Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Scotland Construction News Archive for June 2012
29/06/2012
Analysis carried out by the Scottish Property Federation (SPF) shows planning fees in Scotland could more than double for retail and leisure developments under plans being drawn up by the Scottish Government. Local Government and Planning Minister Derek Mackay announced in March that the Scottish G
29/06/2012
An American golfing legend has dismissed out of hand Donald Trump's claims that a planned wind farm would put people off coming to his new course in Aberdeenshire. Jack Nicklaus, who has won 18 career major championships, said it was "crazy" to suggest that wind turbines would put anyone off golfin
29/06/2012
A grade A listed building that once served as a ballroom is to be transformed into a museum with adjacent offices. The Dalkeith Corn Exchange, which dates back to 1854, will get a new lease of life thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland. Melville Housing has won dev
29/06/2012
Part of Dundee Railway Station is to be demolished ahead of redevelopment plans. Sir Robert McAlpine of Hertfordshire has been awarded the £3m contract for taking down station buildings and weight-restricted bridges. This will make way for the construction of a new five-storey concourse building,
29/06/2012
A group that represents property owners in Scotland has warned that planning fees could more than double in the near future for retail and leisure developments. The Scottish Property Federation said that plans being drawn up by the Scottish Government could lead to fees exceeding those charged sout
29/06/2012
Victims of asbestos-related cancer have called on the Scottish Government to alter the law to counter insurance companies' "underhand tactics" in compensation cases. The Herald newspaper reported that Clydeside Action on Asbestos has accused insurance companies of changing the way they date the beg
29/06/2012
Just 0.4% of land in Scotland is used for building, according to an extensive report, and urban areas as a whole (including roads) count for 1.9%. But Scottish urban areas are less green than those in most other parts of the UK, the Office for National Statistics found, because Scottish houses make
28/06/2012
The Scottish Building Federation has warned that a slowdown in planning approvals is bad news for the struggling construction industry. Just 29.9% of major applications were approved in 2011/2012, compared to 33.6% the year before, according to figures released by Scotland's Chief Statistician toda
28/06/2012
Renewable energy output in Scotland is at a record high, new figures show. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) found that that renewable electricity generation in Scotland was 4,590 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the first quarter of 2012, up 1,435 GWh on the same time last year. Scotland
28/06/2012
Construction has been launched on the supermarket part of a development between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Building the Asda at Armadale Station Development is set to cost £10.5m. The new store, set to open later this year, will have a gross floor area of about 40,000 sq ft and will bring with it 150
28/06/2012
The UK's subsea sector of oil and gas, mainly based at the north-east of Scotland, is booming and needs 10,000 new people in the next year, an industry body has claimed. But employers warned that not enough people are qualified to do the work they need. It could mean posts stay vacant despite high
28/06/2012
Four former workers at Edinburgh Council have joined 11 contractors to be charged with fraud and corruption. The male former employees, aged 42, 45, 59 and 62, have been charged following an investigation into repairs carried out at council buildings. Contractors have also been charged with money
28/06/2012
The biggest Thai restaurant in the UK is to open on Buchanan Street in less than a month, following the £2m conversion of a 20,000 sq ft building which dates back to 1911. The listed Townhouse building, built in 1911, will re-open as the first Scottish branch of Chaophraya, a Thai chain with restau
27/06/2012
A long-awaited road dualling is to be sped up on the A9, where 60 people have died since 2007. The Scottish Government has announced plans to speed up the timetable for the £3bn programme on the Perth-Inverness road. The 113-mile road is all to be brought up to dual carriageway standard starting f
27/06/2012
High school pupils from Edinburgh have been out on site getting construction experience of the real-world pressures that face contractors. Third and fourth years from Castlebrae Community High School donned their boots to visit the forthcoming community facility in Craigmillar. Getting the school
27/06/2012
Funding of £10m has been approved to allow redevelopment of the former Ravenscraig steelworks and link it to the Newhouse motorway project. North Lanarkshire Council will provide the cash to build a vital road link, which includes tunnelling through a railway embankment, extending a bridge on the A
27/06/2012
A Scottish windows firm has reported a surge in demand for timber windows and doors, as people refurbish their homes rather than move house. Blairs Windows in Greenock said their timber products are "high quality" and "bespoke" and have a lead time of just four weeks. Allan French of the company s
27/06/2012
Fuel giant BP has announced it will sell its stakes in two North Sea fields for $280m (£179m). The group said its net production from the two fields averaged about 7,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The move comes as the company continues to deal with its bill for cleaning up the Gulf of Mex
