Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Scotland Construction News Archive for July 2012
31/07/2012
Proposals for a £65m 21,000sq ft music therapy centre have been scrapped, the Glasgow Evening Times has reported. It comes after local residents opposed the scheme, saying it would take away green space. The charity behind the centre also faced problems funding the building. Two years ago Nordoff
31/07/2012
Work has begun on completing Glasgow's 'Bridge to Nowhere', the Glasgow Evening Times reported today. The bridge was built over the M8 in the 1970s but left unfinished for 70 years. It currently ends in mid-air over the Mariott Hotel car park. The £1.3m completion of the bridge will be carried ou
31/07/2012
The Minister for Public Health joined pupils from a local school to see how construction was going at the Aberdeen Community Health and Care Village site. The project director, Miller Construction's Jackie Bremner, invited the pupils to create a time capsule including children's fact files, Euro 20
31/07/2012
Hotelier Maurice Taylor has secured planning permission to build a £15m hotel at Edinburgh Airport, The Scotsman has reported. The founder and chief executive of Glasgow-based Chardon Management, which manages 35 hotels and seven health and fitness clubs across the UK, said his latest project would
31/07/2012
The Fife coast could see up to 125 wind turbines delivering enough electricity to power 325,000 homes, built four years from now. Global renewable energy developer Mainstream Renewable Power has announced the submission of its application for Offshore Consent to Marine Scotland Licensing Operations
31/07/2012
Two contracts have been signed for the construction of an oil production platform. The moves will create a total of 350 jobs in Fife and the Isle of Lewis. Premier Oil is developing its Solan oil field, west of Shetland, and has awarded the contract to Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab), spurring it
31/07/2012
A century-old building that was once one of Edinburgh’s most popular churches has re-opened as a Fringe venue. Assembly Roxy, in the former Lady Glenorchy’s Church in Roxburgh Place, will host a season of Russian theatre among 30 shows this August in its inaugural Fringe festival. The 1910 church
31/07/2012
The new owners of a 420,000 square feet shopping centre in Edinburgh's waterfront have appointed architects to take on its refurbishment. London-based Resolution Property now owns the Ocean Terminal centre, and has appointed Keppie Design to co-ordinate all new project work and enhance the leisure
30/07/2012
Scotland's first marine energy park will be opened today. UK Energy Minister Greg Barker will cut the ribbon on the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park, a designated zone planners hope will boost further investment in the wave and tidal power industry. Developers will build up to 1
30/07/2012
The whistleblower who first highlighted issues within the property repairs department in Edinburgh has been sacked along with a further three staff, according to The Scotsman. The council employee allegedly blew the whistle on problems within the statutory notice department by handing his password
30/07/2012
The main operator of Scottish hydro power stations does not expect to build any new ones due to a subsidy cut, the BBC has reported. The news comes after the government announced a 30% reduction in the Renewable Obligation Certificates companies receive per unit of energy produced. Onshore wind fa
30/07/2012
A plan to revamp central Perth premises as part of the near-million-pound 'Almondbank II' education project was unveiled yesterday, the Perthshire Advertiser has reported. Perth and Kinross Council has followed up a commitment to improve education facilities made when it confirmed its budget in Feb
30/07/2012
VISITORS to Whitelee wind farm outside Glasgow can have a whole new outlook on renewable energy after a new viewing point was created, the Glasgow Evening Times has reported. Ayrshire-based tradesman Niall Baird built a dry stone cairn and perimeter wall from local materials for the Blackwood Hill
30/07/2012
The Labour Party has blamed SNP cuts to housing budgets for the double-dip recession. Debate centres on the best way to revive the ailing Scottish construction industry, which shrank by 14.1% in the last quarter compared with the same time period in 2011. Differing opinions on the best way forward
27/07/2012
Works have started on the Prime Four business park on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Oil and gas companies Apache North Sea, Nexen and Transocean will be based there. The park, in the Kingswells area, will comprise 350,000 square feet of office complexes and training facilities. City council leader B
27/07/2012
DM Hall, an independent Scottish firm of chartered surveyors, has significantly strengthened its management structure by appointing two new directors from within the firm. David Cree has been promoted in the Glasgow South branch, while Steven Buist has been elevated to the role in Kirkcaldy. A spo
27/07/2012
An investigation has been launched into the death of an elderly man who reversed a dumper truck into a quarry. The unnamed 76-year-old reversed a 25-tonne articulated vehicle into the David Geddes Quarry in Kinnell, near Friockheim, Angus. It is not yet known whether the man was working at the qua
27/07/2012
Plans to invest £5.5m in an Edinburgh Street have "prompted a lot of debate", the City of Edinburgh Council said. The council announced yesterday that plans for Leith Walk included road resurfacing, environmental improvements and the reinstallation of art work that had been removed to accommodate t
27/07/2012
Glasgow City Council's arms-length construction company has a new Executive Director. Graham Paterson has moved up through the company, where his most recent post was as Director of Operations. He started out as an apprentice joiner in what was then the building services department of Glasgow City
27/07/2012
City Building has won two contracts worth a combined £7m to repair and maintain 3,000 properties owned by North Glasgow Housing Association (NGHA). The company will provide repair and maintenance, and gas inspection and maintenance to the Housing Association's properties for the next three years.
