Salix Homes residents on the Duchy Estate are celebrating the completion of a multi-million pound regeneration project on their homes.

For the past three years housing provider Salix Homes has been working alongside regeneration and construction experts Emanuel Whittaker to overhaul the Duchy Estate as part of a £4.9 million home improvement programme.

Improvement works carried out on the 317 properties include new kitchens and bathrooms, the installation of energy efficient heating systems, new windows and doors and complete re-wiring of the properties.

To mark the completion of the work Salix Homes and Emanuel Whittaker joined forces with partner agencies including Salford City College, Sure Start and the fire service to host the Duchy Estate Get-Together on Friday, April 5.

The community came together to celebrate the end of the scheme and enjoyed an action-packed afternoon of fun and games on the football pitches next to Barr Hill JFC.

Activities included giant games, football, an Easter egg hunt, face painting and T-shirt printing. Salix Homes also gave away 150 hanging baskets to tenants in a bid to leave a lasting legacy on the estate.

Joe Willis, chief executive at Salix Homes said: “The major improvement programme which has taken place on the Duchy Estate has helped to improve the quality of life for our tenants.

“After three years of hard work it was wonderful to see the whole community come together and celebrate the completion of this project.

“Our tenants are thrilled with their new-look homes and they are now benefiting from more comfortable, energy efficient homes that are fit for 21st century living.

“This regeneration work is part of our wider investment to improve people’s homes and the completion of this project marks a major milestone in our Decent Homes improvement programme.”

Salford City Council’s Assistant Mayor for Housing, Councillor Gena Merrett, added: “It is wonderful to see these home improvements happen. The new-look homes are a source of enormous pride for the residents. It shows how vital it is to invest in social housing, even during the tough times.”

The Duchy Estate which was built during the 1930s and 1940s is steeped in history and was once home to dramatist and screenwriter Shelagh Delaney famed for her debut play A Taste of Honey, which was first performed in 1958 and set in her native Salford.

Albert Robinson, 68, and his wife Nora have lived in their home on Duchy Road for 10 years. They have had their property rewired and a new kitchen installed and are thrilled with the work.

Albert said: “We have been very, very pleased with the work to our home. The workmen were very polite, nothing was too much trouble for them and they always cleaned up after themselves. They were excellent and have done a brilliant job.”

The work forms part of Salix Homes’ Decent Homes programme, whereby improvements are carried out to properties to ensure they reach the Government’s Decent Homes Standard as well as their own benchmark – the Salix Homes’ Standard.

To develop the programme and ensure the works had the best possible impact on the local community, Salix Homes worked with regeneration consortium Procure Plus.

“Working in partnership we created a scheme of works that not only provided a cost effective solution long-term, but also lead to a number of employment and training opportunities,” said Jackie Roach, operations manager at Procure Plus.

“Over the past three years, we’ve been able to keep costs below the market average and have successfully created jobs for people who live in the area.”

Paul Robinson, Emanuel Whittaker site manager at the Duchy Estate, said: “Our team has enjoyed working on the Duchy Estate for three years and we were happy to co-host an event to say thanks to the tenants for their co-operation during the work.

“It was quite sad to be saying goodbye to everyone but we can leave happy in the knowledge that Duchy Estate tenants have modern energy efficient homes they love.”

Thanks to Procure Plus for getting apprentices on the move

Mar 27, 2013

Procurement partner, Procure Plus recognise the difficulties that many young trainees experience in the construction field. Construction is not a regular office based job, and many apprentices struggle to maintain their training when works on a particular project come to a close and they must move on to their next site.

Despite efforts by construction providers to retain people in their local area, its often difficult to get all staff to sites.  So the ability to drive is a real bonus for anyone considering a career in the construction industry.

Procure Plus have offered their construction partners the opportunity to give their top performing trainees a head start, by giving them 20 hours worth of driving lessons and paying for their theory and practical tests.

Last year, Emanuel Whittaker’s apprentice plasterer, Rachel Howarth and Bricklayer, Katie Lockwood were amongst the first intake to benefit from the scheme.  Both Katie and Rachel have recently passed their tests.

This year, another three Emanuel Whittaker apprentices are benefiting from the scheme, and looking forward to getting on the road. Matthew Casey, Rhys Jones and Bradley Healey will shorlty be starting on their driving courses and are hoping to secure their driving licences before the end of the year.  Good luck!

 

175 Years Supporting and Training Young People

Mar 13, 2013

Regeneration and construction company Emanuel Whittaker was established in 1837 and from the beginning, the founding fathers were keen to recruit young men to train as skilled tradesmen.  As a result, the company believe that since 1837 it has probably recruited and trained over 700 apprentices from its Oldham headquarters.

Last month, the Office for National Statistics revealed the biggest increase in youth unemployment since the start of 2012 which means 974,000 young people aged 16-24 are unemployed, up 11,000 on the previous quarter.  However, this figure would be considerably higher were it not for the growing popularity of apprenticeships. More than 500,000 people started an apprenticeship in the year from 2011 to 2012 – an increase of 14% – and while most businesses are only just starting to recognise their value, Emanuel Whittaker can boast 175 years experience of training and working with young people.

