2009-06-01
County firm delivers again for leading leisure group

When the UK's leading provider of school trips and educational tours needs a high-profile project delivered to its exact specifications and budget it turns to Shropshire's SJ Roberts Construction.

In a 12-year relationship SJ Roberts Construction has handled many high-quality projects for PGL, at sites all over the country.

Now this successful partnership has seen the completion of PGL’s newest activity centre, at Windmill Hill, East Sussex.

With a budget of £2.75 million, SJ Roberts Construction has created a total of 11 new lodges, each with en-suite accommodation for 36 guests, and converted a former tennis hall into dining facilities, along with all of the associated infrastructure.

All this was delivered in the space of just six months, from December 2008 to May this year. Now the Windmill Hill site is up-and-running as a fully functioning part of the PGL centres network. It welcomed its first 200 guests on Friday, May 15, with a further 200 arriving just the following Monday, meaning the site was running at its full capacity within days of opening.

Eight months of intense design works and programme planning preceded the start of the build and the site presented its own particular challenges. A number of ecological and environmental conditions were placed on the development by the local authority, including the protection of existing trees as well as safeguarding newt and badger populations.

As with all projects, the SJ Roberts Construction team took these demands very seriously and went out of its way to ensure the total satisfaction of both the client and the planning authorities.

SJ Roberts Construction managing director, Mike Sambrook, explained:

"We are very pleased to have had a long and successful relationship with PGL. During the 12 years we’ve worked together we have built up a trust and understanding that allows all parties to be confident that everyone will be extremely happy at the end of our projects."

"Windmill Hill was another fine example of this and there is a great sense of achievement at the successful conclusion of such a satisfying job. As a company we actively seek projects that bring clear benefits to a particular group or community. An awful lot of children are going to have a great time at Windmill Hill, as at other PGL sites, and that's a great feeling."

SJ Roberts Construction is based at Marton, near Welshpool, on the Shropshire/Powys border and puts great emphasis on completing commissions with the use of its own highly skilled workforce and preferred contractors with whom it has built relationships over a number of years.

But in addition to this, Windmill Hill opened up the opportunity for SJ Roberts Construction to support the community it was working in by engaging carefully selected firms and labour from the East Sussex area. As principal contractor, SJ Roberts’ site managers, Alan Cound and Raff Cipollaro, were also responsible for supervising other contractors on the site, including those engaged directly by PGL.

SJ Roberts Construction Ltd is part of the SJR Group of companies, which includes renowned timber frame manufacturer, Lowfield Timber Frames Ltd, whose products were used in the construction of the Windmill Hill lodges.

Also part of the group is Wyro Developments Ltd, a home developer which, with SJ Roberts Construction as its partner, has created many new homes on sites across the region.

Mike Sambrook added:

"By nurturing our client relationships and ensuring everything we do lives up to our reputation we are weathering the storm of the current economic climate and continue to look forward to a bright future."

From private home builds to leisure, commercial, retail and industrial construction and re-fits, SJ Roberts Construction has gained years of experience and a name for getting the job done.

A job well done – SJ Roberts Construction site manager Alan Cound (right) hands over the keys to the new buildings to PGL site manager Ian Balaam