26/07/2012
A Scottish homebuilding industry body has said boosting housing production to pre-downturn levels could create 40,000 jobs. The potential jobs would bring the Scottish construction industry close to pre-crash levels of employment. Homes for Scotland called on the Scottish Government to "maximise i
26/07/2012
Less than a fifth of the multi-million-pound contracts offered by Fife Council last year were awarded to local firms, the Courier newspaper has reported. Council leader Alex Rowley has signaled a major review after figures revealed that Fife companies secured just 18% of the 220 contracts — worth
26/07/2012
Householder have been warned to take care when buying home improvement services, after Scambusters uncovered a series of misleading claims. The Scottish Scambusters Team is currently investigating complaints from across the country against a firm implying it is associated with the genuine company E
26/07/2012
Researchers at the University of Strathclyde will help Scotland to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets by improving the performance of offshore wind farms, following investment from Scottish Enterprise. The funding has helped to secure a new experimental rig facility to test offshore wind c
26/07/2012
An Aberdeenshire firm rose to the challenge of building the timber frame for a six storey hotel at a busy main road junction. Deeside Timberframe were brought in by Russells Construction, who they had worked for before, for the tricky six-week race against time. The Travelodge hotel in Loughboroug
26/07/2012
Investment in buildings, plant and machinery is expected to fall in the next quarter as Scottish businesses' expectations droop. The Scottish Industrial Trends Survey is the latest in a string of bad news for the construction industry here. After the UK economy dropped into a confirmed double-dip
25/07/2012
A radical review of land reform will deliver a more successful Scotland with stronger communities and economic growth, First Minister Alex Salmond said yesterday. He said it should "deliver radical change for both rural and urban areas". The new Land Reform Review Group is expected to consult with
25/07/2012
Scottish construction bosses have called on the government to slash VAT on maintenance and repairs, following the news that the UK building industry is officially in a double-dip recession. Preliminary GDP figures for the second quarter of 2012 showed that the UK industry suffered a 5.2% contractio
25/07/2012
Gone are the days when a tree house was a hastily-constructed platform with limited protection from the elements. Gone, that is, for Scottish author JK Rowling and her two younger children. The woman behind the Harry Potter books, whose fortune is estimated at £560m, is planning a construction won
25/07/2012
Engineering and construction services for Scotland's 32 councils are to be rolled in to one mega contract. Come September, firms will be able to bid for the newly-created framework contract, covering all Scottish councils. Scotland Excel, a joint procurement body for the local authorities, said in
25/07/2012
An Australian company has produced electricity from natural gas recovered from coal seams in Scotland, the Herald Scotland newspaper has reported. The next phase of the project by Dart Energy will be to build surface infrastructure, including compression facilities and pipeline connections, at the
25/07/2012
A Scottish housing association has celebrated building its 2000th new home with a visit from the Housing Minister. Keith Brown MSP unveiled a plaque at Fleming Road in Cumbernauld, where 31 new flats have been completed in a bid to regenerate an area that was dominated by tower blocks. Families wh
24/07/2012
Interserve, the international support services and construction group, has won a £146 million contract with Viridor to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction of a Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre for Glasgow City Council. Viridor has signed a 25-year Design, Build, Finance and
24/07/2012
A Scottish company fitted windows to the only original building on the Olympic Park site. A Victorian building at Kings Yard in the west of the site was rescued from dereliction and renovated as part of the Energy Centre, which provides heating and cooling systems to all the buildings that will hou
24/07/2012
Craft apprentices in Glasgow have brightened up a West End church while on a Community Apprenticeship Initiative. The 16 young people painted walls, fixed panels and fitted improved lighting in Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church over the past few months. Church users said it made the building "mo
24/07/2012
A Chinese state company has announced its plans to take over the Canadian company that runs an oil field in the Outer Moray Firth. The Buzzard field, the largest in the UK, would be operated by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) after the deal, which would see it buy its Canadian r
24/07/2012
West Coast Energy is offering landowners the opportunity to partner on large wind energy installations, giving them 'hands'-off' benefits for up to 20 years after installation. The company will offer its project development expertise and financial strength as well as a guaranteed income stream to l
24/07/2012
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has launched a competition to assess the performance of advanced thermal storage which can be integrated with heat technologies to help balance peak loads to the grid. DECC are seeking applications to assess the viability of compact heat storage material
