments at Trident Building Consultancy

Trident Building Consultancy has made two senior appointments in its Edinburgh office.

Peter Fortune (formerly and Associate Director) has been promoted to Director and will manage the Edinburgh office.

And Gordon Hamilton has been recruited as an Associate Director to assist Mr Fortune.

Former Aberdeen primary school up for sale

Aberdeen City Council has started marketing Victoria Road School.

The school has fallen into disrepair since it closed in 2008, with several fires and break-ins adding to the damage.

According to council documents, the rateable value of the school buildings is £36,250 and the school’s surrounding workshops’ £20,750.

Potential buyers have a deadline of August 14 to place their bids.

Morrison Construction installs Grace’s Signs at £32m school project

Morrison Construction has shown support for the Grace’s Signs campaign, installing the accessible toilet sign at the new £32m West Calder High School project in West Lothian.

The campaign’s namesake, 13-year-old Grace Warnock toured the new school, where 20 of the signs have been installed.

The new school, due to open its doors in August, is West Lothian Council’s single biggest investment in education and is being delivered by its development partner Hub South East, with Morrison Construction its main contractor.

Diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of nine, Grace developed the sign after being criticised for using disabled toilets.

The sign depicts two people with hearts with a wheelchair in the centre, symbolising ‘invisible disabilities’ that may not always be obvious.

Since the beginning of the campaign Grace’s Signs have been adopted in various locations across Scotland and abroad including Holyrood and Edinburgh International Airport.

Morrison Construction Senior Design Manager, Allan Smith, said:

‘‘After learning about Grace’s Signs we are more than happy to support the campaign.

‘‘West Lothian Council approached us about the possible use of Grace’s Signs on the project to create the most inclusive school we could, benefitting pupils of all abilities who required accessible toilet facilities.

‘‘We are currently planning a wider use and have plans to install the signs at our Wallyford Primary School project in East Lothian.’’

Grace, who travelled from Prestonpans in East Lothian where she lives to visit the West Calder High School site, said:

‘‘I really enjoyed taking the tour around the new school and seeing my sign already up on doors. I want to help teach other school children about invisible disabilities so I am excited that Morrison Construction will use my signs in two schools they are building.’’

Osprey Housing Moray celebrates a double first with new £1.23m development in Moray

Tenants have moved into Osprey Housing Moray’s recently completed rented homes in Fochabers, the Housing Association’s first ever, new build development in the town.

Osprey Moray has provided 10 properties at the site consisting of four one-bed flats, four three-bed semi-detached houses and two four-bed detached homes.

The official opening of the development, built by contractor Morlich Homes, also marks Osprey’s first partnership with Moray Council to provide supported housing for local residents with particular needs.

The opening ceremony has just taken place at the Castle Avenue site, with the Osprey development comprising a mix of one, three and four bed properties.

Osprey chief executive, Glenn Adcook, said: “This has been a model project in terms of the collaboration with our key partners. We have worked closely with Moray Council to develop and provide the type of housing they require. We agreed to commit additional funding to the development in order to ensure provision of homes and facilities that has allowed residents, who might otherwise have had to relocate elsewhere, to stay in Fochabers.

He added: “The developer, Morlich Homes, has provided superb, high quality new housing and I’d like to acknowledge the part played by the Scottish Government who contributed £813,000 of grant funding to support the project. I’d also like to thank our funder, Bank of Scotland.”

Albyn Housing Society completes 14 new Avimore units

Albyn Housing Society has taken handover of a new development of affordable homes in Aviemore, delivering progress on its commitment to bring 750 new homes to the Highlands by 2020.

The new development, Sluggan Drive, is made up of 14 modern homes including ten available for social rent with Albyn Housing Society and four available for mid-market rent through Highland Residential.

The new development represents a total investment of £1.9million including £1million support from the Scottish Government. Davall Developments Ltd began construction on the site in May 2017, with the handover to Albyn Housing Society now complete.

Calum Macaulay, chief executive at Albyn Housing Society, said: “Bringing new, good quality homes to the people of the Highlands is at the top of our agenda, and these new units in Aviemore will hopefully relieve some of the demand we are experiencing in this area.

“As a housing association, we are ambitious to maintain our status as an affordable housing developer of scale. We’ll do this by building quality, affordable, energy efficient homes for rent and for sale in the communities that need them most, which ultimately, will contribute not only to the region’s housing demand, but the continued sustainability of the region and its distinct communities as a whole.”

Established in 1973, Albyn Housing Society Ltd is based in Invergordon.

It has over 3,000 properties for rent and has sold several hundred as part of the LIFT shared equity scheme across the Highlands.