Building Briefs – October 1st

• Machrihanish airbase wins spaceport development funding

The funding will be used to explore horizontal spaceport development services from the site using UK based space technology companies.

The project will be led by MACC with consultancy support from UK Launch Services Limited and Grey Consultants Ltd with industry support from TAO Tech UK Ltd, specialists in High Altitude Platforms and Pseudo-satellites (HAP), and Reaction Engines Limited, the UK’s foremost developer of hypersonic engines and one of the UK’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

UK Launch Services Limited will advise on market and flight safety requirements for the rapidly growing commercial spaceflight sector. Grey consultants will provide a detailed facility review for the site’s infrastructure, the environmental and sustainability analysis of any potential development on the site and importantly a community engagement plan.

TAO Tech UK Ltd is an experienced high-altitude platform manufacturer and operator who will work on establishing complementary range services utilising their existing technology as well as developing a concept for HAP launch of micro satellites.

Reaction Engines Limited will assist MACC to explore the feasibility of using the Campbeltown site for future SABRE technology flight test operations. The study will also assess the potential for down-range landing support operations to future operational SABRE vehicles.

The project will run until the end of March 2020. The outputs of the project will provide a feasibility assessment for the use of the spaceport for a range of spaceflight related activities, long-term the project’s aim is to encourage the development of a spaceport cluster centred on an aerodrome which has the longest runway in Scotland.

• Urban Union goes green with electric car charging points

Urban Union is encouraging greener living at its Muirton Living development in Perth by installing electric car charging points.

Delivering two charging points to the development, the housebuilder hopes to encourage residents to consider opting for plug-in hybrid vehicles by giving them a convenient place to recharge them.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles combine petrol, diesel or alternative fuelled engines with a battery and electric motor, meaning they are more environmentally friendly, reducing air pollution by producing less harmful exhaust emissions. 

• MKM plots new Scottish sites

MKM Building Supplies is introducing its fifth Scottish branch in the past 12 months as it gears up to further expand its footprint next year.

The building trade retailer will launch in Oban this month, following branch openings in Kilmarnock, Elgin, Dundee and Aberdeen this year.

Its Oban outlet will take the number of Scottish sites to ten, with two more launches already planned for 2020.

• Edinburgh scientists receive funding for pioneering study into hydrogen storage for decarbonising UK’s energy sector

Geoscientists from the University of Edinburgh have received funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) for a £1.4 million research project to investigate the storage of hydrogen in the subsurface.

The project, HyStorPor (Hydrogen Storage in Porous Media), is designed to increase understanding of the whole hydrogen storage system, from fundamental physical and chemical processes to social acceptability.

The large-scale generation and storage of hydrogen, generated from excess renewable energy or steam reformation of methane with carbon capture and storage (CCS), could replace methane for domestic heating, thereby reducing carbon emissions from one of the UK’s largest sources.

Hydrogen storage also offers the potential to balance the interseasonal mismatch between energy demand and supply – providing a means of energy storage – and is likely to play a substantial role in the UK’s energy transition.

This week, Aberdeen hosts its first Hydrogen Festival, an event aimed at helping companies, including the oil and gas sector, explore new business opportunities with hydrogen.

• New funding round for ferry access improvements

A fifth round of funding is being made available to improve access on ferry services around Scotland.

The Ferries Accessibility Fund is once again open to applications, with a view to helping make improvements to existing vessels and harbours that go beyond regulatory standards set for accessibility.

Around £160,000 is available from the fund and bids can come from the public or private sector. Awards are made on a match funding basis.

• Construction begins on new Schiehallion footpath

Work to construct a new footpath at Schiehallion is now under way, in a scheme by the John Muir Trust in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust (HPCLT).

Currently, around 20,000 people walk up Schiehallion each year and the first section of the existing route was designed to be easy access. With this section now requiring resurfacing, the Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership – which brings together seven local organisations from the public, private and third sectors – decided to look at options for a low-level, circular route.

With an easy access path and boardwalk, the new low-level route will offer a fulfilling way of enjoying the countryside and viewing Schiehallion for people who want an alternative to walking up the mountain but would still like to visit this wild place.

The 1km walk starts and finishes at the Braes of Foss car park and crosses forestry land as well as community-owned woodland on Dun Coillich, managed by HPCLT, linking with the existing Schiehallion path to form a loop.

The path will comprise boardwalk and stone chips and will include seating along its length. New interpretation boards will provide information on wildlife and archaeology plus details on the Heart of Scotland Forest project. 

• Road improvement scheme approved in Aberdeen

Aberdeen councillors have granted approval for a road improvement scheme that will “pave the way for the continuing transformation of the city centre”.

The council’s city growth and resources committee approved the South College Street Junction Improvements Project.

Following the adoption of the new North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy earlier this year, South College Street will provide a key route to the city centre.

Palmerston Place is to be extended eastwards to connect South College Street with North Esplanade West, boosting junction capacity with an additional traffic lane along South College Street between Wellington Place and Bank Street.

The committee backed the business case for the South College Street corridor improvement, which will now go out to tender.

Following approval of a preferred option, the scope has also been extended to cover utility diversions, additional areas of carriageway reconstruction, and environmental mitigation.

Going forward, detailed costs and programme updates will be brought back to committee. The project is scheduled for completion in Autumn 2021.

The work will help deliver Phase 2 of the City Centre Masterplan, a 25-year regeneration programme adopted by the Council in 2015. Projects to date have included the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery (due to reopen in November) and the transformation of Union Terrace Gardens (work started this month) and Provost Skene’s House (again started this month).

Upgrading the South College Street corridor will enable the city centre to accommodate general traffic, whilst allowing future public realm improvements to proceed.

• Repairs start on Dyce flooding prevention culvert

Work has started to repair a culvert in the area of Dyce which helps to alleviate flooding.

In order to facilitate the works, the Parkhill flood relief culvert/pedestrian underpass has been closed to the public. The work is anticipated to take a month to complete, weather dependent.

The access path leading up to the old railway line from Dyce Drive will also be closed to ensure public safety and pedestrian diversion signs will be in place directing to the next access route via McIntosh Crescent.

The culvert is designed to relieve the pressure exerted on the bridge during a high flood event.

The contract for the renovation of the flood relief culvert at Parkhill has been awarded to a company which specialises in concrete repairs.