G F Tomlinson announces selected community projects for next stage of
Local Communities Partnership Programme

Following an initial application process, Midlands contractor G F
Tomlinson [1] has revealed its chosen not-for-profit projects that will
receive support and guidance from a panel of industry experts, as part
of a new collaborative initiative to support communities in the region.

The new Local Communities Partnership Programme forms part of the
organisation’s ongoing commitment to delivering social, economic and
environmental benefits to the local communities in which it works,
through the SCAPE Regional Construction framework.

Following an intensive judging process, four charitable organisations
have been selected to attend an informal virtual, ‘Dragons Den’-style
event on 31 March, to discuss their projects in more detail with a panel
of industry experts, gaining advice and support.

G F Tomlinson is working with multi-disciplinary construction practice
Arc Partnership, a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council
and SCAPE to deliver the programme which was launched last month.

Perfect Circle, a property, construction and infrastructure consultancy
working to create built environments across the public sector and
communities in the UK, is also going to be involved in the programme,
providing support with the Dragon’s Den-style event.

Applications were invited from not-for-profit/charitable organisations
in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, that
were seeking construction-based advice and support for a community
project.

The chosen charitable organisations include Autism East Midlands – the
largest autism charity in the region, providing support and respite to
autistic children, adults and their families. The organisation is
looking to create new landscaped grounds at one of its residential
facilities in Worksop, complete with an environmentally friendly sensory
garden fit for autistic individuals and their families who will benefit
from the calming environment.

Treetops Hospice – a leading end-of-life care charity in Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire – is the second organisation to be selected. Situated in
more than ten acres of conservation land including gardens, a meadow and
woodland, Treetops wishes to upgrade and rejuvenate its grounds to
continue providing a tranquil and relaxing environment for patients,
staff members and volunteers. The charity also wants to reconfigure and
refurbish its office and backroom spaces to accommodate its growing
governance, administration and IT infrastructure needs.

Following the launch of its new initiative – Bhive.community hub, South
Lincolnshire Blind Society has been chosen following its application
which sought support to remodel, upgrade and refurbish its premises, to
provide additional mental health services to the community. As well as
supporting people with sight loss, the organisation aims to widen its
work by offering a men’s suicide prevention group, skills training for
people seeking employment, support for carers looking after people with
Dementia, and technology training sessions for blind veterans, amongst
other services.

The final organisation to be selected is Forever Stars, a charity that
works to provide support and care for bereaved parents who have suffered
a stillbirth or infant loss. The charity is looking for help with the
second phase of its Forever Stars Serenity Garden – a baby loss
remembrance garden, which will be a key resource in helping families
come to terms with their loss. Following basic construction which is
currently taking place along with planting, Forever Stars is looking to
progress with a moving water feature in the garden, to add something
truly special, and this will require buildings works and excavation of
the area concerned, which is set in a former Victorian Paddling pool.

Following the ‘Dragons Den’-style event, the panel – which will include
representatives from G F Tomlinson, Arc Partnership, SCAPE and Perfect
Circle – will select one project they can deliver using skills within
the team, and will forge a long-term partnership with the chosen
organisation, providing an ongoing legacy of support.

The selected project will have access to continual support and advice –
including time, resources, expertise and materials, as part of the Local
Communities Partnership Programme.

G F Tomlinson has a strong focus on social value and its policy and
processes focus on four key investment areas; employment, training and
skills; sustainable procurement; environmental protection and
enhancement, and community support.

The contractor has always strongly supported local communities and in
the last three years has generated £23.9million worth of social value
through the SCAPE Regional Construction framework across the Midlands
region, and at the start of this year, G F Tomlinson was recognised as a
leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR), achieving a Gold
standard CSR Accreditation.

Craig Stopper, Regional Construction framework manager at G F Tomlinson,
said: “We’ve seen an excellent amount of interest from not-for-profit
organisations and charities across the region, and we reviewed so many
incredible applications, with all projects reviewed worthy of support as
they focused on bringing significant benefits to their local
communities.

“Honing this down to four projects was very difficult, and following an
intensive reviewing process we feel we have chosen organisations and
projects that we can bring real value to, and we are excited to be
forging the long-term partnership and seeing what the future brings in
terms of benefits to the community.

“Our panel of experts are really looking forward to meeting all
finalists and hearing in-depth about the chosen projects at the 31 March
event.”

Daniel Maher, managing director, Arc Partnership said: “Not-for-profit
organisations play a vital role in supporting local communities, each of
the four projects chosen will make a real difference to the lives of
people in the region and we look forward to meeting the organisations
and learning more about the projects. It’s incumbent upon the
construction industry to ensure its activity leaves a strong and
sustainable legacy by generating social value.”