27/06/2012
The Scottish Government’s attempts to boost land capacity have started to make an impact. That was the finding of the first progress statement from the Land Use Strategy, published today at an event at Scottish Natural Heritage in Battleby, Perth. The vision of the exercise is for “a Scotland wher
26/06/2012
A site manager praised for his commitment to "building houses of outstanding quality" has scooped a construction accolade in the NHBC Pride In The Job Awards. John Sutherland, of Huntly-based Deveron Construction Limited will accept his prize in Glasgow in October, and hope to win further "seal of
26/06/2012
A £2bn investment will be spent over the next ten years to make Scottish homes more energy-efficient. The Scottish Government's Infrastructure Secretary Alex Neil said the cash would fund bill-reduction initiatives and help households cut their carbon emissions. The investment will be delivered ov
26/06/2012
Money set aside for Gaelic place names would be better spent on road repairs, the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) has said. The Scottish Government is planning to implement proposals from the Gaelic Language Board to have signs in both languages for towns and cities on motorways and dual carri
26/06/2012
The Ministry of Defence has said it has "no record" of a 1958 report that warned of the potential radioactive risks at wartime aircraft dumping sites. UK Minister for Defence Andrew Robathan made the claim in a letter to SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing earlier this month. Radiation was discovered at Dalge
26/06/2012
An independent fish scientist has assured worried anglers their sport will be unaffected by a proposed wind farm development set to power 58,000 homes. Fly fishing enthusiasts at Kype Angling Club have been told their concerns about shadow flicker, noise and vibration and possible water pollution a
26/06/2012
There is just over one week to go for construction companies to enter the race to find Scotland's most environmentally-aware firms. Construction firms are being urged to enter the 2012 Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) Awards before the 6 July deadline and gain recognition
25/06/2012
The leading pioneer of wave energy is to receive an honorary degree today (Monday June 25). Professor Stephen Salter, who invented a system for converting wave movement into electricity, will pick up his degree from the University of Edinburgh, where he is based. The Salter duck system, named afte
25/06/2012
The man who survived a 140ft fall from a cherrypicker in Glasgow last week had a lucky escape from the same machine last year. Alex Nisbett is at home with head injuries after an accident at Buchanan House, Glasgow on Thursday, which killed his co-worker Gary Currie. The crane's boom buckled while
25/06/2012
Highland Council has revealed options for upgrading the landslide-plagued Stromeferry bypass. Proposals will be discussed at a public consultation meeting this evening (Monday June 25) at 7pm. The A890 road closed from December 22 2011 to April 23 this year after the latest landslide there cost th
25/06/2012
More than £2.5m worth of housing projects have been given the go-ahead in a move that Housing Minister Keith Brown said would boost the construction industry. Mr Brown said the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers scheme would also help first-time buyers get a food on the property ladder. Hous
25/06/2012
Work on Dundee's waterfront moves on to Dock Street this week. The street, which will be resurfaced and have new kerbing installed as part of the works, will be closed to through traffic for up to six weeks. It is the latest in a series of work projects aimed at sprucing up the waterfront, at a to
25/06/2012
A local authority with housing shortages has set a target of building 5,000 homes in the next five years. More than 11,000 families or individuals are now on Highland Council's waiting list for housing and plans are now afoot for 1,000 homes to be built a year between now and 2017. Council leader
25/06/2012
An electrical goods store in Glasgow's West End is to make way for student housing. A plan to build 174 student flats in Dumbarton Road has been given the go-ahead. The Comet store on the street, opposite Mansefield Park, will be demolished to make way for the flats, built by specialist student h
25/06/2012
An Aberdeenshire school is to be built by infrastructure giant Lend Lease at a cost of £23.4m. The contractor beat Farrans, Robertson and Morrison to the job of building a new school for Mearns Academy in Laurencekirk. Councillors approved the project costs and awarded the contract to Lend Lease a
22/06/2012
A £415m motorway improvement contract now at the tender stage will bring hundreds of job opportunities in the construction sector, it has been claimed. Shortlisted consortia The Scotia Roads Group, Scottish Roads Partnership, Connect Roads and the Caledonia Roads Group have been invited to tender f
22/06/2012
Tenders are invited for the design of a new interpretation centre and youth hostel on Hadrian's Wall. The development, part of a 10.5m investment programme, will replace existing "tired" facilities. Northumberland National Park (NNP), which has issued the £300k architectural tender, said the desig
22/06/2012
Police have launched an investigation into the death of a construction worker in central Glasgow yesterday. Gareth Currie, 39, from Ballieston, died at Buchanan House, Port Dundas Road, at 12.20pm when the crane he was working on collapsed. A second man, who was operating the crane, is in hospital
