A Bellway Homes development in Essington, West Midlands is well underway and has been so well received in the construction industry that it has been the recipient of a prestigious NHBC Health & Safety Award.
The Kings Chase site contains 28 properties, with the majority already purchased, despite the project not being due to complete until December this year.
Works on Elmwood Avenue began in October 2013 commencing with the piling works before moving on to the erection of the structures. Bellway Homes own the site and have acted as the main contractors using their in-house architect and trades teams to undertake the majority of the works.
A traditional construction method of brick and block was used and the units comprise a lot of timber on both the floors and tiles. Heavy concrete beams were initially installed on the ground floor and the house was fitted with full cavity insulation. A few of the plots have been rendered and fitted with false chimneys.
The properties contain a selection of three, four and five bedrooms which buyers can customise as they wish. Home owners have the choice of which tiling, showers, carpets, kitchens, plug sockets and lights they want, as many of the units were bought off plan. They can also request that certain features are placed in certain locations in the property to ensure that their home is just as they want it.
The homes comprise spacious living rooms, a study, downstairs cloakroom and an open plan kitchen-family room which runs the whole width of the house. Upstairs the property’s bedrooms are situated along with the main bathroom and one or two en-suites.
Bellway Homes Site Manager on the Kings Chase site, Les Arrowsmith, said that nine of plots are still to finish and the rest are now occupied or set to be moved into in the near future. Les added that he was overjoyed to have gained recognition from the National House Building Council. He commented:
“For a Site Manager an NHBC Award is one of the things you set out to achieve; it is a great reward. We have managed to work around all of the difficulties on site which has been hard as there is only one route in and out of the site. We have maintained cleanliness on the site and thought of things that wouldn’t be considered on other sites.
“As many of the properties are now inhabited we have segregated off our ongoing work from the residents. We limit delivery times and have had meetings with the local council to discuss the best traffic routes and the most convenient times to come on site.”
Deliveries are allowed from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Friday and from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. Deliveries are not allowed on Sunday’s and Bank Holidays. The traffic management plan includes delivery vans incorporating a wheel wash so they can remove the soil before they leave the site. Deliveries also tend to stop at the front of the site now and call the on site team to unload the materials when there are no residents nearby.
