Business extends opening hours amid roadworks
Edinburgh-based St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has extended the opening hours of its Stenhouse branch in the city to help customers cope with ongoing roadworks in the area.
Earlier this month, Scottish Gas Networks (SGN) began work on upgrading pipes on Gorgie Road near its junction with Stenhouse Drive, with the utility company suggesting it could take 'approximately' 10 weeks to complete.
The temporary traffic lights have resulted in lengthy tailbacks, particularly during the morning rush hour, making it difficult for customers to make it through to the builders' merchants located on Stenhouse Mill Lane.
In an attempt to help ease customers' frustrations, St Andrews is opening its affected branch at the earlier time of 7am, and is providing coffee and bacon rolls for everyone who battles their way through the traffic before 11am, with no purchase necessary to qualify.
Tam Whitehead, Stenhouse branch manager, said: 'When we heard about the work which was planned by SGN, we knew it was going to cause some access issues for our customers.
'That has proved to be the case since it started in early June but we're doing what we can to help the situation. By opening at 7am while the work is in progress, we're hoping it helps the customers beat the traffic and there are bacon rolls and cups of coffee for those who can make it in before 11 o'clock. Anyone popping in during that time will get vouchers from us for a breakfast roll and coffee at the Sitooterie café at Stenhouse Cross.
'We are also operating an increased delivery service with help from the fleet from other branches. Customers who would prefer to avoid the area during the works can make use of this by calling us on 0131 510 7778.'
St Andrews opened its Stenhouse branch (pictured) in 2016, and last year modified it with a 'slap through' to link two previously separate warehouses, in the process significantly increasing its stock options.
Ahead of the commencement of the work on 2 June, SGN said on its website: 'Our project has been planned in close consultation with local authorities and will take approximately 10 weeks to complete.
'Our work is taking place on Gorgie Road, near its junction with Stenhouse Drive. This particular location has experienced multiple gas leaks in recent years and by upgrading our pipes now, we can prevent future emergency work and disruption.
'To ensure everyone's safety, we need to install temporary traffic lights along Gorgie Road around our working area. These lights will ensure traffic flow can be maintained safely pass our site and excavations in the carriageway. They will be in operation from the w/c 9 June for eight weeks.
'For the duration of our project, Stenhouse Drive will be closed and local diversion routes will be in place for motorists. There will also be no left-hand turn onto Gorgie Road from Els House. We advise motorists to plan ahead and allow more time for journeys, especially during peak travel times.'
Like this:
Like
Related
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
First-time buyers removed from government housing scheme
Most first-time buyers have been dropped from a Scottish government scheme that helps people buy a home without having to fund its full cost, BBC Scotland News has Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme allows buyers to pay for 60% to 90% of a property's price, with the government buying the remaining of buyers have entered the property market this way since 2007 but there was a sharp drop last year, leading to some observers calling the scheme's price thresholds unrealistic.A government spokesperson said the scheme would now only focus on priority groups, such as social renters and people with disabilities, but experts called the move "short-sighted". In the past, the initiative had been mostly used by first-time buyers on lower incomes who lived in private rentals or with family. But the government's latest update has rendered first-time buyers ineligible, unless they fit into one of the priority mortgage advisers and buyers who have used the scheme in the past told the BBC first-time buyers were vital to the housing market and should also be a priority group. 'The government should be protecting first-time buyers' In recent years, campaigners have highlighted the growing number of Scots struggling with housing issues such as affordability, suitability and security of May last year, the Scottish government declared a national housing emergency, which set out aims to increase housing supply and tackle high mortgage rates and the rapidly increasing cost of renting have made it difficult for first-time buyers to enter the property to the charity Shelter Scotland, more than four in 10 adults are currently dealing with housing-related Moore from Edinburgh contacted Your Voice, Your BBC News last year because she had struggled to save enough funds to buy her first home as a private tenant of eight years. Although the 32-year-old copywriter had about £5,000 in savings, she had to borrow money from her family to cover a mortgage deposit and the extra funds to pay over the property's asking said: "I can happily pay the mortgage payments, but what I can't do is pull £30,000 out of nowhere - There's no way I'd be able to do this alone."Before she bought her flat, Lucy had considered using the OMSE scheme to split the property's cost with the Scottish the time, the scheme was aimed at first-time buyers and priority groups who could prove they couldn't afford to buy a home without was one of four initiatives the Scottish government has run in the past 20 years to make home ownership more accessible. A Scottish government spokesperson said the schemes had supported almost 52,000 households since 2007, with more than 80% of them being first-time buyers. The OMSE scheme doesn't allow the applicants to offer over a property's asking price if their bid exceeds the set thresholds. This is why Lucy gave up on using claims buyers in Edinburgh often have to compete with investors who can afford to make bids on properties which are far in excess of the asking price."What angers me, and I think it really shows how little support and protection first-time buyers get, is that a lot of the ads on property websites say 'perfect for a