Grangemouth refinery owner Ineos has unveiled plans to build a new £20 million headquarters office at the site.
The Luxembourg-based company said the new four-storey office development will be open by September 2016.
The company said the new headquarters building is part of a wider development drive at the site which will also see the business create a “manufacturing hub”
John McNally, chief executive of Ineos Olefins and Polymers, said: “The site is undergoing a radical transformation with significant investment that will herald a new era in petrochemical manufacturing at Grangemouth.
“This is another part of our £450 million survival plan being implemented. It shows our ongoing commitment to creating a world class manufacturing site.”
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Plans for a new headquarters and civic space in Falkirk took another significant step forward after the local authority submitted plans for a new building on the site of the former Westbank Clinic on West Bridge Street.
The £18 million project will see Robertson Construction Group develop a new four storey HQ office and civic building with the possible demolition of an existing health centre on site, complete with new traffic and pedestrian access arrangements from main road.
Falkirk Council, which will work in partnership with hub East Central Scotland on the project, formally approved the decision in August with a meeting of the council giving the go-ahead for plans to be put forward.
Building warrants for the demolition of Westbank Clinic and the new HQ have also been submitted.
Following a wide ranging public consultation that took place between May and June of 2015 on the proposed design for the new building, a revised design has been put forward taking on board adjoining residents’ concerns regarding the height and size of the building.
The design by Ryder Architecture has now reduced the eastern block by one storey and the parapet heights of both blocks, and retains a stepped profile to blend with the surrounding topography and give the building the prominence required for a public building at the gateway to Falkirk town centre.
A council spokesperson confirmed that these design changes had been made: “We have reduced the height of the building by a further 2.5 metres and design team have evolved the 3D visualisations and elevational treatments to highlight that this is a high quality, yet functional design, which will be appropriate for the council’s main HQ and will complement the architecture in this part of the town centre.”
Falkirk Council’s planning committee is expected to consider the application early in 2016 after the formal process has been progressed.
The council will also consider an update on the principle of replacement of Falkirk Town Hall on a proposed site at Middlefield in Falkirk being pursued in partnership with Forth Valley College and Falkirk Community Trust at a meeting of Falkirk Council later in 2015.
The Falkirk Wheel is set for a mini revolution as a £1 million programme to revamp and develop new visitor experiences at the world’s only rotating boat lift gets underway.
The project will see the 13-year-old Wheel, which links the Forth & Clyde Canal to the Union Canal 35m (115ft) above, refurbished inside and out, with the existing visitor centre, trip boats, conference rooms and activity hub refreshed with new branding, signage and interpretation celebrating the engineering behind the iconic structure.
The Falkirk Wheel will remain open throughout the works, which are due to be completed this summer. The project forms part of a phased investment plan which will see further improvements and exciting new visitor experiences developed over the coming years to keep the attraction fresh and encourage people to come back time and again.
The revitalisation of the Wheel, the construction of which formed a key part of the £84.5m Millennium Link project, comes on the back of its busiest year ever, with more than 600,000 people enjoying a visit to the working sculpture in 2015. It’s hoped the project will encourage even more people to take a turn on The Falkirk Wheel in the years to come, with the profits generated by the attraction reinvested in safeguarding the rich heritage of Scotland’s 250-year-old canals.
Steve Dunlop, chief executive of Scottish Canals, said: “The Falkirk Wheel is a towering symbol of the renaissance of Scotland’s canals and one of the nation’s top tourism attractions. Even more than a decade since its opening, the chance to see this iconic feat of engineering in action is still drawing huge numbers of visitors, boosting the economy of the area and helping put Falkirk on tourists’ ‘to-see’ lists the world over.
“This investment will build on that success, refreshing the Wheel’s existing attractions, and encouraging even more people to take a turn on the world’s only rotating boat lift. Whether you’re soaring through the sky on the Wheel itself, taking to the water in a floating dodgem, or relaxing in the new and improved café and watching the world – and one or two boats – pass by, there’ll be no shortage of things to do.
