Article from Newydd - AWARD WON

Housing Association awarded for innovative chapel conversion development

Newydd Housing Association has won an award for their innovative and high-quality development that unusually included a chapel conversion.

Newydd won the Social Affordable Housing category at the Vale of Glamorgan Council Building Excellence Awards 2011, organised by the Vale of Glamorgan Council Building Control Group, with their Court Road development in Barry.

Newydd converted and extended the chapel at Court Road to offer eight substantial 2-bedroom flats over three storeys, with an undercroft to allow vehicle access to the communal parking area. The development also includes four 4-storey terraced properties adjacent to the chapel and was highly commended for its standard of work and energy efficiency levels.

During the design stage of this first chapel conversion for Newydd, the views of the local community were influential in ensuring that the features of the disused chapel were retained in the new homes at Court Road. The commended design emphasises the attractive features of the chapel and includes traditional masonry walls, beam flooring and a conventional cut roof.

Rob Thomas, Head of Planning and Transportation at the Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: “It’s extremely pleasing to see quality schemes being constructed at what is a difficult time for developers. The quality of submissions, including Newydd’s scheme for the conversion of the chapel at Court Road, demonstrates a commitment to quality construction which is excellent news for the Vale of Glamorgan and for future tenants of the scheme. Conversions often pose challenges to contractors but this scheme has been carried out to a high standard and in a sensitive manner.”

As the winner of the Social Affordable Housing category, Newydd will now go forward to the LABC South Wales Building Awards in April.

Paul Roberts, Chief Executive of Newydd said, “We are very proud to be accepting this award from the Vale of Glamorgan Council for Court Road, now recognised as an award-winning affordable housing development. The attractive chapel conversion and adjacent terraced properties are testament to the hard work of our employees, the contractor; Tremlett and Griffiths and the rest of the design team. We hope that the local community are proud of the finished article and that our tenants will enjoy living in Court Road for many years to come.”

NB

Shane Jones our apprentice was on site for the period of the build adding even more value to the community by sustaining his apprenticeship.

Partnering in Swansea

Beyond Bricks and Mortar

Here are the "mug shots" of our latest apprentices, Jason above and Byron right.



I meat them on site last week to see how they're settling in at the Urban Village development in Swansea. Coastal Housing are part of the huge redevelopment of Swansea's Town centre. The plans are amazing, you can see them in the Coastal magazine ..... www.coastalhousing.co.uk/pdfs/Winter2010.pdf


The two new apprentices are both Bricklayers and have been on site for three weeks now. It has been a bit cold for any actual bricklaying to happen for an odd few days but both apprentices have done their fair share of what has gone up.



Coastal Housing has linked in with the Beyond Bricks and Mortar Team in Swansea to provide these opportunities for the two lads who are both from within a mile or so of site. We have lent our experience in assisting with interviews and supporting the site manager and subcontractor during the recruitment process. We will continue to offer our support to the team and of course to Byron and Jason.

The Beyond Bricks and Mortar initiative is much like the Targeted Recruitment and Training Project in that it uses the Can Do Toolkit within contracts to procure recruitment and training opportunities for residents in Swansea. So Voila the two new apprentices above.

One Woman Band

This is Naomi.

Naomi is the latest participant in the TR&T project for Cadwyn. She is currently studying for her carpentry qualifications at Barry College and is backing this up with some hands on experience with Cadwyn Works (Cadwyns DLO).


When I caught up with Naomi a few days ago she was about to sit her CSCS Card test that afternoon, this is the card need to work on new build or refurnishment sites. She had also been plastering the day before for a friend and showed me some photos of a hallway she had tiled. Noami seems to be most of the DIY SOS team rolled into one. We can't replace Billy the electrician though as we don't want her getting zapped, give her half a chance though and I'm sure she wouldn't say no.


Naomi caught the bug when she attended the Womens Workshop in Cardiff to do some taster sessions on carpentrey, tiling and plastering and now she can't seem to stop.

She told me that the Womens Workshop are responsible for her instiable need to DIY , build or be working. She is enjoying her time at Cadwyn imensely and does not want to leave, EVER! She says there is a wonderful atmosphere at Cadwyn and she wants to stay and develop her skills even further.

Noami has made a great impression at Cadwyn Works and Craig her line manager is very happy with her progress so far. It's great to see a woman in a van instead of a man in a van. On a serious note, the fact that Cadwyn Works now has a female oppertive also mets a demand from Cadwyn tenants e.g. The Older residents who may prefer the presence of a woman and people who are not able to be alone with a male operative due to their beliefs.

FOOTAGE TO FOLLOW

Skills Cymru - Over 20,000 in three days.....

That's a lot of talking and a lot of freebies!

It took a bit of coordinating to say the least but we got there. And what an amazing turn out.

Thanks to an fantastic response from staff in all departments of Taff, Cadwyn and United Welsh we had a diverse range of skills and experience represented at Skills Cymru 2010.

Skills Cymru was an event launched by the Welsh Assembly Government earlier this year to promote the skills base and opportunities available within Wales. Integrate and a few of its members agreed to take part in order to show that a career within a Housing Association is not limited to being a lettings officer or carrying out repairs.

Our stand was not as elaborate as some, well most to be honest however I’m sure spending thousands of pounds on a display stand is not the best use of our money. We spoke to hundreds of people over the three days. The team nabbed teenagers looking for a freebie to have a chat, we spoke to college students looking for ideas of what to do next. All of whom were astonished at what really is involved in housing.

There was a large attendance on Saturday of people who were looking to retrain or change direction following being made redundant or loss of business for the self employed.

The event as a whole has been celebrated as a real success and I believe the coming together of Integrate members, though this was a huge laearning curve was a credit to those involved.

