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Housebuilder appoints Director to its timber frame division

Housebuilder appoints Director to its timber frame division

Leading developer of affordable and open-market housing, Westleigh Partnerships Ltd, has promoted the head of its timber frame division, David Thacker, to the position of Westframe Director.

Based in Narborough, Westframe produced timber frames for over 1000 homes in the last financial year. In addition to meeting all of Westleigh’s timber framing requirements, Westframe also retails its products to third party construction firms and contractors.

David has enjoyed a career spanning three decades with Westleigh, starting as a joiner and quickly progressing to the rank of Senior Site Manager. He established Westframe in 2002 and as General Manager, took up a role in the divisional management team. He has now been awarded the position of Westframe Director.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be given this opportunity and I look forward to growing the Westframe side of our business even further.

“The volume of timber frames that we produce has been on the rise for some time now and the goal is to take that figure up to 3,000 units by 2020.

“With Westleigh’s recent expansion into Yorkshire and the West Midlands, Westframe needs to grow accordingly in order to accommodate a greater number of development projects.”

To that end, David’s remit as Westframe Director will include overseeing an increased research and development budget.

Westframe recently trialled a site in Lutterworth which tested its full-length panel technology, which will eventually allow affordable homes to be constructed with vastly increased efficiency. 

Westframe’s use of full length timber panels reduces the number of components required to just eight external panels, with the aim of meeting the objectives of the Homes and Communities Agency’s Accelerated Build Programme.

Cranes will be used to manoeuvre whole wall panels in to position and skilled joiners will erect the structure. This will improve time, efficiency and safety.

“The trial day couldn’t have gone any better,” notes David. “What we’re aiming to do is to take modern methods of construction one or two steps further.

“The whole process ran very smoothly and we achieved exactly what we hoped for, erecting a whole house structure on site.

“Affordable housing is very much a growth sector at the moment because demand outstrips supply and we expect that to continue for the foreseeable future. It has always been one of Westleigh’s specialities and Westframe has had a big part to play in that. We hope the full-length panels will ensure changes in terms of building affordable homes more efficiently.”

Ian Jones, Managing Director at Westleigh, said: “David has done a great job driving our Westframe operation forward over a number of years, expanding it and branching it out in new directions. He is enthusiastic, experienced and has expert knowledge in his field, so I am confident that he can make an important contribution in the further growth and development of Westframe.”

Westleigh builds new homes across the East and West Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire, including homes for sale and properties for affordable rent on behalf of housing associations and registered providers. For more information about Westleigh contact 0116 277 3324 or visit www.westleigh.co.uk.


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