Office park secures major tenant

28 July 2011 Last updated at 18:21 GMT Sepa is taking an entire block at Maxim on a 20-year lease The struggling Maxim office park in Lanarkshire has been given a major boost with the announcement it is to let an entire block to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).

The agency is taking the 60,000 sq ft 'Maxim 6' building on a 20-year lease.

The move will allow Sepa to run several of its operations under one roof.

Maxim park was saved from financial collapse only a few months ago by the sale of Lloyds Banking Group debt to an American private equity investor.

The debt restructuring involved Cerberus Capital Management, a New York-based investment house.

The park, which offers 750,000 sq ft of office and retail space across 10 buildings on a prominent site by the M8 motorway, opened in 2007 but has secured few tenants until now.

David Gebbie, from commercial property asset managers Arisaig Property Partners, said the recent financial restructuring of Maxim had allowed Sepa and Maxim to achieve a leasing deal that previously could not have been achieved.

He added: "Both Maxim and Sepa have economically benefited from a review of the original terms without impacting the actual net present value of the lease.

"The news is a great boost for Maxim and the Lanarkshire area."

Sepa will relocate 350 staff to the office, including 200 from East Kilbride - where they are closing down two neighbouring offices - and others from Stirling and Perth as well as scientific staff from Edinburgh.

Sepa's headquarters will remain in Stirling.

Sepa chief executive Campbell Gemmell commented: "I am extremely pleased to be able to announce that Sepa has secured an excellent new facility, which will not only mean more efficient and effective environmental protection for Scotland, but which also provides better value for money for the taxpayer.

"It will provide the operational base for our regulatory teams for west central Scotland, an excellent working environment for several related national functions and a brand new, first class laboratory facility."

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Barrier call for level crossings

28 July 2011 Last updated at 23:45 GMT The rail regulator said high risk crossings should be fitted with barriers or closed The railway regulator has called for barriers to be fitted to more than half of Scotland's open level crossings.

A Rail Accident Investigation Branch safety review said some crossings should close completely if Network Rail could not install automatic barriers.

The review was prompted by a crash in Caithness in 2009, when three members of the same family died after driving onto an ungated level crossing.

Scotland has 23 open crossings, and 21 of these are in the Highlands.

The regulator said more than half of these, including the site of the 2009 crash at Halkirk, posed a high risk to drivers and should be fitted with barriers.

Two crossings at Ardrossan are also in need of upgrading, it claimed.

Network Rail said it was implementing a substantial programme of activity, aimed at reducing the level of risk by a quarter by 2014.

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Man, 80, in eight-peak challenge

30 July 2011 Last updated at 11:27 GMT Lorne Brown will be 80 three days before the climbs begin A man from Cumbernauld is to attempt eight climbs in eight days in the Italian Dolomites, just three days after his 80th birthday.

Lorne Brown intends to scale the dramatic heights using the Via Ferratas or "iron roads" on 2 September.

These will take him up overhanging cliffs and precipitous slopes to the high and most dangerous parts of the Dolomites.

He will be raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

By a coincidence the charity is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.

A Via Ferrata is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges to assist climbers.

Allowing only eight days for the eight climbs, in what he terms the "8x8 challenge", Lorne hopes to raise ?8,888 for the guide dog charity.

'Bit daunted'

Each day he will have to walk and climb about 3,000 feet (900m) - the height of a Munro - to get to the start of each Via Ferrata.

He will then don a safety helmet, harness, karabiners and safety kit before clipping on to the first cable and setting off.

Mr Brown, who lives in Dullatur, explained why he was doing the climbs for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

"If we didn't have guide dogs all these people would be sitting at home going nowhere," he said.

"A dog can take them out and help them take part in everything that is going on."

He added : "I'm a little bit daunted by the challenge but I wouldn't do it unless I thought I could do it.

"I've been going to the gym three days a week and climbing once or twice a week to make sure my muscles and stamina get stronger."

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Prison term for 'callous' conman

29 July 2011 Last updated at 10:55 GMT At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Tyre said Kenneth Tait was 'cold' and 'callous' A conman who preyed on vulnerable women for cash has been jailed for six years and four months after a judge condemned his "cold, calculated callousness".

Kenneth Tait, 44, from Manchester, duped a series of women out of a total of ?155,229 in Edinburgh and at Glencare, Perth, between 2000 and 2007.

One victim even agreed to sell her home under extreme pressure from him.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh after earlier admitting carrying out three frauds and a theft.

Outside the court, nurse Lesley Munro, 54, from whom he stole ?104,160, said: "I am relieved. He literally stole everything.