Clive Newton, Managing Director said: “We are fortunate to have retained many of the original records for the company and these show that even in its first year Emanuel Whittaker had four apprentices on its books.  It’s also fascinating to see that many of these remained with the company for a many years with several staying with us for the rest of their working life.”

Company records also show Emanuel Whittaker’s altruism elsewhere.  The company was determined to train and find employment for young men returning from the first and second world wars and developed a deliberate employment policy to recruit injured servicemen and teach them a trade.

Since the middle ages apprentices were a feature of many trades and how many there were often reflected the country’s economic success.  It was not until the 1900s that apprenticeships fell out of favour and this was largely due to the decline in manufacturing, although, there were still some companies like Emanuel Whittaker which continued to support the scheme.

Today Emanuel Whittaker continues its tradition of supporting, training and employing young men and in more recent years, women – to train as apprentices in the construction sector.

Director John Gallagher adds: “The 21^st century Emanuel Whittaker apprenticeships scheme is run in close partnership with Oldham College and this year we celebrate over 10 years of working together to deliver a programme of modern apprenticeships, work opportunities and work experience.”

In that time a total of over 40 Oldham College students have successfully completed apprenticeships with the company, including many who have won apprenticeship awards.

Samantha Barnes, Recruitment Co-ordinator – Construction at Oldham College, says, “We are delighted to have such a strong partnership with Emanuel Whittaker.  The effort it puts in to supporting apprenticeships and the opportunities it provides for trainees is exemplary.”

National Apprenticeship Week 2013 celebrates the positive impact of apprenticeships on individuals, businesses and the economy, and recognises that this skills-based learning programme is a highly valued process that helps both young people earn a living and gain a skill and provides employers with access to a pool of talented new recruits.

John Gallagher continues:  “Our young people should be in work, training or education – not unemployed. As a keen advocate of the modern apprenticeship scheme we would urge many more companies to sign up to it.

“As a company that can proudly boast supporting 700 apprentices over 175 years – we feel more than qualified in saying that apprenticeships do work.  Do your bit for youth unemployment and find out more during this National Apprenticeship Week.”

For more information go to www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600.

Adelle’s big move

Mar 8, 2013

40 year old Adelle Bigland has been appointed quantity surveyor for regeneration and construction company Emanuel Whittaker.

Previously a quantity surveyor at Keepmoat, Adelle, who lives in Shaw, said she has always been keen to work for Emanuel Whittaker.

“I had heard so many great reports about the company that I jumped at the chance to apply for the position,” she said.  “It is like working for a great big family and I am thrilled to be continuing my career here.”

John White retires after over 50 years of service

Feb 10, 2013

John White, one of Emanuel Whittaker’s longest serving employees, retired on Friday 8th February 2013.

At an emotional farewell gathering held at the Emanuel Whittaker Oldham Head Offices, friends and colleagues gathered to wish him well in his retirement.

Clive Newton, Managing Director, and close friend of John gave an emotional speech which gave current employees an idea of how life was back in the day when John began his career with Emanuel Whittaker…

“The date at the top of the page is 5^th January 1963. It is the pay run for the previous week. At the bottom after 76 other employees a new name has been added: J.S White. Apprentice Joiner. 1s 5d per hour. Gross pay for 42 hours would be £2 19s 6d, and you would pay 6s 9d national insurance.

There is a note “commenced 31^st December 1962”. That’s right, John started on New Year’s Eve and also worked New Year’s Day. We had no New Year holiday in those days.

But John, who’s attendance has been exemplary ever since, didn’t do 42 hours that first week, he only did 25 1/2. He had two days off with tonsillitis. Not the best of starts to a working life!”

“Four names above John’s is T Whittaker, Apprentice Joiner. Tom Whittaker, great grandson of Emanuel and a future Managing Director of the company.

On 4^th February 1963 John got a rise. One farthing per hour! For those of you who don’t know or can’t remember the value of a farthing, if John had worked a 48 hour week the rise would be worth 5p per week in present money.

Jack Kennedy the American President was still alive and well. We wouldn’t put a man on the moon for another 6 years. Indeed it would still be three years before I joined Emanuel Whittaker’s  met John and started a friendship that has lasted nearly 47 years. To date!”

Clive explained how John’s work has “always been exceptional. Quite simply his work is always right and always to the highest possible standard… for me John White will always be ‘good joiner’, ‘good bloke’.”

John explained that it was an emotional day “It’s always nice when someone reaches a retirement day that they have long been looking forward to. But it’s also nice to reach that day with a bit of trepidation and some mixed feelings. Because if you have longed for the day to come then you probably haven’t been enjoying your work.”  John explained that he had mixed feelings because he continues to love his work.

John was presented with a cheque and a gift from his colleagues, as well as a final word from Clive: “We’ll miss you John. I’ll miss you. So make sure we see plenty of you. And thank you very much for the magnificent service you have given to the company”.