Work on a new £20million community hub in Chryston has begun, with a turf-cutting event to mark the start of construction taking place on Monday 28 February. North Lanarkshire Council is working in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire on the project that will deliver a 21st-century learning environment along with state-of-the-art
The proposals to boost the local economy and address a clear demand for hotel and student accommodation at Abbey Park have been submitted to Fife Council by Robertson. The mixed-use development will incorporate a 90-bed hotel and 100-bed student accommodation, as well as a substantial new park that will be
Robertson Group continues its focus on securing the best people to continue to drive the business forward across the U.K. Dirk Pittaway has joined Robertson to take up the role of Managing Director for the regional construction business of Robertson North West. Dirk joins the Group with over 20 years
Work on a new £20million community hub in Chryston has begun, with a turf-cutting event to mark the start of construction taking place on Monday 28 February. North Lanarkshire Council is working in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire on the project that will deliver a 21st-century learning environment along with state-of-the-art health and wellbeing facilities. The new community hub is being delivered by hub South West, the development partner of North Lanarkshire Council with construction partner Robertson Construction and will replace the existing Chryston Primary School as well as provide a new Community Health Clinic. Councillor Frank McNally, Convener of Education and Families, broke ground on the site by cutting the first turf. He said: “Today’s event is another clear example of the council’s vision for its local communities to provide first class learning environments for pupils and teaching staff and deliver excellent facilities for the wider community to benefit from. “The new facility will provide the children and residents of Chryston and surrounding areas with superb facilities. “Our integrated town hubs and the smaller community hubs are modernising the entire school estate and offer multiple services from the council and our partners. “We’re delivering significant investment across North Lanarkshire that will benefit people of all ages now and for generations to come.” Plans for the hub include high-quality outdoor and indoor sports facilities; an extensive landscaped playground for the school; healthcare gardens for clinic patients and staff; and community greenspaces and paths designed to enhance connections across the site and encourage active travel. The new learning facility will see up to 509 pupils learn in naturally lit, flexible spaces and be flexible to accommodate a wide range of learning requirements. One of the exciting features developed by Ryder is the landscape design which creates seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor environments with all class bases benefiting from direct access to the playground. And pupils will be able to take part in daily mile walks with a route which is indicated with footprints around the site. Outdoor play equipment also includes bug hotels, allotment beds, and a fire pit surrounded by log seating, all provide different teaching and learning opportunities for the school. Plans for the clinic include the provision of seven treatment/clinical rooms and a group room to support the delivery of local health services in state of the art health and wellbeing facilities including garden areas. The new community health clinic will provide a larger, more modern facility than the existing Muirhead Clinic, which only allows a small range of community health services to be provided locally due to its size and lack of any dedicated car parking. It will continue to operate its existing services while the new clinic is built. Maggs Thomson, Head of Health, Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire, said: “This is a major milestone towards delivering a new state-of-the-art health clinic for Chryston and the surrounding area. “It will be a purpose-built clinic providing clinical services close to where people live and ensure local people no longer need to travel to Glasgow for certain services. “Through detailed engagement with local service users and stakeholders we will develop a modern facility meeting the needs of people in the area. “This partnership working also means services will continue to run at the existing health clinic during construction, and then transfer to the new facility once completed, meaning there should be minimal disruption for patients and service users.” Michael Ross, Chief Executive, hub South West, said: “It is fantastic to celebrate the start of this exciting project and continue our close working relationship with North Lanarkshire Council in delivering its programme of works. “Our unique partnering approach and focus on the benefits to both the local community and local economy, coupled with our focus on quality and continuous improvement, will ensure this facility is enjoyed for generations to come.” Andy McLinden, Robertson Construction Central West, said: “Our experience in the education and healthcare sectors will allow us to deliver a state-of-the-art facility that not only supports the Council’s vision but that the whole community can be proud of. “Chryston Community Hub is the first project we will deliver on behalf of hub South West since securing Tier 1 status last year and we look forward to engaging with the people of Chryston as the build progresses.” Children and young people, staff, parents and the local community all played a significant role in developing the design for the campus. We worked closely with them to ensure the design reflected our aspirations while taking into account the local community’s requirements and the area’s natural heritage and architecture. The new facility is expected to be operational by August 2023.
The proposals to boost the local economy and address a clear demand for hotel and student accommodation at Abbey Park have been submitted to Fife Council by Robertson. The mixed-use development will incorporate a 90-bed hotel and 100-bed student accommodation, as well as a substantial new park that will be around 3,500 sq m. “There is a clear demand for a mid-range hotel which will help to encourage people, whether in St Andrews for business or leisure, to visit Fife and help to deliver the Fife Economic Partnership ambition to increase visitor expenditure. Similarly, there are around 4,000 students unable to access dedicated student accommodation and these plans will help to ease demand on private properties and the pressure on rental levels,” said Katherine Mackintosh, managing director at Robertson Property. “The new landscaped park will be a welcome addition to the town and will be open to all in St Andrews – not just those living in the student accommodation or staying at the hotel. The proposals have been developed following feedback from community consultations we held in October 2017 and June 2018 which have influenced the design and created the opportunity to move the buildings north and create a new green space at the heart of the development. We remain fully committed to engaging with the local community and look forward to providing updates as these plans progress,” she continued. Robertson is currently pending approval of the planning application, aiming to start work on the site by summer 2019 and having the buildings operational by autumn 2020. The application was submitted on Robertson’s behalf by Barton Willmore, the leading planning and design consultancy. Established over 40 years ago, Robertson Property has a prime commercial portfolio throughout Scotland and North East England, and has delivered a number of property development deals. The team excels in assembling development deals that are attractive to both building occupiers and investors.
Robertson Group continues its focus on securing the best people to continue to drive the business forward across the U.K. Dirk Pittaway has joined Robertson to take up the role of Managing Director for the regional construction business of Robertson North West. Dirk joins the Group with over 20 years of construction experience in the North West. Robertson North West, which recently relocated to new offices in Haydock, is part of one of the largest independently owned construction, infrastructure and support services companies in the U.K. The Group, which celebrated its 50th year of trading in 2016, consists of 21 companies, employing over 2,300 staff and has a turnover in excess of £600m. Speaking about the objectives for the business, Dirk said “Robertson Group has shown impressive growth in the last ten years, despite the challenging market conditions in recent years, and my focus will be to continue delivering the Robertson model for business across the North West. “Robertson, as a family business, has always maintained that their staff are at the forefront of everything, providing opportunity for career development and creating environments in which staff can flourish. “This approach is how we are developing our staff within the North West and we will continue to search for the best people who can add value to the business whilst developing their own careers.” Derek Shewan, CEO of Robertson, said “We are delighted to have secured Dirk to join our business. He brings a wealth of construction experience with a drive and passion in forming close working partnerships with clients and providing focused solutions to challenges that clients may face”.
