Pupils from a Flint primary school paid a special visit to a £9 million building site in their home town to see how work is progressing and learn about site safety.
Award-winning Flintshire-based builders Anwyl Construction are using a giant crane to assist with site progression on the Llys Raddington Extra-Care complex in the heart of the historic town.
The project has been commissioned by leading social housing providers the Pennaf Housing Group in partnership with the Welsh Government and Flintshire County Council, and will include 73 one- and two-bedroomed self-contained apartments along with a wide range of community facilities as well as 24-hour access to care provided by the Local Authority.
Pupils from Years Five and Six from Ysgol Gwynedd in Flint visited Llys Raddington, which is due to be completed next Spring, and were given a talk on site safety by Anwyl Construction Safety Officer Greg Roberts.
Project Manager Huw Davies was on hand to share his expertise with the eager children and answer their questions on construction, and even arranged a demonstration of the crane in action.
It was a special experience for 11-year-old Tayler Jones who lived in one of the maisonettes which used to occupy the site on Earl Street, Flint, and he said: “I know the maisonettes were nice but I think the new building will be better because it’s for the older people.
“I like the idea of building a retirement hotel because it’s helping people who need help.
“I would like to be a teacher at Ysgol Gwynedd and when I come back here I’ll be able to look out of the window and see this building where I used to live.”
Dewi Hughes, deputy head teacher at Ysgol Gwynedd, said: “It’s been a great opportunity to visit the site and see what’s going on.
“It’s a good experience for the pupils to see a working construction site and also to be aware of what’s happening in their town.
“It’s also important from a safety point of view and from the community side it means the children can see what’s happening here and to be part of it because they’re all Flint residents.”
Huw Davies added: “The project has gone very well so far and having the tower-crane on site is a huge benefit to the rapid progression of the project, and will help us with more complex work such as getting the roof on and work on the interiors, simply because the site is so compact being situated the town centre.”
Anwyl Construction’s Communications Coordinator Natalie Palframan said: “We wanted to make sure the children were aware of the dangers of building sites but we also wanted to teach them about the construction industry.
“There are so many opportunities for careers in construction, so the idea is to show them how the industry works, the skills required and perhaps kindle an interest in them to make it their careers, and to particularly inspire the girls in the class as there are so many opportunities for women in construction today.”
Craig Sparrow, Corporate Director of Commercial Services for Pennaf said: “We really appreciated the close connections that our Llys Raddington contractor, Anwyl, has with the local community.
“Not only does the site visit by local school children provide an insight into future career possibilities in construction, it also flags up the potential hazards of building sites ahead of the school holidays.”
Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Services, Councillor Christine Jones, said: “This is another great step forward for our latest extra care scheme in Flintshire.
“With the Council and Pennaf Group working in partnership together, we are all looking forward to seeing this scheme come to fruition. Llys Raddington will provide excellent facilities to make a real difference to residents’ lives.”