24/07/2012
A two-day conference this October will explore waste management and resources in an attempt to "spark people's imagination" about the idea of 'zero waste'. Organised jointly between charity Zero Waste Scotland and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, the event will build on the existing
23/07/2012
Deatiled plans have been submitted for the £20m expansion of a Glasgow shopping centre. The application for Silverburn mall follows a period of consultation with local stakeholders, community and existing tenants and includes shops, restaurants, a cinema and bingo hall. Consultation after outline
23/07/2012
A Glasgow-based plant and tool hire firm is planning for ambitious expansion after it reported a near 170% rise in pre-tax profit. GAP Group plans to open several specialist depots in the next two years, the Herald newspaper has reported. The company will still have its core plant and tool hire bu
23/07/2012
A woman fell down a 5-metre borrow hole at a caravan park and a spokesman for the fire service said the incident highlighted the need for contractors to bear the public's safety in mind. Firefighters and mountain rescue teams co-ordinated a rescue of the 28-year-old woman, who fell down the five-me
23/07/2012
Scotland needs world-class training to protect its unique historic landscape. That's the message from two leading providers of traditional building skills. Historic Scotland, the national heritage agency, and CITB-ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council and industry training board for UK co
23/07/2012
Demolition contractors have moved in to the North Sighthill area of Edinburgh. Flats at Sighthill Wynd and Sighthill Green are to be demolished starting today, to make way for 320 new homes for sale and rent, half of which will be affordably priced and half of which will be on the private market.
23/07/2012
A Perthshire company recently supplied a floor levelling system to a 300-flat development in London. The A. Proctor Group used Profloor Levelling System to even out the existing floor at the St Paul’s Way development in east London. Profloor was developed so that a level, finished floor could be l
23/07/2012
An expert in Britain's oil and gas industry has said production could fall by an average of 7% a year over the next five years. Tony Mackay, who runs a consultancy firm in Inverness, said his forecasts of a sharp fall were based on forecasts for each oil and gas field in UK waters, including those
20/07/2012
Scottish Water is about to start the final stage of its near £7.5m investment to provide clearer, fresher drinking water to more than 20,000 customers in the Dunoon and Cowal area. A £3.5m project to upgrade the Loch Eck Water Treatment Works (WTW) is about to be completed and we will soon start th
20/07/2012
The £30million regeneration of Irvine town centre reached a new milestone this week with the appointment of the company who will carry out a comprehensive programme of public realm and streetscape improvements within the Bridgegate area. Momentum is building on the £30 million regeneration of Irvin
20/07/2012
Leading housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland is urging Aberdeenshire residents to have their say on housing issues in the region. The call comes following the launch of an online consultation by Aberdeenshire Council on its draft Local Housing Strategy 2012-2017. The council is seekin
20/07/2012
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing marked Mandela day in a meeting with South Africa’s High Commissioner to share Scotland’s expertise in renewable energy and carbon capture and storage. Mr Ewing met with His Excellency Dr Zola Skweyiya and South African Honorary Consul and Chair of Action for Southern A
20/07/2012
A leading North-east road transport firm has invested £2million in its premises and haulage fleet to cope with continual business growth. Grampian Continental, which was launched in 2009, has experienced an impressive first three years in business which has resulted in the firm increasing it’s flee
20/07/2012
Key south Scotland routes are a step closer to significant improvement bringing real benefits for users of these routes Transport Minister Keith Brown said today. The Minister was speaking as he announced details of the bidders to tender for Transport Scotland’s A75 Dunragit Bypass and A77 Symingto
19/07/2012
The opening date has been set for a new visitor centre in the Borders. The facility at Abbotsford House will focus on the life and legacy of its former resident, author of Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott. It is part of the multi-million pound restoration of the main house, which is scheduled to re-open
19/07/2012
Scottish Power is planning to build a new 14-storey Glasgow office. The 220,000 square foot development will have desk space for 1500 staff from the utilities firm when it opens in late 2015. Work will start next year on the newbuild, which will be the biggest single occupier office development se
19/07/2012
A 21-year-old apprentice joiner has hammered out his place at the top and nailed a national award. Greg Haining, 21, from Dunedin Canmore Group took the top spot in carpentry and joinery in the SQA and the Scottish Association of Timber Trade Teachers (SATTT) national competition. Greg is on a day
19/07/2012