first-time buyer or as an investment'," Lucy said."Those two groups of people - that's not a fair fight. "The government should be protecting first-time buyers and giving them a cat in hell's chance of getting into this really hyper-competitive market." First-time buyers no longer a priority Although the government has advertised the OMSE scheme as a "low cost initiative for first-time buyers" for the past 18 years, the eligibility criteria changed in April first-time buyers that fit into one of the priority groups are currently eligible, leaving out those who live in private rentals or with family and obtained by BBC Scotland News shows that the majority of the scheme's past users did not belong to any of the priority year, 182 out of 210 successful OMSE purchases were made by first-time buyers. Priority group applicants were responsible for 6% of these sales in 2024, and 10% in latest evaluation of the scheme from 2021 also showed that 35% of buyers were private tenants, 32% lived with relatives and 24% came from social the government's decision to focus solely on priority groups, a spokesperson said: "Supporting social renters to make the transition to affordable home ownership will help free up social rented accommodation, which in turn could help families move out of temporary accommodation."They added that it was important to target limited government funding on buyers who would not be able to purchase at all without Ramsay, a Dundee-based mortgage broker, called this move short-sighted, adding that she didn't believe it would attract more social renters to the scheme."Many people won't look to move from affordable renting to having to worry about the cost of having your own home, to cover ongoing repairs, everything else that goes with that," she Ramsay believes first-time buyers on lower incomes should be a priority group because they usually buy at the most competitive lower end of the said: "It pushes the house price up because there could be five or six people looking at a property, and some of them may well have financial backing where they can pay over the asking price for that property. It's not a level playing field."These are the people that will keep our housing market moving. It really is a kick in their teeth."In response, the Scottish government said that it still supported first-time buyers by charging no tax on the first £175,000 of their new home, and through the NSSE allows buyers split the cost of a new-build property sold by councils or housing associations. However, there are currently only six local authorities in Scotland with eligible properties, according to the scheme's website. 'Almost impossible' to meet the price cap Martin and Anna Sutherland said they would not have been able to purchase their first home without the OMSE had spent six years privately renting, which left them with just enough money to afford a 5% mortgage deposit, something not many lenders accept, according to the the government paying for 20% of the property price through the OMSE scheme, they managed to secure a lower mortgage and bought a four-bedroom bungalow in Fife. However, Mr Sutherland emphasised it was "almost impossible" to find a property that would fit into the price thresholds set by the government."There wasn't one property available to us by using the (OMSE) LIFT scheme, except for this one," he bought their house for £174,000, which was just £1,000 short of the scheme's threshold for South Fife. According to Rightmove, an average price for a four-bedroom property in Fife is just over £343, though the property requires lots of renovations, Mr Sutherland said the whole family felt very lucky to secure their first home. The thresholds are based on the property size and location, with noticeable differences across Scotland's local Ramsay and other mortgage advisers have told BBC Scotland News the scheme's price caps were the government claimed the thresholds were being updated every year in line with inflation, they remained the same between August 2022 and the latest update in April 2025. In response, the government stated there were no changes in December 2023 and 2024 because the scheme had closed to new applications at the South Fife, where Martin and Anna bought their house in 2024, a four-bedroom property is now capped at £185, BBC News Scotland questioned the government about the thresholds, it said: "We accept that in certain small geographical areas there will be a limited number of properties for sale which fall within the OMSE thresholds at any one point in time."It added that the way the thresholds are calculated ensures that all areas across Scotland are able to benefit from a viable scheme with a reasonable number of properties to choose from. Last year, the scheme's users also only had four weeks to apply, with the government claiming the budget had been "fully utilized by all applications received at the time." We later found out that only a half of the dedicated £27m was actually spent. Responding to our findings, a Scottish government spokesperson said: "After all applications were assessed, approximately £13.5m of the initial budget remained."At the end of November the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice made the decision to redistribute the remaining £13.5m of Financial Transactions allocated to OMSE to Charitable Bonds." The government uses these bonds to provide loans to registered social landlords for the development of new affordable number of applicants to the scheme and its funding have steadily declined in the past five most money allocated to the scheme was £80m in 2019, which supported 1,145 sales. In 2024, only about 0.6% of all of Scotland's first-time buyers benefited from it and the budget was the lowest in a John Boyle, the director of research and strategy at estate agent Rettie & Co, said the shared equity schemes were more successful 10 years ago."That's because it did help more substantial numbers of people onto the housing ladder at a time when it was difficult for first-time buyers to access mortgage finance," he he believes the solution to Scotland's housing problem lies elsewhere."Unless we do something about the supply problem, we won't really do anything about the affordability problem," he said."That's where the bulk of the money should be going."
