BILLY CONNOLLY: MADE IN SCOTLAND FROM SCULPTED STEEL BARS, AND HUNG FROM A WEE BUILDING IN ANDERSTON

MCBAINS COOPER

PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY

PRESS RELEASE

December 14, 2011.

BILLY CONNOLLY: MADE IN SCOTLAND FROM SCULPTED STEEL BARS, AND HUNG FROM A WEE BUILDING IN ANDERSTON.

Billy Connolly sculpture video. http://bit.ly/vLq6eV

Anderston residential project: the challenges video: http://bit.ly/ut0NsJ

Anderston – the next stages, video: http://bit.ly/vxHop5

Links to photos http://bit.ly/vkEhZN

Made in Scotland from girders … not quite, but a sculpture of Big Yin Billy Connolly has been created in metalwork to signal the completion of the first phase of a landmark McBains Cooper project-managed residential housing project in his home town of Anderston, Glasgow.

The sculpture, made from steel bars by renowned north-of-the-border artist Andy Scott, is hung high on an elevation of the first phase to be completed.

And while Glasgow’s most famous son couldn’t make it to the unveiling of a ground level commemorative plaque marking the occasion, a big crowd of locals and media did.

Property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper are project managers on the five phase residential rebuild of Anderston, working with client Sanctuary Housing, and the sculpture of Billy Connolly is high up on the elevation overlooking Glasgow.

Such was the attention to detail during the project as a whole that the team even designed one apartment specifically for the needs of one family, and the gratitude and delight of the residents at that sort of effort - plus the overall finished product – has been clearly signalled by how well kept the whole area is.

“We occasionally get celebrities turning up at launches and openings, but it’ll be nice to drive past the sculpture of the Big Yin every day and be reminded that we played a part in putting Anderston back on the map – after Billy Connolly did it first time round,” said Alan Hannah of McBains Cooper.

The project involves the demolition of a number of 1960s housing blocks in the Glasgow suburb, but has proven to be a massive logistical challenge for the McBains Cooper and Sanctuary teams.

“The key issues here are that the work is going on in amongst a number of schools and nurseries, while also being surrounded by occupied homes – so not only have the logistics of getting into the sites been taxing the grey matter, there has also been the issue of moving families out and into nearby accommodation, and then into the completed Phase One apartment complex,” said Alan Hannah.

“But we know we’ve got it right, firstly because the local residents were surveyed and asked what they wanted and needed in the area – a target we delivered against – but secondly because you don’t have to go far through the area to see how well-kept and looked-after the communal areas are.

“This is one of those incredibly complex but equally incredibly satisfying projects that’s clearly making a vast difference to life in Anderston. And with the Big Yin looking down on us, we wouldn’t dare get it wrong.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800 im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.mcbainscooper.com

Notes.

McBains Cooper

McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK, Europe and Latin America. McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development and their integrated approach means they deliver effective, award-winning solutions to their clients. The Group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Windsor, Athens, Lima (Peru), Miami and Mexico, with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin. www.mcbainscooper.com

CARERS RIGHTS DAY: WHEN WILL CARE REACH THE TOP OF THE GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA?

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

QUOTES

December 1, 2011.

CARERS RIGHTS DAY: WHEN WILL CARE REACH THE TOP OF THE GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA?

Commenting ahead of Carers Rights Day on December 2, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s organisation Saga, said:

“Unless something passed me by, I don’t recall seeing or hearing anything in the Autumn Statement that would give clear and direct support for carers – and don’t forget carers are a group of people who provide a service and support that would otherwise cost the government, and the taxpayer, £80 billion a year.

“Some acknowledgment would be nice, some hope would have been inspirational, but some funding would have been better. The theme for Carers Rights Day 2011 is ‘Money Matters’ – and it does.

“The government appears to be working its way through the issues, youth unemployment, pensions and so on, so maybe carers are on the list for imminent attention – but one can’t help but think there’s a pervading degree of complacency amongst the directly-unaffected, because carers actually just get on with things with little or no fuss and few demands.

“In fact, so short have we been on action or news with regard to addressing the issue of care funding and support overall – with a yawning silence on matters relating to the recommendations of Andrew Dilnot for instance – that we have decided to shake things up ourselves by running a second thought leadership seminar before Christmas.

“There is a core group of us who are determined to make care a top-of-the-agenda item, and we will push and shove until it is.

“But in the current economic circumstances, a key and ironic point is that if the government did apply itself to a proper look at addressing the care crisis, then it would have a significant and positive impact on budget issues: sort out social care, give carers the support they need, free up NHS hospital beds, unburden healthcare professionals, create time – and save money.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800