An Edinburgh Napier student has graduated at the top of her class after receiving support from a Scottish construction company. Congratulations are due to Lise Thenault, 24, who has graduated with a 1st Class Masters degree in Civil and Transportation Engineering. She was awarded a £2,000 engineer
19/07/2012
Plans for redevelopment on a former textile mill have been rejected, despite getting council officials' backing. Aberdeen city councillors said the plans for more than 500 homes at Broadford Works were an over-development with not enough affordable housing or community facilities, and too much impa
19/07/2012
A new non-denominational primary school is to be built in Halfway at a cost of £7.5m. South Lanarkshire Council's Planning Committee has approved its construction on the site of a disused park pavilion. A separate application was also approved to allow the relocation of a sports pitch and children
19/07/2012
Residents Of Glasgow's East End have been urged to work together to tackle the threat of asbestos in their area. More than 100 people attended a meeting called by Thompsons Solicitors, a firm specializing in asbestos compensation claims, in the wake of a fire at St Mark's Primary School in the area
19/07/2012
Two sod-cutting ceremonies have marked the start of housing association projects that will accommodate hundreds of people. Projects outside Glasgow and Dundee are being built by GRAHAM Construction for Sanctuary Group. At the sod cutting of Cumbernauld's £5.8m Ainslie Road and Macleh
18/07/2012
Today's release of the latest GDP figures for Scotland has caused concern in the construction industry. While GDP as a whole fell by 0.1% in the three months to March, output from the construction sector fell by a huge 6.9%. Michael Levack from the Scottish Building Federation said the figure was
18/07/2012
Many design companies have come across the vexed problem of having too much to fit in to a small space. When the A Proctor Group were commissioned to make a fridge for a client's yacht, they had to make it as thermally efficient as possible in a very restricted space. The yacht Lynn Rival, owned b
18/07/2012
The amount of infrastructure construction projects has fallen in the three months to June. A report just out from the RICS showed that workloads dropped despite the government's ongoing attempts to boost investment and growth through privately funded projects. The net balance of workloads across t
18/07/2012
Council bosses in Edinburgh have decided not to release a report into the property repairs scandal because it is "not in the public interest". The £1.5m document, paid for from the public purse, has been kept under wraps since it was completed in March. Now council officials at the capital have re
18/07/2012
Plans to create an "urban village" on a former textile mill have been given the backing of planning chiefs. The Broadford Works proposal would transform the Category A listed buildings at Maberly Street into 517 flats with a restaurant, nursery, shops and underground car park for more than 150 cars
18/07/2012
Trade contractors and suppliers to the failed Scottish construction group UBC are to get no money back after the firm collapsed owing £11m. Of that, it owed £4.9m to more than 400 trade creditors and staff. These will all now be out of pocket. Building services contractor Rotary (Scotland) has be
18/07/2012
Easilift Loading Systems has formalised a contract that sees the loading bay specialist become sole UK distributor for scissor lifts and loading platforms by Laweco. As part of the deal, Laweco UK is being integrated into Easilift's infrastructure, with the company's Jon Tridgell becoming Easilift
18/07/2012
It has pledged to create 200 construction jobs and plough £20m into redevelopment of a former health centre. Now Asda has invited members of the public in Barrhead to view proposals for its new 40,000 square foot store in the town. The supermarket chain has won the council's tender for redevelopin
17/07/2012
A fifteen-year construction project that started yesterday will bring hundreds of jobs to West Lothian, the Scottish Government said. Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, said the £1bn investment followed the Government's thinking that investing in infrastruct
17/07/2012
Labour councillors in Aberdeen have said they will re-consider whether to have a third road bridge over the River Don. Supporters of the project say the bridge will ease congestion, but Labour councillors have long been opposed to the route. The Tillydrone- Grandholm bridge is supported by Conserv
17/07/2012
Bulldozers have moved in at an "eyesore" flooding site, the Glasgow Evening Times has reported. East Renfrewshire council claims the homes at Waulkmill Avenue, Dunterlie, Barrhead, would be "uneconomical" to repair. Ten homes are now to be demolished. They were damaged in severe flooding two year
17/07/2012
A £17m mill is to be built on the site of a 182-year-old Kirkcaldy business. Carr’s Milling Industries has won a seven-figure government grant to build the flour mill, the first to be constructed in Scotland for 30 years. The mill, at the site of the old Hutchison milling business, will allow Carr
17/07/2012
Dawn Group has defended its decision to close its construction arm after another branch of the business made a loss in the last financial year, The Herald newspaper has reported. The company announced earlier this year that it would close the construction side of its business in order to focus on d
17/07/2012
A seven-year project to complete a road in a Borders town has ended successfully. The £12m Galashiels project consisted of an inner relief road at Ladhope Vale, where two-way traffic last travelled nearly to decades ago. The project began in 2005 with an assessment of public opinion and the first
