Latest news with #KayleighKinross-O'Neill
STV News
01-07-2025
- Business
- STV News
Contract for £55m high school extension and renovation works awarded
A £55m contract has been awarded for renovation works and the construction of a new building at an Edinburgh high school. Belfast-based construction firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been contracted to build the extension to Trinity Academy in Leith and refurbish an existing Victorian building. Plans to renovate and expand the school have been ongoing for several years, with the first stage of the project – involving a new sports and recreation facility – opening in 2022. A ward councillor has said she is 'really pleased' with the planned improvements, and that she looks forward to the public space on the site that will be open to the community. The expansion of Trinity Academy, which is fed by three primary schools, will expand its capacity from 950 to 1,200. A planning application for the school's redevelopment was submitted by the council in October 2023. The original red sandstone Victorian building at the western end of the school, built in 1894, will be retained and undergo refurbishment. Meanwhile, several of the other structures on the site, built after the original building, will be demolished A new four-storey extension to the original building will be built in their place, with a red brick and metal exterior. Both the extension and the sports facility have been designed by architecture firm Holmes Miller, which has designed several primary schools in the city. LDRS Trinity Academy development Green councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, who represents Forth ward, said: 'We're really pleased to see the next step of Trinity's expansion go ahead, as I know most parents and teachers are too. 'I'm especially looking forward to seeing the outdoor learning facilities and other wellbeing features that can be used by the wider community.' The works will be carried out in phases in order to allow teaching to continue while the works are under way. A temporary teaching space will be built to the south of the school, first allowing the teaching in two of the newer buildings on the site to be moved there. They will then be demolished, and the extension will be built in their place. The teaching in the two demolished blocks will then be moved back into the extension, and the teaching in the Victorian-era building will be moved out for it to be refurbished. Once the refurbishment is complete, all teaching will be returned to the new and refurbished parts of the site, and the three remaining buildings in the east of the site will be demolished, to be replaced with an outdoor space. The outdoor design at the site will integrate Trinity Academy's grounds with those of Trinity Primary, creating a unified campus within the community. The open space would be open to the public and feature outdoor teaching areas. Passivhaus standards were used in the design of the extension, which aims to keep the temperature of the buildings comfortable while using as little energy as possible. Builders McLaughlin & Harvey were also contracted to build the Wester Hailes High School, which is set to be completed in late 2026. Elsewhere in the city, they have built several structures for the University of Edinburgh, including the Nucleus student hub and a new building for the School of Engineering at the university's King's Buildings site. Between 2018 and 2022, the firm's waste subsidiary was locked in a legal battle with Revenue Scotland over landfill taxes. Barr Environmental Ltd operated two landfills in Scotland, including one in Ayrshire, as well as a plant to recycle waste. In 2021, Revenue Scotland slapped the firm with a £99m fine, saying it had wrongfully not paid landfill tax on materials recycled from the Ayrshire landfill to build walls on site. The company said that, because the materials were recycled, they should be exempt from the landfill tax. Recycling waste through their recycling plant was part of the firm's business model in the waste processing space, with the hope it would drive costs down for its local authority clients. A lower tribunal found against the firm, but Barr appealed to the Upper Tribunal and won, with a tribunal judge saying that 'there is nothing wrong with principle' with what the company did. Barr no longer operates waste facilities in Scotland, having pulled out of the sector ahead of the impending landfill ban. The contract was closed on March 19 and published on June 27. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Edinburgh Reporter
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Another delay to Edinburgh bus lane trial announced
Another delay to a bus lane trial that has been pushed back for six years will mean 'public transport will suffer', a city councillor has warned. Edinburgh's Green group has been pushing for the introduction of '7-7-7' bus lanes – ones open from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week – across the capital since 2015. A trial was supposed to begin at the start of this year, but traffic regulation issues and difficulty getting funding has now seen it shoved it back to February 2026. Green councillor and co-leader Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill said the delay was 'disappointing', and would aid in worsening the congestion faced by the city's bus network. In 2019, Edinburgh's transport committee voted for a consultation to be held ahead of a trial of the scheme, with the survey running at the end of the year. But the results of the consultation were never passed on to councillors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the scheme was revived when councillors voted to have officers explore the feasibility of rolling out 7-7-7 bus lanes in the capital. It is unclear what progress was made with this, but two years later, in February 2024, councillors at the Transport and Environment Committee voted to have officers develop plans for a trial. And in August last year they approved the trial, which would have seen 7-7-7 bus lanes be rolled out along the length of the 44 bus route by the first quarter of 2025 – but no trial has come. At a meeting of the transport committee last Thursday, a councillor asked officers for more information on why the scheme was delayed yet again. Green councillor and co-convener Chas Booth said: 'The original committee decision from August of last year stated that the trial would start in the first quarter of 2025 – so that's already at least three months delayed. 