22/06/2012
Scotland's environment watchdog has issued a warning to companies across the country not to break environment protection laws in the pursuit of profit. A man who burnt a huge pile of rubbish in a bid to undercut his competition must serve 160 hours of community service. James Moffat Cunningham bur
22/06/2012
Workmen digging up a car park unearthed four WWII hand grenades and hundreds of used bullets yesterday afternoon. The area around Melville Street, Edinburgh, was evacuated following the unexpected find, and bomb disposal experts took over at the site. Amazingly, it was the second find for Sundial
22/06/2012
West Lothian residents have got behind plans for a 23-turbine wind farm. An independent survey by IBP Strategy and Research showed that more than 60% of people in the Kirknewton area support the plans for the Fauch Hiil development. Run by Fauch Hill Sustainable Energy, the proposals are for turbi
22/06/2012
A Perthshire company supplied timber cladding to a snake-shaped housing development, matching the purple and yellow colours required by the design. The Serpentine in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, is a continuous curved building with 94 homes. The A Proctor Group used a natural softwood timber with a
22/06/2012
The Scottish Government has announced it will invest £5bn in railways between 2014 and 2019. Network Rail will be required to take on improvement projects on the Highland main line and between Aberdeen and Inverness. £50m of the total sum will go towards securing national sleeper train services, w
22/06/2012
The mechanical and electrical fit out of a laboratory building at Edinburgh's BioQuarter has been completed. Scottish Enterprise opened the bio-incubator and multi-occupancy life science building, known as Nine, in the complex. The four-year-old BioQuarter complex offers facilities for companies
21/06/2012
A construction worker was killed yesterday in a crane accident in central Glasgow. He was pronounced dead at the scene in Cowcaddens, where he was working on the exterior of Buchanan House in Port Dundas Road. He is believed to have fallen from the cradle of a 43-metre truck-mounted lift and hit s
21/06/2012
Fife Council plans to write to the Scottish Government asking for wind turbine development to be halted while it consults local communities on where to put them. The area is swamped with applications for wind farms, which are eating up officers' time and often do not follow planning guidelines such
21/06/2012
Demolition is on the cards for a pair of multi-storey blocks that Dundee council said it could not afford to fix up. The Derby Street demolition will cost £2.4m in total, which councillors said would be a cheaper option for the public purse than bringing the 22-storey flats up to date. But Sarah G
21/06/2012
The crème de la crème of contemporary Scottish architecture has been celebrated, from bird hides to national galleries. The 18 prize-winning buildings were selected by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) out of 71 applicants. The £47.5m revamp of the National Museum of Scotlan
21/06/2012
The largest onshore windfarm in Europe has joined the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA). Whitelee Windfarm near East Kilbride has become the first wind energy project in Scotland to join the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA). ScottishPower Renewables and Glasgow S
21/06/2012
A development of specialist retirement homes in south-east Aberdeen has won planning permission. Specialist retirement developer McCarthy & Stone is to redevelop the 1.2 acre site of the former Conference Centre of the Hilton Treetops Hotel in Craigiebuckler into 44 retirement apartments for the el
21/06/2012
Communities across the country are helping Scotland slash carbon emissions, Minister for Environment and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson said yesterday. He announced that 21 groups across Scotland have been awarded more than £2.9m for the next three years through the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF),
21/06/2012
Plans for a housing development in Dumferline will be on show this afternoon. Members of the public are invited to comment on the draft planning application for North Rod, a development off Pittsburgh Road. Three quarters of the housing would be private but those owned by Fife Council are intended
20/06/2012
Ambitious work begins this week to transform the centre of a 1970s new town in North Ayshire. The council is pumping £8.5m into Bridgegate House in Irvine, with the aim of transforming it into a focal point for the newly-regenerated town centre. GRAHAM Construction will carry out external and inte
20/06/2012
House prices in Soctland have risen for the second month running, according to a report just out. The average cost of a Scottish house reached £146,300 in April, which was almost £500 more than the figure for March and returned prices to 2007 levels. The figures were part of the latest LSL/Acad Sc
20/06/2012
Renewable resources will make Scotland the Silicon Valley of marine energy in the same way that hi-tech industries transformed Northern California, the First Minister has told an American audience. Alex Salmond was making the keynote speech of his American trade mission to the Commonwealth Club of
20/06/2012
Energy industries have helped keep Scotland's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) job creation levels ahead of those in other regions of the UK. According to research by Ernst & Young, 5926 jobs were created by FDI in Scotland last year, with logistics the biggest sector, followed by business services.