“The Falkirk Wheel is the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s canal network and the income it generates plays a vital role in safeguarding the rich heritage of the nation’s 250-year-old waterways. With the completion of this project, and The Helix and The Kelpies nearby, the area will have even more to offer visitors. With the chance to take a turn on the incredible Wheel or stand in the shadows of the largest horse sculptures on the planet, Falkirk and Grangemouth is fast becoming a vibrant hub of sustainable tourism with the Forth & Clyde Canal at its heart.”
A £17 million project to create a new “urban quarter” on the eastern side of Falkirk has been unveiled.
Falkirk Council said the plans aim to stimulate a mix of business and leisure development over a 376-acre area to regenerate the gateway entrance into the town and create better connections with its centre, Grangemouth and the wider Central Belt.
It said plans for more environmentally-friendly infrastructure in the area will attract other private investors. The development area takes in sites that encompass the Gateway, Falkirk Community Stadium, land earmarked for the new £70m Forth Valley College campus and the home of the Kelpies, Helix Park.
Leader of Falkirk Council, councillor Craig Martin, said: “These exciting plans for a new sustainable urban quarter signal another step in the transformation of Falkirk’s economic fortunes.
“The gateway is a prime site to attract jobs, investment and development. There’s huge investment potential for developers across tourism, business and leisure.”
The council said its proposed plan aims to use low carbon technologies to build a more sophisticated infrastructure across the area that will enable further development, support traffic flow and attract private investment.
It will create the UK’s first circular elevated pedestrian and cycle crossing, which will support the upgrade of the road network connecting each of the Gateway sites. Another feature is the development of waterways along landscaped pedestrian pathways.
Funding from Falkirk Council’s £67m tax incremental financing (TIF) scheme and other external sources will fund the programme of infrastructure by borrowing against future business rate income expected to be generated by the resulting regeneration and development around the gateway area.
The first phase of the programme is planned to start in 2017 and will focus on enabling works to form an extension of the town towards Helix Park and the Stadium, within a zone that supports the new college works, due to commence in 2017.
Awarded to Falkirk Council in 2013, the Falkirk TIF is expected to lever in £413m in private investment over 25 years, creating almost 6,000 jobs in the area. Another phase of works under the TIF aims to upgrade access at Junction 5 in Grangemouth to support the development of new industrial properties at Forth Ports and a new headquarters for Ineos.
Read more: http://www.scotsman.com/business/ma...tment-in-falkirk-area-1-4074403#ixzz439UYLqWB
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Falkirk-based property development firm Bellair has outlined an ambitious vision to develop 6.7 acres of council-owned land around Grahamston railway station, to form a £150m extension of Falkirk town centre.
Proposals drawn by 3D Reid outline a new base for Falkirk Council services, a 500-seat arts venue, 300 homes, offices, leisure, retail and a multi-storey car park – all connected by enhanced landscaping and a link bridge over the railway line.
Bellair founder Alistair Campbell said: This development will help to draw people back into Falkirk’s historic town centre, creating extra footfall for the businesses that are already an integral part of our community and attracting other companies to be part of the next chapter in our story.
“We have to stop thinking of Falkirk as a town. The area is fragmented with local communities competing for investment. We need to think collectively and share a united vision for the region. If the population of Falkirk district was considered as one, it would have a population to rival Dundee, one of the biggest economies in Scotland. Falkirk, longer term, should be seen on a city level and the Grahamston project could fundamentally help enable this.”
Bellair have already rolled out a new business hub concept in the town and are keen to capitalise on its equidistant position between Glasgow and Edinburgh within the Central Belt – with Edinburgh 30min away by rail and Glasgow just 20 minutes down the track.
Falkirk Council is assessing its options in regard to a new Civic Centre in light of competing options.
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Rosebank Distillery
Client: Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd
Location: Camelon, Falkirk
MLA have been working closely with Scottish Canals for many years on redevelopment proposals for the former Rosebank Distillery Buildings. Now, with the purchase of the site by Ian Macleod Distillers, the proposal is to recommission the distillery so that it can once again produce the well renowned, triple distilled Rosebank Whisky.
New distillation process areas will be created to allow for modern, sustainable production whilst the listed bonded warehouses along the canal-side will be conserved, refurbished and re-purposed to house visitor facilities.
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www.urbanrealm.com
