Morgan Sindall Construction believes that making a positive difference to communities today contributes to improving society tomorrow. We are committed to supporting the communities in which we work and are engaged with local stakeholders across the UK to ensure we are pursuing options which best reflect their priorities.
We want to ensure that our projects deliver real social value and create a positive lasting legacy, and the company has a number of core activities that support this ambition.
Alongside working with local SMEs and building strong relationships with our local supply chain, we work closely with Jobcentre Plus and Remploy to tackle youth unemployment and help those with disabilities back into the workplace. The business also has a vibrant programme of apprenticeships, student work placements and skills development that supports local economies by creating a stable, sustainable skills base and inspiring and encouraging future talent.
Charitable giving and volunteering is another key area where we engage with our local communities, and this takes many forms – from fundraising to offering corporate donations, such as volunteering time and materials.
Indeed, the company’s annual charity initiative, Neighbourhood Week, helps us to get out and about and give our neighbours across communities a helping hand. In the Northern Home Counties, we worked with communities across the region over Neighbourhood Week.
Volunteers from project teams and their supply chains across the region dedicated 912 hours of their time to help on a range of programmes, from a garden makeover for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore to decorating an air cadet facility in High Wycombe.
In Welwyn Garden City, the office team were at The Meadows, a short-break centre for adults with learning difficulties, installing vegetable and herb gardens, a new water feature, disabled access to a pergola, and wildlife boxes to attract nature into the garden.
The centre is part of Jubilee House Care Trust, a Welwyn-based charity that has, for over 40 years, provided much-needed support for children and adults living with learning and other disabilities.
The project team at Goldington Academy, Bedford, gave the school’s sanctuary garden a re-vamp by building a greenhouse, replacing the shed and planting various plants, flowers and fruit trees. General maintenance of the garden was undertaken as well, such as weeding and lopping overgrown trees.
The sanctuary garden, which is primarily used by the school’s SEN pupils, is an important part of the school and acts as a fun educational tool that allows the children to explore and learn about their senses within a nature setting.
In St Albans, our team helped plant seeds, build a storage box and build a new path for FoodSmiles, a community allotment that helps to bring local residents together and provides free fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables for anyone who wants them.
David Rowsell, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “Neighbourhood Week is a fantastic opportunity for our teams and project partners to give back to the communities at the heart of where we work.
“It was a delight to see 80 volunteers from all over the region lend their time to the initiative, and we are grateful for the close, ongoing support of our supply chain.
“Every one of the charities and organisations we have helped over the week do outstanding work to improve and enrich the lives of the people in their local areas and we are very proud to have delivered so many projects.”
Jon Pratten, CEO at Jubilee House, said: “The time and equipment donated by Morgan Sindall Construction will have a huge positive impact for the people we support and care for at The Meadows. This is a major part of a larger programme we are trying to complete across our other services. On behalf of everyone at Jubilee House we really appreciate all the hard work and support from the Morgan Sindall Construction team.”
Morgan Sindall Construction is delivering a number of key projects across the region. In St Albans, the company has been appointed as preferred bidder to deliver a major regeneration project in the heart of the city centre. Following its selection via the Pagabo construction framework, Morgan Sindall Construction is due to deliver the £60 million development for St Albans and District City Council. The project will see the former police station, an NHS clinic and parts of the St Albans civic centre demolished and redeveloped with new homes, shops and restaurants.