"I am here for all the other victims. It is a brilliant outcome. Yes, I have lost my house, I have lost everything but he has got justice now."

Lord Tyre told Tait he would have faced an eight-year prison term for his crimes, but for his guilty plea.

The judge said he took into account the length of time over which he perpetrated his crimes and the determination with which he pursued them and the severe effect on the victims.

"The degree of cold, calculated callousness which you exhibited to these women, who looked to you for friendship and love, is shocking," he told Tait.

The court heard Tait at first appeared "charming, affable and very supportive" of his targets including those who had left unhappy relationships.

But once he gained their trust he engaged in "a ruthless campaign to get funds" using emotional blackmail, claiming he was in danger or ill, and offering financial incentives alleging he had lucrative investment opportunities.

Marriage proposals

The court heard he appeared to wield huge influence over some victims and had no qualms about leaving them "financially and emotionally wrecked".

Tait had originally faced a further 12 charges involving a total of 10 people and in excess of ?300,000, but the Crown accepted his not guilty pleas to those charges.

He married in 2002 but separated from his wife in 2006.

During the marriage he engaged in relationships with other women who he duped into believing he was single or separated. He asked two of them to marry him.

He claimed to work as a self-employed private investigator, but failed to keep up his registration with his professional body and there were no records of him working in a full-time capacity since 2003.

Tait, a registered bankrupt, was caught after his sister went to police and named others she believed had been conned by him.

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Burnt-out flat 'draws tourists'

29 July 2011 Last updated at 10:20 GMT Books are still stacked in the shelf on the wall of the destroyed flat A town centre building left gutted by a fire has become an unlikely draw for photographers.

Clothes store CeeGees and the flat above on Crieff High Street, Perthshire, were destroyed in the blaze on 7 June.

The building was demolished following the fire, but a shelf - complete with books and melted hi-fi - remains fixed to the second-floor wall.

An intact mirror and fireplace also appear suspended above the rubble.

A window with a blind and pelmet - seemingly untouched by the blaze - can be seen on the far wall as well, next to a framed print.

Locals said there was a regular stream of people stopping to take pictures of the strange sight, many of them posting their shots on photo-sharing websites.

The debris from the demolition is expected to be cleared soon

Steve Rodgers, who owns the Pretoria Bar opposite the destroyed building, said: "It's a daily occurrence. You see tourists and locals with their cameras. It's becoming quite an attraction for folk.

"I think it's the mirror above the fireplace that people like."

A man and woman had to be rescued from the flat above the shop during the blaze, which closed the main road through Crieff for several hours.

A local shopworker, who did not want to be named, said it was "upsetting" that the building was being constantly photographed.

He said: "To call it a tourist attraction would not be fair. It's an eyesore on the High Street. It's become quite depressing to look at.

"You can see a bookshelf and mirror still fixed on the wall and I can see why people would take pictures of it. But it's someone's life in ruins. It's sad."

Traffic has remained restricted through the centre of Crieff since the fire almost two months ago because of the debris from the demolition.

A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said the authority had been informed by the building's owner that the rubble would be cleared soon.

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Asbestos concern in factory fire

30 July 2011 Last updated at 08:45 GMT Firefighters have spent most of the night tackling a blaze at a linen factory in Fife.

They were called to the premises of Peter Greig & Co, in Kirkcaldy's Clair Street, at about 23:00 on Friday.

A spokesman for Fife Fire and Rescue said a decontamination team was brought in because of fears about asbestos.

The fire was eventually extinguished with the aid of an aerial rescue pump, and firefighters using breathing apparatus and a thermal image camera.

The extent of damage to the building is not yet known.

Fire crews in Fife were also called to fire at a derelict church in Dysart.

When they arrived at about 04:00 the building, Barony Church in Norman Road, was reported to be "heavily smoke logged".

The fire was extinguished and the building was ventilated.

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Probe into Don crossing purchases

28 July 2011 Last updated at 14:54 GMT A public inquiry has been called into the potential use of compulsory purchase orders for the planned third River Don crossing in Aberdeen.

The local authority has had long-held plans to build a bridge linking Tillydrone and Grandholm.

Many people own property along the way, and Transport Scotland said a hearing would be held in response to the number of objections.

The council said the inquiry would not consider the crossing plan itself.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "Due to the volume of statutory objections received, this matter is being dealt with by way of a Public Local Inquiry.

"As such, the case has now been passed to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals to make arrangements for the inquiry.

"The scheme remains the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council and it is a matter for them to work towards resolving these objections."

The aim of the crossing is to improve access to the north of the city.

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