A vacant warehouse at Glasgow Airport has received a £750,000 energy efficiency upgrade in order for it to meet new regulations that come into force today.
The buildings consultancy team of real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle helped deliver the upgrade at The Hub Air Cargo Centre, which is a 40,000 square foot industrial facility based at the Scottish airport.
Various energy efficient measure and sustainably-sourced materials were implemented during the building’s refurbishment, including PIR-operated LED lighting and a replacement air conditioning unit within its offices.
New roof lights now allow additional daylight into the warehouse, while new flooring and access doors were also installed.
The upgrades bring the building’s EPC certificate from a ‘D’ to a ‘B’, enough for The Hub to comply with the new Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016, which come into effect today.
Those regulations – effective two years before similar legislation for England and Wales – penalises the owners of commercial properties of over 1,000 square meters, prohibiting their sale or lease to a new party until an action plan establishing energy and carbon targets, as well as potential improvements, has been created.
Earlier this year property consultancy Tuffin Ferraby Taylor warned that many landlords in Scotland appeared unprepared for the new regulations.
Niall Robertson, director at JLL’s buildings & construction team, said the legislation offered Scotland the opportunity to “lead the way” in commercial energy efficiency improvements.
“For building contractors and consultants in Scotland, the new regulations will come as positive news with a healthy stream of work set to come their way. The Hub, Air Cargo Centre is a good example of how pre 2002 standard stock can be fully modernised to meet the new rules,” he added.