17/07/2012
North Lanarkshire residents have launched legal action against a housing association over fears they have been living on contaminated industrial land. Angela and Robert McManus live in the Motherwell area, which was the site of a former factory. Engineers Metropolitan Vickers gave way to homes in
17/07/2012
Muir Group plc, the parent company of Muir Homes, has reported a drop in activity in the last financial year. Muir's turnover slumped to £62m, a £10m drop, and operating profit was nearly halved. On the bright side, cash holdings continued to rise along with Muir's historic land bank maturing to s
17/07/2012
Tax revenue from oil and gas is to fall dramatically over the next thirty years, according to official figures. This year the UK Treasury will benefit from about £11.2bn in taxes raised from oil and gas production, mainly in the North Sea. But by 2040 that revenue will have slumped to just £2.9bn,
16/07/2012
Scottish construction companies have reacted with dismay to figures from the Office of National Statistics showing a bleak outlook for 2012. Across the UK, output fell 6% as only the private commercial sector dragged the industry as a whole away from the brink experienced in public sector building,
16/07/2012
A refurbishment at one of Scotland's oldest whisky distilleries has seen an efficient plastic filter system installed. The modern trickle filter, nearly five metres high, will make sure waste water that runs off from Tamdhu Distillery to the river Spey is clean. Plastic Media Engineering (PME), pa
16/07/2012
Renewable energy and low-carbon projects have been given a £26m boost from the Scottish government. Finance Secretary John Swinney announced the funding would be part of the £105m package of economic stimulus announced last month. It includes a £16m cash injection for renewable energy projects. S
16/07/2012
The body set up to oversee infrastructure spending by public bodies claims it has made savings of £131m in the past year. The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) brought an annual assessment out last week, claiming that the costs cut on the school-building budget would be enough to build another 12 school
16/07/2012
A derelict stone building just yards away from the Scottish Parliament is to be converted into a one-bedroom home. The property, just 200 yards down the road from Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, has been granted planning permission. It lies on the eastern boundary of the New Town conservation area a
16/07/2012
Scotland is building five times as many council houses as are being built in England, according to official statistics. Last year, council housing building amounted to 19.4 homes per 100,000 people compared with 3.5 homes per 100,000 south of the border. The Scottish government said its investment
16/07/2012
A document storage company is expanding its depot by 250,000 cubic feet, the Scotsman newspaper has reported. Store-Rite, part of the growing market for storage space, will pump £500,000 into near-tripling the size of its base in Denny. Additional storage will be designed and built by Dunfermline-
16/07/2012
A new loans fund offers help to builders who cannot attract private-sector finance to invest in infrastructure for housing projects. The £10m Housebuilding Infrastructure Loans Fund is an attempt to get stalled housing projects moving again. Money has already been awarded to projects in Glasgow, W
11/07/2012
Scotland's Crown Estate is to release some land, run its assets from Edinburgh and give away some fishing rights as part of an overhaul of its approach to property management. But renewable energy developments will still be run from London, in a bid to keep investment rolling in. Ministers slammed
11/07/2012
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has welcomed figures that show a reduction in Right to Buy sales. Statistics released this week by the SNP show a reduction in the number of social houses lost to the socially rented sector since the party came to power in 2007. The figures show that
11/07/2012
Building work has begun on a life sciences centre in Dundee that will bring together academics and industrialists in an attempt to "break down barriers between scientific disciplines". Work on the Centre for Translational and Interdisciplinary Research is expected to cost about £12.5m. £5m of that
11/07/2012
A family in Perthshire have told the Scotsman newspaper a TV programme's DIY team ruined their 120-year-old cottage. Colin Gibson and Judi Campbell were told their three bedroom home would be "transformed" with a £15,000 budget from the Channel 5 show Half Built House. But instead, they said the t
11/07/2012
The West Highland line reopens today between Crianlarich and Fort William after Netork Rail engineers completed works to recover the line following a landslip and freight derailment on June 28. The company said engineers had been working around-the-clock at the site near Tulloch to stabilise the sl
11/07/2012
A campaign has been launched to raise money for a memorial to the people who died in Scotland's steel industry. The planned steel sculpture would be erected at the former Ravenscraig Steelworks site in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The decision to raise the memorial comes 20 years after the site'
11/07/2012
