Continuing to add social value to our communities

As part of our ongoing commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility at Hughes and Salvidge, we have been involved in a number of community-related events and initiatives over the past few months.  Everything we do in terms of CSR falls within the remit of Helping Hands, our established Social Value Initiative, which aims to enhance and support the communities we work in.

Helping Hands aims to cover five areas of Social Value to make a real difference to our local communities. These comprise Charity, Community, Wellness, Development, and Sustainability. The ways in which we add Social Value to our local communities are varied and we’re always open to new ideas, so please do get in touch if you have any to share with us.

Providing work experience opportunities

When Dorset school pupil Alfie Wade got in touch with Hughes and Salvidge Project Manager, Conor Taggart, to enquire about work experience opportunities, he was more than happy to assist. We are committed to supporting local schools in any way we can and have hosted three work experience workshops in the past year.

During a break from school, Alfie was looking for ways to gain work experience ahead of his A Levels next year. He has always had an interest in engineering and was impressed by the work we are involved in at Heathrow, which led to him getting in touch. 

He ended up spending a week with the Hughes and Salvidge team over the summer, learning about the demolition industry and taking a closer look at the work taking place on two ongoing key projects - Starlight Point and the Staines project. 

Alfie spent a few days at Starlight Point at Heathrow Airport. Starlight Point was a purpose-built collection of over 300 portacabins which were built up to create large-scale office space. Having come to the end of their life, they required dismantling. Hughes and Salvidge were appointed Project Manager for this project due to our extensive experience in airport demolition. 

Whilst at Starlight Point, Alfie spent time in the office with Conor learning more about both project management and site management, giving him a great overview of both aspects. He assisted with a number of tasks including commercial breakdowns, client meetings, RAMS reviews and site walks. He also spent time on the site itself, helping Site Manager Jim Stevens with site documentation and role shadowing to help him gain understanding of what site management involves.

We wish Alfie all the best for the future, and trust that he has returned to school with a few new skills and a breadth of additional knowledge about the demolition industry. 

Pride in Priorswood

Hughes and Salvidge attended a Pride in Priorswood Activity Day last month at Priorswood Community Centre. Four activity days were held throughout the summer holidays, with the events geared towards families in the area. Our involvement was linked to the Taunton Regeneration Project, which we are undertaking on behalf of Somerset Council; the project site is just a few hundred yards from the event location.

We attended the event alongside the council, who helped man our stand. The event was well attended and we gave away plenty of branded goodies to local residents. We were also on hand to assist in answering any questions the locals had about the project. Our works began in the area in March 2024, and included the safe, methodical demolition of existing houses, clearing the site for new homes for the council. 

Windrush: A Community Celebration

Hughes and Salvidge donated £250 to Broadwater Farm Residents’ Association’s Windrush Community Celebration, supporting the event for the third year in a row. The event was a great opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation to the UK and to show appreciation for their hard work and effort. 

The event was attended by 90 residents, who enjoyed an evening of music, dancing, entertainment, and Caribbean food and drink. The incomparable Hesketh Benoit was compere for the evening. Entertainment was provided by steel pan players, Caribbean dancers, a poet, a storyteller, singers, a harmonica player and a DJ.

Jacob Secker, Secretary of  Broadwater Farm Residents’ Association, said: “Thank you very much to Hughes and Salvidge for the £250 donation to our Windrush event. Your donation helped enable a wonderful celebration for our community.”

Explore the other community initiatives we’ve been involved in and find out more about Helping Hands…