The body representing town planners in Scotland has called on Scottish Government to provide more support for communities and planning authorities to allow local people to shape how their places develop. In responding to the consultation on draft proposals for the framework of regulations for Local Place Plans, the Royal
Scotland’s leading procurement solution provider, dedicated to benefitting Scotland’s social housing and public buildings, is revealing that it has secured its landmark 100th Partner. Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) provides Partners – such as councils, housing associations, universities and emergency services – with access to innovative procurement solutions, which aim to
The importance of placing people at the heart of home building is one of the key messages being delivered to over 1000 senior industry representatives attending the Annual Lunch of trade body Homes for Scotland in Edinburgh later today (Friday 17 May). Highlighting examples where such focus has delivered tangible
Cube Glass, the fast-growing Scottish glass and aluminium specialist installer, has won another six-figure order, this time for Park’s Motor Group and its prestigious new McLaren dealership in Leeds. As part of a substantial project, it will supply aluminium curtain walling at a purpose built, 12,000 square feet showroom at
The Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC) has elected Alan Wilson, acting managing director of SELECT, the trade body for the electro-technical trade in Scotland, to be its Vice Chair. The election took place at SBCC’s AGM on the 7th of November. “It’s a great honour to our organisation, as well
Stewart and Shields has been awarded by Riverside Inverclyde (Ri), the organisation charged with delivering the economic redevelopment of Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, the £1.6 million design and build construction contract for its food and drink incubator. Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises will be built on land
The Board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has fully approved plans for a number of new health facilities, worth some £50 million. The business cases approved include £11 million for Stobhill Mental Health Wards and £19 million for Clydebank Health and Care Centre. The next and final stage of
A significant investment has been made by one of Scotland’s largest independent plant hire firms, Jarvie Plant, in its fleet of hire equipment with the addition of telehandlers, rotating telescoping handlers (rotos), access platforms and industrial forklifts. Available throughout the company’s depot network, all of the new machines can be
Official statistics have been released regarding Scotland’s home builders, showing a 3% increase in new house building for 2017-18 (17,731) compared with the previous year (17,293) but highlighted a mixed picture in the detail of the figures, with 16% fewer (532) private sector-led homes completed in Q1 2018 compared with
Confor has welcomed reassurance that forestry professionalism will be protected and promoted in new administrative arrangements in Scotland – and that the Scottish Government’s plan to keep Scotland’s two new forestry bodies separate will prevent the industry facing a £30 million black hole. Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural
The body representing town planners in Scotland has called on Scottish Government to provide more support for communities and planning authorities to allow local people to shape how their places develop. In responding to the consultation on draft proposals for the framework of regulations for Local Place Plans, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Scotland says that there is a need for more funding, resources for capacity building and guidance. RTPI Scotland Convenor Barbara Cummins said: “This is an important moment for the planning system and the future of community engagement. Local Place Plans provide a golden opportunity to support communities to be more engaged in discussions about the future of the places where they live. “This means that we need to make sure that they have the resources they need to do this, that they can access expertise and that they are able to engage people across their area in the discussion. These resources need to be targeted to communities that need them the most so we don’t exacerbate existing inequalities in Scotland. “We cautiously welcome the light-touch approach taken by Scottish Government to this legislation, striking the difficult balance between providing a robust framework for development whilst ensuring that the process to produce Local Place Plans is not over-complicated for communities and allows for local flexibility.” In its response, RTPI Scotland has called on Scottish Government to bring greater clarity as to how the new future of community-led plans will be implemented in areas such as resourcing, timing and development planning and management procedures. Read RTPI Scotland’s full response to the Scottish Government consultation here