20/06/2012
A South Lanarkshire family business has won an internationally-recognised quality mark for one of its fire protection systems. The BAFE SP203 part 1 system, a means of installing and maintaining fire detection and alarm devices, has been bestowed the voluntary Kitemark licence. Automatic Protectio
20/06/2012
A 25,000 square foot supermarket is planned for an East Renfrewshire town. Asda has won the tender for redeveloping the site of a disused health centre on a council-owned site that borders Church Street, Main Street and the River Levern in Barrhead. If the supermarket giant gets planning permissio
20/06/2012
A Greenock-based windows company is celebrating after an alliance was agreed to put an energy efficient glazing system in every product. Blairs Windows, a timber window and door brand which can deliver across the UK, has teamed up with Supaseal Glass to provide Saveheat systems as standard. A Blai
20/06/2012
Oil company Shell has announced it will attempt to remove a mine in the North Sea that is threatening one of the UK's most important gas pipelines. The 500lb British-made mine from WWII lies 62 miles off St Fergus on the coast of Aberdeenshire. It is beneath a pipeline that brings in 5% of the UK'
19/06/2012
More than two million litres of water were pumped into a newly-constructed swimming pool to make sure it was watertight. Pools at Aberdeen Sports Village will offer world-class swimming and diving facilities, with underwater cameras to give playback of every move. They are on track to open as part
19/06/2012
Land for new affordable housing in Edinburgh is to be handed to developers at no upfront cost, in a bid to get the construction and property industries growing. The Scotsman newspaper reported the move, believed to allow firms to build on land owned by local authorities without having to pay for th
19/06/2012
An apprentice joiner who lost his position in the construction downturn last year has been given a second chance, the Glasgow Evening Times reported. Stephen Boyle, from Newmains, was let go just six months from the end of a three-year apprenticeship due to financial pressures at his company. But
19/06/2012
A call has gone out for contractors to dredge and build a deepwater quay off the Shetland Islands. The facility at Dales Voe, north of Lerwick, will form part of a £50m decommissioning facility for oil rigs, and the selected tender is expected to find it worth up to £35m. It involves dredging and
19/06/2012
An award-winning local development blueprint has been given the green light. TAYplan, which won the Royal Town Planning Institutes UK overall award for 2011, the Silver Jubilee Cup, got the go-ahead from the Scottish Government. The area plan will cover Dundee, Angus, Perth and North Fife and crea
19/06/2012
A derelict house is to be bought by Falkirk Council after its dead owner's family could not be traced. Neighbours complained that the house, in an upmarket part of Bonnybridge, is a blot on the landscape as it has lain empty since its owner died in 2003. The Falkirk Herald reported that the detach
19/06/2012
Two new government schemes set to be launched in autumn 2012 will attempt to reduce the strain on the environment caused by poor insulation. 43% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from energy inefficient buildings. The Green Deal will allow residents to pay for the installation of energy ef
19/06/2012
A 22-year-old product design student who won the Prince Philip Prize from the Glasgow Hammermen Guild said she is "very happy" to be recognised by engineers. Susie Smart studies at the University of Strathclyde's department of design manufacture and engineering management. She won the £1,500 Princ
18/06/2012
Opportunities abound for Scottish renewable energy businesses hoping to do business with Germany. Despite the Eurozone crisis, the Business Herald has reported, trade between Germany and Scotland is set to grow in the near future. In 2010, goods and services exported from Scotland to Germany value
18/06/2012
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde is to be knighted for services to education, engineering and the economy. Professor Jim McDonald is an expert on electricity supply, power networks, distributed generation and new/ renewable energy. He has a wealth of experience in business, res
18/06/2012
Infrastructure construction company Balfour Beatty has urged the government to make sure apprentices in Scotland are not vulnerable to losing their jobs before finishing their training. Tim Clarke, divisional managing director of Balfour Beatty Construction Scotland, called on local and national po
18/06/2012
A Kemnay show home has been transformed into an art gallery for the summer. Huntly-based Deveron Homes has teamed up with a Kintore gallery for the "perfectly natural" move. The Airt Gallery in Kintore has provided works of art for an exhibition entitled 'Landscapes for Life' at the Cairn View dev
18/06/2012
Companies across Scotland are investing in their business growth through innovation, according to the latest figures from Scottish Enterprise (SE). The figures, unveiled last week at the Scottish Technology Showcase, show that despite economic conditions, Scottish companies are still developing new
18/06/2012
A wind turbine manufacturer has been fined £26,000 after admitting to health and safety shortcomings at a site where a teenager died. Basilio Brazao, 19, was working inside a turbine at the Earlsburn wind farm near Fintry, Stirlingshire. He fell 100ft from a ladder and died instantly. At Stirling
18/06/2012
A Scottish energy company has agreed to buy four Irish power stations and other assets for a total of more than £390m. Perth-based SSE plans to buy the assets from Spanish company Endesa, part of the Enel group. Enel is selling the assets to offset weak power demand in its Italian and Spanish mark
18/06/2012
First Minister Alex Salmond has urged Westminster to give the go-ahead to infrastructure projects worth £300m to stimulate the economy. A list of more than 30 projects that are "shovel ready" and would benefit communities across Scotland was provided to Westminster by the Scottish Government in Mar
15/06/2012
