Birse’s Beswick ‘Most Considerate Site’ in UK

A construction project in Beswick in east Manchester has been named the UK's Most Considerate Site out of 6,500 eligible sites at the 2008 National Considerate Constructors Scheme Awards.

The award was presented jointly to Birse Civils, urban regeneration company New East Manchester and national regeneration agency English Partnerships at a ceremony last Friday. The winning project involved the remediation of a large site before construction of 550 houses by Gleeson, which is ongoing.

The Considerate Sites scheme was set up by the construction industry to improve its image. Projects that register with the scheme are monitored against a Code of Considerate Practice, designed to encourage best practice beyond statutory requirements. Code of practice headings judged include 'considerate, environment, cleanliness, good neighbour, respectful, safe, responsible and accountable'.

The Beswick project was commended for the regular contact with local groups including schools, the church, the area police HQ, Manchester Settlement and the Residents' Steering Committee. It was also praised for its "immaculately clean and professional appearance".

Peter Skates, development director at New East Manchester, said: "As one of the first major projects in east Manchester, the regeneration of Beswick set high standards for others to follow. This accolade is testament to the dedication of everybody involved in making this project successful. As community involvement was key to our success, I hope that the residents of Beswick are as proud as we are to receive this award."

Paul Spooner, English Partnerships' regional director, said: "This is fantastic news for all the partners and the construction and regeneration industry as a whole. Through consistent commitment by all, it has been proven that highly complex physical regeneration can be achieved which combines major construction with on site resident re-provision. This could only be delivered by working closely with the community in the most considerate manner to ensure their requirements were taken on board to maintain their support during the delivery stages."

Dave Lowiss, regional managing director for Birse Civils North West, commented: "Attaining such a high level of recognition at the National Awards is testimony to the approach of our site team at Beswick to deliver the project to the very highest standards set by the Considerate Constructors Scheme. It demonstrates our commitment to presenting a professional public image of the construction industry on behalf of our customers and to the local communities in which we work."

Other key members in of the delivery of Beswick regeneration include Entec and Rider Levett Bucknall.