Plumb job for apprentice who builds on site of former childhood home

Published by Claire Tinston for IPB Communications in Housing and also in Communities

An apprentice plumber whose former childhood home is now part of Birmingham City Council’s ambitious regeneration of Newtown is currently helping to build Pannel Croft - which is also part of the extensive regeneration programme in the Newtown area.

The £22 Million Extra-Care village, which was made possible by a development partnership between Birmingham City Council and the Extra Care Charitable Trust with a £6.4 Million investment by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), will provide 180 self-contained apartment homes for rent and sale and a range of essential well-being and social facilities as part of a community-based village centre.

Loxley Brown, 29, landed his dream job as an apprentice plumber with Coleshill-based community regeneration specialist Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) last year – and was stunned to learn he’d be working on the project to build Pannel Croft Extra-Care village near the site of his former home which he shared with his father.

Loxley approached FHM for the opportunity to gain an apprenticeship after working with the company on several other sites as a labourer. FHM then approached their partners at Birmingham’s Employment Access Team (EAT) to secure Loxley an apprenticeship on Pannel Croft. 

His father, also called Loxley Brown, lived in one of the houses on Alma Way which was one of the 325 council properties earmarked for demolition as part of the regeneration project to build 327 new homes, three new schools and a youth facility in the area in addition to the neighbouring Pannel Croft Extra-Care village.

Pannel Croft and the North Newtown development on Alma Way, where Loxley and his family lived, are being delivered by FHM, (part of the Keepmoat group) on behalf of the ExtraCare Charitable Trust and Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust which is the Council’s vehicle for building new homes across Birmingham.

The construction of Pannel Croft and Phase One of the regeneration of North Newtown at Alma Way have helped FHM create a number of vital training and apprenticeship opportunities in the Newtown area, similar to Loxley’s.

Now, Loxley is delighted to be contributing to the overall regeneration of the Newtown area: “It’s strange to think that I’m now helping to transform the area where I used to live and where my father’s house used to stand,” said Loxley, who lives at Weoley Castle in Birmingham.

“My family was one of the first to move to Newtown when the houses were built in the 60’s and my mum and grandmother still live in the area.

“There’s high unemployment in the area but the scheme has given people like me employment opportunities.

“When I was growing up there were problems with anti-social behaviour on the estate but I definitely think that this project is really going to change the area for the better.”

Loxley is currently attending South Birmingham College one day a week where he is working towards his NVQ Level 2 in plumbing. He hopes to go on to achieve an NVQ Level 3 to become a heating and gas engineer.

Loxley said: “I’d been working as a labourer with FHM for several years before being accepted onto the plumbing course.

 “I’m really grateful for the opportunities the company has given me as growing up in the area I did, it could have been a different story.”

Newtown has a high percentage of people who are classed by the Government as Not in Education, employment or Training (NEETS), and it is hoped the regeneration can contribute to reversing the trend of unemployment in the area.

As a company, FHM works hard to support the communities in which it works and has already provided 19 apprenticeships on this project which will increase to 26 by September as a result of these two developments. In addition to this FHM has also provided work experience placements for a group of 12 unemployed youngsters from Newtown and the surrounding area at Pannel Croft to boost their CVs.

Pannel Croft, which is due to open in October 2013, is just one of five villages planned for Birmingham by Birmingham City Council and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust.

Phase one of North Newtown is due for completion in 2013 and is just one of a number of Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust developments across the city.