Scotland’s leading procurement solution provider, dedicated to benefitting Scotland’s social housing and public buildings, is revealing that it has secured its landmark 100th Partner. Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) provides Partners – such as councils, housing associations, universities and emergency services – with access to innovative procurement solutions, which aim to drive social value by streamlining construction, refurbishment and maintenance contracts. Their Partner organisations delivered more than £160m worth of projects in 2018-19 alone through their procurement solutions. Formed in 2016, SPA is hailing the sign-up of its 100th Partner as an overwhelming endorsement of its key role in helping public sector organisations to work with Scotland’s supply chain to deliver projects better, faster and more cost-effectively. In 2018-19 (the last available annual review), SPA worked with 43 Partners to deliver more than 220 projects which represented a total value of £160m – a 50% jump on its performance on 2017-18. Projects range in size and scope from the £16m Balloch Campus new school development for West Dunbartonshire Council to an £18,000 door replacement programme for Hawthorne Housing Co-operative. The Scottish Government has committed to the delivery of 50,000 new homes, of which 35,000 are to be affordable housing, by the end of the next parliament. SPA frameworks will be used by its partners to deliver more than 3500 homes in Scotland – 10% of the Government’s 2021 target for social rent housing. SPA Director Clive Feeney said “SPA has team of dedicated experts firmly focused on championing best practice and ensuring Partners can benefit from access to specialist procurement solutions that deliver social value in their communities. He said: “SPA frameworks provide our Partners with a quick and easy route to market – saving time, resources and money. “We share the aspirations of Partners, suppliers, residents and other community groups to create better buildings and homes across Scotland to ‘futureproof’ the country. “Reaching the milestone 100th Partner cements the important link SPA has with Scotland’s public organisations, local businesses and local communities. “And the scale and success of the works undertaken on SPA projects to date, underlines the vital position SPA holds in Scotland’s supply chain network. “This all provides a clear endorsement that our service works and delivers value time and time again.” SPA’s frameworks can be used by all publicly or partially publicly funded organisations in Scotland and have been established in strict compliance with the Scottish public sector procurement regulations. Partners are estimated to save 350,000 hours every year by using the frameworks. Partners can also receive a share of any surplus achieved from the execution of the frameworks, via a rebate – in 2018-19 this amounted to £580,000. The top performing framework in 2018-19 was Offsite Construction of New Homes which amounted to nearly £97m worth of projects. SPA also underlines its commitment to improving social value in Scotland’s communities through its Community Benefit Fund. SPA’s Founding Partners worked with the Lintel Trust – formerly the Scottish Federation of Housing Association’s Charitable Trust – to hand out grants totaling £205,000 in 2018-19 involving projects in areas such as employability, social inclusion and digital participation. Clive added “that providing ongoing support to social landlords and councils – and encouraging them to consider collaborative working and innovative practices, particularly as they wrestle with grant reductions and budget cuts – is a key focus for the future. He said: “The only way the Scottish housing sector will improve is for it to work better with one another. We want to encourage our Partners to share resources. This will not only help to ensure communities will thrive but will also result in better value for money. “Completing housing projects on time, or ahead of time, brings a wealth of benefits: tenants can move in faster, and the housing provider can start to see the return on their investment and benefit from a higher quality product.” Gavin Cockburn, Acting Service Lead – Procurement at South Ayrshire Council, said as a founder member they have benefitted greatly from a strong, collaborative relationship with SPA. He said: “The choice, quality and flexibility that SPA frameworks offer is excellent, and the outstanding assistance provided by our Client Support Manager and the rest of the team is very much appreciated. “As well as allowing the Council to fulfil many complex and vital requirements within South Ayrshire – from new homes to energy efficiency projects, community building upgrades and heating services – one of the special benefits of partnering with the SPA are the opportunities that our framework rebates and Community Benefit Fund provide to our local communities.” Steven Brady, Managing Director of Hadden Group, added: “We first joined SPA as a framework supplier in 2017 and have received a steady pipeline of projects from clients across three different frameworks including new build housing, schools and community buildings. “We have delivered a range of projects including Early Years Nurseries for both Falkirk and West Lothian Councils and are currently on site with affordable housing projects in Biggar and Bathgate. “We are also working closely with Perth & Kinross Council to deliver two new Early Years facilities. In addition, we are working with North Lanarkshire Council to provide more than 70 houses in three separate developments, all of which are due to commence in 2020.” As well as providing compliance, quality and best value to Partners, SPA frameworks support a streamlined process from the award of a contract to completion of a project. Under the frameworks, Partners have the option to either award a contract directly or run a mini-competition between companies that have declared an interest in the project.