A Scottish businessman who is heading a luxury resort development in Mauritius has decided to include a boarding school. The elite school would be unique to the Indian Ocean island. It would form part of the Azuri project, a development of 278 homes and a five-star 101-bedroom hotel, being run by
11/07/2012
Increased investment from farmers has helped a plant equipment firm weather the effects of the house-building downturn, the Herald newspaper has reported. Tractor sales boomed at Scot JCB in the first half of 2012, propelled by strong markets for farm products and some tax changes. But Steve Bryan
10/07/2012
A former munitions factory near Glasgow is to be transformed into a housing development with 2,500 houses. The site of the old Royal Ordnance Factory in Bishopton will become the largest brownfield redevelopment in Britain, in a project spanning 15 years. Defence company BAE Systems has enlisted t
10/07/2012
A Scottish architectural practice has become the first in the UK to offer its services on the voucher website Groupon. Camerons Architects, based in Edinburgh and Gallashiels, is offering a 70% discount on initial consultations through the online group buying service, meaning a dimensional survey a
10/07/2012
Improvements to Glasgow's George Square could see a fountain built, more grass and trees planted or parking banned. Council leader Gordon Matheson has vowed not to repeat the mistakes of the past and will hold a public consultation on the future of the square, unlike the time 14 years ago when the
10/07/2012
The multi billion pound Rosebank development in the North Sea has the potential to unlock a fifth of the UK’s remaining oil reserves, Energy Minister Charles Hendry has said. Oil giant Chevron said the project, 80 miles northwest of the Shetland Islands, will create more than a thousand jobs in the
10/07/2012
Interserve has been appointed as main contractor on a refurbishment project to create the new Dundee Malmaison hotel, part of waterfront developments. The scheme is located on the site of the vacant Tay Hotel, a listed city centre landmark building constructed in 1889. In keeping with the Malmaison
10/07/2012
Nearly £100m has been pumped into Fairfield Energy, the North Sea oil and gas firm. Riverstone Holdings made the private equity investment, which is destined to be spent on further acquisitions and boosting exploration. Fairfield is just five years old and was set up to take over oil fields that h
10/07/2012
The company behind Scotland's biggest business park has gone in to administration. It comes as the market for office space declines. New Edinburgh Limited (NEL), which was behind the creation of Edinburgh Park on the west side of the city, is understood to have owed £18m to Lloyds Banking Group.
10/07/2012
The City of Edinburgh's strategy on improving access to good quality homes in the city has been recognised by separate industry awards ceremonies. Two projects by Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, which were funded by the Council, picked up top awards - a development of new affordable homes, and
09/07/2012
Campaigners fighting to stop a bypass in Aberdeen have taken their fight to a two-day hearing in London's Supreme Court. If they are defeated in this, the third attempt to derail the £400m plan, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is likely to go ahead. But William Walton of the group Roa
09/07/2012
A UK government underspend of £6.7bn from last year should be used for Scottish infrastructure projects, a senior Scottish figure has said. The Infrastructure and Capital Investment Secretary, Alex Neil, said the unspent cash should be diverted to 36 shovel-ready projects north of the border, inclu
09/07/2012
A Falkirk engineering company had such a positive experience with its first apprentices in years, it recruited another to the fold. Outreach Ltd employed two new engineering apprentices last year and were so impressed by their young team-mates' enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge, they employed a t
09/07/2012
Decontamination work in Stanraer could cost more than £2m, the BBC has reported. The work would tackle chemical contamination on a former gasworks site that will form part of waterfront regeneration in the south-eastern town. Dumfries and Galloway Council is working with the Scottish Environment P
09/07/2012
A planned waste management centre in Glasgow could recycle waste and make energy from it. Planning applications are in for the proposed South Clyde Energy Centre, a £145m facility that would deal with up to 250,000 tonnes of waste a year and include an education centre. If successful, it could pro
09/07/2012
The Scottish Government has given a £30m contract to a facilities management company it has already been using for seven years. The stamp of approval went to MITIE, the strategic outsourcing and energy services company. It has secured an expanded contract to provide Integrated Facilities Managemen
09/07/2012
The winners of the annual Scottish Student Awards for Architecture have been announced. Congratulations to Sam Wilson, a graduate of the University of Dundee, who won the RIAS (the Royal Incoropration of Architects in Scotland) Rowand Anderson Silver Medal for best 5th year student, with judges rem
09/07/2012
Five miles of Victorian and burst-prone water pipes in Glasgow city centre are to be replaced in a £3.5m upgrade. Scottish Water said the rehabilitation work would improve services by replacing ageing distribution mains below some of the city's busiest streets. The project will start in late July
06/07/2012