THANK YOU ALL

Great clipping - Ministers visit Jacksons Quay

Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration Jocelyn Davies AM today showed Budget Minister Jane Hutt the Jackson's Quay development in Barry where public money has helped to create job and training opportunities. It is hoped the principles used on the development can be used on other Welsh Assembly Government contracts to create even more opportunities.

Newydd Housing Association’s Jacksons Quay development in Barry has been built using the i2i Can Do Toolkit which provides guidance to Registered Social Landlords working towards the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) on making targeted recruitment and training a requirement of contracts.

The contractors at Jackson’s Quay, Mi-Space, have employed five apprentices during the building project as a result of the guidance. One apprentice has used the opportunity to develop his experience through further work placements with the construction team.

Students at Barry College have also been using the site on a regular basis as part of their studies, for example twenty-five Construction Design Technology students have been able to experience ‘tool box talks’ where they visit a site at all stages of construction to see the development at first hand.
A report on the first year of the Can Do Toolkit (Sept 2008 -2009) shows that 487 job and training opportunities have been created in the twelve organisations that have adopted the model. The report concludes that if the model was used across the £4bn annual public sector expenditure in Wales, this would create 4000 job and training opportunities a year.

The Deputy Minister said, “This is an excellent example of how an innovative approach can bring real benefits and contribute far more than just a roof over people’s heads.

“Wales is leading the way with this and is taking the model further to help small and medium enterprises and local employers to benefit from the investment we and our partners are making in Housing. I am delighted that I have been able to show the Business and Budget Minister how this scheme is working and how other areas where the Assembly Government is involved in letting contracts could follow this excellent model.”

Paul Roberts, Chief Executive of Newydd Housing Association said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming Jocelyn Davies AM, Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration and Jane Hutt AM, Minister for Budget and Business, to our exciting new housing development at Jackson’s Quay, Barry Waterfront.

“The Jackson’s Quay development, and all our developments across south Wales, reflects our commitment to tackling deprivation and economic inactivity by offering recruitment and training opportunities in partnership with our contractors.
"Working in partnership with contractors using the i2i project and the Can Do Toolkit means that together we are able to support the community ensuring that local people are given vital opportunities to learn and work in their own locality.”

Who said Young People don't want to work?

Well, I can’t think of a funny title for this one off the top of my head. But Overwhelmed would be appropriate if not amusing.

SMK Building and Maintenance are about to take on two more apprentices to add to their staff and existing apprenticeship commitment. Through contracts with Taff Housing, CCHA and Cadwyn two more opportunities have been created for apprenticeships in the Taff Housing Community.

Through advertising in the Taff Housing newsletter and throughout community groups we had the most amazing response. That’s part one of the “overwhelmed” theme. In all we had 58 CV’s and countless more enquiries from young people chomping at the bit to take up these apprenticeships. The phone rang off the hook for days!

Last night we held an event in Butetown to meet the candidates who were invited to meet the contractor (SMK). Twenty young people from local communities had the opportunity to talk to Shaun and Al from SMK and get the lowdown on what they might expect from an apprenticeship. They also had chance to find out about Construction Skills, the benefits of registering and how to go about it from Kevin www.cskills.org.
Gareth from Careers Wales was on hand to give advice on “what’s next?” if this doesn’t work out. Gareth said “It’s so amazing to get to meet so many young people who are so enthusiastic and really want to get into work” www.careerswales.com

You guessed it, this was part two of the “overwhelmed” theme. The enthusiasm, positive reactions to all the contributors and a real determination to make the best of this opportunity was amazing to witness.

I believe everyone benefited from one part of the session or another.

We will be interviewing shortly to get our two apprentices and give them a chance to spend some time at SMK before they start college in September.

I will keep you posted on what happens next.

Chartered Institute of Housing Awards Nov 2009

CIH Awards – Friday 27th 2009.

An eventful night for Consortia members.

It was a night of finery at the glamorous and prestigious CIH awards at Holland House Hotel, Cardiff.

For the first time Integrate Consortia sponsored an award for the “Most Community Focussed Contractor” which aims to recognise the work contractors do in the delivery of targeted recruitment and training and community benefits.

The award was won by G Purchase Construction for their contribution towards employment and training initiatives. Detailed below is a brief summary:

G. Purchase Construction Ltd is working closely with its partners and stakeholders in North Wales to target employment opportunities at people from within the communities it serves. The company has approached the challenge in a number of different ways:
• Adopting a multi-agency approach, engaging with Jobcentre Plus, Working Links (no longer operating), Communities First and others,
• Targetting our Clients Customers through mailshot letters followed up with Job Fairs to discuss job opportunities in more detail and enable Customers to meet our Team,
• Holding ‘Meet the Buyer’ events to encourage existing local companies and sole traders to work with us to deliver the programmes,
• Supporting our supply chain by entering into long-term agreements thereby giving them the opportunity to increase their workforce.
G. Purchase Construction Ltd is delighted to have received the Award for Most Community Focussed Contractor at the CIH Welsh Housing Awards 2009. The company believes that the recognition it has received for its commitment to local communities, training and employment will serve as a beacon for other organisations that seek to repeat the company’s success.

In addition the Consortia members who were also recognised for their contribution were :

Empowering and Involving Communities (sponsor PSS Consulting)
- Taff Housing Association: BME Housing Project

Housing Hero (sponsor Leadbitter Group)
- Valleys to Coast Housing: Jason King, Gareth Weston and Melvin Williams

Developing and Regenerating Communities (sponsor WAG aka Pat Lewis)
- United Welsh Housing Association: Bargoed Regeneration Project


I am sure you will agree that the award ceremony is a place where all outstanding achievements can be recognised for their valued contribution to our work within Housing. Well done everyone.