News

Award Win at the Glasgow Institute of Architects Awards 2024

It’s always a great moment to see a project win an award. Last night, the St Andrew’s Drive Affordable Housing scheme won in the Large Residential award category at the Glasgow Institute of Architects Awards 2024.

“St Andrews Drive phases 2 and 3 are the concluding phases of a landscape-led approach to creating a development driven by the principles of NPF4. The project’s initial strategy was to integrate a mixed-tenure social and affordable housing development into the adjacent Pollokshields West conservation area.

“Preserving existing trees was a key objective whilst providing a series of urban villas set in a series of gardens that provide a holistic living environment for its residents. The project seeks to extend the neighbourhood’s sense of place into the new masterplan and knit the community together.”

As part of our support for NHS Forest, we were delighted to donate 4000 trees to Pinderfields Hospital site.

Utilising volunteers from within the Trust and the local community, several planting days were undertaken resulting in the trees being planted along the 900m perimeter of site.

Hedgerows are an integral part of the UK’s landscape, where not only are they complex ecosystems that make up the nation’s largest linear wildlife habitat, but they also offer a wealth of further benefits to their surrounding localities, including reduced flooding risk, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity enhancement, in addition to positive health impacts such as alleviating air pollution, heat regulation, and noise reduction, and wider social and operational contributions like visual amenity and enhanced security. Unfortunately, they are disappearing at an alarming rate, with over half the UK’s hedgerows having vanished since the post-war period, equating to around 118,000 miles lost.

The whips planted consist of a double run of mixed native broadleaf species over a length of almost one kilometre, in what is thought to be the longest new hedgerow created on an NHS site within England in recent times.

Space

To provide the greatest impact, the area the Trust chose for the new hedgerow was along the Northern and Eastern boundaries of the hospital. These are along the two most busy roads for the site; Bar Lane and Aberford Road. The distance spans around 900m (0.56 miles) in total, with varying ecology such as shady wooded areas and open grassland. Invasive species, such as cherry laurel, first required removal.

Health & Social Benefits

• Air quality improvements – absorption of pollutants such as nitrous oxides & particulate matter
• Noise/wind reduction – hedgerows attenuate noise and act as a wind break
• Security & privacy – segregating areas that can be utilised for wellbeing areas
• Reducing flooding/soil erosion – increased water retention, via slowing surface water run-off and extensive root networks help to maintain soil integrity
• Cooling/thermal regulation – hedges provide shade & reduce ‘urban heat island’ effects and issues like wind-chill

Environmental Benefits

The hedgerow consists of a double run of mixed native broadleaf, which will sequester carbon as it grows, and once established, it will significantly enhance biodiversity within the local area. A species rich hedgerow (11 spp.) has been created in which a huge array of lichens, insects, animals, and microorganisms will co-exist, providing nesting sites for birds and refuges for small animals, in addition to pollen, nectar, fruit, and leaves as a vital food source.

Glasgow Office

Cancer Research Shine Night Walk

Led by Carina McKinney, an Associate in the Glasgow office, DSSR is hosting a 10k night time walk fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. She is leading a group of colleagues to raise as much as possible to help beat cancer by taking part in the Shine Night Walk Glasgow 2024.

The Shine Night Walk is an illuminating night-time event where walkers pass through their city’s famous landmarks as part of a 10k walk. Organised by Cancer Research UK, several similar events take place in cities across the UK.

Great North Run for British Heart Foundation

Senior Site Inspector, Billy Blair, is also leading a fundraiser for the Great North Run 2024.

Billy Blair:

“On Sunday 8th September I will be taking part in the 2024 Great North Run, fulfilling a long held ambition.

“My chosen charity is the British Heart Foundation as my family, like many others, has been directly affected by heart disease.

“The British Heart Foundation funds over half of all non-commercial research into heart and circulatory disease carried out in the U.K. supporting £100m of new projects every year giving adults and children born with heart condition the chance to lead a long and healthy life.

“To help fund this worthwhile charity, I would be grateful for any donation made.”

Harrogate Office

The team in Harrogate has recently supported a charity endeavour led by Phil Proctor who is leading the delivery team which is building a specialised Motor Neurone Disease care centre at Seacroft Hospital, Leeds.

Phil completed a 189-mile cycle challenge, going coast to coast from Morecambe to Scarborough, over the 27th to 28th of June. We are proud to have helped raise £6.8 million to build a specialist MND (Motor Neurone Disease) Care Centre in Leeds, to give people living with MND the best quality of life.

Aiding people living with MND to gain the best experience of life along with the best possible care and support, he has had the privilege of working alongside some of the patients in the design process including Rob, each one are remarkable individuals whose positivity in the face of this terminal disease has been truly inspirational.

Manchester Office

The Manchester office is proud to announce a £1,000 donation to the Alzheimer’s Society, a charity chosen through a staff-driven short-listing process.

This collective decision reflects the team’s commitment to supporting vital causes that resonate with us personally and professionally.

We are honoured to contribute to the Alzheimer’s Society’s mission of improving the lives of those affected by dementia, and we take pride in making a meaningful impact within our
community.