A major £3 million project to refurbish a North Wales housing association’s properties will start next month.
Cartrefi Conwy, who own over 3,800 former Conwy County Council homes, have announced the launch of the new project and have held a ‘Meet The Contractor’ event for local subcontractors.
The new project follows on from a massive £18 million internal renovation programme which is seeing their properties fitted with new kitchens and bathrooms, heating systems and front doors.
This will bring them up to the Welsh Assembly Government’s new housing quality standards by the end of 2012 but has also created more than 300 jobs and training opportunities in Conwy.
The new Externals programme will now see a further £3.5 million spent on roof, rendering, gutters, barge boards, fascias and soffits and will create a raft of new work opportunities.
The latest rolling programme of renovations has been given the thumbs-up by local tradespeople and suppliers, many of whom have previously worked for Cartrefi Conwy and main contractor G Purchase Ltd.
Darren Cox, of Abbey Scaffolding, of Llandudno Junction, said: “They’re good people to work for and we’re hopeful we can do some more for them.
“We’ve got scaffolding out with them at the moment at Llanfairfechan and the contract we had down at Rhos on Sea for an external wall rendering and roofing programme was very important for us.
“It’s been a difficult period for the building industry and without that we would have been stuck.”
Electrician Mark Jones, of Electrico, from Dwygyfylchi, who hopes to sub-contract to fit outside lights, said: “This new programme is perfect timing for people like us because there isn’t a lot on at the moment.
“This could mean at least a year’s worth of work for people fortunate enough to get a contract and hopefully by then the economy will have picked up.”
Joiner Stuart Jones, from Llandudno Junction, self-employed for nearly three years, has seen the building trade struggle with the recession and he said: “This is a good opportunity for local contractors because it’s been very quiet lately.
“I’ll be hoping to be involved with fitting barge boards, soffits, fascias and guttering and it’s great that they’ve got a commitment to use local businesses because it gives us the chance of continuous work.”
The main contractor for the programme is G Purchase Construction Ltd who have already reported a tremendous response to an appeal for local sub-contractors.
Cartrefi Conwy Chief Executive Andrew Bowden said it was a massive endorsement of the procurement process used by Cartrefi Conwy which stipulated that preferred contractors had to commit to using local labour and local supply chains.
He said: “This is all about jobs created and partnership working between our contractors and Cartrefi Conwy.
“Cartrefi Conwy started in September 2008 and now over two years on we are well on the way through the programme to bring our properties up to standard.
“At the same time we have been able to provide employment and career opportunities for so many people locally. I think that is something we can feel very positive about.
“It is estimated that for every £1 spent on the contract there is £5 of benefit locally because that £1 is spent several times over in shops and business.
“That means £3 million of new work adds up to £15 million of investment in the local economy.”
Mike Rutter, Cartrefi Conwy Contracts Manager, said: “It is very important to us that local tradespeople are used in all our projects and we want to get them involved again here.
“The main works will be repairs to roofing and external rendering and renewal of fascias, soffits and gutters.
“We have had a comprehensive review of all our properties and that’s why we are now turning our attention to the external works.
“We have looked at all the houses that have needed new roofs and gutters and if anything else needs to be done then we’ll do it at the same time.
“We start work in May and the project will run for two years with G Purchase working out a schedule for the work.
“We’re looking for a variety of trades who should contact G Purchase Construction Ltd.”
Steve Williams, Project Manager for G Purchase, said: “The survey was done and there’s a broad spectrum of work to be done ranging from re-roofing and re-rendering of a few properties to smaller repairs and renewals of garden fences and sheds.
“What the survey has shown is that while one house might need a new roof the one next door might be good for another ten years so that where work needs to be done it will be as part of an ongoing maintenance programme.
“We’re now looking for local businesses to show an interest as they have in the past because it has worked very well.”
