Lochgilphead CARS - Recommendation of Grant Award
Argyll and Bute Council · 6 September 2023
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 6 September 2023 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC 6 SEPTEMBER 2023 GROWTH LOCHGILPHEAD CARS – RECOMMENDATION OF GRANT AWARD 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to ask Members to agree a grant award to the owner of 10 Poltalloch Street, Lochgilphead using Lochgilphead Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding. The report also includes an update on the progress of Lochgilphead CARS. 1.2 The total value of the grant award is forty nine thousand, nine hundred and forty nine pounds (£49,949.00). The award represents grant towards the repair and conservation of one building. 1.3 The grant award would be based on all criteria having been met and will support the delivery of approved project outcomes, as agreed by Historic Environment Scotland. 1.4 Lochgilphead CARS is being delivered over a six-year period and will conclude on 31 March 2026. A full funding package is in place, with expenditure monitored on a regular basis. There is sufficient funds in place to make the recommended grant under the scheme. 1.5 There are two priority building projects currently on site. The remaining two priority projects are in the development phase with an anticipated site start in spring 2024. In addition to this, a number of small repair grant and shopfront improvement cases are being progressed. A number of training and education activities have been delivered and there are more events planned. 1.6 Lochgilphead CARS has been awarded an additional £100,000 funding from the latest round of the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment (PBI) Programme. The funding was approved at a meeting of the Policy and Resources committee on the 10th August and will be used to support further shopfront improvement works and tenement property maintenance works.
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These projects will complement the improvements that are being carried out using the original CARS funding allocation. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee approve the grant offer of up to £49,949.00 to the owner of 10 Poltalloch Street, Lochgilphead.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC 6 SEPTEMBER 2023 GROWTH LOCHGILPHEAD CARS – RECOMMENDATION OF GRANT AWARD 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 The purpose of this report is to ask Members to agree a grant award to the owner of 10 Poltalloch Street, Lochgilphead using Lochgilphead Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding. The report also includes an update on the progress of Lochgilphead CARS. 2.2 The value of the grant award is forty nine thousand, nine hundred and forty nine pounds (£49,949.00). The award represents grant towards the repair and conservation of one building. 2.3 The proposed grant is based on the lowest tender return following a competitive tender exercise. 2.4 The application for grant aid has been fully assessed against Lochgilphead CARS project criteria and agreed with HES 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee approve the grant offer up to £49,949.00 to the owner of 10 Poltalloch Street, Lochgilphead. 4.0 DETAIL 4.1 The Lochgilphead Conservation Area Regeneration (CARS) is a grant programme focussing on the regeneration of historical buildings as well as traditional skills training and community engagement jointly funded by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Argyll and Bute Council. The total grant fund
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available is £1,301,318. This figure includes additional monies approved via the Place Based Investment fund for 2022/23. 4.2 Lochgilphead CARS started in April 2020 and was due to conclude in March 2025. Due to the pandemic HES offered a one-year extension. This offer was accepted and the scheme will now run to March 2026. 4.3 A full funding package is in place, with expenditure monitored on a monthly basis. The project seeks to safeguard Lochgilphead’s heritage by supporting property owners to return their buildings and shopfronts to a good state of repair, which in turn increases the attractiveness of Lochgilphead’s town centre and encourages further investment. 4.4 This report seeks to outline a grant award to support repairs to 10 Poltalloch Street, a two storey residential terraced property which sits opposite Lochgilphead Front Green on the shores of Loch Gilp. Whilst the property sits within the Lochgilphead Conservation Area, it is unlisted. 4.5 The property is rendered to both the front and rear elevations, with the windows and doors offset by raised margins. The guttering to the front and rear are half round cast iron on brackets (painted). The roof is in traditional slate laid in random widths and diminishing courses, although the slate size suggests it has been re-laid in the past in redressed slate of insufficient dimensions. The leadwork to the party wall positions of the adjoining properties has been laid to accommodate unequal roof pitches and has been poorly installed. Inspections within the attic space suggest that the lead has failed in part. 4.6 To meet the CARS grant conditions, the building owner appointed a Conservation Accredited architect to manage the project on his behalf. The development phase of the project is now complete and the construction tender report is available. 4.7 The scope of the contract is to address issues with the roof of the building. Works will include; full strip and re-slate of roof with new natural slate laid in random widths and diminish courses, repair of leadwork to party wall lines, repair to render on chimney, repairs to gutters and downpipe, including re- painting. It is proposed that work will start in late September 2023 and last four weeks. 4.8 The grant application has been fully assessed against Lochgilphead CARS project criteria. A planning application has been submitted and is due to be determined soon. 4.9 The total eligible project cost is £62,373.00. The owner is contributing £12,424.00 with the remainder to be covered by the CARS grant funding. Lochgilphead CARS Progress Report 4.10 Priority Buildings - One of the key elements of a CARS is the named priority building projects. These buildings are agreed with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) as being the most suitable for repair and conservation works.
