Subsidence damage is on the rise.

With rainfall not yet returning to normal levels and coupled with 2018’s record dry summer, the UK has seen a 400% spike in insurance subsidence claims, the biggest surge in subsidence claims since 2013.

Having your major asset affected by subsidence isn’t much fun. It’s expensive and much like most flooding, properties are left with the stigma which leads to higher insurance premiums whilst at the same time making them less desirable to own. And as if this isn’t bad enough, monitoring to identify the underlying causes and the structural repairs can take years, all very very stressful.

Recognising this, Gelder Group’s Insurance Repair and Renovation division has set-up a team to handle these specialist claims. Head of the division, Louisa Sharpe comments:

“We recognise that subsidence claims are very stressful for the property owners so we’ve set up a team of very experienced individuals with the aim of not only supporting the policy holders emotionally, but also ensuring the repairs are specified correctly and delivered by the best tradesmen available using the most up-to-date methods that provide lasting solutions.”

If you would like more information about our specialist Subsidence Team, please get in touch.

Gelder Group along with the project architects & consultants Keir Group secured top spot for the development of the North Sea Observatory at Chapel Point, Chapel St Leonards.

North Sea Observatory, Chapel Point

The unique building secured the award for both its design, workmanship and for being delivered on budget despite a plethora of challenges, not least of which is its location on a very windswept sea front!

The facility offers all year round facilities for families and those enjoying a walk along the beach and the building includes a cafe, public toilets, exhibitions and is an impressive gateway to the coastal county park.

Over 350 people gathered to celebrate the Construction and Property Awards in Lincolnshire, which took place at the Doubletree by Hilton in Lincoln.

Guests arrived at these prestigious awards, sponsored by Fraser Brown Solicitors and were welcomed by guest speaker, Homes Under the Hammer presenter, Martin Roberts.

Pictured: (Left to Right) Iain Cameron – Head of Major Contracts, Steve Gelder – CEO, Martin Roberts – Homes Under the Hammer

Pictured: Apprentices working on site at North Marsh Road.

A £3 million development scheme in partnership with Ongo Housing Association and West Lindsey District Council is enabling Gainsborough Construction Career College bricklaying students to gain vital on site experience.

Gelder Group’s Mission is to ‘Inspire a new Generation in construction’ and this scheme of 24 high-quality flats for the over 55’s being situated so close to the towns Gelder sponsored Construction Career College, gives the opportunity for the company to do just that.

Currently there are 6 bricklayer apprentices on site and this will shortly increase to 9. To apply for an apprenticeship with Gelder Group, visit our Apprenticeships page, where you can register your interest.

BBC Make a Difference Awards (Lincoln Cathedral image by Nick)

CEO Steve Gelder will be sitting with a panel of judges for the first BBC Radio Lincolnshire Make a Difference Awards. The closing date for the awards is fast approaching, so please get your applications in by 31st December to be considered.

The categories for the awards are:

• Inspiring Young Person of the Year – Awarded to anyone aged between 13-25 who is an inspiration to both young and old.
• Call of Duty – Presented to a member or team of emergency service personnel, NHS staff or the armed forces for commitment to their profession.
• Carer of the Year – Someone who cares for an individual or group of people on a regular basis.
• Good Neighbour of the Year – Awarded to an individual or organisation that helps make their community a better place to live or work, either on a regular basis or through a single act of kindness or courage.
• Fur’ever Friend of the Year – An individual or group who goes out of their way to care for animals.

In addition “The Yellowbelly Award” will be presented to the overall winner who scores the highest marks out of the five category winners.

For more information and to apply click here.

Award prominently displayed in reception

The permanent home for the Princess Royal Training Award is our reception desk at head office, where it will be proudly displayed to all our guests.

CEO Steve Gelder accepted Award from HRH The Princess Royal

Gelder Group is celebrating after being amongst just 46 recipients of the 2018 Princess Royal Training Awards granted for their commitment to training and skills excellence by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at a ceremony at St James’s Palace in London on the 31st October 2018.

CEO Steve Gelder, who accepted the award on behalf of the company commented:

I am grateful for everyone at Gelder Group who made this possible, it is a great honour.

I’d urge other organisations to enter in 2019, not just because the feedback helps you improve but the auditing process is so thorough. So many awards ranging from the Times Top 100 to regional awards have become too commercialised, this award is completely free to enter, the auditing process is unbelievably intense and the judging is very challenging, so I’m delighted we made the 2018 cut.

