Building Briefs – September 18th

Love Street contractor gives St Mirren FC’s Youth Academy a £15,000 community cash boost

The contractor that is building new affordable homes on the old home of St Mirren FC has given the Paisley club’s Youth Academy a £15,000 cash boost.

Glasgow-based AS Homes (Scotland) Ltd is currently on site at the old St Mirren stadium at Love Street in Paisley, building 132 new homes for Sanctuary.

One of the most successful youth academies in Scotland, St Mirren’s Youth Academy currently coaches around 150 young players, from the age of 4 up to 20. It is the only Youth Academy in Scotland, outwith Celtic and Rangers, to reach a 5 Star Elite rating from the Scottish FA.

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Dundee to discuss almost £1m of Waterfront tenders

Almost £1 million of work to help deliver elements of the transformation at Dundee Waterfront will be discussed by councillors next week.

Tenders for work on Dundee Railway Station and consultancy services to support the development of Waterfront Place will be considered by Dundee City Council’s city development committee.

Lynne Short committee convener said: “We have all watched as the railway station takes shape and adds to the waterfront’s impressive skyline. The first tender is for facilities inside this amazing building including the ticket office fit out, installation of ticket vending machines and security gates

“The second tender will procure consultants to help with the design of the proposed public space at Waterfront Place and professional services including building and landscape architecture, the design of the water feature and lighting.

“It is important that both of these projects have the right elements to ensure maximum impact and usability for residents and visitors.”

A report to the city development committee recommends that Pacific Building Ltd carry out the railway station works at a total cost of £459,257, while Perfect Circle JV Ltd is recommended for the consultancy services at a cost of £360,212.

The city development committee meets on September 25.

Additional A9 Ground Investigations to start next week

Ground investigations are shortly to start on the section of the A9 Dualling route between Crubenmore and Kincraig.

This work, which is due to get underway on September 26, follows the start of similar work recently on the long stretch between Pitlochry and Glen Garry.

Although the vast majority of the work, which is expected to last around 10 weeks, will be carried out away from the existing road and will not require traffic management, some traffic management measures will be required when necessary to allow work beside the carriageway to be carried out safely.

This will include alternate single file traffic sections controlled by temporary traffic signals.

AWPR slip-road brings early traffic relief to Stonehaven

The new A90 southbound slip road which has been constructed as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project, has reduced the levels of traffic travelling through Stonehaven via the B979 at Glenury Road by almost half during peak travelling times.

The traffic data, collected and analysed by Aberdeenshire Council, compares traffic flow volumes from the B979 at Glenury Road before and after the contraflow was put in place on the A90, as well as after the new A90 southbound slip road was open to traffic.

It shows that traffic on the B979 at Glenury Road initially increased by 23 per cent during busy travelling periods and by 14% daily as drivers attempted to avoid the contraflow on the A90.

However, once the new A90 southbound slip road opened to traffic and drivers no longer had to drive through Stonehaven to travel southbound or reach the south side of Stonehaven, traffic on the B979 at Glenury Road reduced by 43% during busy periods, between 4pm and 7pm, and by 33% daily.

By comparison, the data also shows that traffic flows on the B979 at Glenury Road reduced by 39% during busy periods and by 23%daily when compared with traffic levels prior to the A90 contraflow being put in place.

Dundee set for more electric vehicle chargers

Dundee could be plugged into more than £600,000 worth of new electric vehicle chargers and other infrastructure thanks to grants from the UK and Scottish governments.

A new report reveals the cash, from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), Transport Scotland and Air Quality Funding, will be used to boost sites in the city.

The four projects will share a combined £603,000 in grants.

A pair of new chargers at the recently approved Princess Street Hub will be given priority for taxis; at St Anne Lane car park another two rapid chargers will also be given priority for taxis and at Queen Street car park there will be a single taxi priority rapid charger installed.

In addition there are plans to fit single rapid chargers at strategic locations in the city that will support the uptake of electric vehicles, with sites including Ninewells Hospital, city centre and at key hotels.

The report will be considered by the city development committee on September 25.

A council steering group has been set up to manage the projects.

Dundee City Council now has the largest fleet of electric vehicles of any local authority in the UK (83 to date) and is a past winner of Green Fleet magazine’s public sector fleet of the year and low carbon vehicle operator of the year.

The city has one of the most extensive charging infrastructures in the UK with one of the Rapid Chargers in Queen Street Broughty Ferry being the most used in Scotland, averaging 18 charges per day. The charger at Dundee Ice Arena is the second most used in Scotland.

City council mechanics have been attending dedicated electric vehicle (EV) training courses towards gaining recognised qualifications in the repair and maintenance of EVs to allow the continued expansion of the council’s electric fleet and earlier this year TESLA chose Doubletree Hilton in Dundee to install a strategic charging hub with space for eight of its vehicles.

The council owns 58 charging point at eight publicly available charging locations, including Scotland’s first rapid charger.

In 2016/17 the council estimates using EVs reduced carbon dioxide by 122 tonnes.

Work on the new charging hub is expected to start in autumn and it is planned to be up and running by the end of the year.

Bannockburn Rugby Club volunteers get a kick out of new kit

Bannockburn Rugby Club welcomed a delivery of new coach strips on last week after receiving a £200 donation from Robertson Central East.

Representatives from Robertson, which is headquartered in Stirling, officially handed over the logoed shirts during a ceremony held at the Stirling Care Village development – the Robertson site from which the donation originated.

The donation extends Robertson’s existing partnership with Bannockburn High School, with the rugby club using the school’s pitches as home ground and many pupils playing for the team – which currently has almost 100 members.

A72 road patching works

Four days of patching works are due to begin today on the A72 road between Walkerburn and the Thornilee Forest layby.

The first phase of the works will be on the Thornilee to Holylee stretch of the road on 18 and 19 September, with the second phase between Holylee and Walkerburn on 20 and 21 September.

A convoy system will be in operation from 7.30am to 3pm each day for the duration of the works, with drivers asked to give themselves extra time for their journeys. In the event of adverse weather conditions, these works will be postponed.

Work continues on £100m Shieldhall Tunnel project

Work is continuing on the £100 million Shieldhall Tunnel project in Glasgow.

The scheme is a key part of Scottish Water’s £250m, five-year investment to improve river water quality and the natural environment and tackle flooding in the Greater Glasgow area.

Road users are now being advised a stretch of Queen’s Drive/Langside Road, which has been closed for around 16 months to allow work to be carried out, will reopen on Friday, 22 September.

The route was shut to allow engineers to build a shaft which will connect to the new tunnel within the site compound in Queen’s Park.

Town centre regeneration project launched in Dunoon

A new town centre regeneration scheme has launched in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute.

The Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) is a jointly funded grant programme focussing on the regeneration of historical buildings as well as traditional skills training and community engagement.

With over £1.25 million in grant funding available, key elements include;

Turbines approved despite Loch Doon impact fears

The Scottish Government has approved 18 turbines in southern Scotland despite fears over their impact on the landscape around Loch Doon.

E.On has been given consent - with conditions - for the development near Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway.

Dumfries and Galloway Council, East Ayrshire Council and Scottish Natural Heritage all voiced concern about the effect on the nearby loch.

The Scottish Government said steps had been taken to mitigate the impact.

The turbines of the Benbrack project will be located within Dumfries and Galloway where the local authority did not object to the development.