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Rising Ambition For Eastwood As Homes Set To Be Built In £3M Plan

Rising Ambition For Eastwood As Homes Set To Be Built In £3M Plan

Eastwood has been earmarked for a brand new development of nine homes in a £3M regeneration project, but a shortage of bricklayers may see future plans put on hold.

L-R: James Fletcher, Site Manager, Ian Hodgkinson, director at Hodgkinson Builders, Declan Burton, apprentice,  Paul Burrows at NCA, and Robert Hodgkinson at Hodgkinson Builders

The initial development, which has already been sold to a private investor before a single brick has been laid, will consist of building a total  21 houses on a 1.5 acre site in a mix of two bed and three bed family and starter homes when finished. 

The Nottingham-based brownfield site currently houses industrial units and will be turned by apprentices of the National Construction Academy (NCA) in Derby, along with professionals at Hodgkinson Builders, into nine new houses initially.

As part of their Apprenticeship the young people will study an innovative Level 2 Apprenticeship programme at the NCA Derby Academy and develop their careers with Hodgkinson and other local employers. The National Construction Academy is a part of 3AAA, an Ofsted Grade 1 Training Provider.

 Ian Hodgkinson, the managing director of Derby-based Hodgkinson Builders, has also acquired land to build a further set of new builds in Eastwood and hopes that the developments will aid the high demand for housing in the local area.

Ian said:

“Eastwood is a great investment area as there’s a desperate lack of housing and a huge demand for development projects such as this one.

We hope that the development of new houses, constructed with the help of the apprentices, will help not only families, but people looking for their first starter home in the area. It is great to have apprentices learning their trade onsite and playing an integral role in the building of this development”

Charlie Price, one of the trainees appointed added “I am really excited to be studying the Bricklaying trade while playing an important role on this project, it is a fantastic opportunity to be able to learn from the experienced professionals here as we build this development.”

The £3M development was originally found by Ian through an agent, with planning permission for the homes being granted before the company bought the land.

The construction process is forecast to take 12 months, with work having begun on Monday. 

Ian plans to build 350 more properties by the end of the year but the major shortage of bricklayers means that he is appealing for help.

Ian added:

“By encouraging people to invest in property in the area, we hope that this fantastic development opportunity will help to revitalise the area and benefit the local community by bringing more footfall into the town to support the local economy.

By supporting the building industry through the use of apprentices from the National Construction Academy (NCA), we are not only training people in the industry so that more building developments like this can happen, but we are also fulfilling the high demand for more skilled workers in the construction industry.”


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