Contractors come together to support those in need
Photo: Adam sinclair, Assistant Site Manager, Speller Metcalfe | Mark Bywater, Site Manager, Harper Group
With the cost-of-living crisis taking hold across the UK, two local building contractors have joined forces to support the community of Hereford.
Speller Metcalfe and the Harper Group, who are based in Malvern and Leominster respectively, have pooled resources to support Hereford’s food bank on Monkmoor Street with a cash donation of £300, and a food donation of £200.
With an annual £700 rise in household fuel costs since April, and some families being forced to choose between heating or eating, the Food Bank say that every penny and every donation counts:
“Over the last two years we have seen an unprecedented demand for our services – last year we helped some 4750 people and provided them with nearly 100,000 meals, but in 2019 this had been only just over 2,800 people,” said Hereford Food Bank Donations Manager, June Wynter.
“The Hereford community is amazingly generous and has donated over 80% of the food that is provided in our emergency food parcels. We really appreciate the help from local businesses not only in providing food and money but also in raising awareness of our activities through the community.”
The two construction companies are well known across the region, with several live projects currently on site across the county including Speller Metcalfe’s new sustainable housing development at Ewyas Harold and the redevelopment of Beattie Avenue into new homes by the Harper Group.
Recently completed projects include Station Medical Centre, the Midlands Centre for Cyber Security on Rotherwas Industrial Estate and the redevelopment of a former Victorian Working Boys Home on Bath Street into new apartments.
“As two local contractors, while we take great pride in making a difference through the projects we deliver, we feel it’s also our duty to support the communities we live and work in,” said Mark Eaton, divisional director at Speller Metcalfe. “Times are harder than ever, and we want to do something that takes away some of that hardship for those in need.”
Both contractors are currently appointed to the Procure Partnerships Minor Works framework, which is delivering projects up to £4.5million across Herefordshire, the wider West Midlands and further afield.
Lizz Lee, Social Value Manager at Procure Partnerships Framework, said: “Both contractors have joined forces through our Collaborative Working Group initiative for the East & West Midlands combined. The outcomes and initiatives achieved by this collaboration are exemplary and this partnership work goes above and beyond any contractual obligations, really showcasing the two organisations willingness to have a positive impact within their region.”