Building Briefs – October 5th

The University of St Andrews is to move ahead with plans to build affordable housing for its staff and postgraduate students on the eastern edge of St Andrews.

A Pre-Application Notice has been submitted to Fife Council for a 64-home development on the five-acre site known as The Grange, which is currently farm land owned by the University.

The proposal is for two and three-bedroom homes which would be offered to postgraduate students, junior staff and other staff on short-term contracts at mid-market rentals.

St Andrews is one of the most pressured housing areas in Scotland and recent studies by Fife Council, the University and the St Andrews Town Commission on Housing have recommended that efforts should be made to provide more student accommodation, and more affordable housing for early career staff and postgraduate students with families.

In March this year, the University confirmed it was to invest £70 million in new student residences and refurbishment to provide an additional 900 student beds across St Andrews.

In tandem with this major investment in student housing, it’s hoped the proposed development at The Grange will help take some of the heat out of the housing market in central St Andrews.

A public consultation on the proposals will take place this month.

Wind power output jumps 36 per cent in Scotland

Wind generated the equivalent of all Scotland’s electricity needs for the day twice in a single month for the first time on record, according to new data.

WWF Scotland published analysis of wind power and solar data provided by WeatherEnergy which found that for the month of September wind turbines in Scotland provided 766,116MWh of electricity to the National Grid, enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 87 per cent of Scottish households (2.1 million homes).

This represents an increase of 36 per cent compared to that of September 2015, when wind energy provided 563,834MWh.

Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for September was 1,751,798MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 44 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.

On two separate days (Saturday 24 September and Thursday 29 September) wind turbines generated output equivalent to more than Scotland’s total power needs for each entire day – equivalent to 127 per cent and 107 per cent of each day’s total electricity demand, respectively. And, the first time since WeatherEnergy began monitoring the data that this has happened more than once in the same month.

For homes fitted with solar PV panels, there was enough sunshine to generate an estimated 70 per cent of the electricity needs of an average household in Aberdeen, 69 per cent in Dundee, 61 per cent in Edinburgh, 60 per cent in Inverness, and 50 per cent in Glasgow.

For those homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine to generate an estimated 76 per cent of an average household’s hot water needs in Dundee, 75 per cent in Aberdeen, 59 per cent in Edinburgh, 58 per cent in Inverness, and 42 per cent in Glasgow.

Replacement programme for street lighting across Moray

Work is well under way on a £5.5 million scheme which will see virtually every street light in Moray replaced with more efficient and longer lasting bulbs.

The new energy efficient LED units give vastly improved colour rendition and greatly reduced light spill, which means they light up only areas which are intended to be lit up and produce a much more even spread of light along roads and footpaths.

In total, over 17,500 lamps are being replaced over the next five years and the more energy efficient LEDs will reduce Moray Council’s electricity bill by around £20m over the next 20 years as well as reducing carbon emissions by 2000 tonnes.

The replacement programme got under way early this year following successful trials in a number of smaller settlements, including Nether and Upper Dallachy, and Cummingston.

Kilmacolm groundworks underway

Works to construct a new road and create seven house plots with associated servicing and groundworks at Kilmacolm’s Leperstone Avenue will get underway shortly, with the contractor setting up its compound and boundary fences next week.

Noel Regan & Sons Building and Civil Engineering Contractors UK Ltd is expected to be on site for around six months.

Riverside Inverclyde, which is delivering the project on behalf of Inverclyde Council, the contractor and specialists have been making house to house visits with those residents closest to the site to answer questions about the works, which have a contract value of approximately £600,000.

Borders councillors agree to target town centre regeneration efforts

Councillors have agreed to target town centre regeneration intervention and investment as part of a new rolling three year Town Centre Action Plan for the Scottish Borders.

A new Town Centre Resilience Index, using key statistics, will be used to establish where Scottish Borders Council’s limited resources should be targeted for maximum impact.

These projects will be identified in a three-year rolling Town Centre Action Plan, which will be reviewed and updated annually. The council is aiming to enable businesses and communities to make positive changes and investment themselves, intervening where only the public sector can unlock opportunities or solve problems. It will also signpost businesses and communities to funding and advice, build local capacity and encourage local leadership.

The initial version of the index shows that Hawick, followed by Jedburgh and Eyemouth should be the main focus initially.

Communities invited to apply for up to £20m of green space funding

A multi-million pound fund to develop green spaces in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas has been announced by the Scottish Government.

Supported by £8.25 million from the European Union, the Green Infrastructure Fund will support projects like new nature reserves and parks and green spaces in urban areas.

With match funding from partners the total overall investment will be up to £20m.

The Canal & North Gateway site in Port Dundas in Glasgow is one of the first two projects to be supported by the programme, which is being delivered by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

The Green Infrastructure Fund is looking for projects, involving communities right from the start, throughout delivery and into the future. Projects should either benefit nature, biodiversity and ecosystems, address environmental quality, flooding and climate change, involve communities and increase participation, increase place attractiveness and competitiveness or improve health and wellbeing.

A large scale enhancement of green infrastructure in Greater Easterhouse, which will give local people links to a wide network of green space including the Seven Lochs area, is the second of the two projects to have been approved and will be underway next year.

Public sector and third sector organisations are eligible to apply for funding - the closing date for applications for the current round is October 31.

For more information, see the Green Infrastructure Fund website.

PRS rents rise 4.6 per cent

Average private rents in Scotland rose 4.6 per cent in the last year, according to new figures.

The July 2016 buy-to-let index from Your Move found that a “typical” property in Scotland is now let for £574 a month.

When it comes to tenants finance, the July index said that across all of Scotland, 12.5 per cent of tenancies had arrears of a day or more, which was slightly higher than the 11.1 per cent recorded in June. It is also higher than the level in England for the same period, 9 per cent.

The number of Scottish households deemed to serious arrears – that’s two months or more – was 13,642 in July 2016.

Hailing the rent increase as good news for investors, Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move in Scotland, said the country’s rental market remains strong despite uncertainty following June’s vote to leave the EU.

Stakeholders encouraged to have say on gas safety review

Gas Safe Register is launching an in-depth report into the past, present and future for gas safety.

The report, known as the ‘Decade Review’, will consider the opportunities and challenges faced across the industry since the Frontline Review was published in 2006, as well as future gazing towards what the next decade may bring.

Engineers are invited to voice their thoughts as part of the pan-industry review which will be the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. There are many ways for engineers to contribute to the review, including through focus groups and online surveys.

The process of gathering information for the Decade Review is now underway with all results to be captured by independent research agency Accent. Details on the different routes any interested parties can use to contribute will be announced shortly.

Gas Safe Register aims to publish the results next summer.