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Contractors to get major Scottish housing contract opportunity

Contractors to get major Scottish housing contract opportunity

THE Scottish construction sector is set to receive a £1.5 billion contract opportunity to deliver new build housing.

Scotland Excel will publish the Invitation to Participate (ITP) for its four-year New Build Residential Construction Framework on November 30.

The Centre of Procurement Expertise has teamed up with eleven Scottish councils to implement the framework, which will enable contracts for…

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£8.1m health and care centre planned for Aberdeen

£8.1m health and care centre planned for Aberdeen

Plans have been unveiled for a new £8.1 million health and care centre in Aberdeen.

The facility, which will be located in the Greenferns area on the western edge of Northfield near to Orchard Brae and Heathryburn Schools, will incorporate the general medical services currently being delivered from Denburn Medical Centre, Northfield Surgery and Mastrick Clinic.

It will also incorporate Aberdeen…

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Art centre to open on Calton Hill in Edinburgh

Art centre to open on Calton Hill in Edinburgh

A new centre for contemporary art is to open at one of Edinburgh’s most iconic sites.

Collective – on Calton Hill – will include a new exhibition space and restaurant as well as the restored City Observatory.

The £4.5m development on the world heritage site is the result of a partnership between artists, businesses and local people.

The new art centre will open on Saturday.

Collective will…

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New taskforce begins mission to reduce vacant and derelict land

New taskforce begins mission to reduce vacant and derelict land

The Vacant and Derelict Land Taskforce has started the process of finding 100 sites in Scotland with the best potential for development.

There are more than 3600 sites on the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey, ranging in size from under one hectare up to more than 100 hectares.

The recent launch of the ‘Not So Pretty Vacant’ joint campaign by the Scottish Land Commissionand SEPA drew…

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Greens urge action on Scotland’s ‘hundred thousand’ empty underused homes

The Scottish Government needs to play catch-up on the worsening problem of empty homes and second homes if it is to tackle the housing crisis, according to the Scottish Greens.

Publishing a major new report on the issue, the party’s housing spokesperson Andy Wightman MSP reveals that over the last decade as homelessness has worsened, the proportion of empty homes in Scotland has risen from 2.76%…

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Victoria Hospital in Glasgow to be transformed into 400 homes

Victoria Hospital in Glasgow to be transformed into 400 homes

It is a Victorian landmark and a reassuring sight to generations of residents in Glasgow’s southside.

The Victoria Infirmary, which opened to patients in 1890 and would become a major teaching hospital, finally closed in 2015 with the future of the huge site in Langside uncertain.

Now plans have been approved to convert the Victoria’s distinctive Nightingale pavilions into housing as part of a…

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The architecture lover’s guide to Scotland's capital city Edinburgh

The architecture lover’s guide to Scotland’s capital city Edinburgh

Wander the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to the Scottish Parliament Building Compare and contrast the architectural styles of the Old and the New Towns Climb Calton Hill for the monuments and the views across the city There can be few better cities in the world for architecture lovers than Edinburgh. With everything from the medieval lanes of the Old Town to hyper-modern structures reflecting…

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RBS and Bank of Scotland to dominate business agenda as they post results

RBS and Bank of Scotland to dominate business agenda as they post results

The Royal Bank’s figures released on Friday are likely to contain a good measure of bad news caused by further repercussions of past misdeeds while Lloyds, parent of BoS, could outline a new strategic plan. A tale of two Scottish banks is set to dominate next week’s business agenda, as RBS and Bank of Scotland parent Lloyds’ results will prompt another public airing of financial dirty linen. The…

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Japan and Scotland have a long history and a glorious future

Japan and Scotland have a long history and a glorious future

Scotland is rightly proud of a small group of enterprising pioneers who played a key role in the industrialisation of Japan in the second half of the nineteenth century. The most famous was the “Scottish Samurai”. Thomas Blake Glover was an Aberdeenshire merchant who — among a quite staggering list of achievements — founded the shipbuilding company which became the Mitsubishi Corporation and…

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Insider names six new countries where Scotland will set up trade offices

Insider names six new countries where Scotland will set up trade offices

New outposts for Scottish Development International are to be announced shortly – but insider can tell you where, the banks facing the results ‘music’ this week, KPMG in Carillion spotlight, ‘dark ages’ interviewing of women Insider reveals the six countries where Scotland is setting up shop Their setting up was a pledge by Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP Conference in November 2016. It was in the…

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£650m Scottish railway framework out for bid

£650m Scottish railway framework out for bid

Network Rail Infrastructure is on the hunt for three contractors to deliver a £650m programme of building and civils work on the Scotland and London North Eastern routes. Successful suppliers will deliver more than 1,000 maintenance, renewals and enhancements projects, improving earthworks, bridges, tunnels, footbridges and station buildings The framework has been split into three lots for the…

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£450m village development proposal to be shared with Scottish Ministers

£450m village development proposal to be shared with Scottish Ministers

Plans by Murray Estates to create a £450m village in Western Edinburgh as part of a new ‘Garden District’ is set to be shared with Scottish Ministers as it nears an ‘important first stage’ of the development. If approved the village development could give a huge boost to the regional economy and housing targets – with the scheme set to create 150 permanent jobs with 1,350 new homes being built on…

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Scotland's economy grows by 0.2%

Scotland’s economy grows by 0.2%

The Scottish economy grew by 0.2% during the third quarter of last year, according to official figures. Between July and September, services grew by 0.2%, while production was up by 1.2%. However, construction was down for a seventh quarter in a row, with a 2.9% fall. Equivalent UK growth during the third quarter was 0.4%. On an annual basis, the Scottish economy grew by 0.6%, compared with 1.7%…

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Scotland’s Architecture Fringe opens for submissions

The organisers of Scotland’s Architecture Fringe have invited proposals for the event The fringe, which is in its third year, aims to support new work and emerging practice in Scotland. It will take place at venues across the country from 8 to 24 June this year with a theme of common/senses. Interested parties can apply to take part by devising an exhibition, performance, discussion, screening,…

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Industry experts join housing minister to promote offsite manufacturing

A group of senior construction industry specialists met with housing minister Kevin Stewart MSP last week to discuss how they can work with the Scottish Government to grow the unique offsite manufacturing design and skill base in Scotland. Offsite Solutions Scotland (OSS) is a coalition of ten construction manufacturers with an ambition to grow scale through collaboration. OSS chairman Calum…

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£3m property investment loan for new mixed-use Edinburgh project

AMA Homes is to deliver a residential and commercial development in Edinburgh after securing a £3 million property investment loan. The loan will provide the developer with an extended period to redevelop Belford and Douglas House into a major new residential site with 50 apartments and 2,000 sq ft of commercial space. Belford House is a seven-storey, 23,000 sq. ft. office building which is…

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Scottish housebuilding sector ‘performing well despite Brexit’

The Scottish housebuilding sector is performing well despite the political and economic pressures threatened by Brexit, according to independent Scottish law firm Gillespie Macandrew which has transacted nearly £148 million worth of new build plot sales in the last 12 months. Acting on behalf of three major housebuilders with developments spanning across the Central, East and West of Scotland,…