Maximising social value in the local community — Tyne Bridge

Esh Construction has been busy delivering a raft of social value initiatives across Newcastle and Gateshead as part of the Tyne Bridge restoration.

*Site safety poster competition winners visit the Tyne Bridge Visitor Centre to catch a glimpse of their posters on display.*

From school visits to volunteering, Esh has committed to maximising the positive impact within the local community throughout the four-year programme of work that will restore the iconic structure to its former glory.

The complex and challenging engineering project officially got underway in April this year, following an initial phase of work to install scaffolding adjacent to the Gateshead tower outside of the kittiwake nesting season.

Operatives have been working across 12 floors of encapsulated scaffolding to carry out grit blasting and repairs ahead of the structure being re-painted. A full clean-up operation has also been undertaken within the tight confines of the 1.5m high bridge deck void, which is under the footway, to remove dirt, rust and pigeon guano. This provided safe access for grit blasting of the bridge hangers ahead of structural repairs being carried out.

While it has been full steam ahead on site, Esh’s social value team have been engaging with the local community to provide meaningful opportunities and a create a positive impact for both Newcastle and Gateshead residents.

Over 1,800 students from eight schools have received Esh’s bespoke education programmes, with children as young as 5 being given an insight into construction and STEM careers, and secondary school students receiving employability and careers advice from sector role models through the ‘Building My Skills’ programme.

Students at St Mary’s Catholic High School took part in ‘Construction in the Curriculum’, a workshop that informs young people about careers in the industry and how their education applies to real life job roles. During the session, students applied what they have previously learnt in their science lessons to explore sustainability on a real-life construction project.

In July, Esh hosted a Mock Interview Day at the home of the Newcastle Eagles, Vertu Motors Arena, where more than 300 students received first-hand interview experience and an opportunity to explore their aspirational career further through one-to-one discussions with business role models. The Tyne Bridge Project Manager and Stakeholder and Public Liaison Officer were among the interview panellists.

Winners of a site safety poster competition recently visited the Tyne Bridge visitor centre to see their winning entries on display after a number of sessions sought to inform children of how to stay safe around a construction site.

Esh Construction’s Social Value Manager, Kate Marshall, has been buoyed by how keen youngsters are to learn more about the Tyne Bridge project during school visits. She said: “A key part of this scheme is to preserve the Grade II* listed Tyne Bridge for future generations, and its brilliant to see how interested young people are in this construction project. I hope it serves to inspire more people to consider a future career in construction.

“As a regional contractor, we are passionate about maximising the social value surrounding our construction sites, and our engagement will continue until the very last day on site with the figures set to grow and grow each year.”

In recognition of the wide variety of events that take place in Newcastle and Gateshead, the team have volunteered their time to attend and support the Discovery Museum’s ‘Build a City’ event which took place in May, bringing young people and their parents together to build a miniature version of Newcastle out of LEGO.

More than 500 hours of volunteering time was provided for the Military vs Cancer rugby event which took place at Newcastle Falcons on 22nd June, with the event raising £48,000 to support military, ex-service personnel and their families who are dealing with the impacts of a cancer diagnosis.

To inspire and attract the construction workforce of the future, it’s important that projects offer both work experience and apprenticeship training opportunities for those who wish to pursue a career in the industry. So far, four local apprentices have worked on the project and five people have undertaken work experience placements to gain insight into the inner workings of a project of this scale.

The restoration of the Tyne Bridge has hit another milestone after work begun on the Newcastle Quayside earlier this month to install the next phase of scaffolding. The scaffolding will be similar to that on the Gateshead side of the bridge, and its construction is expected to take up to five months.