Three site managers overseeing the construction of Barratt and David Wilson Homes developments in Essex have received prestigious national awards for the exceptional quality of the homes being built on their sites.
Jon Driscoll (33), Connor Bellyou (29) and Alex Bott (29) have each won a Pride in the Job award from the National House Building Council (NHBC) – an award known as the ‘Oscars’ of the housebuilding industry.
The annual awards recognise the very best site managers across the country, with over 8,000 being entered into the awards annually. Each is judged on a strict criterion including technical expertise, health and safety, leadership and attention to detail.
The competition is at the heart of raising standards in housebuilding, with the awards showcasing the role site managers play in ensuring much-needed new homes are delivered on time, on safe sites, and to the highest quality standards.
Jon, a Site Manager from Essex, is currently overseeing David Wilson Homes’ High Elms Park development in Hullbridge. He joined the company in January 2017 and has now earned his first Pride in the Job award.
Reflecting on his award, Jon said: “When you finally get that email to say you have won the award after a long period of persistence, it’s hard to put the emotions into words.
“The team I have here are incredible and I wouldn’t have achieved this without them. I believe that consistency, education, and leading from the front are major factors in winning this award.”
Offering advice to aspiring site managers, Jon said: “It’s a long road but it’s worth the journey. With a pride in the job mentality every day, there’s nothing you can’t achieve as a team. Set your standard on site from the start and stick to your morals.”
Connor, a Site Manager from Wickford, is currently heading up the team at David Wilson Homes’ Great Dunmow Grange development in Great Dunmow. With 12 years of experience working for the housebuilder, Connor has achieved his first personal Pride in the Job award.
Connor said: “Winning this award feels fantastic. I am very proud of myself and the team for all the hard work and effort we’ve put in. I believe this achievement reflects my commitment to high quality and my encouragement on site, always giving 110%.”
When asked for advice for aspiring site managers, Connor said: “Do the very best you can and encourage your teams to do the same. Teamwork makes the dream work!”
Alex, a Senior Site Manager from Ipswich, is leading the team at Barratt Homes’ Languard View development in Dovercourt. He joined the developer in September 2016 and has now secured his fourth Pride in the Job award while working for the homebuilder.
Alex said: “It feels very rewarding to have won another Pride in the Job award, and it’s a really proud moment for me to win a fourth in five years. Being between sites last year meant that I wasn’t in the running, so I’m over the moon to have won one at the first chance since.
“I believe the win has been achieved through hard work and attention to detail, but also because of having a strong team of sub-contractors and an assistant who really buy into what we are trying to achieve.”
Alex leaves his advice for aspiring site managers: “The difference between winning and not winning is purely the attention to detail. If you focus on the minor details whilst getting the fundamentals right, you can’t go wrong!”
With site managers passing on their skills and industry knowledge to their teams and mentoring assistant site managers, the awards help to drive up quality standards across the industry.
In total, site managers working for Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ parent company, Barratt Developments, have won 89 Pride in the Job awards this year alone – more than any other housebuilder.
This is the 20th year in a row that Barratt Developments has won the most Pride in the Job awards, having accumulated more than 1,500 individual accolades over the years. This achievement underlines just how important building high quality homes has been to the developer over the last two decades.
Tom Wright, Managing Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Eastern Counties, said: “We’re so proud of Connor, Jon and Alex for achieving a prestigious Pride in the Job Quality award this year. It’s amazing news for the teams at their developments and for our customers.
“To have won more awards than any other housebuilder for 20 years in a row is an incredible achievement, and underlines our commitment to building the very best new homes for our customers.”
Earlier this year, Barratt and David Wilson Homes also achieved a five-star rating from its customers in the HBF Customer Satisfaction Survey, which recognises both build quality and excellence in customer care. This is the 15th year in a row that the developer’s customers have rated it as a five-star housebuilder, with more than 90% of its customers saying they would recommend it to a friend.
To find out more about any nearby developments in the county, visit the websites at Barratt Homes in Essex or David Wilson Homes in Essex.
