Building Briefs – November 30th

Work has started on an Angus Council project to build modern, energy efficient, high quality homes under the gaze of Arbroath Abbey.

The 40 new affordable council homes for rent that comprise the Abbey Quarter development replace four blocks of empty council flats that became increasingly unpopular and difficult to let over recent years.

The development will transform the former Guthrie Hill/Smithy Croft area, which is situated close to the historic Abbey, as well as the town’s High Street and main shopping thoroughfares.

Hadden Group has been appointed for the construction works.

Homes to be demolished to make way for £30m Haudagain roundabout

Aberdeen City Council has granted a building warrant to demolish houses to allow £30 million proposals to tackle a notorious junction to progress.

The warrant, first lodged with the local authority in October, will see 31 buildings flattened to allow the Haudagain roundabout to go ahead.

Transport Scotland, which submitted the plans to demolish the two and three-storey homes, estimated the work will cost £1m.

The homes near the Haudagain – dubbed the Middlefield Triangle – are being flattened as part of Transport Scotland’s £30m plan to alleviate pressure at the notorious bottleneck.

A Transport Scotland spokesman told the Aberdeen Evening Express: “This is a key step forward in completing the statutory processes and work is expected to get under way next year, once these processes are successfully completed.”

A link road through Middlefield was identified as the best way of easing congestion around the well-used route in a 2008 government report.

Approximately 500 metres of new dual carriageway connecting the A90 at North Anderson Drive to the A96 Auchmill Road will be constructed in the project.

As well as reducing congestion and improving journey-time reliability, the project aims to improve road safety and provide new pedestrian and cycling routes throughout the area.

Aberdeen City Council had originally put forward four options for the community to consider, and more than 100 residents responded, before councillors reduced this to two options.

The remaining choices are retail and green space or retail, green space and 72 one-bedroom flats.

Stirling Care Hub celebrates new milestone

A topping out ceremony was held to mark the final tiles being placed on the roof of the Care Hub building at the new Stirling Care Village.

Being delivered by Robertson Group, the hub will have more than 100 beds and will provide short-term care, assessment or rehabilitation to older people who require additional support following an illness or operation.

Set in a comfortable, homely environment it aims to help older people recover, regain their independence and, in the majority of cases, return to their own homes.

Also being built in the grounds of Stirling Community Hospital is the Primary and Urgent Care Centre which will provide more modern, spacious accommodation for a number of existing health services including Minor Injuries services, X-ray facilities and GP out-of-hours services. It will also house a number of local GP practices, which are relocating to the centre.

The new Stirling Care Village is a £35 million development, which is a joint venture between Stirling Council, NHS Forth Valley, the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Integration Joint Board and the Scottish Ambulance Service, who plan to re-locate their existing ambulance station there from the Riverside area of the city.

Forth Valley College is also keen to explore opportunities to offer local young people who are considering a career in the health and care sector, a range of training and volunteering opportunities within the new Care Village.

The Care Village will also support the integration of local health and social care services, making it easier for staff to work together to deliver better co-ordinated, more joined up care to local people – a key aim of the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership.

Royal Edinburgh Building opened by First Minister

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon officially opened the Royal Edinburgh Building – the first phase of the £48 million Royal Edinburgh Hospital redevelopment.

Phase one of the redevelopment includes new accommodation for the adult acute mental health inpatient service, older people’s mental health assessment, intensive psychiatric care service and the new Robert Fergusson national brain injury unit.

The First Minister was joined by the minister for mental health Maureen Watt and met staff and patients who have been involved in the planning and design of the new facilities.

The redevelopment of the Royal Edinburgh campus is planned to be undertaken in phased stages, with phase two of three planned to begin in 2018. In November 2014, the Scottish Government committed a further £120m for future phases of the campus redevelopment.

Springfield Properties builds future for young cyclist

One of Scotland’s best junior cyclists is on track for another successful season thanks, in part, to support from Springfield Properties.

Georgia Mansfield (18) from Forres, is an up and coming athlete who is making a name for herself on the cycling circuit.

A regular on the podium, she holds a number of prestigious titles including the junior Scottish record for the 25-mile distance, which she completed in just 1 hour and 4 minutes, beating her previous time (and previous record by) almost two minutes.

This is the second year Springfield Properties has backed the young athlete, with a sponsorship package which allows her to travel the country for competitions, purchase equipment and undertake a specialised training programme.

While she has spent the past year representing RT23, which consists of a number of very successful riders from across Scotland, Georgia was first discovered by Moray Wheelers which rallied together with local businesses to get her the funding she needed to take her talent to the next level.

Now she is racing ahead of the pack and has been recruited for the elite women’s cycling team, NCC Group–Kuota–Torelli (Torelli) based in the North West of England.

As a full-time student at Stirling College, Georgia balances her gruelling training schedule with studying and relies heavily on the support she receives from her sponsors.

To keep up to date with Georgia’s progress visit https://geegeemansfield.wixsite.com/mysite.