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Message from Alan Wilkinson, Graham Construction

Dear Neighbour,

As you will have seen on a daily basis we are progressing apace on the new St. John’s Primary School on Duddingston Road.

We are now approaching the phase of the project where we need to bring the service supplies into the site from the surrounding area. Given the location of these services in the centre of Duddingston Road we will need to close the carriageway closest to the site for a period of 4-6 weeks starting on Monday 26th March.

From the traffic management plan below you will see we intend to close the footpath adjacent to the site. We will also reduce the road to a single carriageway under temporary light control. This will allow us to bring in all services in the same period.

During this period we will keep the surrounding area clean using a road brush, labourers and forklift and we will return the road and footpath to normal service as quickly as possible.

ln the meantime, if you have any questions about the work activity please do not hesitate to contact us on the number below.

Thank you for your understanding in advance.

 Alan Wilkinson (Project Manager) – 07881092425

Andrew Thomson (Site Manager) – 07584700069

SJPS@Graham.co.uk

Map: Grahams con – Duddingston rd – 2 Way ttls – Footway Closure-rotated

 

 

The Beast from the East and his son have gone, the sun is out, the builders are back on schedule (how in this snowy weather?) and Donald the Gate is smiling (eyes wrinkled up in the sun).

The fantastic brick work just appears as if from nowhere – as flat and smooth as marble.  It won’t be long before the whole building is brick-skinned.

And, as planned, new trees have been planted – big ones that already rise above the high site fence.  Some of the old cherries are still there too – ready to blossom.

Back to the Park

The City of Edinburgh Planning Portal has just published a response from the architects to the comments made during the planning application consultation.  A lot of detailed information which should allow the planning process to continue to a decision.

Read it here:

17_05217_FUL-RESPONSE_TO_PLANNING_QUERIES_LETTER-3854248

 

 

The building is getting skinned. Thousands of bricks are being laid and now we can see the emerging colour of the building.  Windows are in for most of the building as are internal partitions. People can be seen moving from room to room.

We hear that handover of the building may be delayed into July. The building itself will be complete in June but the contractors may not have finished the grounds. Some parts of the nursery roof proved difficult (and who would want to be working up there in recent weather?).  There is still an air of confident efficiency around the whole site.

 

 

The original plan was for the new School main building to be wind and watertight by 5 February – that has not quite been achieved. Even so the scaffolding is up round most of the building which will allow the bricklayers to get the final skin built.  It has been cold, windy, wet and snowy – tricky until the windows are in.

 

 

The timetable says that the superstructure is to be complete by 15 December and it looks as if that might be met.  This week we have seen concrete floors being poured – not sure if the roof is on yet – and the insulation for some walls being fitted.  It is now possible to see that the school will be an attractive design, robust but not dominating.  And built on time.

The demolition of oldSt John’s has been approved and the consultation period for the planning permission for the Treverlen Park closes shortly.

17_05217_FUL-_05__LANDSCAPE_LAYOUT-3775205

 

There is a lot to consider in the planning application published today by the City of Edinburgh Council on its planning portal.

You can see the detail here:

New park amenity green space on the site of the former Portobello High School. Work will include the demolition of the existing St John’s RC Primary School currently on the site which will be relocated to a new build school adjacent to the new Treverlen Park upon completion of the works onsite. – St John’s RC Primary School Hamilton Terrace Edinburgh EH15 1NB

It caught the attention of the Edinburgh Evening News on 11 December .The story has a couple of oddnesses – the gates are 20th century, not 18th  but the gist is right.

 

 

From a distance, over the high fence, it looks as though there are dinghies in a marina but close up it is a drunken row of fence posts surrounding the new all weather pitch.  Compared to the mathematical precision of the school building itself this seems a bit strange but further round they are being aligned – a work in progress.

The Meccano of the building is almost complete and the full outline of the building can now be seen – this view above is of the school office and dining hall. The gently sloping roof will be concealed by a level brick façade.  The view below is of the classrooms facing Duddingston Road, making full use of the sun.

This has been a busy week: the frames for the nursery and the gym/dining hall are up and preparations are complete to put up the classroom block between them.   The big change is that the foundations have been laid for the all-weather pitch which is the last of the big elements to be installed.

 

Lots of cranes and lifting machines on site, working Saturdays too.

This is the second day of steel erection.  There are two teams working, one at each end of the building. A crane man lifts each piece over the next place while one other chap on a long-arm cherry picker bolts it into place.  At the nursery end the top height of the building has been reached – only two storeys.