The importance of placing people at the heart of home building is one of the key messages being delivered to over 1000 senior industry representatives attending the Annual Lunch of trade body Homes for Scotland in Edinburgh later today (Friday 17 May). Highlighting examples where such focus has delivered tangible results across a wide range of areas (including customer satisfaction, quality and placemaking) Chief Executive Nicola Barclay will say: “I talk about homes all the time, but today I’d like to talk about people. We build homes and great places to live but it is people who bring them to life – by living in them, designing them, consenting them, funding them and constructing them. So we are, by any definition, a people business. “And what I hope today will demonstrate is that it simply doesn’t matter what size of company you are – if you put people at the heart of it, you’ll get great results.” With the industry having been challenged on a number of fronts in recent months, Barclay will also add: “We are often told that as an industry we must evolve. I believe that evolution is well underway and will continue to gather pace as we move towards a decarbonised society. As we compete for talent and the future pipeline of people to work within our industry, it is vitally important that we continue to innovate and create flexible, attractive environments for our people to work in as well as for our customers to live in.”
Cube Glass, the fast-growing Scottish glass and aluminium specialist installer, has won another six-figure order, this time for Park’s Motor Group and its prestigious new McLaren dealership in Leeds. As part of a substantial project, it will supply aluminium curtain walling at a purpose built, 12,000 square feet showroom at Aire Valley Drive, featuring the latest McLaren brand identity. The company will cover 370 sq metres with a special product from the German-based global giant Schueco Group, the industry leader in window, door and façade technology and service. The new contract for a top-end client is the latest in a string of successes for Cube Glass, which focuses on curtain walling, doors, windows, glass roofing systems and shop fronts as well as bullet, bomb and blast resistant glass. It is set to secure record sales this year of around £2.75 million. “We have carried out work for Park’s Motor Group in the past, but this is a particularly exciting project at its fantastic new space in Leeds, which is only the eighth McLaren retail partner in the UK,” said Gary Thorn, Cube Glass founder and Managing Director. “Park’s is a leading name in the luxury car market. The work, which will be carried out by APP Construction, takes us into new areas and expands our portfolio as well as continuing our association with some very prestigious brands,” Gary added. The company currently has 14 direct employees and 12 sub-contractors and expects this number to increase in the new year. Around 80 per cent of the company’s sales are made to major companies including Hilton Hotels, the Ministry of Defence, Morris and Spottiswood and Clark Contracts.
The Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC) has elected Alan Wilson, acting managing director of SELECT, the trade body for the electro-technical trade in Scotland, to be its Vice Chair. The election took place at SBCC’s AGM on the 7th of November. “It’s a great honour to our organisation, as well as to our sister body, the Scottish Engineering Contractors Group, (SECG), to have been elected as Vice Chair of SBCC,” said Alan Wilson. Until now its office bearers have been drawn from the membership of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). “We have worked closely for some years with SELECT and SECG and have a high regard for their professionalism and abilities. In our view, the election of Alan to be our new Vice Chair is a timely and appropriate development reflecting our due acknowledgement of his organisation,” commented Chair of the SBCC, Lisa Cattanach, a chartered surveyor who is also a director of Glasgow-based Contract Dispute Resolution. Lisa’s first official role as chair of the SBCC was to host a very successful annual conference which was held in the Merchants House in Glasgow on Wednesday the 14th of November. “We had an outstanding lineup of speakers, including Professor John Cole of Queen’s University, Belfast, who delivered a very thought provoking State of the Nation address, in which he focussed on the findings of two independent enquiries of industry-wide significance established to address major issues of building quality,” said Lisa about the conference. The SBCC, whose role is to provide definitive guidance on building contracts and construction law in Scotland, was founded in the 1960s. SELECT’s 1250-member companies account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland. They have a collective turnover of around £1 billion and provide employment for 15,000 people.