Council tenants are being given the opportunity to shape the future of Edinburgh’s housing services. The aim of the strategy is to improve the ways tenants can participate in decisions on housing and related services in their communities. It builds on previous tenant participation events organised
15/06/2012
EDF Energy has been awarded the national electricity contract to supply Scotland's public sector, Alex Neil confirmed today. The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment said the company will deliver 100% renewable electricity and the three-year contract is expected to save taxpa
15/06/2012
The number of households in Scotland continues to increase despite a slowdown in the rate of growth since 2007. These increases are projected to continue over the coming 25 years. Commenting following the release of 'Estimates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland, 2011' and 'Household Projecti
15/06/2012
Aberdeen City Council is to convert a dilapidated city property to create supported living accommodation for people with learning difficulties. The traditional 18th century B-listed building had been converted previously from a detached house into flats. It is unoccupied and has fallen into a state
15/06/2012
Changes to the Right to Buy policy must not become "another layer of complex rules and regulations," the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has announced. The SFHA said the policy should be completely stopped, "in order to preserve much-needed social housing at a time when there is ever-gr
15/06/2012
Fife Council Transportation & Environmental Services was set to close Limekilns Road yesterday, 14 June, to build a new culvert to reduce the risk of flooding in south west Dunfermline as part of the Dunfermline Flood Prevention Scheme. The works have had to be postponed for two to three weeks as
15/06/2012
Aberdeenshire Council has revealed the shortlist of entries to its design awards which features buildings, structures and public art such as the Turra Coo, a bronze cow statue in Turriff and Mintlaw's sheltered housing development Abbey Court. Judging last month whittle the entries down from 105 to
15/06/2012
Fire was prevented at a Scottish Borders company by a suppression system which put it out automatically when smoke detectors were activated. The manager of the call centre in question thanked installers Automatic Protection Limited (APL), wondering "who knows what the damage would have been" otherw
14/06/2012
Pupils at a Glasgow primary school had a visit from an unusual guest this week, who told them about how to keep safe near construction sites. Safety mascot 'Ivor Goodsite' came with staff from City Building to teach pupils aged 7-11 about hazards to watch out for and the safety equipment used to ma
14/06/2012
Scotsman and Guardian journalist Lesley Riddoch will chair a sustainability conference in Dundee tomorrow. She will guide the seventh annual Solar Cities Scotland event through its themes in front of an audience of public bodies, organisations and academics. The charity has faced crisis recently a
14/06/2012
The city of Aberdeen was further confirmed as the energy capital of Scotland this week when a Norwegian firm moved to town. Subsea construction and engineering firm Ocean Installer selected the city for its new UK division. Its move to the Innovation Centre in Aberdeen Energy Park will create up t
14/06/2012
Councillors will visit a Glasgow site before deciding whether to approve controversial plans for flats. More than 4,000 people have objected to plans for a waterfront housing development in Otago Lane in the West End. And as councillors arrived at City Chambers for a meeting of the city's planning
14/06/2012
Council tenants in the capital are being given the opportunity to shape the future of their city's housing services. The launch of the Tenant Participation Strategy 2012-2015 is being celebrated at a special event in Edinburgh tonight. The aim of the strategy is to improve the ways tenants can par
14/06/2012
Concerns have broken out that a key part of redevelopment plans in Renfrewshire will be delayed. The Glasgow Evening Times has reported that defence company BAE Systems, has tried to amend plans for a new town on the site of a former Royal Ordnance factory at Bishopton, allowing it to defer buildin
14/06/2012
Argyll and Bute council has announced a referendum on slated proposals for Colquhoun Square in Helensburgh. Cllr Robb, who put forward the idea to council, said the referendum was "a final opportunity to resolve significant differences of opinion". The new council suspended the controversial desig
14/06/2012
Scotland is leading the way in driving down the costs of offshore wind, the Government’s Energy Minister has told a major industry conference. Speaking at the Global Offshore Wind conference in London, Fergus Ewing told delegates that Scotland is already ahead of its UK counterparts in taking the a
13/06/2012
Work has started on the conversion of a disused granary in Banff. The building has lain disused since 1994 and was deteriorating rapidly with decay to the exterior, but owners A D Walker Ltd are converting it into a housing development with the aid of the A Proctor Group. Roofshield vapour and air
13/06/2012
One of Scotland's largest construction companies has joined forces with Europe's biggest secondary school to provide equipment for pupils undertaking an aid mission to Malawi. City Building, Glasgow City Council's arms-length construction company, is donating hard hats, high visibility vests, glove
13/06/2012
A state-of-the-art £9.1m care facility has started rising from the ground on a former Roman site. The arrival of a tower crane on site marks a significant milestone for Antonine House Care Home, being built on Roman Road, Bearsden, Glasgow. But as part of the Antonine Wall is located on the site,
13/06/2012
Planning permission has been refused for a proposed wind farm at Caithness because its impact on the surrounding landscape and people would have been "too great". Energy Minister Fergus Ewing found that the impact of the Spittal Hill farm on the occupants of nearby properties was too high, and the
13/06/2012
A senior official at Edinburgh City Council has been suspended in the wake of a long-running probe into the property repairs service. Dave Anderson, director of city development, has been told disciplinary proceedings have begun against him, the Scotsman newspaper has reported. But the council ref
