A pair of building site managers with over 50 years experience with a top North Wales construction company have pulled off a prestigious double at a major award ceremony.
Steve Parry, from Prestatyn, and Dave Bradley, from Rhyl, have been with Anwyl Construction for a combined total of 57 years and at the Local Authority Building Control Awards they carried off two of the top prizes.
Steve was named North Wales Site Manager of the Year while Dave saw the £3.3 million Centenary House project he has been in charge of in Flint win for Best Social Housing Development.
Steve, aged 53 and married with two sons, has been in charge at Aberkinsey Park, a major housing development on the south east of Rhyl.
He joined Anwyl at 23 as a groundworker and has been a site manager for 18 years and he said: “The project has gone very well. It’s a big housing development with a social housing element and it has run smoothly.
“The company have been very good to me over the years. They have helped me develop and I owe them and Eddie Jones who was my first site manager, a lot.”
Dave ran the project in Flint where Anwyl Construction have redeveloped the site of the former Delyn Council headquarters into a purpose-built block of 33 apartments for over-55s in the heart of the town for social housing giant Wales & West Housing.
Dave, 40, married with two daughters, was taken on by Anwyl Construction as an apprentice joiner at 16 after leaving Rhyl High School, and worked as a joiner before moving into site management.
He has recently been in charge of the building of a new Infants School at King’s School, Chester, and he said: “I was shocked and delighted when we won the Flintshire county award for Best Social Housing and for site manager but to win at North Wales level was even better.
“It was a major piece of work at Flint because we had to demolish the old buildings there and there are always challenges when you are on a site in the middle of a town but it has gone well and we finished nearly eight weeks early.”
Centenary House was nominated by Flintshire Council Building Control Officer Paul Davies who said: “The site manager should gain special praise, due to the complex build, as he has been keen throughout this project to liaise with Building Control to ensure full compliance without the need to rectify matters later.
“This ensured a very smooth construction phase as no significant problems arose. It also enabled a fast and smooth completion of properties with no difficulties.
“The developer has built up an excellent understanding with Building Control over a number of years and consistently delivers high quality work in all aspects of the build programme.”
Anne Hinchey, Chief Executive of Wales & West Housing, said: “This is a fantastic new development of energy efficient, warm and affordable homes which has provided a much needed boost to the local economy.
“Our purpose is ‘strong sustainable growth to make a difference to lives, homes and communities’ and I believe that Centenary Square is an excellent demonstration of how we put this purpose into practice.”
Mel Royles, of Denbighshire Building Control, who nominated Steve Parry, said: “He knows what we want, he always has the site ready for us and he’s very well organised.
“Anwyl are a very good company, they work well with us and they have a very good product.”
Anwyl Construction Director Tom Anwyl said: “We’re naturally delighted to have once again been very successful in the North Wales Building Control Awards.
“We consider them a hugely important accolade and a benchmark for the construction industry in North Wales.
“It’s always nice to have your work recognised and to have it done by the people whose job it is to oversee all the building work that goes on across North Wales is very satisfying.
“It’s especially nice for our two site managers who have been in charge of various developments and for their staff who have worked very hard on these projects.
“Steve and Dave have been with us for many years and we see that continuity as very valuable and at least 20 per cent of our 150-strong workforce actually began with us as apprentices.
“Our partnership with Wales & West Housing has also been very important as the major developments at Wrexham and Flint and also at Llys Jasmine in Mold for which we won last year have enabled us to offer employment and apprenticeship opportunities at a difficult time for the construction industry.
“They have been about keeping jobs and making sure we had local involvement in the construction of major projects which provided major boosts to the local economy.”
Centenary House will now be nominated for Wales’s top Social Housing Project at the all-Wales LABC awards in Cardiff when Steve Parry will be in the running for Wales Site Manager of the Year.
