Building Briefs - November 3rd

• Inverness Academy Street apartments near completion

Located on the old Farm Foods site, it is being redeveloped by Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) and Highland Council to create 37 new apartments and three commercial units developed by Capital Developments (Scotland) Ltd.

The development is due for completion in January 2021, 14 of the homes will be for mid-market renters through HHA and 23 apartments available to rent through the Highland Council.

The completion of the development will mark the continued regeneration of Inverness city centre and add a boost to the availability of housing in the Highlands. HHA says it is excited to be delivering another city centre development and although the application process has closed, they are happy to receive any further notes of interest from anyone who wishes to live in the well-designed new development.

Wyvern House is a collaboration between HHA, Scottish Government, Highland Council and City Region Deal.

A time-lapse camera has recorded the construction of Wyvern House. The video shows the development of the building - from groundworks to the scaffolding being taken down.

• Taylor Wimpey donates lifesaving defibrillator in Uddingston

Taylor Wimpey West Scotland has donated a public access defibrillator (PAD) to the Bothwell and Uddingston Community First Responder group to benefit the community in the local area.

As part of a joint initiative with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the housebuilder is donating potentially life-saving PADs to communities around the UK to help people who suffer from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

During 2019, the BHF was employed by Taylor Wimpey to train its employees in CPR skills and provide every one of their building sites in the UK with a defibrillator. As part of its commitment to leaving a lasting legacy in the areas in which it builds, Taylor Wimpey is donating the defibrillators to local communities when their developments are completed.

Now that work has finished at its Tannochside Gardens development the local communities of Tannochside, Uddingston and Bothwellare the latest to be gifted a PAD.

• ESPC: Scottish property market remains ‘exceptionally busy’ as prices rise year-on-year

Scottish property prices are continuing to rise year on year as the average selling price from August to October Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders rose by 7.9% to reach £270,983. 

According to ESPC, the Scottish property market remains ‘exceptionally busy’ as properties in the Scottish Borders experienced a notable increase in average selling price, rising by 20.6% year-on-year to £249,373.  

Properties in West Fife & Kinross saw a 14.3% increase, while properties in Midlothian saw a 9.5% increase. Properties in East Lothian and West Lothian experienced a 7.5% and 7.8% increase in average selling price, respectively.  

In Edinburgh, the average property selling price rose by 6.2% year-on-year to £289,510. Within the capital, three-bedroom houses in Liberton and Gilmerton saw an 18.5% increase in average property selling price. However, two-bedroom flats in New Town and West End saw a year-on-year decrease in average property selling price, dropping by 14.7%.  

The number of homes coming to market is still significantly up compared to last year, which is good news for buyers. Over the past three months, the number of new listings in these areas is up 44.4% year-on-year. The districts with the greatest volume of new listings are Dunfermline, Leith and Corstorphine.   

The volume of property sales in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders over the past three months is down 5.6%. However, this decrease is concentrated in August. September and October have seen significant year-on-year increases in sales. This is likely due to the time it currently takes for a property to progress from under offer to sold, so there was a slight delay in sales volume catching up to last year after lockdown restrictions were relaxed.  

The top selling properties by sales volume over the last three months were three bedroom houses in Dunfermline and one-bedroom flats in Leith.  

There has been a decrease in selling time for properties in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders compared to last year. The median time for a property to be placed under offer over the last three months is 18 days compared to 21 days last year. Homes in East Fife have seen a significant decrease in selling time, with the median time for them to be placed under offer now at 33 days compared to 55 days the previous year.  

From August to October 2020, the average percentage of Home Report valuation achieved in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was 104.1% compared to 103% last year. One-bedroom flats in Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington achieved the highest percentage of Home Report valuation at 109.4%.

• North Ayrshire Council homes set for major investment as rent consultation launches

North Ayrshire Council is to invest millions of pounds into improving homes for its residents and breathing new life into local communities.

Plans for next year are already well advanced and consultation on rent levels is now underway, giving tenants a chance to have their say.

Proposals for a modest increase will allow a major programme of improvements across the council house estate while remaining below the average rent level for Ayrshire and Scotland.

The planned investment starting in 2021/22 includes the launch of a £25 million sheltered housing re-provisioning programme; at least £5m investment in regeneration projects, and sustainability measures to reduce fuel poverty as well as more than half a million pounds on projects driven by tenants, and continuation of the £1m per year programme to regenerate estates.

In addition, more than £15m will be invested into improving existing council homes with plans for over 300 new bathrooms, more than 400 new kitchens, over 1,000 external door replacements, and more than 500 new boiler installations.

Council tenants are currently being consulted on proposed rent levels for next year and can express their preference for one of two options – a 1.9% increase or a 2.5% increase.