Derelict school to be transformed into affordable housing
The renovation will provide affordable housing while also supporting the local community, businesses and minimises the carbon footprint both during construction and in use.
Chair of the Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: 'This is exactly the type of project the Vacant & Derelict Land Investment Programme should be supporting. The renovation of this derelict school and school house will create 5 or 6 fuel efficient user-friendly housing unit, in an area where affordable housing is very limited.'
READ MORE:
The Council will the administer the funding and the project will be delivered by the Communities Housing Trust Communities Housing Scotland (CHT) working with The Glendale Trust.
The project will be a case study to demonstrate how derelict buildings can be refurbished cost effectively, provide significant benefits to the community and much needed housing.
While undertaking the renovation, under existing building regulations, each stage will be analysed to determine improvements that could make renovations a more attractive and cost-effective option.
Councillor Gowans added: 'Improvements identified could include changes to regulations and planning status, project efficiencies, energy management, waste management and reduction in environmental impact.
'I wish everyone involved all the very best as they move forward with this exciting transformation project.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Wrexham Council Leader discusses budget report for 2024/25
The report is set to be presented to the Executive Board next Tuesday (June 10), outlining the council's financial performance for Q4 of 2024/25. The final position represents a total net deficit compared to the budget of £1.7m It is recommended that the £1.7m is taken from the Budget Mitigation reserve as intended, to support the revenue budget in 2024/25. The council's general balances remain unchanged at £8.4m. Ahead of the meeting, Leader of the Council Mark Pritchard stated his concerns over potential National Insurance (NI) payments that local authorities are expected to pick up. The UK Government are expected to fund 75 per cent, with Welsh Government adding a top up of £36m, but that still leaves a gap of 15% that the council would need to cover. Mark Pritchard. (Image: Wrexham Council) The Leader of the Council said: "I'm really pleased with where we are at this moment in time with regards to the outturn. "There's been a lot of work to get us to this point and it hasn't been easy. One thing I must say is we can't rest on our laurels and we need to bring a budget in and we will continue to do in these extremely difficult times. "I do have concerns in the future over funding as there is an election coming and we don't know where we are on the NI side. "We feel we've been done to without consultation, this wasn't in any bodies manifesto, they've announced this, gone in another direction. They promised us they'd protect us between Wales and Westminster and they'd protect public services, if this is protecting public services – we've got a rough ride ahead of us. "It's unfair from a government that they are opposing NI on us, an example is the social care budget is £100m, £70m of that is paid to external providers, they will all have NI increases and they will all knock our door for it. "It's just extra pressure that we could do without at this moment in time. REALATED READING: Wrexham schools "overspending" making the council "uncomfortable", says leader "We're given a certain amount of money that we spend within the council and we make political decisions on where to spend it. "The general public are more understanding now, but we have a certain amount of money, we have a legal and statutory duty to deliver services, is a requirement and the other services have to wait in line to see if there's cuts or spending. "It's very, very difficult to bring in budget, echoed across the country, it's tough times." The council spent over £107m on social care in 2024/25, which was £6.5m over what they had budgeted for the financial year. The Leader of the council was quick to state that that level of spending is down to the current levels of demand for the service. He said: "These aren't overspends in the statutory services in terms of adult and children social services, these are demand led pressures with members of the public coming through the door needing help. "I believe that social care demand is going to increase, the demand is going to continue to come through the door. What I would say to anyone who challenges social care – what if it was your mother, what if it was your father, brother, sister who needed help in social care. "What would you expect? I would expect first class service and I would expect councils to make sure social care is safe and the most vulnerable people in society are looked after." When asked whether it's possible the council could become a statutory service only, Cllr Pritchard responded: 'Only time will tell, we are looking to remodel and change things, even if we do that the demand is still growing. "The more demand in statutory services, if we don't have money from government, we'll have to put more money in to meet the demand and then we're outstripping non-statutory services. MOST READ: Woman drove wrong way along A483 in Wrexham whilst 'very drunk,' court told Planning application submitted for huge new housing development in Wrexham Jealous thug headbutted ex after 'asking about her sex life with new man' "For some reason the governments aren't giving the money we require. None of us want any local authorities in Wales to go bankrupt. We're not asking great demands, only asking for local authorities delivering statutory services and safeguarding. "All we'll do is keep taking money from non statutory to put into statutory services. The frankness of it is in my opinion is the pressure is immense. When questioned on whether he believes it will take a Section 114 (bankruptcy) notice from a local authority in Wales for the Welsh Government to understand the current pressures, Cllr Pritchard said: "Honestly, yes, I think that's what it will take and I hope that never happens I wouldn't want to see it happen to any authority in Wales, I wouldn't. "I think if one goes, it will be a domino effect, let's hope that we never get there."
