BBC TV has been to our Hornsey Rise site to film an interview with Springbourne Homes’ chief executive Lee Harris on the construction industry’s return to work after seven weeks in lockdown.
The site, which will deliver 19 luxury homes, was re-opened this week and BBC reporter Helen Astle was keen to know what new challenges there were for building firms re-opening in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lee insisted that the health and welfare of everyone on site was the main priority and revealed how he’d drawn up and implemented new health and safety measures for workers at the 10 acre site, near Market Bosworth, to protect against the threat of coronavirus.
Lee admitted the pandemic has meant the award-winning firm has had to develop a whole new way of working, saying: “It is a new world, a new universe for us.
“There’s a lot of government guidance that has created a framework for us to work to, but it is really about working with our teams on site and finding new methods of working to keep ourselves safe.”
The Springbourne chief also explained that the company had decided on a phased return to work, initially with a scaled down team, in order to trial the new rules and measures before making the site fully operational again.
He also revealed the difficulties of sourcing supplies and materials as the whole construction industry attempts to re-start operations.
Lee said: It has not been a straightforward start and we’ve not been able to get into full production.
“We’re hearing stories that materials aren’t available and we know that plaster is almost impossible to get hold of and we’re running out of materials as we go, so it is difficult.”
BBC East Midlands Today carried the two and a half minutes news report last night, the second time Springbourne Homes has featured on the programme in 18 months.
In November 2018 they broadcast an interview with Springbourne chairman Adrian Burr, highlighting his quest to restore a desecrated War Memorial on the Hornsey Rise development.
If you’d like to see last night’s report in full, it’s currently available on the BBC’s player.