An Scottish crane has been recognised as a significant example of historical engineering. The Titan Crane at Clydebank was given an Engineering Heritage Award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineering yesterday, joining previous winners including London's Tower Bridge. John Wood of the Instit
06/07/2012
An industry body has warned that a slowdown in sales will make the second half of the year "increasingly challenging" for product manufacturers. The Construction Products Association's latest State of Trade Survey indicates that, following a relatively good first quarter of the year, manufacturers
06/07/2012
Two engineering students are celebrating after completing their courses thanks to sponsorship from timber industry companies. Having just graduated with a BSc Civil & Timber Engineering – assisted by sponsorship and work placements from Finnforest - Andrew Smart is about to start with the company,
06/07/2012
A drop in North Sea oil and gas production could be to blame for the UK entering a 'double-dip' recession. The Scotsman newspaper reported today that the industry, off the coast of Scotland, was hit by its biggest ever fall in production and said the slide affected industrial output. Oil and gas p
06/07/2012
An energy-efficient housing development has opened in Barrhead. Hugh Henry MSP officially opened the development at Murray Place in Barrhead and presented bouquets of flowers to residents, then took a tour. The complex, designed for older people, is part of the Hanover (Scotland) Housing Associati
06/07/2012
Scotland's future as a 'hydro nation' as set out in the Water Resources (Scotland) Bill is to be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament's Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee. The Bill would require ministers to report to the Scottish Parliament every three years on whether water resourc
06/07/2012
Two massive holes are being constructed in Caithness to store low-level radioactive waste. The stores, being built at a total cost of £100m, will store tonnes of material from Dounreay nuclear power plant. This will include items that have been contaminated by radioactivity at the experimental nuc
06/07/2012
Twenty people died at work in Scotland last year, according to the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive. That equates to 0.8 deaths per 100,000 workers and is an increase from the 14 deaths the year before. Provisional data for the period from April 2011 to March 2012 showed that 17
05/07/2012
Forty new members of staff have been taken on by maintenance and painting specialist Seddon Property Services in Scotland to help deliver its new contract with leading affordable housing provider Home Scotland, part of Home Group. The company has recruited the new staff members, including tradespeo
05/07/2012
A historic Dundee landmark has been officially re-opened after a £400,000 facelift. Linlathen East Bridge has been undergoing major refurbishment work for almost a year. The iron bridge over the Dighty Burn north of Broughty Ferry was built in 1796, as far as records can confirm. A mix of wrought
05/07/2012
A steel frame has been erected for a supermarket in a Highlands village. The site on Knockbreck Road in Tain was the site of some fooling around, as this photograph attests, while construction workers marked the milestone. They were contributing to the village’s new Asda store, due to open later t
05/07/2012
On Monday Keith Brown, the Scottish Government Minister for Housing and Transport visited the award-winning Housing Innovation Showcase in Fife to view the completed houses. The £3.3m Housing Innovation Showcase was developed by KHA as a partnership project and the Scottish Government provided £2m
05/07/2012
A series of workshops will take place over the next few months, with the aim of helping Scottish businesses take advantage of opportunities in the offshore wind supply chain. Run by Scottish Enterprise, they will be tailored to local sector and location strengths. An event on August 29 will highli
05/07/2012
Rail journey times between Scotland’s two biggest cities are to be cut by ten minutes through electrification of the line. The Scottish Government set out the plans, which represent a scaling-down from original plans thanks to a budget cut. The original £1bn plans would have seen journey times cut
05/07/2012
Architectural practice Keppie Design has been appointed to design the redevelopment of Ross County Football Club, in preparation for promotion to the Scottish Premier League next season. The project will see the seated capacity of the club's Victoria Park stadium in Dingwall increased to 6,000 (fo
05/07/2012
Funding of £1.17m has been earmarked for tackling vacant and derelict land in Dundee. It will come from the Scottish Government's Vacant and Derelict Land Fund, which is intended to improve the quality of life for communities and stimulate economic growth by creating jobs and promoting sustainable
04/07/2012
A commercial property consultancy has warned that Edinburgh could run out of top-quality office space by the end of 2013, pushing rental prices up by a fifth, if construction does not start soon on new developments. This has led to a "clear opportunity" for developers, an analyst said. GVA said su
04/07/2012
The £12m refurbishment of part of a historic Scottish castle brought it to a bumper total of visitors this year. Stirling Castle saw a 17% year-on-year increase in visitor numbers after Stirling Palace, built for James V in 1538, was re-opened following a two-year restoration. The project restored
04/07/2012