Stewart and Shields has been awarded by Riverside Inverclyde (Ri), the organisation charged with delivering the economic redevelopment of Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, the £1.6 million design and build construction contract for its food and drink incubator. Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises will be built on land recently cleared at the corner of Greenock’s Baker Street and Drumfrochar Road. It is the second phase of a £2.5 million road realignment project currently being delivered by Riverside Inverclyde for Inverclyde Council. The Baker Street project will see the development of six manufacturing units ranging from 30 to 70 square metres. Aimed at enticing the growth of small and medium-sized food and drink businesses, the building will also include shared office space, storage unit and boardroom facilities for its tenants as well as shower and change areas. Ri will also provide a business growth programme to support the tenants, as well as seeking match-funding support for machinery and equipment. By assisting with the transition into Baker Street, the aim is to provide support towards achieving Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) standard accreditation for the units. “Ri has targeted the food and drink sector as a fantastic growth opportunity for Inverclyde,” said Andrew Bowman, Head of Business Investment at Ri. “We have started to promote this pioneering facility nationally and are already seeing interest in the Baker Street hub and all of the available support for the eventual tenants. The incubator offers Inverclyde some exciting opportunities, not least the ability to grow the number of food and drink producers in the area alongside the associated jobs. We hope to see some of the early participants grow to become great success stories in their own right.” The Baker Street incubator and its other areas of support will be the first of its kind in Scotland, assisting Inverclyde’s growth in the food and drink sector as Scotland aims to double its turnover to £30 billion by 2030. The development started in October 2018 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019. The development is due to begin this autumn with a completion date of spring 2019. The Baker Street incubator is being supported by £900,000 from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF).
The Board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has fully approved plans for a number of new health facilities, worth some £50 million. The business cases approved include £11 million for Stobhill Mental Health Wards and £19 million for Clydebank Health and Care Centre. The next and final stage of the process of developing each facility involves the submission of a full business case to the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group for consideration in November. “I am delighted the full business case has been approved. This is another major milestone for plans to build modern, state-of-the-art facilities for our Mental Health in-patients at Stobhill,” said David Williams, chief officer, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), about the Stobhill development. “The HSCP’s commitment to providing high standards of effective care in appropriate settings is clearly demonstrated by NHSGGC’s decision today. This will see our patients staying in modern wards that are at the very forefront of modern Mental Health in-patient accommodation,” added David. Speaking about the Clydebank Health and Care Centre, Beth Culshaw, chief officer, West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), said: “I am delighted that the full business case has been approved. This is another major milestone for plans to rebuild a modern, state-of-the-art health and care centre for the people of Clydebank. The HSCP’s commitment to tackling health inequalities in areas of high deprivation and promoting social regeneration is clearly demonstrated by NHSGGC’s decision today.” “The national transformation of primary care means that this project is not about a simple replacement of an existing facility. It is about taking the opportunity to create a centre where the people of Clydebank can expect to be supported by a wide range of professionals, closer to their home, and enabled to live healthier, more independent lives,” Beth concluded.
A significant investment has been made by one of Scotland’s largest independent plant hire firms, Jarvie Plant, in its fleet of hire equipment with the addition of telehandlers, rotating telescoping handlers (rotos), access platforms and industrial forklifts. Available throughout the company’s depot network, all of the new machines can be found in nine locations across Scotland and the North West of England. The Manitou 6m (MT625); 11m (MT1135); 18m (MT1840) and Roto’s MRT2550+ have all been added as well as 7m, 14m and 17m loadalls from JCB. “Telehandlers are such versatile machines that we often find them in high demand, so we have constantly grown our portfolio of them. Rotos are becoming increasingly popular because of the savings they offer over traditional cranes effectively comprising three machines in one – telehandler, crane and access platform,” explained business development director, David Jarvie. “Their minimal set up time increases productivity on a construction site and they come equipped with a range of safety features, such as sensors for load placement, height and slew restriction. With a wide range of attachments, clients can reduce their need for other machines such as access platforms, telehandlers and cranes,” he added. New to the range are also some specialist items, such as the 10m VJR access platform and 2.5T diesel yard forklifts. Both offer benefits for internal warehousing access and both internal and external loading on compact yards. Jarvie Plant is also looking to the future with an investment in a wider range of pallet fork trucks and personnel lift platforms for the growing industrial and warehousing sector. “Retailers are widely investing in supporting their online sales through logistics and distribution warehouses. It’s an area we can only see expanding as consumer demand increases and our machines will be crucial to supporting that growth,” concluded Mr Jarvie.
