Building Briefs - March 31st

• Mactaggart & Mickel rallies behind football club

Easthouses Football Club has received £1,000 from the company’s Building Communities Fund which helps good causes and initiatives close to their developments.

The money will help sustain Easthouses FC, based in Easthouses, Midlothian, which has been a place for young people to get involved in football since 1948.

The club has more than 60 children (boys and girls) aged from five to 12-years-old who are currently missing being able to join their team-mates on the football pitch.

And the 15 volunteers who help run Easthouses Football Club and their two adult teams have also been kicking their heels in frustration due to lockdown restrictions.

Mactaggart & Mickel has a long and happy history of supporting good causes and initiatives like Easthouses Football Club which are nearby those areas where they have developments, such as Millerhill on Old Craighall Road, Shawfair.

• Barratt unveils new development in Kirkcaldy

Following the success of one of Barratt Homes’ housing developments – The Heathers – in Fife, the housebuilder has unveiled Kingslaw Gait, a collection of 242 homes in Kirkcaldy.

A key project for the developer in the region, several three and four-bedroom terraced, semi-detached and detached homes are included in the first phase of construction.

Located in the popular town of Kirkcaldy, the new development is located close to the east Fife coast and only a short drive from the Queensferry Crossing, taking residents to Edinburgh and surrounding central belt cities. Future Kingslaw Gait residents will also benefit from the nearby Kingdom Park, which will offer local amenities, retail and a new primary school by 2027.

Barratt Homes’ development in Fife, The Heathers, is also selling-out fast with only a number of properties remaining.

• Kalina’s an inspiration for young civil engineers

Volunteering to inspire the next generation of civil engineers has seen Kalina Dimitrova named as the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland’s STEM Ambassador of the Year 2021.

Kalina, a Graduate Civil and Structural Engineer at Goodson Associates based in Aberdeen, has been a volunteer with ICE Scotland for nearly six years now and has continued to promote civil engineering and STEM subjects to schools and young people despite COVID-19 restrictions.

“The pandemic has been a motivation to become even more involved in volunteering,” said Kalina. “I have been able to do a number of virtual events to discuss with children and young people what a civil engineer does, some of the famous civil engineering projects around the world and how you get into the profession.”

Kalina, who is also chair of the Young STEM Leader Youth Steering Group, continued: “I am so proud to have been named as ICE Scotland’s STEM Ambassador of the Year especially as I know how great all the Ambassadors are.

“I’m extremely passionate about civil engineering in general and I use this passion to inspire as many people as I can.”

ICE Scotland director, Hannah Smith, said: “Kalina is a fantastic role model for young people and engineers alike. She’s always keen to share her enthusiasm for civil engineering, inspiring young people to find out more about a fascinating career and fellow engineers to get involved in STEM engagement.”

• Glasgow’s Talisman pub finally demolished

A Glasgow bar that has lain derelict since it went out of business more than 25 years ago is finally being demolished.

Workers were this week tearing down the Talisman pub in Balgrayhill Road, which was consumed by a blaze and became a hotspot for vandals, firebugs and louts.

The site’s owner Mohammed Ameen Mirza was forced to demolish the pub after Glasgow City Council threatened him with a compulsory purchase order.

Workers spent this week taking out the asbestos from the building before its demolition.