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Factors include; location, contribution to the built heritage and Place, current condition, listing and appearance. Grant funding is ring fenced to assist owners with the repair of these buildings subject to all grant conditions being met. There was originally three priority buildings but one building was removed and another two added. This was reported to the Area Committee in June 2022. The current priority building projects are as follows: 1 Argyll Street – Work is due to be completed in September. 3-17 Colchester Square – Work started in May and is progressing well. 2-4 Argyll Street – The building owners have formed an Owner’s Association and set-up a joint bank account. They have appointed a Conservation Accredited Design Team to manage the project on their behalf. The project is currently in the development phase with construction tenders due to be issued in early October. Following this we will invite owners to submit their CARS grant applications and we will seek final approval from the Area Committee in December. The projected site start is spring 2024. 6-10 Argyll Street – Exact same status as 2-4 Argyll Street. 4.11 A number of shopfront improvement projects are currently being progressed via the CARS Small Repair Grant and Shopfront Improvement budget. This includes shopfronts that form of priority buildings. An application has also been received to part-fund replacement timber sash and case windows on Argyll Street. 4.12 Lochgilphead CARS has been awarded an additional £100,000 funding from the latest round of the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment (PBI) Programme. The funding was approved at a meeting of the Policy and Resources committee on the 10th August and will be used to support further shopfront improvement works and tenement property maintenance works. These projects will complement the improvements that are being carried out using the original CARS funding allocation. 4.13 Traditional Skills Training - An important element of Lochgilphead CARS is the Promotion and delivery of traditional and construction skills training to a range of stakeholders including; Lochgilphead High School pupils, Argyll College students, local contractors, building professionals and public sector staff involved in the repair and maintenance of historic buildings. We want to encourage young people to consider a career in construction and to upskill existing tradespeople. 4.14 Education and Outreach Activities – This element of the scheme encourages the local community to participate in the management of the historic environment and delivers events and training to educate people on how to manage and maintain their historic buildings. 4.15 During 2023, a number of activities and training courses have been delivered in Lochgilphead. This includes:
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11-14th April – Five local contractors attended a Lead Welding a Bossing course delivered by a specialist training provider who is a member of the Lead Sheet Association. Feedback was excellent and all participants are now using their new skills in the Mid-Argyll area. 18th April – Built Environment – Smarter Transition (BE-ST) delivered a Low Carbon Learning workshop at UHI Argyll. The workshop was attended by 33 Skills for Work students. 25th May – We held a Mineral/Silicate paint CPD event in the Parish Church Hall. Sixteen people attended including local contractors and building professionals. This included a number of Council employees who are involved in the conservation of historic buildings. 8th June – Traditional Building Skills Demo Day 2023. Following on from the Traditional Skills Demo Roadshow in 2022, we delivered a similar event at UHI Argyll. On this occasion, local contractors delivered the following trade stands; traditional roofing, joinery, brickwork and plumbing. In addition to this, BE-ST explained about Sustainable Materials and Digital Construction. Participants were given the chance to use AR, VR, Thermal Imaging and 3D Scanning Technology. During the course of the day, sixty-five pupils from Lochgilphead High School and Tarbert Academy took part over three sessions. Full PPE was supplied to all pupils and feedback from both the pupils and teachers was excellent. To inspire others we produced a short film that is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUvXaQlGU8c 13-14th June – We delivered an Energy Efficiency Measures/Retrofiring for Traditional Buildings training course at The Egg Shed. Sixteen people benefited from this unique learning opportunity including local contractors, building professionals and Council staff involved in energy efficiency work. Following the course, participants are required to sit an exam to obtain the NOCN Level 3 Award. This is particularly relevant given the number of traditional buildings in Argyll and Bute and the requirement to meet with new energy efficiency standards. NPA Construction Craft Technician students from UHI Argyll completed the second phase of manufacturing play equipment for a local nursery. The students gained a number of skills including painting and working with timber. We are now planning a number of other events, this includes a tenement maintenance and retrofit event in the Baptist Church Hall on the 26th September. This event will be delivered in partnership with Under One Roof and will be open to the public. Tenement maintenance and retrofit event Tickets, Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite All training courses and events are listed on the Lochgilphead CARS web pages at: Lochgilphead CARS Events and Training | Argyll and Bute Council (argyll-bute.gov.uk) 5.0 CONCLUSION
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5.1 The grant award will support the repair of one town centre property, helping to safeguard homes and businesses whilst providing a boost to the local economy. 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy – The Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) and Argyll and Bute Outcome Improvement Plan 2013-2023 support town centre Regeneration and a diverse and thriving economy. 6.2 Financial – To satisfy audit requirements we provide an update on the overall financial position of the scheme to the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee on six-monthly basis. All grant funding is in place as part of the Lochgilphead CARS budget including the Historic Environment Scotland grant and Council match funding which includes an element of Private Sector Housing Grant. The scheme also relies on contributions from private building owners. The total common fund is £1,963,511 The total grant funding to be committed is £1,301,318 To date £522,865 has been committed. 6.3 Legal – Third party grant contracts are issued to all recipients of CARS grant funding. 6.4 HR – A project office is employed to deliver the scheme for its duration. Staff Salaries are included within the project budget. 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: 6.5.1 Equalities - protected characteristics - None 6.5.2 Socio-economic Duty – The grant funding will support local economies through place based regeneration activity. 6.5.3 Islands - None 6.6 Climate Change – The grants will help retain the use of an existing building using traditional methods and materials and located in the town centre helping to retain the embedded carbon. The importance of this subject is also communicated to contractors to ensure that where possible climate adaption and mitigation is considered to help create a thriving, sustainable local economy and a healthier, happier place fostering carbon lifestyles. 6.7 Risk - That the grant schemes are underscribed or that projects run over time or budget. These risks will be carefully monitored and mitigated by the CARS project officer as the scheme progresses.
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6.8 Customer Service – The Council is responsible for administering the CARS grants on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland and for ensuring due diligence in the performance of duties. Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth - Kirsty Flanagan Councillor Robin Currie, Policy Lead for Strategic Development 3 August 2023 For further information contact: James Lafferty, Lochgilphead CARS Project Officer, Transformation Projects and Regeneration Team, Development and Economic Growth james.lafferty@argyll-bute.gov.uk