13/06/2012
John McNairney has been appointed as the new chief planner for Scotland, it has been announced. The current assistant chief planner will switch to the top job from July 2. As the country's most senior planning officer, he will lead the Scottish Government’s planning department as well as providing
13/06/2012
The University of Strathclyde and the Prince's Foundation are to work together on education and research in a bid to plug skills shortages in new architecture and design graduates. A statement by the Prince of Wales's sustainable design charity said the collaboration reflected a "mutual commitment"
13/06/2012
A third "significantly radioactive" particle was discovered at a beach in Fife where more than 2,000 radioactive objects have been unearthed since October 2011. But the particle, measuring about 2MBq, was found in a section of Dalgety Bay still open to the public. The particle is believed to date
12/06/2012
MSPs have visited renewables sites in Orkney and Caithness to analyse the development of industry in Scotland's north-east. The visit will inform the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee's inquiry into whether the Scottish Government’s targets on renewable energy are achievable, specifically the c
12/06/2012
Plans to erect a 60-metre wheel in Edinburgh city centre could be scrapped after fears that Princes Street Gardens would not withstand the construction process. Engineers said the presence of a vacant basement under the gardens could give way under the weight of the wheel’s installation crane, if t
12/06/2012
Housing regeneration specialist Lovell has been appointed by West Dunbartonshire Council to its three-year framework for the carrying out of fabric repairs to multi-storey domestic properties. The framework agreement is estimated to be worth £12 million to Lovell. It will ensure that relevant elem
12/06/2012
Opposition politicians have called for an inquiry as the head of Scottish Enterprise begins a new position. Lena Wilson was head-hunted for a position on the board of quality and safety company Intertek, paying a £55,000 salary for working 12 days a year. This is in addition to her £200,000-a-year
12/06/2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today served two Improvement Notices at a second Edinburgh company as part of its ongoing Legionella investigation. The Improvement Notices served on Macfarlan Smith Ltd, Wheatfield Road, Gorgie, Edinburgh require thorough cleaning of one of its cooling towers
12/06/2012
Pupils at a Kemnay school have teamed up with a renowned visual artist to plan a sculpture for a new housing development. Huntly-based property company Deveron Homes has commissioned artist Mary Bourne to sculpt a piece of public art for a development of 54 eco-homes at Cairn View, Kemnay. During
12/06/2012
A cash injection of £6.7 million will complete the funding for a major centre for research and innovation in Glasgow, an MSP said today. Alex Neil, cabinet secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, said the announcement was a "substantial boost" for the renewables industry. And energy m
12/06/2012
The hunt is on to find the next David Beckham, Wayne Rooney or Denis Law, among hundreds of conference delegates in Manchester as City Building – one of Scotland’s largest construction firms – launches a competition to find the best penalty taker. Scotland may not be at Euro 2012 but visitors to Ci
11/06/2012
A district of north-east Glasgow has won its biggest ever cash boost, which campaigners said was "the best news in years". The Big Lottery Fund Scotland (BIG) has given £823,000 to Calton to build a planned Heritage and Learning Centre and run it for five years. Campaigners said it was the "best n
11/06/2012
The Scottish Government's announcement of restrictions to the right to buy housing policy is welcome, but outright abolition seems to be an "afterthought", according to the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland. When announcing a consultation on the policy’s future last week, Housing Minist
11/06/2012
Councillors in Aberdeen are planning to install nearly 2,500 solar panels on seven schools, offices and other local authority buildings in a bid to slash energy bills. Aberdeen City Council said the planning applications currently in for the 'roof rental' scheme are to be considered on Thursday (J
11/06/2012
Thousands of people turned out yesterday to see a 28-storey tower block demolished and the Glasgow skyline changed forever. The first of the Red Road blocks to go, 153-213 Petershill Drive set a UK record for tallest building demolished at 292ft. The successful blast was overseen by Safedem, 2009'
11/06/2012
More than 10,000 publicly-funded apprenticeships designed to help unemployed people have been given to people already in work, Scottish Labour has claimed. The Shadow Youth Employment Minister, Kezia Dugdale, obtained figures from Skills Development Scotland which showed that 81% of 16-19 year-olds
11/06/2012
Anger has greeted the news that a historic Glasgow building is being converted into student flats, the Glasgow Evening Post has reported. Demolition work has started on the former Scottish Ballet headquarters in West Princes Street to make way for a controversial 103-room development. Councillors
11/06/2012
There is less than one month to go for construction companies to enter the race to find Scotland's most environmentally-aware firms. Construction firms are being urged to enter the 2012 Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) Awards before the 6 July deadline. The environmental
11/06/2012
Community groups, Scottish Water and the Scottish Government have agreed to work together to find an alternative site for a wind turbine owned by communities in the east of Edinburgh. Following a meeting between Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, representatives from PEDAL (Portobello Transition Town),
08/06/2012
Pupils at an Outer Hebrides school will visit a castle on their home island to learn about traditional materials and historical building techniques. Years 3 and 4 from Castlebay Secondary School on the Isle of Barra will attend the workshop at their neighbour Kisimul Castle in two weeks. Historic
