Highland fling

Movement is afoot on the banks of Loch Ness. But before any potential Nessie-hunters out there get too excited, the cause for excitement this time concerns a more visible local landmark than the resident monster.

After a long and recently turbulent life, Fort Augustus Abbey is undergoing a major transformation. In a phased redevelopment the collection of historic stone buildings in the complex is being converted into a mix of modern homes and leisure facilities. The first phase is due to complete on 1 May, but before the new owners can settle in and admire the views along the 24 mile length of the loch, contractors had to overcome the challenges of getting to the remote location and working on listed structures.

A vision of Gothic architecture, the abbey was originally built in 1876 on the site of the 18th Century Georgian fort after which the surrounding village was renamed in the Duke of Cumberland's murderous era. Leased to the Monastic Order of Benedictines from the 15th Lord Lovat the monks employed architects Joseph Hansom and PP Pugin in turn to convert the fort, affording it features that have led to a Grade A listed status.

The monks ran a public school in the grounds until 1993, after which they held tourist exhibitions. But with declining numbers, they left the abbey in 1998, its ownership reverting to the Lovat Estate and beginning a series of sales.

Bids from a local residents' group proved fruitless and as the property began to deteriorate it was sold first to tv presenter Terry Nutkins' firm, then only two years later to Lancashire firm Hometrader, which remarketed it only days later. The current owner, London property firm the Raven Group, bought the abbey and grounds in late 2003.

The developer specialises in the conversion of listed buildings and properties that are not in residential use. Here its plans for five-star homes and leisure facilities are a world away from the austere surroundings to which the former inhabitants would have been accustomed. The scheme will eventually produce 80 one, two and three-bedroom flats, 12 cottages and shared facilities including a lochside restaurant and swimming pool under the moniker The Highland Club (tel: 01320 366498).

Set in 20 acres of private grounds at the southern end of Loch Ness, masses of rhododendron bushes conceal a cluster of buildings. The three-storey monastery, Old School and Moat House surround a cloistered lawn that is enclosed on the fourth side by the abbey church. Various annexes stretch out from these, creating a quite complex development.

Tackling a monster

The size and disparate nature of the property meant that to tackle it the entire redevelopment has been phased. "There is only an order for phase one at the moment; the other phases will follow subsequently and are being tendered for separately," confirms George Doak, project manager for m&e contractor Hills Electrical & Mechanical. Phase one involved the creation of 24 flats in the Old School and Moat House.

The Glasgow office of Hills Electrical & Mechanical won the m&e services contract by competitive tender and began on site in November 2005. Before the contractor moved in, the buildings had been stripped back to the original walls. "The buildings were basically gutted then compartmentalised into flats," explains Doak. Period features were retained where possible, so new residents have elaborate stained glass window and carved stonework to look forward to; in addition the original floors were retained where their condition allowed.

"The architect had a big say in this building and the installations because of the listed status," explains Doak. "For the services the basic thing was to make them blend into the buildings." The firm installed heating, power, plumbing, ventilation and lighting throughout the two buildings concurrently to detailed designs provided by the m&e consultant. Electrically, each flat has all the features expected in a modern, high-tech property, ranging from tv points and broadband ADSL to mains operated smoke alarms.

Heating is by independent gas-fired pressurised central heating systems. Unusually for domestic installations these use lpg rather than natural gas. "It's a supply issue," explains Doak, "If it were Glasgow city centre a natural gas supply would be used, but due to the location there is a lack of mains and a tanked lpg supply is needed, so we had to make sure we specified this when ordering the boilers as a different burner is needed."

Distributing and concealing services within the buildings also needed detailed pre-planning. "The most complex part of the installation was the co-ordination of the services," says Doak. These run above ceilings and underfloor where possible, but the need to maintain and highlight architectural features affected the routes used. Doak explains: "In some of the rooms there are large, arched windows - it would have been sacrilege to hide these. So we have lower ceilings in the halls to accommodate the services and allow the higher ceilings in the rooms with such features. This means that there are lots of services in the middle of the flats rather than at external walls, which has made the routing more complex."

Any distribution routes through the walls were provided by the main contractor - a considerable task as walls are up to one metre thick in places!

Travellers' tales

Location was a major issue to overcome. Sited within the tourist village of Fort Augustus, the closest large town, Inverness, is around an hour's drive north-east along the lochside; it is about a three-hour drive south to Hills' office.

"It is generally a standard installation - the only difference is where it is. The geography is the issue here," confirms Doak. "On the same job in Glasgow I would probably visit the site twice a week, here I'd only visit once a fortnight because a whole day would be taken up for a one hour meeting, with three hours drive there, and three back again." To counter this, Doak project managed the site remotely, communicating with on-site engineers via phone, fax and e-mail.

In terms of operatives, the electricians and nucleus of the mechanical staff are Hills' Glasgow-based staff; with local labour supplementing the plumbing trade. Clearly a daily commute is unfeasible, which left the issue of accommodating staff in one of the busiest tourist areas in Scotland. "It is very difficult to get somewhere to stay in high season," stresses Doak. "We were warned it would be virtually impossible to get digs."

A solution was provided by the main contractor, Orostream, which rented properties and allowed the operatives to stay there until they had found other accommodation. Working hours are 0800-1900 Monday to Thursday, with work finishing at lunchtime on Friday to allow the operatives time to travel home.

With travelling time also needed for supplies, all materials for phase one were ordered at the start of the job for delivery at set times. "We have some suppliers in Inverness...we also have a lot delivered by courier overnight," says Doak. Storage space was assigned in the grounds.

With phase one coming to completion, tenders are now being priced for future phases. Pre-construction work has begun on the Raven Wing, which sits adjacent to the first two buildings and the boathouse is due to be converted into a restaurant ready for the summer season. The entire project is scheduled for completion by September 2006.