Director’s welcome
Welcome to the summer edition of our Construction News Update newsletter.
Well, what a strange start to 2020 when comparing the first two quarters! Truly unprecedented times for us all on so many levels. So much has happened since our last newsletter at the beginning of March. We often hear the term ‘when things return to normal’ but we have now prepared and adjusted to a ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future.
After 6-8 weeks of site closures we are now fully operational and back to delivering all construction projects for clients. However, we are not immune to having some staff still on furlough for a few more weeks and would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their continued commitment, enthusiasm and patience during this period.
To enable a return to operations, we updated our Site and Office Operating Procedures to allow for the many welfare, wellbeing and social distancing measures required to safely permit our workforce to return to their duties. We are very pleased with the response of our staff and sub-contractors to the enhanced measures and how they conduct themselves during their working days. Additionally, we have been extremely proud to achieve an internationally-recognised award for high health and safety standards – RoSPA Award – more information, as well as other news, is below.
Over the lockdown period, the leadership team have been working hard on continuing to secure new business – projects valued between £500,000 and £8m. We have been delighted to announce the appointment of a £6m healthcare construction project in Woodbridge, Suffolk. We are also getting ready to announce another large project in the next couple of weeks. The importance of building long-term trusted relationships through an exceptionally talented team is demonstrated by our success across a broad range of sectors: Automotive, Commercial, Education, Healthcare, Residential, Conversion and Refurbishment. (See below for more information on all our active construction projects.)
To encapsulate over 20 years of delivering construction solutions, we have produced a short video (available below) which covers a small number but a wide range of our recently completed projects for clients.
Recent new staff announcements include welcoming Wayne Bedier to our project management team. He is now the lead project manager for our large healthcare construction site in Dartford, Kent.
Outside of work, the events planned by many of our staff have been rescheduled. Rebecca Mitchell and Ben Bendelow are now preparing to take part in the London Marathon for the Brain Tumour Research Charity, an organisation close to our hearts, in October. We wish them well with their further training and look forward to supporting them on the day. (More information is below in “related news” on each event and how you can show support.)
Please contact us if you would like further information about any particular project or have a general enquiry.
Phil Holding
Managing Director
20 years of construction
A short video (2m 37secs) covering a range of recently completed projects for clients.
Project updates
Automotive: Hindhead, Surrey
Works are progressing well at our site in Hindhead, constructing a £7m BMW and MINI showroom and aftersales facility. The project is due for completion in October 2020.
Healthcare: Dartford, Kent
Our healthcare construction contract in Dartford is making good progress for a new client, Bostall Group, creating a 4 storey, 78-bedroom bespoke care home for mixed-use requirements.
Residential: Chelmsford, Essex
Construction is well underway at Railway Street, Chelmsford, forming 14 flats for a regular client, South East Property Group. The site is very confined but our team have addressed the issues and are progressing well.
Healthcare: Fornham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Construction is going well for a longstanding client, Healthcare Homes, to add 17 bedrooms and associated facilities to their existing site. The project is due for completion in October 2020.
Residential: Wix, Essex
The team are progressing with 11 houses in Wix, Essex, for a large Chinese developer, which is their first construction project in the UK. The client is excited by the UK market even in these current times and has recently appointed Haart New Homes for the sales.
Commercial: Essex Wildlife Trust, Laindon
Works have recommenced at the Laindon Nature Reserve for Essex Wildlife Trust. The timber frame has recently been erected. With works being stopped and slowed due to COVID-19, we are doing all we can to get the facility open to the public as soon as possible.
Education: Chelmsford County High School for Girls, Essex
Shortly before lockdown, we commenced works at Chelmsford County High School for Girls on a £5.2m contract to construct a new sports hall and teaching block and extensive alterations to existing facilities. Works have now recommenced with a focus to regain the programme for the opening of the new facilities in September 2021.
Healthcare: Woodbridge, Suffolk
In April, we were pleased to announce the appointment of a £6m healthcare construction contract by Angel Care to build a new 55-bedroom care home in Woodbridge, Suffolk. The project team have been working on pre-commencement works and site activities to commence in June. The team are now pleased to report they broke ground to begin construction last week. This contract is another endorsement of our approach to construction, which involves building strong relationships across all our sectors. We are proud to be delivering another high-quality solution for the healthcare sector.
Completed projects
The following are the completed projects since the previous edition of the newsletter.
Residential: Colchester, Essex
Our team has completed the residential development of Castle Court in Colchester, Essex. Former offices were converted into 10 flats with a mixture of 1 or 2 bedrooms and are due to be marketed very soon. This project was carried out for a longstanding repeat customer, NEEB Holdings.
Related news
Stay up-to-date with our latest news and announcements, including construction projects and job vacancies, on social media. Our LinkedIn company page now has over 2,000 followers.
The following is a selection of news on our website since the previous edition of the newsletter:
- Insight: “Women in construction – addressing the skills shortage”… Read article
- Corporate news: “COVID-19 Statement – a phased reopening of construction sites”… Read article
- Corporate news: “New healthcare construction contract in Woodbridge, Suffolk”… Read article
- Corporate news: “Horizon Construction achieves RoSPA Award for health and safety standards”… Read article
- Staff: “London Marathon 2020 in aid of Brain Tumour Research”… Read article
- Staff: “Cycling London in aid of cancer charities”… Read article
Working towards ISO accreditation
Our team operate around a set of robust and continuously maintained Operational Procedures and Standard Forms. To further strengthen our controls and procedures, we are making good progress to attain ISO accreditation towards the end of 2020. Our Construction Director, Matthew Bynoe, has been working with the commercial team and an external consultant to achieve 14001 Environmental, 9001 Quality, and 45001 Health & Safety. This accreditation will provide many additional benefits to Horizon Construction Group and will allow us to be included in public sector frameworks.
Recognition of staff
We have a highly experienced and focused team who meet and regularly exceed both our and our clients’ expectations. Recently, we have promoted two members of our site management team to the role of ‘Project Manager’. This is recognition of their understanding, focus and dedication to their previous role and giving them the opportunity of more responsibility in the future. Our congratulations go to Demian Lambert and Daniel Shine.
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