Demolition of Belvedere Cottage
As part of our planning obligations for The Lees development, we are required to transfer some land to Kent County Council so that Sellindge Primary School can be extended. When complete, the extension to the school will provide additional school places for local children.
At the moment the land that we are due to transfer to Kent County Council is home to a building called Belvedere Cottage. We have appointed a contractor to demolish the cottage and clear the site so that it can be transferred to the council. The demolition works are due to begin during the school holidays on Monday 6th August and are expected to take approximately two weeks.
Every effort will be made to keep disruption to local residents and businesses to a minimum throughout the duration of these works.
We go back to school to teach pupils at Sellindge Primary School all about safety
We have recently begun construction of the first new homes at The Lees and our Project Manager, Phil Laycock, and Health and Safety Advisor, Simon Strudwick visited Sellindge Primary School on Tuesday 17th July to teach its pupils a valuable lesson about the importance of staying safe around a building site.
Pupils were given an informative and interactive presentation about the dangers posed by construction sites and were invited to design a poster to show what they learned. The children also received goody bags which included high visibility vests and a copy of our children’s book, ‘How we build your home with Millie Mortar and Handy Andy’, which aims to teach young people about the house building process.
Commenting on the visit, Jo Wren, Headteacher at Sellindge Primary School, said: “We’re very grateful to Taylor Wimpey for taking the time to talk to our pupils about something that really matters. Phil and Simon did a great job of giving such a fun and engaging talk which highlighted the dangers posed by building sites and really helped the the children to understand the importance of staying safe.”
Phil Laycock, Project Manager at Taylor Wimpey South East, said: “Children are naturally interested in finding out how we build our new homes but it is important that they are aware of the dangers around construction sites. It was our pleasure to talk to the pupils at Sellindge Primary School and hope that our talk gave them a valuable lesson in staying safe.”
We show our support towards the Folkestone and Ashford Military show for a second time
We donated £500 to the Folkestone and Ashford Military show which took place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd June at Sellindge Showground. This is the second year in a row that we have supported this event and our funding went towards sponsorship of the Military Wives Choir who performed. Last year we supported the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (PWRR) Band.
The Folkestone and Ashford Military show is an annual event which invites the public to celebrate local youth and cadet organisations. Initially set up in 1971 by Les Birch who served in the Royal Artillery, the show is now organised by the Kent (Marine) Cadet Force.
Commenting on the donation received from Taylor Wimpey, Andrew Dorrell, Commanding Officer at the Kent (Marine) Cadet Force, said: “We used the funding from Taylor Wimpey to support The Military Wives Choir. They do such great work in helping the families of service personnel who often move frequently and can be left feeling isolated as a result. Everyone really enjoyed their performances during the show and on behalf of all of us at Folkestone and Ashford Military show, I’d like to thank Taylor Wimpey for their backing.”
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director at Taylor Wimpey South East said: “We were delighted to support the Folkestone and Ashford Military show for the second year running. The work we do is so much more than just building high-quality homes and it means a great deal to us to give something back to the local community.”