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Apprentice plumber Ben Blackett presents their work on the new eco home in Ferrybridge to Steve Rawson as the rest of the apprentice team looks on.
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Apprentices from Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) have become the first to build a three star rated eco home for the organisation, at their development near Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire.
The semi-detached properties have been awarded Code Three
Sustainable Homes, (a star rating based on their performance
against nine sustainability criteria, combined to assess the
overall environmental impact), by Communities and Local Government.
The properties include a wide range of features such as solar
panels to heat water and a combination boiler with a gas
saver.
The team of 12 apprentices started work on the properties in
February 2009. Working alongside WDH’s experienced
tradespeople and construction partners Bramall Construction,
they’ve had hands on experience working in their specialist
trade from brickwork to joinery and plumbing to plastering.
Darren Davis, 19 from Kinsley, Pontefract, is an apprentice bricklayer. “I’ve helped build the boundary walls at the property,” Darren says. “Having the support of the tradespeople has really given me the confidence in my ability. I now feel happy that I can go out and do the job on my own.”
“I’ve fitted the bathroom and the pipework for the solar panels,” explains Ben Blackett, 18 from Knottingley, apprentice plumber. “It was only the second day on site when I was working to connect the drain back for the solar panel.”
Steve Rawson, Director of Operations for WDH said, “This is the first of many construction projects that WDH’s Apprentices and Technical Services team are working on and I’m delighted with just how successful this has been.”
Two of the apprentices from the Ferrybridge scheme are this week moving on to work with our construction partners Bramall on a new development of 49 properties at Eastbourne Drive, Pontefract. The rest of the apprentices are putting into practice their now honed skills to make a difference to the lives of tenants through WDH’s multi million pound home Improvement Programme.