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
North Kesteven bin lorries powered by recycled cooking oil
Nearly all the dustbin lorries in North Kesteven are running on recycled fuel, the council has but two of the fleet of 31 vehicles now use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in place of council said it reduces overall greenhouse gas emission in its waste collection operation by 90%, cutting around 800 tonnes of CO2 a is produced by recycling used cooking oils and similar products. Travelling around 400,000 miles (643,737 km) a year, the refuse fleet empties 55,000 bins a leader Richard Wright said waste collection was responsible for 41% of the council's carbon footprint."Our vehicles travel along every road in the district, servicing every home, clearing fly tipping and undertaking other vital environmental tasks right across the area," he said."Now as they do so, there will be greatly reduced atmospheric impact as climate damaging emissions direct from the exhausts will be 98% lower from vehicles using HVO over regular diesel."The council is also investing in electric-powered vehicles and fitting solar panels and air-heat pumps to its to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Norway fund's ethics body reviews Israeli bank stakes over West Bank settler loans
OSLO/LONDON/JERUSALEM, June 3 (Reuters) - The ethics watchdog for Norway's $1.9 trillion wealth fund is scrutinising Israeli banks' practice of underwriting Israeli settlers' housebuilding commitments in the occupied West Bank in a review that could prompt up to $500 million in divestments. The Council on Ethics, opens new tab, a public body set up, opens new tab by the Ministry of Finance, has, however, decided not to object to the Fund's investments in accommodation platforms such as Airbnb (ABNB.O), opens new tab that offer rentals in the Jewish settlements. The body checks that firms in the portfolio of the world's largest wealth fund meet ethical guidelines set by Norway's parliament. In an interview with Reuters on May 22, Council head Svein Richard Brandtzaeg said it was examining how Israeli banks offer guarantees that protect Israeli settlers' money if the company building their home in the West Bank should fold. Other practices are also being looked at "but this is what we can see so far", he said. "That is what is well documented." He declined to say how long the review would take. Brandtzaeg did not name the banks but, at the end of 2024, the fund owned about 5 billion crowns ($500 million) in shares in the five largest Israeli lenders, up 62% in 12 months, according to the latest data. The banks - Hapoalim ( opens new tab, Bank Leumi ( opens new tab, Israel Discount Bank ( opens new tab, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank ( opens new tab and First International Bank of Israel ( opens new tab - did not answer requests for comment. Since 2020, they have been included in a list, opens new tab of companies with ties to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories compiled by a U.N. mission assessing the implications for Palestinian rights. Latterly, investor concern has grown around the world over a 19-month-old Israeli onslaught that has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated the Gaza Strip in response to an attack by Hamas militants that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many settlements are adjacent to Palestinian areas and some Israeli firms serve both Israelis and Palestinians. The United Nations' top court last year found that Israeli settlements built on territory seized in 1967 were illegal, a ruling that Israel called "fundamentally wrong", citing historical and biblical ties to the land. In mid-2024, the Council on Ethics began a new review, opens new tab of investments linked to the West Bank and Gaza. It examined 65 companies but recommended only petrol station chain Paz ( opens new tab and telecoms company Bezeq ( opens new tab for divestment, resulting in share sales. The Council also scrutinised some multinationals to see if their activities in the West Bank met its guidelines. Among them were the accommodation platforms, including Airbnb (ABNB.O), opens new tab, (BKNG.O), opens new tab, TripAdvisor (TRIP.O), opens new tab and Expedia (EXPE.O), opens new tab, named on the U.N. list, opens new tab and accounting for about $3 billion in Fund investments. But the Council will not recommend watchlisting or divesting from those, Eli Ane Lund, head of its secretariat, said in the joint interview. "The company's activity must have some kind of influence on the (ethical) violations," she said. "It's not (enough) to have a connection, it has to have something to do with the violation, it must contribute to it." The Council's recommendations go to the central bank, which is not obliged to follow them but generally does. If investments are sold, it is done gradually to avoid alerting markets, and the decision is then made public. Pro-Palestinian campaigners say the Council sets its bar too high for recommending divestments, and that the Norwegian government should instruct the fund to conduct a general divestment from Israel just as it did for Russia in 2022, three days after Moscow invaded Ukraine. But most lawmakers support the Council's approach, and are set on Wednesday to formally endorse a parliamentary finance committee's decision not to order a wholesale boycott.
