Housebuilder donates wood to help future construction site workers

Five-star housebuilder Persimmon Anglia has been working with training provider ACE to support those seeking careers in construction.

The housebuilder – currently building at White Rose Park in Hellesdon, Festival park in Easton and Kett’s Meadow in Hethersett – has joined forces with Action Community Enterprise (ACE) and is supplying them with wood that is surplus to requirements on site.

Larger items donated will be used in the construction of new hair and beauty workrooms at ACE’s base in Rackheath and also at their site in Great Yarmouth, while smaller pieces will be used by those on their carpentry courses and will allow them to practice joints they have been learning.

This helps Persimmon to drive down waste while also ensuring the learners at ACE can get hands-on experience with quality materials.

ACE offers education and support through a range of different projects to children, young people and unemployed adults in the Norwich Area. They work with those who may not have the grades to access college courses and gives them the grounding they need to progress.

Josh Ford, Construction Director for Persimmon Homes Anglia, said: “We are always looking at ways to reduce our impact on the environment and ensuring waste material is given a second lease of life is one of the best ways we can do that.

“We are delighted the learners at ACE are able to benefit from the timber we are no longer able to use on site and that this is helping learn vital new skills. We hope that some of the learners are inspired to take up a trade and find themselves working on one of our sites in the future.”

Gary Flatt, Construction Tutor for ACE, said: “We are currently creating new classrooms for our hair and beauty courses and this wood has helped us do that with limited resources.
“We are also using the wood to give students that hands-on learning experience they need when they are on a vocational journey, and we are delighted Persimmon Homes has been able to help us in this way.”