Daily updated construction news for Scotland from http://www.buildscotland.co.uk http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp 09/02/2010 : 02:08:37 select top 20 storyid, headline, body, date, publication from journalism_story where publication=25 order by date desc, ro desc A Glasgow-registered recycling company and a director have been fined a total of £145,000 for exposing workers to toxic mercury fumes at a site in West Yorkshire.Twenty employees had levels of mercury in their system above UK guidance levels, and five of them showed extremely high levels following the exposure between October 2007 and August 2008.Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd, registere..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106415 08 February 2010 The Team behind the conservation of one of only a handful of recognisably ancient urban buildings left in Scotland has picked up another award.Tayside Buildings Preservation Trust and Dundee City Council were recognised in the Royal Town Planning Institute's (RTPI) Planning Awards, scooping the UK heritage category for their work at Gardyne's Land.The complex of five historic buildings situate..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106450 08 February 2010 More than 5,000 Bute islanders have the opportunity to vote on plans to buy a forest owned by film director Richard Attenborough.The community buyout proposal of the 2,000 acre Rhubodach Forest is valued at £1.4m.Bute Community Land Company, which has been set up to organise the buyout, aims raise the funds for the project using public grants and loans. This will be Scotland's biggest ever b..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106423 08 February 2010 A unique property on Haddington's High Street will soon be available for let after a year-long transformation is completed.The property, at 92/93 High Street, most recently Jacksons Jewellers, occupies a prominent space in the town's main retail thoroughfare. The B-listed building has been owned by the United Incorporation of Masons and Wrights of Haddington since the 1700s and is managed by t..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106454 08 February 2010 Acting on behalf of Iris Properties, Shepherd Chartered Surveyors has let an 860 sq ft ground floor corner suite at 200 Bath Street, Glasgow.It is on a five year lease at £11,000 pa to The Bothwell Partnership for use as an art gallery.A sister company, The Artist Studio has also taken a first floor office of the same building on a five year lease at £10,000 pa, Shepherd acting on behalf of Do..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106455 08 February 2010 One of Scotland's most innovative energy developers is asking the public to suggest a name for a multi-million pound device that generates electricity from the sea.Orkney-based Scotrenewables, is pioneering the development of technology which harnesses energy from tidal currents. The seas around the Pentland Firth and Orkney Islands are recognised as some of Europe's best locations for wave an..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106408 08 February 2010 The population of a village in the Scottish Borders could be doubled if approval is given for a 900 house scheme.Buccleuch Property and Elphinstone Estates propose to build the £135m scheme on land around Whitehill Farm to the south and west of Newtown St Boswells. Scottish Borders Council's planning committee has been recommended to approve the outline application although there are more than..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106433 08 February 2010 Householders are being offered the chance to save hundreds of pounds on their fuel billsEast Dunbartonshire Council urges its householders to complete the free survey if they haven't already done so.A total of 30,000 survey forms were sent directly to homes around the area in a recent pre-winter campaign. Although many homes in the area have completed the survey there are many more still to ta..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106427 08 February 2010 A rising star in the Scottish construction industry swapped his hard hat and boots for a suit and tie on Wednesday when he visited the Scottish Parliament.Alexander Wood, 24, a final year apprentice joiner for CBC, Central Building Contractors, was invited to the Scottish Parliament by his local constituency MSP Trish Godman in recognition of being named Scotland"s top Adult Construction Apprent..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106307 05 February 2010 A partnership delivering regeneration in Lochgelly, Fife, is the successful winner of the 2010 Excellence in Regeneration Award promoted by both the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland and Scottish Centre for Regeneration.The partnership between Fife Council, Fife HARCA, Ore Valley Housing Association, Lochgelly Regeneration Forum and Dearle and Henderson Consultants have been working on ..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106351 05 February 2010 ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry, is to host a live and interactive webinar (seminar on the web) on Thursday 18th February, to discuss the importance of apprenticeships to the construction sector, particularly during recession.With a renewed push to attract even more employers to take on an apprentice in 2010, the webinar will draw on intelligence from ..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106315 05 February 2010 More people will soon be able to generate their own 'green energy' under new Scottish Government proposals.At present, many homeowners are able to install equipment including solar panels and ground and water source heat pumps without planning permission.But, under fresh proposals set out in a consultation launched today, there would also be scope to install wind turbines or air source heat pu..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106398 05 February 2010 The Scottish Government has launched a document which sets out planning policy on topics such as housing, wind farms, flooding and the natural and built environment.It replaces 17 separate policies with one single document which is easier for communities and developers to understand and interpret.Also published yesertday was a circular updating guidance on the criteria and processes when devel..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106305 05 February 2010 Five locations in the Highlands and Islands have been identified for their potential to be significant manufacturing sites serving Scotland's burgeoning offshore wind energy industry.Nigg, (Easter Ross); Arnish (Lewis); Machrihanish (Campbeltown); Ardersier (Inverness) and Kishorn (Wester Ross) have been picked out as priority sites with six other locations in a report entitled Scotland's Nation..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106379 05 February 2010 Leading businesses this week welcomed the news that 16,000 female employees had benefitted from the Women and Work initiative.It is run by Sector Skills Councils to support women in traditionally male-dominated industries.At a House of Lords event on Monday 1 February, employers and their female employees heard that removing barriers to women working in occupations traditionally occupied by me..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106371 05 February 2010 Commercial landlords can now upgrade their property portfolios for free with the launch of Blackmhor"s Silverbean service.Silverbean is a café bar brand that operates exclusively within workplaces supported by Flexipod. Meeting the needs of the modern workplace, it provides a flexible solution for serving fresh food and coffee throughout the day.The Flexipod is a modular, stand-alone café bar ..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106354 05 February 2010 The Scottish Budget offers nothing new for construction jobs and homes, according to a housing and homelessness charity.Graeme Brown, the Director of Shelter Scotland, said "smoke and mirrors" will not blind them to the fact that the industry is being offered nothing new."The £31 million announced on Tuesday by the Scottish Government is not new money. It is part of money already allocated to ..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106278 04 February 2010 One of the biggest civil engineering operations in Scotland is taking place in Glasgow over the next two weeks.The launch of the Port Eglinton Viaduct is part of the work going on to complete the missing link between the end of the existing M74 at Fullarton Road and the M8 south of the Kingston Bridge.The scheme involves a number of crossings of roads, railways and the River Clyde. The Port Eg..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106265 04 February 2010 Scottish Borders Council has announced plans to invest £35.6 million in Borders school buildings over the next four years.The investment will support the programme of new-build and refurbishment already underway.The proposals are still to be ratified at a special meeting of Scottish Borders Council on Thursday 11 February. The following schools will benefit: UL LI Kingsland Primary - Buildi..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106295 04 February 2010 The road to recovery for specialist contractors is likely to be a bumpy one according to the latest National Specialists Contractor Council State of Trade Survey.The results for the fourth quarter of 2009 show further reductions in both enquiriesand orders, despite previous signs of stabilisation returning to the marketplace. Converting enquiries into orders is proving particularly difficult a..... http://www.buildscotland.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=106266 04 February 2010