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
DCMS announces £900m funding for grassroots sport and major events including Euros and Tour de France
The government has announced £900m of investment in British sport, with £500m going towards hosting global events and £400m allocated to grassroots facilities. The list of events in line for major government backing include the 2027 Tour de France, which will see the men's race begin in Edinburgh and take in Wales and England en route; Euro 2028, played out across the four home nations and Ireland; and the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. The government expects the men's Euros alone to generate a £2.5bn economic boost across the UK. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport secretary Lisa Nandy said: 'This major backing for world-class events will drive economic growth across the country, delivering on our Plan for Change. 'Coupled with strong investment into grassroots sport, we're creating a complete pathway to allow the next generation of sporting heroes to train and take part in sport in communities across the UK.' The grassroots funding is designed to support local sports clubs to build new pitches, changing rooms, floodlights and other facilities for communities across the country. Chris Boardman, chair of Sport England said: 'The government's continued investment into grassroots sport facilities is welcome news; the nation's pitches, pools and leisure centres play a pivotal role in keeping people moving. 'With every £1 invested in community sport and physical activity generating £4.20 in value for our economy, supporting grassroots facilities isn't just good for public health — it's a smart investment in the nation's social and economic wellbeing.' Funding for the DCMS, which covers the four-year period from 2025/26 up to 2028/29, was outlined in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review last week. Total spending at the department will be reduced by 1.4 per cent over the review period compared to the previous four years.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
A £1bn bonfire of SNP quangos and bloated public sector? Don't hold your breath!
Quangos will be merged and jobs axed under SNP proposals to strip £1 billion a year of costs from Scotland's 'bloated' public sector. In a blueprint described as 'word soup' by unions and opposition politicians, measures considered will include cutting spending by a fifth on the 'corporate functions' or backroom costs of the Scottish Government and other public bodies over the next 10 years. Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee said it included proposals to 'remove, amalgamate or change' the number of public bodies, as well as sharing backroom services between different organisations. New guidance on redeployment and severance policies for public sector bodies will also be introduced, while there will be a greater shift towards digital services and communications. Opponents dismissed the proposals as a 'wish list' and condemned the lack of details about where the savings would be made and which quangos will be asked. Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said: 'After much hype, the SNP government has produced a 49-page wish-list of word soup that fails to mention waste once. 'It begs the question as to why the SNP have not thought to make these savings at any point over their 18 years in power while they have been wasting taxpayers' money on a colossal scale. 'There is still an astonishing lack of detail as to where these savings will be made, or what quangos will be axed. The public simply will not trust the SNP to suddenly tackle the enormous waste they have presided over.' McKee said: 'Through the tools at our disposal, the efficiency workstreams in our strategy will reduce identified costs on Scottish Government and public body spend on corporate functions by 20 per cent over the next five years, and that equates to an annualised £1 billion cost reduction by 2029-30. 'This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the front line. All public bodies are already required to deliver best value, but this is about going further and faster. It is about taking all available opportunities to introduce and embed efficiency through automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and changing the delivery landscape. 'This is about delivering significant change - including structural reform in government and for public bodies, where that is needed.' He said there needs to be 'better joined-up services' and the public sector needs to be 'ready to reshape our workforce', and added: 'Everyone recognises that things must change, but that creates challenges, as well as opportunities, for employees. 'So we will work with partners, staff and trade unions to ensure we have the right number of people in the right roles to deliver real and meaningful change, and that staff very importantly are empowered to make services better.' During his speech, he also admitted that 'despite increased investment, public satisfaction with services has fallen'. The document published yesterday set out 18 different 'workstreams' where reforms can be introduced, as well as some specific proposals. Most of the measures still lack full details or costings and will continue to be worked on by officials. One proposal is to 'remove, amalgamate or change the number of public bodies where doing so will increase efficiency, remove duplication and improve service delivery', as well as to 'identify duplication across public bodies and work with those bodies to share processes/services'. Other plans propose to share services between different bodies, while the document also promises to consider new 'ways of working' for staff. It proposes 'a collective approach to recruitment, promotion and performance management' across public bodies, and a review of reporting and scrutiny requirements. It also promises a shift towards digital services, with 25 per cent of all Scottish Government, agency and quango correspondence by digital means by 2030, which it said would save £100 million a year. A pilot of a Scottish Government app as 'a gateway to personalised public services' is also proposed for this financial year, with the first use expected to be for 'proof of age'. Data on corporate function costs will be collected and published on all public bodies to 'drive efficiencies' and remove duplication, while new financial targets will be set for operating and staff costs. The plan also talks about 'promote best practice guidance for workforce change', including the approach to redeployment and severance policy. The Scottish Government will also 'further develop our shared services thinking and propositions across a range of services'. Trade union leaders hit out at 'illogical' cuts to staffing at a time of growing pressure on services. STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: 'Whenever government ministers speak of public sector 'efficiencies', workers anxiously hold their breath. 'These cuts, prepacked as reforms, miss the mark entirely. Simply put: you can't fix public services by cutting the very people who keep them running. 'Talk of reducing headcount while NHS waiting times spiral, A&E departments are overwhelmed and social care is in crisis is as reckless as it is illogical.' As Mr McKee unveiled the proposals, fiscal experts demanded a full roadmap to public sector reform. At an event hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: 'The Fiscal Commission and others are pointing out that we have a significant gap in the way we spend public money compared to the money that we're receiving, so there are difficult choices coming our way as a country.'
