Building Briefs - November 18th
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- North Glasgow care home converted to boost autism support
Queens Cross Housing Association has teamed up with Scottish Autism to help the charity improve the quality of life of autistic people living in north Glasgow.
Queens Cross chief executive Shona Stephen (right) and Scottish Autism’s senior autism practitioner Colleen McMahon outside the new facility in Springbank Street
The Association has converted a former care home in Springbank Street into new supported accommodation and a Day Opportunity.
The supported accommodation consists of three wheelchair useable en-suite bedsits and a combined office and sleepover room for staff. A new kitchen, dining room lounge, assisted bathroom and utility room have also been built in.
In the Day Opportunity, the former care home bedrooms have been converted into six activity rooms; a new kitchen, dining room, lounge, sensory room, assisted shower room and staff office are also part of the redevelopment.
Queens Cross has worked in partnership with Scottish Autism throughout the project to ensure the new facility closely meets their needs. The whole building has been re-serviced with new systems for electricity, heating and hot water, fire alarm, emergency lighting, sprinkler, staff call system, CCTV and telecoms.
The project was delivered with funding from Glasgow City Council, through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme, and a contribution from Queens Cross.
The project team included Contract Building Services, Collective Architecture, G3 Consulting Engineers and Martin Aitken Associates.
- Bishopbriggs supermarket plan refused
A proposal to knock down an industrial unit in Bishopbriggs and replace it with a supermarket has been rejected by councillors.
Aldi had applied to develop land at the corner of Westerhill Road and Kirkintilloch Road, part of Low Moss Industrial Estate.
The existing occupier — Kentallen — intended to sell the site to Aldi and move to more modern accommodation.
The proposal was against East Dunbartonshire Council planning policy and planners refused permission for various reasons.
- Gym plan approved at vacant Parkhead retail park premises
Planners have agreed that a large empty shop unit in Glasgow’s East End can be turned into a 24-hour gym/health and fitness centre.
The Gym has been given permission by Glasgow City Concil to use the vacant Carpetright premises at Forge Retail Park, Parkhead.
- Glasgow Stalled Spaces programme continues to transform city sites after a decade
Glasgow City Council has marked 10 years of its Stalled Spaces programme by reviewing the successes of the scheme, and its future plans.
The programme began in 2010, in the wake of the 2008 financial crash and the subsequent impact on a number of the city’s communities in the shape of stalled or abandoned development proposals on sites, or under-utilised open spaces, across Glasgow.
More than 60% of Glaswegians were found to be living within 500 metres of such vacant and derelict sites, which can impact on health and wellbeing. Addressing these sites by developing them - even on a short-term basis - through local community involvement was seen as a positive solution that would improve collective health and wellbeing, bring an economic boost, and improve social cohesion and the local environment.
Just some of the types of projects that have been created on these sites include pop-up gardens; spaces for growing food, play, events and exhibitions; wildlife areas; and urban gyms.
More than 125 sites in the city have now been transformed through the scheme, from a budget of £500,000 - the maximum grant for each project is £4,500.
The next stage of the Stalled Spaces programme will see the council work with local community organisations to develop projects on multiple sites within each of the Drumchapel, Pollok and South Central areas. Each of these areas - identified through Glasgow’s City Development Plan as suitable for such a pilot - will see a £10,000 grant awarded to the organisation delivering the project reactivating stalled or abandoned spaces.
In addition, a £5,000 grant will be made available for an organisation to develop a mechanism to support nature-based enterprises, working closely with the organisations receiving the above grant in Drumchapel, Pollok and South Central to identify three innovative projects with the potential for growth and sustainability.
- Start to improvement work on Penicuik Town Hall
Improvement work on Penicuik Town Hall begins next week and will be completed by the end of April 2021.
The Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project has provided grant aid for restoration and improvement work to the roof and external stonework. Renewable energy work will also provide a new combined heat and power plant, solar panels on the rear roofs and WiFi throughout the building. This work is being grant aided by the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Fund.
The roof and stonework improvements will be carried out first, with the renewable energy work due to begin early in the new year. As well as improving the external fabric of the building, the work will provide a more sustainable heating system, allowing the local community to continue to use the building for training, education and events.
The restoration work will be carefully carried out with matching roofing slate and stonework, using traditional materials and techniques to enhance the historic character of the building.
The town hall is a distinctive historic building in the centre of Penicuik and is a high priority for the heritage regeneration project. It was originally built for local people by Alexander Cowan, one of the founders of Alexander Cowan & Son, papermakers of Penicuik, in 1893. It has undergone some internal alterations over the years but the external appearance of the building has remained unchanged.
The Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project is a partnership funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Midlothian Council, and Penicuik First and supported by Penicuik Community Development Trust, and Penicuik and District Community Council. The project will see a five-year period of investment in the historic core of the town centre.
- Ambitious plans unveiled for North Lanarkshire country parks
A community cycling hub, a bridge spanning Strathclyde Loch, a residential outdoor centre, plans to generate renewable energy, and a major attraction based around play are some of the ambitious plans for country parks in North Lanarkshire.
The ten-year Parks for the Future programme was approved by the council’s environment and transportation committee, paving the way for work to start on delivering improvements at Palacerigg and Strathclyde Country Parks.
The programme will create new opportunities for play, exercise and wildlife conservation offering benefits to residents through improved physical and mental health and wellbeing, opportunities for learning about local wildlife and heritage, and encouraging active travel.
It was developed after consultation with communities and partners in 2019.
At Strathclyde Country Park, the priority from the consultation is to make the park a major visitor attraction and a hub for health and wellbeing for the whole area, while at Palacerigg the focus is on outdoor play.
The council is also working in partnership with Greenspace Scotland on the Park Power project, investigating the potential for producing renewable electricity and heat from parks, including solar panels and a water source heat pump at Strathclyde Country Park.
The flagship proposals for the park are to create a lagoon area safe for paddling with a bridge crossing the loch, and a new outdoor centre with accommodation and events space.
A new gateway to the park will be created at Bellshill, where a bike pump track will be built. In addition, a heritage centre will be developed with trails around the park, alongside a focus on public art throughout the park as well as improvements to wildlife habitats and nature conservation.
The council plans to improve travel connections to the park from neighbouring communities, with less vehicle traffic and more opportunities for active travel with walking and cycling routes.
Planning permission will be sought in 2021 for the overall park masterplan, with access improvements planned for early 2021 and the first art trails in place by the end of 2021. The proposed cycling hub is planned for 2023.
At Palacerigg Country Park in Cumbernauld, the masterplan builds on the park’s role as a community asset, focusing on play, outdoor activity and wildlife conservation.
In the next two years, the priority will be to improve the core visitor facilities, extending the path network around the park and providing additional car parking.
A new attraction will be created around play facilities for children of all ages, which will complement the existing play areas at the park. Work is expected to start in 2021/22.
To make better connections between Palacerigg and local communities, the town centre and the developing community growth areas, a new gateway will be created at Glencryan. This will include a new route into the park, with access for walking and cycling. This project is planned for year four (2023/24) of the five-year park masterplan delivery.
As well as these physical improvements, the council will be promoting opportunities for third sector and private organisations to become involved in the park operations. Discussions are ongoing with groups for the lease of the former visitor centre building and Palacerigg House, and with a community group interested in running an animal farm attraction.
Work has started on improvements to the path network and ongoing development of the badger trail. Action plans will be developed for nature conservation around Palacerigg and for environmental management of the golf course.
Drumpellier Country Park is being developed as a gateway to the Seven Lochs Wetland Park, a new regional park spanning the Glasgow and North Lanarkshire boundaries between Easterhouse, Coatbridge and Stepps. Improvements are being finalised to the Visitors Centre with new interpretation on the wildlife and heritage of the park, and future plans are in place for access improvements and habitat enhancement focussed on peatlands.
- Aviemore to Carrbridge route options consultation
A virtual public exhibition has started for four weeks and will update local communities, cyclists, equestrians and walkers on the corridors and route options within these corridors emerging from the Aviemore to Carrbridge Non-Motorised User (NMU) Route Study.
A number of different routes and sub-options to these routes have been identified following the two corridor options previously identified and consulted on at a public exhibition in September 2019.
The public are being urged to visit the virtual exhibition and give their feedback on the emerging routes.
As part of the public engagement for this scheme, Transport Scotland will also be holding a live online webinar on 24 November, where the project team will be happy to explain aspects of the project in more detail and answer any queries.
- £2m funding boost for Edinburgh walking and cycling measures
The City of Edinburgh Council has secured almost £2m in additional funding from Sustrans to improve conditions for walking, cycling and wheeling.
The £1.95m award, comprising of Spaces for People and Places for Everyone funding, will add to £5m already received from the Scottish Government, via Sustrans, to implement temporary measures supporting travel by foot, bike or wheelchair.
This latest boost will help the council to complete the proposed programme of temporary improvements first approved by its policy and sustainability committee in May. It will also allow the Spaces for People team to enhance schemes where possible, carry out more road and pavement resurfacing and increase the removal of street clutter.
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