31st October 2008 LOCAL BUILDERS AWARDED CONSTRUCTION OSCARS With the new homes industry facing the toughest market conditions in years, builders from across the South West region were given a reason to celebrate when they discovered they had won coveted construction industry Oscars in the regional heat of NHBC s annual Pride in the Job Awards. 16 house building site managers from across the region have won Seal of Excellence Awards for building the best quality new homes and managing their sites to an exceptional standard, placing them amongst the top 100 site managers in the UK. From these winners, four Regional Award winners have been selected to go forward to compete in the national Pride in the Job grand final which will be held in London in January 2009: Richard Hill, 59, from Lymington, Hampshire, a site manager for Pennyfarthing Homes Ltd, has won the Regional Award in the small builder category. Richard has been in the building industry for 41 years and has worked for Pennyfarthing Homes for almost six years. Richard says his key strengths are being self-motivated, always thinking ahead and having very high standards. Nicholas Bateman, 52, from Ilminster, Somerset is a site manager for Devonshire Homes Ltd and is the Regional Award winner in the medium builder category. Nick, who started out as a carpenter s apprentice, has worked in the building industry for 37 years. He was delighted to win a Pride in the Job Award for his new company and says the most enjoyable aspects of his role are: Working with lots of different people, being able to work outside and running my own sites. Nick Finden, 42, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, has won the Regional Award in the multistorey builder category. Nick has been in the building industry for 26 years and has worked for his present company, Crest Nicholson Regeneration Ltd, for eight
years. Nick is thrilled to have won the award and puts his success down to the fact that he likes to lead by example and has a good eye for detail. Nick says, It is great for myself and the team to have received recognition for all our hard work over the years. Simon Lee, 37, from Ivybridge, Devon has been a site manager for George Wimpey Exeter for the past three years and is the winner of the Regional Award in the large builder category. This is the second time that Simon has won a Pride in the Job Award from NHBC. Simon believes that his strong leadership skills help him to achieve the required results and he is very proud to have received the award. Now in its 28 th year, NHBC s Pride in the Job Awards are only presented to site managers who have demonstrated outstanding levels of skill across 38 areas of site management, including technical expertise, quality control and health and safety. The competition is rigorous with around 18,000 site managers across the UK entered into the awards. In addition, each site manger is assessed over 12 months to gauge an accurate view of how they manage their site and the overall quality and finish of the new homes. Jim Lyons, NHBC s Director for the South West region, said: The speed and severity of the current downturn has had a dramatic impact on the industry, not least the site managers who are responsible for managing and delivering quality new homes to buyers. This year, despite the considerable pressure on site managers, we are pleased to see that maintaining quality workmanship and service is still a key priority for so many. To win a Pride in the Job Award at this stage of the competition takes an exceptional level of commitment and hard work. Each of the winners is a tribute to the new homes industry and testament to the high standards that can be achieved. NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK. Established more than 70 years ago as a not for profit company, NHBC s primary purpose is to help raise standards in the new house-building industry and provide consumer protection for homebuyers.
Ends Notes to editors: Names of the winners for the South West region are attached. Photos of the winning site managers are available on request e-mail mblamey@nhbc.co.uk The builder categories for the Pride in the Job Awards 2008 are: a) Small builder a site manager for a company or group of companies with an annual output of between 3 to 50 homes per year. b) Medium builder a site manager for a company or group of companies with an annual output of between 51 and 1,000 homes per year. c) Large builder a site manager for a company or group of companies with an annual output of 1,001 homes or more per year. d) Multistorey builder a site manager in any of the above categories working on multioccupancy homes of 4 or more storey s.
NHBC Pride in the Job Seal of Excellence Winners South West Region 2008 Site Manager Site Address Organisation Nicholas Bateman Moorhayes Park, Tiverton, Devon Devonshire Homes Ltd Tony Bone Cliveden Village, Clivedon Road, Taplow, Near Maidenhead, Bucks Countryside Properties (Southern) Ltd Bob Burgess The Zone, New Kingley Road, Off Avon Street, Bristol, Somerset Barratt Bristol Anthony Christopher Admirals Point, 39-43 St Catherines Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset Colten Developments Ltd Carl Dobson Leete Park, West Wick, Churchlands Way, Weston Super Mare, North Somerset Charles Church Western Nicholas Finden Admiralty Quarter, Queen Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire Crest Nicholson Regeneration Ltd Shaune Hicks Block H Dockside, Off Newfoundland Way, Portishead, Bristol, North Somerset Crest Nicholson (South West) Ltd Richard Hill Sovereign Place, 46-48 Whitefield Road, New Milton, Hampshire Pennyfarthing Homes Ltd Jason Hockey Wyvern Park, Exeter, Devon C G Fry & Son Ltd Simon Lee Carrollsland, Staddiscombe Road, Plymstock, Plymouth, Devon George Wimpey Exeter Colin Love Skyline Plaza, Alencon House, Alencon Link, Basingstoke, Hampshire Berkeley Homes (Southern) Ltd
Alastair McCarthy Building 3B, Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, Avon Crest Nicholson Regeneration Ltd Roger Middleton Pulteney View, Rush Hill, Bath, Avon Persimmon Homes (Wessex) Ltd Kelvin Morrison Kennet Island, Southside, Manor Farm Road, Reading, Berks St James Group Ltd (Thames Valley Region) David Spink The Avenue, Rockbourne Road, Sherfield on Lodden, Hook, Hampshire Croudace Homes Ltd Stephen Walker Phase 4.01, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset C G Fry & Son Ltd