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November 2013
Royal connections at two major Leicester projects Gardens and along the pedestrianised section of Peacock Lane will receive an array of feature lighting, providing uplighters for the trees and display illumination of various items of street art and the Richard III statue outside the Visitor Centre.
Richard III and the City of Leicester have been all over the national news in recent months after the discovery of the King’s remains under a Leicester car park. This historic city now features in Casey news as it is the venue for two major contract wins for P Casey (Land Reclamation) Ltd — Jubilee Square and Cathedral Gardens. Works on Jubilee Square, to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, commenced in August this year. This is a major Public Realm scheme which has been designed to enhance the City Centre by the creation of a new Civic Square and public open space, and pedestrian links close to the commercial and retail quarter. High quality porphyry and granite paving will be the main feature of these works which are located on a site previously used for car parking and Park and Ride facilities. Leicester City Council’s focus on quality also extends to the soft landscaping which will sensitively punctuate the public realm areas with lawns and common green areas, and the planting of high specification pleached trees and Acers. The whole of the Jubilee Square will be lit by a variety of street and feature lighting to give a rich feel to the surroundings and provide a safe comfortable environment for visitors, residents and the surrounding commercial and retail community, plus an 800 seat entertainment venue. Hard on the heels of the Jubilee Square project follows a contract for the Cathedral
Gardens, close by on Peacock Lane. The £2m public realm scheme is just about as prestigious as one can get (except for our recent Buckingham Palace project of course!!) due, in part, to its association with the recent discovery of Richard III’s remains in a nearby car park. The public realm areas around the Cathedral, and pedestrianised part of Peacock Lane, are adjacent to the Richard III Visitor Centre close to where the remains were found. The high quality of the design and specification is fully in keeping with the location using a mixture of modern materials and concepts but with a respect for the Cathedral and ancient Royal connections. The areas around the Cathedral will again be paved in high quality porphyry and granite to provide a visitor friendly pedestrianised public realm and civic area. There will be a rich array of urban soft landscaping including lawns, flowering Juneberry bushes and colourful pleached trees and Acers to complement the surroundings and create a calm oasis in the centre of this bustling historic city.
The historic connections of the Cathedral’s original 13th Century establishment as an Abbey Church and the discovery of the remains of England’s last Plantagenet King means that the project will be carried out under an Archaeological Watching Brief by the University of Leicester’s Archaeology Department, especially during initial excavations for drainage channels. All this brings an extra dimension of interest to the project. The whole ethos of both projects is one of quality of design and finish and this is reflected in the selection of materials for paving and installations. It has been important also to select the right teams to deliver the works and this we have done with confidence with the extensive experience and quality track record of the Casey Project and Site Management personnel allocated to the works. The University of Leicester hopes to bury the remains of Richard III in Leicester at the Cathedral. However, the Plantagenet Alliance was granted permission to request a Judicial Review as the original decision on the place of the burial in Leicester ignored a legal requirement for public consultation. The Alliance would like the King reinterred at York Minster. The Judicial Review hearing takes place on 26 November 2013.
Richard III’s statue, currently residing in the Castle Gardens will be moved to a location at one end of the Cathedral Gardens outside the King Richard III Visitor Centre opposite the Cathedral. The whole area around the
To submit articles or information for this newsletter, contact Debbie Hubbard on 07834 867580 or debbie.hubbard@casey.co.uk.
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Health, Safety and Welfare
November is the month when men of all ages around the globe begin to sprout facial hair on their top lips to raise money for, and awareness of, men’s health issues. All in the name of Movember. We thought we’d do our bit to spread the word. Did you know that the average life expectancy in the UK for men is lower than for women but there is no biological reason for this. Perhaps these are some of the reasons:
• Lack of awareness and understanding of the health issues men face.
• Men not openly discussing their health and how they are feeling.
• Reluctance to take action when men don’t feel physically or mentally well.
• Men engaging in risky activities that threaten their health.
• Stigmas surrounding mental health Movember is not just about testicular and prostate cancers. There are lots more health issues that affect men. Here are some scary statistics:
• Men have a 14% higher risk of developing cancer than women, and a 37% higher risk of dying from it.
• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men between 15-45 years, whilst prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK overall.
• Suicide is the single most common cause of death in men under 35.
• 25% of men in the UK were categorised as obese in
Something for the kids on these dark nights
2011, compared with 13% of men in 1993.
• In England, more men than women have been diagnosed with diabetes — 6.3% of men compared to 5.3% of women.
• Smoking causes around 87% of lung cancer deaths in men in the UK compared to 83% of women. It causes nearly a fifth of all cancer cases in the UK.
• Men are twice as likely as women to abuse or become dependent on alcohol.
• A quarter of deaths in men under 34 can be attributed to alcohol. So guys, get talking, get reading, get checking and make sure you visit the doctor if something isn’t quite right! More information from uk.movember.com/mens-health
The girl who didn’t dress bright in the dark She always like to look her best So didn’t wear a nice bright vest Or any clothing that was bright When she was out at nearly night But traffic couldn’t see her, see And now she isn’t so trendy A car drove right into her guts And covered her with bruisy cuts
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working well together Introducing our team at Bury
Positive Placement A recent placement with Casey for apprentice joiner, Anthony Smith, proved very positive indeed.