'Can I ask what is the reason for the delay, and whether we have a new date for the trial to start?' Council officer Deborah Patton said: 'There are probably two main reasons. One is around orders, overlapping [traffic regulation orders] which needs to be sorted out, but will hopefully be sorted out later this year. 'The other really crucial one is funding for this piece of work. We had hoped that we would be able to secure some funding from Transport Scotland's bus infrastructure fund, and indeed have submitted a proposal for that to Transport Scotland several months ago. 'However, unfortunately, at the time of speaking today, we still haven't heard whether that bus infrastructure fund is going forward or not.' Another officer, Jamie Robertson, said the council is aiming to complete preparatory works for the trial by February 2026. Cllr Booth continued: 'Obviously, there is a long history to this. Committee, I think four years ago, even more, agreed to the roll-out of 7-7-7 bus lanes across the city. 'And now, we've seen a delay to just the very limited trial that committee agreed to last year.' Council officer Gareth Barwell said: 'We'll have to look at some form of a plan B on the funding of this if it's not successful. 'This is an important thing to do. We'll continue to push contacts at Transport Scotland and we'll keep members updated if we'll have to look at using resources differently.' Cllr Booth asked Mr Barwell if councillors could be provided with a written brief on the issues facing the trial. Mr Barwell said he was happy to do it. Labour councillor and Transport and Environment Committee convener Stephen Jenkinson said: 'I think that would be helpful. I think if there's anything we can do as councillors to apply pressure in the right places to maybe speed up funding decisions, certainly as convener, I'm more than happy to do that. 'But maybe collectively as committee it's something we can take a brief on and take offline, and decide what a plan B might look like. 'I think it's fair to say, I'm slightly disappointed that it's taken so long to get to this point, and that we haven't managed to make as much progress as I would like to see. 'I want to see if there's any ways in which we could maybe speed this up.' Several other cities in the UK, including Glasgow, have rolled out 7-7-7 bus lane schemes. And in some parts of the country, bus lanes stay closed to other traffic 24/7. Cllr O'Neill said: 'It was disappointing to be told in Committee that there have been delays to the 7-7-7 trial. 'While we wait, more and more buses will be stuck in congestion and our public transport network will suffer for it. 'Funding is an issue across the board and we understand this, however we need the council to be transparent and explain what is needed. 'If this doesn't happen, how can we expect the public to come on the just transition with us?' Cllr Jenkinson said: 'Making public transport more efficient, reliable, and reducing journey times, are key objectives for us. 'I share the frustration over the delayed roll-out of this trial. Officers are working with transport partners to secure the necessary funding and progress experimental traffic orders to deliver improved bus priority infrastructure.' By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Live
Seven year delay of Edinburgh bus lane trial 'will see public transport suffer'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Another delay to a bus lane trial that has been pushed back for six years will mean 'public transport will suffer', a city councillor has warned. Edinburgh's Green group has been pushing for the introduction of '7-7-7' bus lanes – ones open from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week – across the capital since 2015. A trial was supposed to begin at the start of this year, but traffic regulation issues and difficulty getting funding has now seen it shoved it back to February 2026. Green councillor and co-leader Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill said the delay was 'disappointing', and would aid in worsening the congestion faced by the city's bus network. In 2019, Edinburgh's transport committee voted for a consultation to be held ahead of a trial of the scheme, with the survey running at the end of the year. But the results of the consultation were never passed on to councillors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the scheme was revived when councillors voted to have officers explore the feasibility of rolling out 7-7-7 bus lanes in the capital. It is unclear what progress was made with this, but two years later, in February 2024, councillors at the Transport and Environment Committee voted to have officers develop plans for a trial. And in August last year they approved the trial, which would have seen 7-7-7 bus lanes be rolled out along the length of the 44 bus route by the first quarter of 2025 – but no trial has come. At a meeting of the transport committee last Thursday, a councillor asked officers for more information on why the scheme was delayed yet again. Green councillor and co-convener Chas Booth said: 'The original committee decision from August of last year stated that the trial would start in the first quarter of 2025 – so that's already at least three months delayed. 'Can I ask what is the reason for the delay, and whether we have a new date for the trial to start?' Council officer Deborah Patton said: 'There are probably two main reasons. One is around orders, overlapping [traffic regulation orders] which needs to be sorted out, but will hopefully be sorted out later this year. 