The Princess Royal Training Awards are delivered by the City & Guilds Group, to highlight the value of training and employee development and celebrate examples of best practice. Applications are assessed against three Hallmarks of Excellence by the Princess Royal Training Awards Commission, which comprised of HRH The Princess Royal and seven leading figures in the business and training community. For the full list of recipients and their training schemes, please see the link here.

Commenting on this year’s recipients, Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group said:

It’s fantastic to celebrate the third annual Princess Royal Training Awards and honour Gelder Group. In an ever changing world, it continues to be important for Britain’s businesses to invest in training to boost their productivity, address skills gaps and further develop their teams. I congratulate all of the 48 organisations who have achieved the standard this year and presented examples of the innovative, inspiring and impactful training that’s taking place across the UK today. They are truly worthy recipients of this rigorously assessed royal award and we are delighted to be able to honour their achievements.

Left to right: Steve Gelder, CEO Gelder Group, Martin Philips, Development Manager ONGO, Diane Krochmal Housing Strategy and Supply Manager West Lindsey DC, David Bishop, Founder DBA

Gelder Group is to develop 24 retirement flats on its site at North Marsh Road in Gainsborough in a partnership with Ongo Housing Association.

The project, which has been a number of years in the making, will deliver much needed retirement properties in the town and also employ students from the Gelder sponsored Construction Careers College.

On the project Group CEO Steve Gelder comments:

Thanks to everyone involved for getting this scheme over the line, negotiations begun back in 2014 despite hold-ups at every turn we are now on site and delivering a major local project in the town.

If you would like more information about this project, please get in touch.

New Lidl store Shirebrook

The development of the 9,900m² waste ground in Shirebrook has been completely transformed to create the new Lidl store. The store boasts a 1,106m² sales area and facilities such as an in-store bakery, longer-style tills with dual packing, customer toilets, baby changing and parking for both cars and bicycles.

The build which commenced in Feb 2018 took just 7 months to complete and is now ready for its grand opening on the 1st November. On the build for the project, Joe Allmond (Contracts Manager) said:

Despite the heavy snowfall early on in the project we managed to stay on schedule, we had a great team working on the project from the site manager to the sub-contractors, and everyone delivered.

If you would like to become one of our sub-contractors please consider joining our Safe Partner Scheme.

Left to Right: Chris Kent (Branch Manager), Nadine Fehmer (German Apprentice), Steve Gelder (CEO).

In partnership with Lincoln College, Gelder Group have taken on their first apprentice from Germany. Nadine Fehmer who is 17 and from Coesfeld, West Germany is in the second year of a joinery apprenticeship and will be spending 3 weeks working at Gelder Group alongside experienced joiners in the field.

The programme which is funded by the Europe Commissions Erasmus+ funding which is for vocational education and Training. The funding enables students and apprentices to gain work experience in another country.

On the experience Nadine said:

From being very little my dream job was to be a joiner, and I am very interested to see if there are any differences in the work over here.

On the partnership Steve Gelder, CEO commented:

I’ve always been a huge advocate of apprenticeships, having been an apprentice myself, so I was very interested to learn of this exchange program Lincoln College have been running, and I’ll be very interested to see what feedback Nadine has for us after her 3 weeks

European Officer at Lincoln College Ann Stanley commented:

Close collaboration with employers in support of the project in both enabling their own apprentices to participate and in receiving apprentices and vocational students from our European partners is so important.

Nadine on her 1st day at work for Gelder Group.

For further details on the project please contact astanley@lincolncollege.ac.uk

The project to demolish and build a new Newark Fire Station was undertaken in two phases. Phase One completed in April and saw the Fire Brigade move to their new facilities. Phase Two, which included the new training tower, RTC compound, new sliding gate, additional parking and fuel tank etc, was completed mid-July 2018. The £2.4m project was completed on time and a representative from Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service said;

“As well as housing our two fires engines, which are crewed by both whole-time and retained staff, the new station will also house our technical rescue unit and is a clear sign of the Service’s commitment to keeping Newark and the surrounding areas as safe as possible.”

Gavin Parker, Senior Contracts Manager on the 650m2 project commented;

“The construction works required continuous coordination, planning and liaison with all subcontractors and most importantly, the fire brigade. This ensured the building works progressed on time, whilst ensuring the existing ‘Live’ fire station remained operational at all times. We all worked well together on what has been a successful project.”