Official statistics have been released regarding Scotland’s home builders, showing a 3% increase in new house building for 2017-18 (17,731) compared with the previous year (17,293) but highlighted a mixed picture in the detail of the figures, with 16% fewer (532) private sector-led homes completed in Q1 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017. With the private sector playing a key role in assisting the Scottish Government to meet its ambitious affordable housing targets, Chief Executive at representative body Homes for Scotland (HFS) Nicola Barclay commented: “We are encouraged to note these latest statistics indicate a positive overall picture for affordable housing approvals as well as the wider sector. Whilst the extreme weather conditions earlier in the year made delivery challenging, it is essential that we are not complacent when it comes to our efforts to increase supply across all tenures. “As well as enabling increased activity from smaller builders, sustained confidence from investors is essential to support growth from medium to larger builders within a competitive UK environment. It is also crucial that the labour market is geared up across the sector, with skills shortages already creating challenges on sites across Scotland. “In addition to the above, the Planning (Scotland) Bill represents a key opportunity to recalibrate our planning system so it can deliver what the people of Scotland need: enough high-quality homes in the right places to meet need and demand. HFS is working hard to persuade politicians and communities that a good system is one in which we collaborate effectively in order that precious time, resource and funds can be channeled into the development of vibrant places and the delivery of more homes.”
Confor has welcomed reassurance that forestry professionalism will be protected and promoted in new administrative arrangements in Scotland – and that the Scottish Government’s plan to keep Scotland’s two new forestry bodies separate will prevent the industry facing a £30 million black hole. Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, outlined proposals earlier this week to manage and administer the sector when the devolution of forestry in Scotland is completed. The plans are part of the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill, which is due to be debated again on March 1st in the Scottish Parliament and is likely to be passed before the summer. The Scottish Government has proposed that the roles currently fulfilled by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Forestry Enterprise Scotland (FES) reflect the devolution of forestry by taking on new titles. They would be Scottish Forestry, a new dedicated division within the Scottish Government, and a new agency of the Scottish Government called Forestry and Land Scotland. Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall said: “A lot of thought has gone into these new structures and Confor is happy to support them. It is also important that Forestry and Land Scotland has the same status as FES has had previously – that of a public corporation.” In the letter to Mr Ewing, Mr Goodall said: “[This status] is vital as the organisation is expected to rely heavily on trading timber for its income and needs to be able to build reserves and have flexibility across financial years. The information provided in your statement shows this carry-over was more than £30 million in the last financial year. It is clear this public corporation status is key to the future success of the FES and Confor hopes Forestry and Land Scotland continues to have the same flexibility.” Mr Goodall also welcomed confirmation that the post of Chief Forester – a proposal Confor put forward – will be established with a key role to protect and promote professionalism in the new division. He said: “While it is important that forestry is at the heart of government policy-making and not the periphery, it is also important that regulation of forestry is undertaken by professionals, and that they have the opportunity to gain experience in the private sector and in Forestry and Land Scotland. This is confirmed in the statement.” The letter was copied to the Conveners of both the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLR) and Rural Affairs and Connectivity Committee (REC) and MSPs on the two committees. Mr Goodall said: “Confor has contributed written and oral evidence at all stages of this process and will continue to engage positively with all parties to ensure a positive future for Scotland’s £1 billion forestry industry and the 25,000-plus jobs it supports.”