'The other really crucial one is funding for this piece of work. We had hoped that we would be able to secure some funding from Transport Scotland's bus infrastructure fund, and indeed have submitted a proposal for that to Transport Scotland several months ago. 'However, unfortunately, at the time of speaking today, we still haven't heard whether that bus infrastructure fund is going forward or not.' Another officer, Jamie Robertson, said the council is aiming to complete preparatory works for the trial by February 2026. Cllr Booth continued: 'Obviously, there is a long history to this. Committee, I think four years ago, even more, agreed to the roll-out of 7-7-7 bus lanes across the city. 'And now, we've seen a delay to just the very limited trial that committee agreed to last year.' Council officer Gareth Barwell said: 'We'll have to look at some form of a plan B on the funding of this if it's not successful. 'This is an important thing to do. We'll continue to push contacts at Transport Scotland and we'll keep members updated if we'll have to look at using resources differently.' Cllr Booth asked Mr Barwell if councillors could be provided with a written brief on the issues facing the trial. Mr Barwell said he was happy to do it. Labour councillor and Transport and Environment Committee convener Stephen Jenkinson said: 'I think that would be helpful. I think if there's anything we can do as councillors to apply pressure in the right places to maybe speed up funding decisions, certainly as convener, I'm more than happy to do that. "But maybe collectively as committee it's something we can take a brief on and take offline, and decide what a plan B might look like. 'I think it's fair to say, I'm slightly disappointed that it's taken so long to get to this point, and that we haven't managed to make as much progress as I would like to see. 'I want to see if there's any ways in which we could maybe speed this up.' Several other cities in the UK, including Glasgow, have rolled out 7-7-7 bus lane schemes. And in some parts of the country, bus lanes stay closed to other traffic 24/7. Cllr O'Neill said: 'It was disappointing to be told in Committee that there have been delays to the 7-7-7 trial. 'While we wait, more and more buses will be stuck in congestion and our public transport network will suffer for it. 'Funding is an issue across the board and we understand this, however we need the council to be transparent and explain what is needed. 'If this doesn't happen, how can we expect the public to come on the just transition with us?' Cllr Jenkinson said: 'Making public transport more efficient, reliable, and reducing journey times, are key objectives for us. 'I share the frustration over the delayed roll-out of this trial. Officers are working with transport partners to secure the necessary funding and progress experimental traffic orders to deliver improved bus priority infrastructure.'
Edinburgh Reporter
30-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
£55 million contract awarded for renovation works at Trinity Academy
A £55 million contract has been awarded for renovation works and the construction of a new building at an Edinburgh high school. Belfast-based construction firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been contracted to build the extension to Trinity Academy in Leith, and refurbish an existing Victorian building. Plans to renovate and expand the school have been ongoing for several years, with the first stage of the project – involving a new sports and recreation facility – opening in 2022. A ward councillor has said she is 'really pleased' with the planned improvements, and that she looks forward to the public space on the site that will be open to the community. A rendering of the new school | Image via City of Edinburgh Council A rendering of the new school | Image via City of Edinburgh Council The expansion of Trinity Academy, which is fed by three primary schools, will expand its capacity from 950 to 1,200. A planning application for the school's redevelopment was submitted by the council in October 2023. The original red sandstone Victorian building at the western end of the school, built in 1894, will be retained, and undergo refurbishment. Meanwhile, several of the other structures on the site, built after the original building, will be demolished A new four-storey extension to the original building will be built in their place, with a red brick and metal exterior. Both the extension and the sports facility have been designed by architecture firm Holmes Miller, which has designed several primary schools in the city. Green councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, who represents Forth ward, said: 'We're really pleased to see the next step of Trinity's expansion go ahead, as I know most parents and teachers are too. 'I'm especially looking forward to seeing the outdoor learning facilities and other wellbeing features that can be used by the wider community.' The works will be carried out in phases in order to allow teaching to continue while works are underway. A temporary teaching space will be built to the south of the school, first allowing the teaching in two of the newer buildings on the site to be moved there. They will then be demolished, and the extension built in their place. The teaching in the two demolished blocks will then be moved back into the extension, and the teaching in the Victorian-era building moved out for it to be refurbished. Once the refurbishment is complete, all teaching will be returned to the new and refurbished parts of the site, and the three remaining buildings in the east of the site will be demolished, to be replaced with an outdoor space. The outdoor design at the site will integrate Trinity Academy's grounds with that of Trinity Primary, creating a unified campus within the community. The open space would be open to the public, and feature outdoor teaching areas. Passivhaus standards were used in the design of the extension, which aim to keep the