The Olympics will lead to £774m being spent on construction, supplies and equipment in Scotland, a new study has found. The study, commissioned by Games Sponsor Lloyds Banking Group, suggested that tourism revenue would top up that figure to a £1bn benefit for the Scottish economy, over a 12-year p
04/07/2012
Students and academics at the University of Dundee have embarked on an ambitious project to design and build the UK's first entirely energy autonomous building within the city's Botanic Garden. The 'energy autonomous' building will deliver new concepts in the design and quality of living spaces, ul
04/07/2012
Scotland's Centre for Design and Architecture - The Lighthouse - has launched a new award to recognise the design industry. The Design Impact Award will show the huge contribution that design and innovation makes to the way we live and work. There will be three categories in the new Lighthouse com
04/07/2012
RESIDENTS at one of Glasgow's hidden architectural gems have celebrated the diamond anniversary of their homes. Crathie Court, an unusual art deco block of flats tucked away in Thornwood in the West End, was designed after World War 2 as an experiment by Glasgow Corporation in high-rise living. Th
04/07/2012
A Scottish energy, mining and metals research group has changed hands in a £1.1bn deal. The buy-out of Edinburgh-based Wood MacKenzie means members of staff who own shares in the company will share a £90m windfall, with an average pay-out of about £250,000. Private equity firm Charterhouse Capital
04/07/2012
The Presidency of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), the UK's largest and oldest roofing trade association, has officially been handed to Scottish regional member, Graeme Millar. The official handing over of the Chain of Office was held on the 18th May at the seventh annual Roo
03/07/2012
Plans for a 60-berth transit marina at Oban Bay have been approved. The application, by Oban Bay Marine includes provision for small day boats/ribs, a diesel berth, manager's office and limited use for over-wintering. These facilities will add to a sailboat and kayak marina already in existence at
03/07/2012
A Scotland-built cruise liner is to be converted into a luxury hotel and stationed in Dubai, the Glasgow Evening Times has reported. Plans for the Queen Elizabeth 2, built by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in Clydebank and launched by the Queen in 1967, have been given the green light after years of deli
03/07/2012
A government-backed initiative aimed at boosting the number of affordable homes across North and South Lanarkshire has been unveiled. Clyde Valley Housing Association has been working with property company Savills and local councils to develop a new funding model that aims to deliver 600 new homes,
03/07/2012
Scotland's newest city has been given a £650,000 grant to restore its historic buildings. The money from Historic Scotland will help Perth restore and repair historic buildings including the 19th-century Sheriff Court and 18th-century Perth Bridge. Perth's city status will be officially recognised
03/07/2012
Fears a row of buildings could collapse have led to the closure of a busy Glasgow street while demolition is planned. The westbound side of George Street was closed last night between High Street and Shuttle Street after a row of shops at the junction with High Street were found to be unsafe. City
03/07/2012
Edinburgh Council has used its powers to prevent landlords from renting out property for the first time, against a man who flouted a previous ban. Evidence was heard at the City of Edinburgh Council's Regulatory Committee where Yousef Mohammed's application to operate a House in Multiple Occupation
02/07/2012
A campaign for fair payment through the construction supply chain has won an award for best practice. The National Specialist Contractors' Council (NSCC) was praised for its Fair Payment Campaign, which "transformed the business environment", according to judges. The NSCC beat off four other trade
02/07/2012
A new three-year-fund designed to help rural communities buy land starts taking applications today. Stewart Stevenson, Scotland's environment minister, announced the £6m Scottish Land Fund on Friday in the hope communities would "take control of their own destinies". The Minister announced the ope
02/07/2012
The Scottish Government has issued a consultation seeking views on measures to further improve the energy efficiency of social housing in Scotland. The consultation proposes setting a minimum EPC rating (the Environmental Impact rating) which all social rented housing should meet by 2020, under the
02/07/2012
A seaside town on the Firth of Clyde is to get an out-of-town supermarket after planners plumped for a Waitrose application over a pier redesign. Argyll & Bute Council approved plans from the high-end supermarket to erect a food hall and petrol station on the outskirts of Helensburgh. The 36,000sq
02/07/2012
A demolition company boss has moved into recycling, creating at least 30 jobs in the process. George Beattie, who runs Hunter Demolition in Kilsyth, has set up a recycling firm called Hunter Environmental, which has secured a 27-acre site at Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire, at a cost of £1.1m. Mr Bea
02/07/2012
Two Glasgow construction apprentices swapped their steel toe caps for football studs and helped their football team towards victory. Paul Sweeney and Jason Elliott work for Glasgow City Council’s arms-length construction company City Building. Their team Ashfield FC triumphed in the Evening Times