From left: George O’Neill (Site Manager), Phil Jones (QS), Mike Hyde (Project Manager), John Joyce (Foreman), Sue Croll (RLO), Stuart “Taffy” White (Van Driver) and Kevin Plunkett (Foreman)
Casey have been working with Six Town Housing in Bury since 2008, on a Decent Homes framework with GM Procure, who are now Procure Plus. The majority of staff and operatives on this team have been with Casey for a long time — the management team (George, Mike, John, Sue, and Kev) have a total of 78 years between them! The value of works that this team has delivered over the period is over £10m. And the length of time on site is testament to the quality of work that has been delivered. The team also works with Six Town Housing to deliver various community initiatives such as litter picks, school talks and, in the run up to Christmas, fitting a kitchen in the local community centre. As part of the Procure Plus framework, we have taken on a total of 8 trainees and
Cosy winter for Eastlands’ birds
Anthony was keen to continue to the second year of his apprenticeship and Casey were able to offer Anthony a placement through the YORbuild Shared Apprentice Scheme. Working for 10 weeks on our project for West Yorkshire Police, Anthony proved that he was hardworking and conscientious and, after finishing his placement, he found a permanent apprenticeship position with another company. “Working with Dave and his team was great, and it’s fantastic that my placement with Casey led to something permanent” said Anthony.
apprentices, and we have five of them here. From left: Payton Livesey, Haiden Pickford, Rob Doherty, Mathew Yorke and Aston Roger.
Carla helps Children in Need
Everything should be put to good use and we have been making sure that we use every last bit of timber at our site at Stanley Grove, Gorton, for Eastlands Homes.
Casey Site Manager, Dave Kelly (left) presenting Anthony with a hammer on completion of his placement.
Anthony is also working towards the challenging Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, but has put that on hold until he completes his studies. We wish him luck with that as well as his apprenticeship and career.
Carl Jowett our Site Foreman, pictured here with Resident Liaison Officer Sarah Harwood, has been making bird boxes with waste timber. The bird houses will be given to residents who respond to the giveaway in the Eastlands Homes newsletter.
Anthony began his apprenticeship in 2012, but unfortunately, the contractor he was working for went into administration earlier this year.
Promotion for Paul Dandy Our new Resident Liaison Office certainly proved she could roll her sleeves up and get stuck in on 15 November. Carla Lewis (right in photo above) worked with Weaver Vale Housing Trust Community Hub at Greenbank Estate in Northwich, washing cars to raise money for Children in Need. The car wash and a cake sale raised £175 for the charity.
We are pleased to announce the promotion of Paul Dandy to the position of Senior Site Manager. Paul started with Casey as a Joiner more than 13 years ago and we would like to thank him for his hard work so far and congratulate him on his well deserved success.
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Home Decorating — Hints and Tips When the Christmas lights and decorations come down, there’s a good chance you’ll decide your home needs brightening up with a coat of paint or a roll of wallpaper. Here are some tips from the Eastland Homes’ Painting Team to make sure you get the job right.
Remember the 5 P’s • • • • •
from
Avoiding runs in a panel door Many internal doors these days are panelled, and there is nothing more frustrating than seeing your newly painted door drying with runs on it.
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
This is the recommended order of application to avoid any runs, but first remove the handles to avoid spoiling them.
Before you start your project, make sure you’re well prepared. There’s nothing worse than realising that you’ve left your scissors in the kitchen when you’re up a ladder with a run of ceiling paper poised over your head.
1
Paint the inside of the panels (known as reveals).
2
Then the raised panels.
3
Complete all the panels and then paint the inner vertical rail.
4
Next come the horizontal rails.
5
Finally, paint the two vertical rails on the sides.
Check you have everything you’re going to need for the task at hand.
This order will allow you to use the brush to take up any excess paint and avoid runs.
Plan the order of your work and be realistic about how long each phase will take.
Allow the time recommended on the tin for drying and follow the same procedure through each coat of paint.
Don’t forget — preparation is key!
For internal woodwork, you can use water-based paints which have no smell and are healthier to use. They may need additional coats.
What you will need
Wallpapering
around the switch before you start work.
For Painting:
If you are inexperienced at wallpapering, the Eastlands Team advise you to use heavier embossed papers as these are easier to hang and will stretch. If you want a pattern, you should limit it to a feature wall. Again, try to select a heavier paper and make sure you buy rolls with the same batch number.
Run the paper over the switch. With a pencil mark the four corners, and with a pair of scissors, score a hole at the centre and cut diagonally towards the corners.
Woodwork — you will need a set of brushes, white spirit and some cloths. Walls and ceilings — you will need a set of brushes and a roller and tray. Don’t forget you’ll need sheets for covering furniture and floors. Using a roller will allow you to apply the paint more quickly and evenly but it may spray paint. Always remember to load limited paint on to the roller to avoid this.
For Wallpapering: You will need a tape measure, step ladders, paste table, spirit level or plumb bob, paste brush, scissors, sponge, paper hanging brush and a trimming or Stanley knife.
Don’t dilute the paste too much or the paper is likely to end up on the floor. Lining paper is helpful to cover up any imperfections in the walls, or if you are using a thin paper on top. Always work from top to bottom and keep your work area clean. Papering round switches Think ‘safety!’ and switch off the power
Trim off the excess paper, leaving just a quarter inch (6mm) extra. Loosen the screws on the switch just slightly then, using your paper hanging brush, smooth the extra paper under the switch. Once you have done one, you’ll find it straightforward to paper round all your remaining sockets and switches.
You can find the full “Home Decorating — Hints and Tips” leaflet, and lots more useful information on the Eastlands Homes website www.eastlandshomes.co.uk. Just select the Information Leaflets option from the Quick Links menu. There is always a lot of input required to produce this newsletter, and it’s a team effort. We would like to say a big Thank You! to all contributors to this issue: Chris Williams, James Billing, Dave Kelly, Anthony Smith, Sarah Harwood, Mike Hyde and Eastland Homes
The Casey Companies Rydings Road, Rochdale, OL12 9PS T: 01706 341121
E: info@casey.co.uk
W: www.casey.co.uk
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