temperature of buildings comfortable while using as little energy as possible. Builders McLaughlin & Harvey were also contracted to build the Wester Hailes High School, which is set to be completed in late 2026. Elsewhere in the city, they have built several structures for the University of Edinburgh, including the Nucleus student hub and a new building for the School of Engineering at the university's King's Buildings site. Between 2018 and 2022, the firm's waste subsidiary was locked in a legal battle with Revenue Scotland over landfill taxes. Barr Environmental Ltd operated two landfills in Scotland, including one in Ayrshire, as well as a plant to recycle waste. In 2021, Revenue Scotland slapped the firm with a £99m fine, saying it had wrongfully not paid landfill tax on materials recycled from the Ayrshire landfill to build walls on site. The company said that, because the materials were recycled, they should be exempt from the landfill tax. Recycling waste through their recycling plant was part of the firm's business model in the waste processing space, with the hope it would drive costs down for its local authority clients. A lower tribunal found against the firm, but Barr appealed to the Upper Tribunal and won, with a tribunal judge saying that 'there is nothing wrong with principle' with what the company did. Barr no longer operates waste facilities in Scotland, having pulled out of the sector ahead of the impending landfill ban. The contract was closed on 19 March and published on 27 June. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
30-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh high school to be bulldozed and rebuilt in £55m deal
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A £55 million contract has been awarded for renovation works and the construction of a new building at an Edinburgh high school. Belfast-based construction firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been contracted to build the extension to Trinity Academy in Leith, and refurbish an existing Victorian building. Plans to renovate and expand the school have been ongoing for several years, with the first stage of the project – involving a new sports and recreation facility – opening in 2022. A ward councillor has said she is 'really pleased' with the planned improvements, and that she looks forward to the public space on the site that will be open to the community. The expansion of Trinity Academy, which is fed by three primary schools, will expand its capacity from 950 to 1,200. A planning application for the school's redevelopment was submitted by the council in October 2023. The original red sandstone Victorian building at the western end of the school, built in 1894, will be retained, and undergo refurbishment. Meanwhile, several of the other structures on the site, built after the original building, will be demolished A new four-storey extension to the original building will be built in their place, with a red brick and metal exterior. Both the extension and the sports facility have been designed by architecture firm Holmes Miller, which has designed several primary schools in the city. Green councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, who represents Forth ward, said: 'We're really pleased to see the next step of Trinity's expansion go ahead, as I know most parents and teachers are too. 'I'm especially looking forward to seeing the outdoor learning facilities and other wellbeing features that can be used by the wider community.' The works will be carried out in phases in order to allow teaching to continue while works are underway. A temporary teaching space will be built to the south of the school, first allowing the teaching in two of the newer buildings on the site to be moved there. They will then be demolished, and the extension built in their place. The teaching in the two demolished blocks will then be moved back into the extension, and the teaching in the Victorian-era building moved out for it to be refurbished. Once the refurbishment is complete, all teaching will be returned to the new and refurbished parts of the site, and the three remaining buildings in the east of the site will be demolished, to be replaced with an outdoor space. The outdoor design at the site will integrate Trinity Academy's grounds with that of Trinity Primary, creating a unified campus within the community. The open space would be open to the public, and feature outdoor teaching areas. Passivhaus standards were used in the design of the extension, which aim to keep the temperature of buildings comfortable while using as little energy as possible. Builders McLaughlin & Harvey were also contracted to build the Wester Hailes High School, which is set to be completed in late 2026. Elsewhere in the city, they have built several structures for the University of Edinburgh, including the Nucleus student hub and a new building for the School of Engineering at the university's King's Buildings site. Between 2018 and 2022, the firm's waste subsidiary was locked in a legal battle with Revenue Scotland over landfill taxes. Barr Environmental Ltd operated two landfills in Scotland, including one in Ayrshire, as well as a plant to recycle waste. In 2021, Revenue Scotland slapped the firm with a £99m fine, saying it had wrongfully not paid landfill tax on materials recycled from the Ayrshire landfill to build walls on site. The company said that, because the materials were recycled, they should be exempt from the landfill tax. Recycling waste through their recycling plant was part of the firm's business model in the waste processing space, with the hope it would drive costs down for its local authority clients. A lower tribunal found against the firm, but Barr appealed to the Upper Tribunal and won, with a tribunal judge saying that 'there is nothing wrong with principle' with what the company did. Barr no longer operates waste facilities in Scotland, having pulled out of the sector ahead of the impending landfill ban. The contract was closed on 19 March and published on 27 June.
