Building Briefs – May 12th

New Peter Vardy building in Aberdeen reaches new heights

A new state-of-the-art £8 million Jaguar Land Rover retailer site in Aberdeen, operated by Peter Vardy Ltd, is nearing completion, with the stylish, modern exterior now fully constructed.

The retailer is on course to open later this year, with a renewed focus on customer service, complete with a luxurious atmosphere befitting the Jaguar and Land Rover brands it will house.

Ogilvie Construction, which last year completed the Porsche Centre Aberdeen nearby, is building the facility. The building has now officially been ‘topped out’, marking the completion of the highest point of the structure; construction will now focus on making the facility wind and watertight, before installing the stylishly appointed interior.

The building will be on two floors, ground and mezzanine, linked by escalators, with over 100 New and Approved Used vehicles on site and 26 ramps for servicing vehicles.

Customers will be able to enjoy two business lounges with in-house barista and chef, creating a relaxing and welcoming environment for all visitors. There will also be three customer handover bays to make the experience of buying a Jaguar Land Rover product as exciting as owning one.

Peter Vardy, Chief Executive of the fast-growing Scotland-wide automotive retailing group, said: “We are very excited by the prospect of opening what promises to be a stunning new Jaguar Land Rover facility later this year. We simply cannot wait to welcome all our current and future customers there.”

Duncan Ogilvie, Chief Executive, Ogilvie Group, said: “We are proud to be delivering another state-of-the-art facility for Peter Vardy Ltd, complete with the high levels of quality, luxury, performance and customer service that people expect from a brand as prestigious as Jaguar Land Rover.”

Surveyors predict continued rise in Scottish house prices and private rents

Scottish house prices are expected to increase over the next three months, according to surveyors.

The latest Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found a net balance of 26 per cent more chartered surveyors expect house prices to continue to drifting upwards after climbing in April.

Demand for residential property also grew to continue to outpace supply, as new properties coming onto the market increased during April for just the first time in three months.

Rents are also expected to rise further during the next three months following a “noticeable decrease” in rental properties coming onto the market during the first quarter of the year.

Sales remained steady across the country in April and the growth in activity is expected to continue, with a net balance of 36 per cent more respondents predicting an increase in Scottish residential property sales over the next three months.

Sarah Speirs, director of RICS in Scotland, said: “We are seeing a welcome increase in properties coming on to the market and we hope this will continue in coming months. However, as demand also continues to grow, this supply will not meet market needs and we call on the newly elected Scottish Government to make the increase of housing supply across all tenures a priority.”

Moray roads surface dressing programme

Roads in Moray the area undergo surface dressing as part of Moray Council’s annual road maintenance programme.

Around 50 miles of rural roads and urban streets will be surface dressed over the next two months.

The work has to be carried out during the summer months when the road surface is generally warmer and drier.

Classroom learning for construction students comes to life with Timetra

Six construction students at New College Lanarkshire are seeing their classroom learning come to life thanks to Newhouse-based property maintenance company Timetra.

The six students - from Holytown, Wishaw, Airdrie, Bellshill and Hamilton - are in the early stages of six weeks’ work experience with Timetra as part of the College’s annual industrial placements for Construction Pre Apprentices.

The programme aims to showcase the youngsters’ skills to potential employers and this year involves around 50 students - the largest figure to be sent for work experience since the College’s Construction Pre Apprentice course was launched 10 years ago.

The course provides students with training in topics including carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, bricklaying, plumbing, construction drawing and health and safety. All students have had to pass the Construction Skills Certification scheme (CSCS) to proceed with their placements and go onsite.

The Timetra six - aged 16 to 21 - have been working under the supervision of the company’s skilled tradesmen on a variety of plumbing or joinery tasks within its wide-ranging portfolio of public and private sector contracts across central Scotland. The company was set up in 1970 and now has more than 50 employees in a range of industrial trades.

Other employers taking part in this year’s scheme are The Cruden Group, Graham Construction, Morrison Construction, Kier Group, Alarmfast, Seal Eco, Red Deer Village, Grant Weir Joiners, Paver Systems, Allied Interiors, Burnbrae Contracts, Mitie, Avondale Roofing, Alarmfast, North Lanarkshire Care and Repair, Gordon Shanks Joiners & Builders Ltd and Custom Built Joinery.

Mars to buy renewable electricity from Scottish wind farm

Food producer Mars has revealed further steps to decrease its carbon footprint by purchasing electricity from a wind farm in Scotland.

Through a partnership with Eneco UK, the 20-turbine Moy-based wind farm will generate electricity equivalent to what powers Mars’ 12 UK sites.

The wind farm, located south of Inverness, has a capacity of 60MW and an annual output of over 125,000 megawatt-hours.

Overall, it generates enough electricity to power on average 34,000 UK homes.

The move is part of Mars’ aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate fossil fuel energy use from its global operations by 2040.

Roads maintenance scheme to begin in Fife

A roadworks maintenance scheme is due to begin this month in Fife.

Workers will relocate a bus stop and carry out footway repairs on the A914 east of Forgan roundabout.

The five-day project is due to begin on Monday, 16 May.

Scotland TranServ to deliver Dumfries and Galloway road improvement works

Over £500,000 of road improvement works are due to be carried out this month in Dumfries and Galloway.

Scotland TranServ will resurface over 1km of the A75 Castle Douglas Bypass between Hillowton to Dunmuir Road and Blackpark Underpass to Carlingwark Lane.

The project will begin on Friday, 20 May.