Building Briefs – May 13th

• Aberdeen buildings repair funding scheme expanded

The initiative, which is supported with funding from Historic Environment Scotland, runs until March 2021 and has been expanded to take in the whole of the Union Street, Bon Accord, and Crown Street Conservation Areas.

The exception being the area where Aberdeen City Council’s Union Street Conservation Area Regeneration scheme runs.

Applications can be submitted for grants for significant repair and restoration work with funds available to support both commercial and residential buildings where work will be carried out using agreed traditional materials and techniques best suited to Aberdeen’s granite heritage.

• Repairs to secure 17th century Cambuslang castle

A B-listed tower house in South Lanarkshire is to be saved under new plans to stabilise and secure the ruin.

Listed building consent is sought for Gilbertfield Castle, near Cambuslang, as part of a larger residential development which is funding the renovation works.

Interventions penned by Groves Raines Architects will see the footprint of the castle at its fullest extent indicated by vertical stone, slips with new interpretation panels documenting the history of the site.

Structural works include shoring up the wall end to secure access with forged steel grilles reinstated to ground-level openings.

• Aberdeen office building to be demolished

Plans to demolish an Aberdeen office building have been approved.

A building warrant was approved by Aberdeen City Council to knock down the KMD Business & Conference Centre on Wellington Circle on Thursday.

The proposals were submitted by Lawrie Demolition on behalf of Leiths Scotland Ltd

The £85,000 demolition works must be carried out by May 7 2023 or the warrant will expire.

This will involve tearing down the building on the site as well as the removal of all materials.

The property has lain vacant for several years, with administrators advised to put the building up for auction in 2018.

• Borders planning committee to restart online via video conferencing

Scottish Borders Council’s planning and building standards committee will be the first council meeting to take place following the start of lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The meeting, on May 18, will be carried out using video conferencing facilities. The last meeting of the committee took place on March 2.

Two virtual meetings of the council’s local review body have also been scheduled for May 25 and June 1.

Both bodies are responsible for the determination of planning applications that cannot be considered by officers under the council’s scheme of delegation.

• Ayrshire Housing consults on latest development proposal

The current lockdown has not stopped Ayrshire Housing from consulting the public on its latest housing proposal to build a further 13 houses in the village of Kirkmichael.

The Association was delighted to partner with the co-operatively run village shop in the distribution of the consultation booklet and in the collection of comments. This has been backed up by both organisations’ social media.

Director Jim Whiston and architect Andrew Hunter were able also to present their proposals to the Community Council through a Zoom event.

Jim Whiston said: “We are delighted with the response to our consultation. We will take on board the comments received as we prepare the planning application. Whilst we are using digital communication out of adversity at the moment, it’s more positively giving us ideas as to how we can communicate with our communities across Ayrshire in the long term.”

The proposed development consists of one, two and three-bedroom houses which meet the requirements of the Association’s new Design Guide for adaptable and energy efficient housing. It is being designed by Thomson Hunter Architects of Kilmarnock which has already designed the very popular scheme adjacent to the current site.

• Small charity premises now eligible for £10k grants

Properties occupied by charities can now apply for the £10,000 Small Business Grant Scheme to help with pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Government has announced.

The extension of the scheme is expected to result in an additional £31 million being made available to more than 3,000 small properties occupied by charities – including day centres, workshops and halls. It will apply to properties which are in receipt of any Charitable Rates Relief or Sports Relief, but are otherwise eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Finance secretary Kate Forbes, said: “Our package of business support is under constant review as we look for improvements that can be made to existing schemes, or any gaps we are able to fill.

“It had become clear that many charities which run small premises, such as day centres and halls, had been hit hard by loss of revenue during the pandemic. This is particularly pressing for small and medium-sized charities which deliver health and social care support, and are heavily reliant on income from their retail operations.

“In order to support these vital charities we have therefore taken the decision to open up the Small Business Grant Scheme to allow them to apply for grants of £10,000 on the first eligible property and £7,500 on any additional eligible properties.”