Building Briefs – October 26th

Hamilton drilling firm wins work on two Lanarkshire wind farms

Banks Renewables has appointed Hamilton headquartered drilling firm Raeburn Drilling to help it deliver Kype Muir and Middle Muir Wind Farms.

Raeburn Drilling, a family owned drilling and geotechnical business, will carry out detailed testing of the rocks and soil at both wind farm sites, primarily to help determine settlement and the specifications required for the wind farm foundations.

The appointment of the local firm follows last year’s launch of the Connect2Renewables Charter, which sees Banks Renewables partner with South Lanarkshire Council, committing a minimum of £69 million to the local economy and communities in the area.

The Charter also prioritises local businesses in the supply chain and - through a dedicated job fund (guaranteed for the first five years) - is set to support around 457 local unemployed people back into work, training or further education, during the construction and early operational life of the Kype Muir and Middle Muir Wind Farm projects.

Fishers to create 150 jobs at £5m ‘super laundry’

Textile services firm Fishers is planning to create a £5 million “super laundry” in Coatbridge that will bring about 150 jobs to the town.

The facility will be capable of washing, drying and ironing more than four tonnes of laundry – equivalent to 600 domestic washing machine loads – every hour for hotels and restaurants in Glasgow and the surrounding area.

The site, which will be Fishers’ first new Scottish laundry in 19 years, is expected to open in December and be fully operational by March 2016.

Robertson warns of online recruitment scam

Recruitment scammers are making fake job offers under the name of Robertson (or Robertson Construction, along with other variants), the firm has revealed.

They are contacting job seekers through a number of channels, including LinkedIn, emails and illegitimate websites.

Importantly, they are asking individuals to forward payment for work permits or visa applications, or bank details for the reimbursement of travel expenses. The fraudsters are also asking people to divulge personal details that may enable them to commit identity theft.

Robertson said: “We would never ask job applicants for any money or bank details during our recruitment process. If a recruitment ad or post does not appear on our own website, it is not genuine.

“We take fraudulent behaviour very seriously and have informed the Police accordingly. If you think you have applied for - or been contacted in connection with - one of these fake jobs, please contact your local Police authority.”

Retirement flats approved at site of former Craw’s Nest Hotel

A well-known East Neuk hotel is to be bulldozed to make way for retirement flats.

Anstruther’s Craw’s Nest Hotel closed in autumn last year, after being on the market for more than a year.

The once-bustling holiday landmark – previously owned by the parents of DJ Edith Bowman – is to be replaced with 39 apartments by retirement housing specialist McCarthy & Stone.

Planning consent was issued by Fife Council after the developer amended its original designs to address concerns of planners and residents.

Hanover Scotland secures first-of-its-kind £40m funding facility

Hanover Scotland has secured a £40 million funding facility in an innovative agreement which is the first of its kind in the social housing sector.

The transaction, which combines a five-year, £20m revolving credit facility and private placement, was arranged by Bank of Scotland, with whom Hanover has had a relationship for nearly 20 years. The funding will be used to support its ongoing development plans, with a particular focus on housing for older people.

Hanover has also agreed a £20m private placement funded by an institutional investor. This finance, which will be drawn down in 2018 and mature in 2048, will be used to repay the RCF which will itself be adjusted to £5m in 2018.

Charity set to evict 200 tenants in Leith

Around 200 tenants in Leith are facing eviction by the Agnes Hunter Trust after the charitable trust decided to put their homes up for sale.

Established in 1954 by Miss Agnes Hunter, the trust owns over 100 flats in Lorne Street. The properties were built by her father in the 1870s and since then have been let by the Hunter family to the people of Leith. Miss Hunter herself lived for many years in Leith until she died in 1954.

The trust has decided to dispose all of its properties within 3-4 years to re-invest the income and with a view to increasing the amount available for distribution to charities.

Kirriemuir High Street to re-open to traffic

Work on the repair and maintenance of roads in Kirriemuir town centre is almost complete, with the High Street re-opening to all traffic this morning.

Final surfacing work and finishing touches were carried out over the weekend and first thing on Monday.

The repair and maintenance programme has been undertaken in the town’s Glengate, St Malcolm’s Wynd and High Street. It involved road re-surfacing, as well as the cobbles (or red setts) being lifted, repaired and re-established in the High Street.

A77 works south of Ardwell

Local residents are set to benefit from over £430k of essential maintenance which will get underway on the A77 south of Ardwell on Tuesday 3 November 2015.

Scotland TranServ, operating on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out the drainage works and repairs, which will support the existing road surface near to Ardwell Bay, south of Girvan.

Work underway to construct new A9 underpasses

Motorists on the A9 should be aware of temporary traffic restrictions on two short sections of the road as part of the work on the A9 Dualling project between Kincraig and Dalraddy starting today. Works will continue until Wednesday 4th November.

The works are required to construct two new underpasses at Allt an Fhearna to the north and Dunachton Burn to the south of the scheme.