08/06/2012
Explosives are in place to demolish the first of the landmark Red Road flats. High-rise flats at 153-213 Petershill Drive will be taken down in a blowdown operation on Sunday (June 10), making the top two thirds crumble to one side. The demolition will be carried out by Dundee-based Safedem and is
08/06/2012
Five historic university buildings have been added to Scotland's "at risk" register. The listed buildings on Edinburgh Napier's Craighouse campus once served as a lunatic asylum and were extensively refurbished in the mid-1990s but are now affected by dry rot. They were sold to investors and devel
08/06/2012
The Scottish Government has proposed reforming the stamp duty system, to introduce taxes more closely related to a property's value, as of 2015. Consultation on the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax was opened by Finance Secretary John Swinney yesterday in Holyrood, and welcomed by landowners and
08/06/2012
A popular South Glasgow area is to get a £3.3m cash injection to improve public spaces and buildings. Shawlands, one of the most popular places for young professionals to live according to Bank of Scotland research, will benefit from a town centre action plan over the next five years. The funding
08/06/2012
Developers behind plans for a nine-turbine windfarm in Aberdeenshire "remain hopeful" that their award-nominated scheme will get the green light. Their announcement came after planning chiefs recommended the proposals for refusal, blaming the impact of turbines on the landscape. The Ministry of De
08/06/2012
The first of five housing developments was opened yesterday in a project funded by £4m from the Bank of Scotland. Housing Minister Keith Brown opened a 30-unit new-build development in Leven Street, Alexandria. Dunbritton Housing Association (DHA) will have nearly 750 properties when all 112 homes
08/06/2012
A £3m health centre was official opened in Midlothian this week, becoming the latest in a list of Scottish capital investment projects. The Dalkeith Health Centre houses GP services as well as providing podiatry, physiotherapy, midwifery, speech therapy and community psychiatric nurses. David Smal
07/06/2012
The Scottish Government has today put forward proposals to further restrict the right to buy housing policy. Announcing a consultation on the issue, Housing Minister Keith Brown said reducing the number of people living in social rented accommodation who have the right to buy their homes will boo
07/06/2012
A Scottish college which is at the forefront of developing training opportunities in the burgeoning renewables industry has endorsed its eco-credentials by revealing plans to install Scotland’s largest solar roof. Edinburgh’s Telford College is to fit up to 650 solar roof panels and introduce a ran
07/06/2012
The keys of a £29m Stirling campus have been handed over to the college's principal. Main contractors Miller Construction presented the key to Forth Valley College’s Linda McKay and Director of Estates Tim Gorman, marking the completion of the campus at East Kildean. Some staff and learners have a
07/06/2012
The administration of Aberdeenshire has given itself 100 days to boost development. Councillors hope investment in towns and villages, assistance to small and medium sized business and an acceleration of plans for road improvements and affordable housing will provide a much-needed boost to the loca
07/06/2012
An affordable housing development that is 15% powered by the sun has achieved one of the highest environmental sustainability ratings in Britain. The four cottage flats and four two-storey homes were built on the site of a former tennis court in Fife. They have received a score of 71.23% under the
07/06/2012
Representatives from a Scottish Government agency attended a three-day course on sustainable cement manufacturing at Hope Works in the Peak District. A spokesman for Lafarge, designers of the course, said the idea behind the course was to let environmental inspectors and advisors "get to grips" wit
07/06/2012
The new Edinburgh offices of a German wind turbine manufacturer have created 13 jobs. Enercon’s first offices in Scotland were officially opened yesterday by Energy Minister Fergus Ewing. He said the firm's decision to have an office in Scotland reflected the country’s strength as a renewable ener
07/06/2012
A bridge that was out of service for more than a week following a road traffic action has been re-opened ahead of schedule. The emergency closure of Milton Bridge, in the tourist hotspot Cairngorm National Park, was necessary after a serious collision on May 27. Aberdeenshire Council said the A939
06/06/2012
Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business, has unveiled plans to invest over £1 billion in Scotch whisky production over the next five years to meet growing global demand for its brands. A major new malt distillery will be built as part of the investment, alongside a programme of major ex
06/06/2012
A £53m flood prevention scheme in Glasgow has been described as "pioneering" and won a national award. Organisers at the Waterways Renaissance Awards in Birmingham bestowed the accolade on the White Cart Water Flood Prevention Scheme. It won top prize in the Flood Risk Management category. They s
06/06/2012
Miller Construction has appointed chartered surveyor David Stobie as Business Development Director for its Scottish region. Mr Stobie has 23 years' experience in the construction industry, and has been a key figure in business development for the last 11 years. Chris Webster of Miller Constructio
06/06/2012
Construction companies, especially SMEs, are urged to attend free health and safety training as they work in one of Britain's most dangerous industries. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokesman said that about 75% of workers killed or injured on building sites come from small and medium sized
06/06/2012
A refurbished historical Glasgow building will throw open its doors next week to design students, photographers and businesses interested in renting the space. Employers in Voluntary Housing (EVH) in Glasgow has issued an open invitation for Wednesday June 13, at any time between 12 noon and 4pm.
