Millbeck Grange wins industry award

Persimmon Homes’ Millbeck Grange in County Durham has been named among a shortlist of sites in England and Wales to win an award for high standards of construction and site management.

Millbeck Grange beside the Integra 61 development at Bowburn has been awarded The Bricks Site Recognition Award by LABC Warranty, for its standards of workmanship and overall management of the site, including health and safety matters and general tidiness.

The Bricks Site Recognition Award winners are chosen every month and are then further shortlisted at the end of the year, where only the best of those sites will be rewarded with The Bricks annual award trophy, one of the construction industry’s most prestigious awards given to outstanding sites from England and Wales.

Darren Keeley, the former site manager for Millbeck Grange, has now been promoted to contracts manager at Persimmon Homes Durham, he managed the site from January 2020 until September 2021.

Darren said: “I always set the benchmark high and expect good quality work from all the contractors and workers on site.

“The show home sets the standard for the externals, brickwork and finishes, and quite simply, if those standards are not being met consistently across the site that is not good enough.

“We are delighted to have won this award and it shows that setting standards and expecting them to be achieved across the board does pay off.”

Richard Cook, managing director of Persimmon Homes Durham, said: “Darren’s recognition in these awards is a great tribute to him and to his colleagues in the region.

“He never fails to achieve the exacting standards he sets for his sites. He has the respect of all his colleagues at Persimmon Homes and we were delighted to promote him to contracts manager for our region.”

LABC Warranty is one of the largest providers of structural warranties in the UK. Working in partnership with Local Authority Building Control (LABC), its combined team of more than 3,700 surveyors work with house builders, contractors and housing associations.

Sites are scored by LABC Warranty risk management surveyors during their inspection visits, which take place regularly through construction.

Those sites that score consistently high for general co-operation with inspectors, health and safety, site tidiness, standard of site management standard of workmanship are nominated for a Site Recognition Award.

Sarah Sheppard, Technical Director at LABC Warranty, said: “It takes skill, commitment and a dedication to quality of construction for a site to receive The Bricks Site Recognition Award. Nothing pleases my team and I more than to see developments meet and maintain such high standards.”

For more information on Millbeck Grange and other Persimmon Homes developments visit: www.persimmonhomes.com