Oban Retail Park, Phases I and II


Phase I

Forrest acquired the existing 30,000 sq. ft. retail parade in 2003 and subsequently re-let the anchor unit to Lidl UK with the other existing tenant, Argos remaining in the adjacent unit. Au Naturale commenced occupation of the remaining vacant unit in October 2005.

Phase II

A 25,000 sq. ft. retail unit, pre-let to Homebase, was completed in July 2006 with the store opening for trading in October 2006.

Forrest have recently sold their interest in Oban Retail Park, providing an attractive yield on the investment and development works.

Station Road, Cupar


A 2 acre site was acquired by Forrest within Cupar town centre and detailed planning consent was granted for a retail unit extending to approximately 18,000 sq ft. The new store was pre-let to Lidl UK.

The construction operations completed in April 2006 with the store open for trading shortly thereafter.

Forrest sold this property in 2007 to private investors.

Tulloch Street, Dingwall


Forrest acquired this property in October 2005 to add to the investment portfolio based on the potential scope for medium term redevelopment. The property benefited from an open use planning consent, in an excellent location within Leith. This acquisition continued the expansion of Forrest’s investment activities.

The unit provides approximately 20,000 sq ft of floorspace on one level with 87 parking spaces.

After securing planning consent for refurbishment of the unit and external areas, Forrest sold the property in June 2012 to an owner operator.

Balmore Road, Glasgow


A 12-acre brown field site on the north side of Glasgow was assembled and acquired by Forrest Developments Limited. A masterplan exercise was undertaken and agreed by the Local Planning Authority with 10 acres subsequently being sold to Wimpey Homes.

UPDATE:

Following the disposal of the 10 acre adjacent site to Wimpey Homes, Forrest have demolished the former Comet Bar off Bilsland Drive to create a 1.5 acre site fronting both Balmore Road to the east and Bilsland Drive to the west.

The site is development ready, with a regular plot size and generally flat topography. It is located 2 miles from the city centre and on the main commuter route from the north of the city.

Keltneyburn Hydro, Aberfeldy, Perthshire


The Keltneyburn Hydro Generating Station is a ‘run of river’ hydro scheme with a maximum power output of 2MW producing in the region of 6,000MWhrs per annum. The intake and weir structure, located on the Alt Mor tributary, is the abstraction point connecting to the 800 mm diameter underground pipeline. The pipeline runs for approximately 5.5km, dropping over 250 metres from abstraction point to the outfall at the confluence of the Keltney Burn and River Lyon where excess water from the pipeline and turbine flow is returned.

The Keltney Burn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the area around the intake location contains several wildlife species that dictated specific operational ‘windows’ for the civil engineering works. Keltneyburn Hydro worked very closely with SEPA, SNH and local fisheries groups to ensure that all aspects of the scheme met with the required standards and conditions.

A key consideration of the scheme was that the integrity of the countryside was maintained, emphasising the green credentials of the scheme and protecting the environment. The powerhouse containing the twin turbines, generators and transformer is partially buried underground; the only visible sign being the stone clad wall and access doors as shown opposite. The intake and outfall structures are also partially buried and clad in stone to blend in with the surrounding environment. Fish screens were also installed.

All 5.5km of the pipeline are buried underground along the entire route; the only visible elements now being the periodic manhole covers allowing access to the seven air valve chambers.

The entire installation was commissioned on 7 May 2010 and is currently operating to the designed capacity. The installation benefits from an 12.1p/KWhr generation tariff under Year 3 of the Feed-in-Tariff scheme. Keltneyburn have opted out of the export tariff and entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with SmartestEnergy.

Homebargains take up residence in Forfar

Homebargains have signed a lease to take Unit 1 at Forfar Retail Park, following the sub-division works undertaken after the demise of Focus DIY Limited. Homebargins will commence their fit-out operations in February 2012 and intend to open for trading in early April 2012.