06/06/2012
New faces have joined the team at a Renfrewshire firm as it looks towards expansion. The sales team and the Modern Apprenticeship Training Scheme are the latest areas of Blairs Windows to swell with new arrivals. The newly-recruited members of the teams will be based at the firm's 120,000 sq ft ma
06/06/2012
Work to repair a street built over a mine has been extended until September. Two disused 500ft deep mine shafts were found in Crusader Avenue, Glasgow, nearly a year ago. Dating back to the Industrial Revolution, they caused five garages to collapse and residents from four nearby homes were evacua
06/06/2012
A leading renewables company is calling on contractors with an interest in moving into the wind market. Senior representatives from RWE npower renewables will be on hand to answer questions at a two hour presentations and networking morning at the Lochside House Hotel in Cumnock, Ayrshire. The com
05/06/2012
A station in northern Glasgow has closed as an £11m replacement is being built. Network Rail asked customers to remember that Dalmarnock station is now closed and will re-open on Monday November 26. A new station on Dalmarnock Road will replace the existing facility on Swanston Street, in preparat
05/06/2012
Local authorities should insist on environmentally-friendly improvements in residential buildings, a report has urged. The report, commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and published by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said supporting energy efficiency improvements in hom
05/06/2012
ScottishPower Renewables has commenced construction on its latest project, a windfarm near Newton Mearns. Construction on the site, which is located within East Renfrewshire Council's Area for Renewable Energy, is scheduled to be completed early next year. Middleton windfarm will consist of six tu
05/06/2012
Scotland leads the world in the development of renewables, Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson has said. Mr Stevenson was marking World Environment Day, whose theme this year is 'The Green Economy'. He said the theme "could not be more apt", as Scotland produced a record amount of renewable ele
05/06/2012
An entrepreneur from a collapsed company has turned his fortunes around with the help of a £50,000 start-up loan. David Clark is a former employee of W J Harte Construction, which folded in January this year due to the construction downturn. 700 jobs were lost with the 40-year-old Scottish civil e
05/06/2012
Proposals for a new 165-hectare development west of Aberdeen City were announced today. Plans for the mixed-use community at Countesswells include 3,000 new homes – some affordable housing - and 10 hectares of employment land. The development is allocated in the adopted Aberdeen Local Development
01/06/2012
A tidal turbine with the power to provide electricity for 500 homes has been successfully tested in Orkney. The device, built by Andritz, was installed last December and has achieved full export power, supplying electricity for homes and businesses on the northern isle of Eday. The 1MW power gener
01/06/2012
Up to 600 homes could be built on land to the north of Drumshoreland Road, Pumpherston after West Lothian Council's Development Management Committee granted planning permission. The permission is will be issued when a legal agreement, which will ensure that affordable housing and improvements to s
01/06/2012
A public body has contributed £12.8m to businesses in Scotland over the last year to help them invest in capital equipment and infrastructure, including new machinery. Government-sponsored Scottish Enterprise announced the figure this week, saying it hoped this would contribute to growth and global
01/06/2012
Construction has started on a "state-of-the-art" hospice building overlooking the Firth of Forth. Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith cut the first turf at St Columba's Hospice in North Edinburgh yesterday as he is a supporter of the charity. The former building, dating from the 1970s, has been
01/06/2012
Scotland's housing market remains flat, according to figures released by Lloyds TSB. The banking group said its latest Scottish House Price Monitor showed the quarterly price index for domestic properties fell by 2.7% in the first three months of the year. The average price for a Scottish house is
01/06/2012
Edinburgh Airport has changed hands in a deal worth £807m and expansion could be on the cards. Global Infrastructure Partners, the company that owns Gatwich and London City airports, has now formally taken control of the site. BAA sold the airport after a Competition Commission ruling. With passe
