Six Bellway Northern Home Counties site managers receive coveted housebuilding awards

Cymon Robinson, Dan St Hilaire, Josh Croxford, Martin Elderton, Michael Crake and Ross Jenkins are among just 444 site managers from across the country to receive a Quality Award this year in the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) annual Pride in the Job competition.

The six colleagues work for Bellway’s Northern Home Counties division, whose head office is in Milton Keynes, and are based at developments in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

They were selected from a pool of more than 8,000 site managers whose sites have been inspected by the NHBC over the past year, placing them among an elite group within the industry.

Pride in the Job was launched over 40 years ago and has since become one of the most prestigious competitions in the construction sector.

For Michael Crake, senior site manager at Chamberlains Bridge in Leighton Buzzard, this is the first Quality Award he has won in his 22-year career in the industry – and comes during his first year with Bellway.

The 40-year-old, who lives in Aylesbury, said: “It’s great to be commended for all our hard work and I am happy the team have got the recognition they deserved. Chamberlains Bridge is a good site to be a part of, with a desirable layout and great team. Everyone does their bit to ensure a smooth and efficient construction process.

“This is most definitely a career highlight for me. The team and I have built a lot of homes at quite a pace, so this Quality Award shows that we’re doing things right.”

Two of the award-winning site managers work at neighbouring developments on a dual-branded site in New Cardington, Bedford. Dan St Hilaire is based at Bellway’s New Cardington Fields development, while Josh Croxford is in charge at New Cardington Gate, a development being built under Bellway’s Ashberry Homes brand.

Dan, 36, who lives in Bedford, joined Bellway in March last year, after moving into the construction industry following a career in the military and stints training as a gas engineer and working in security.

He said: “It was amazing to receive the email from the NHBC telling me that I had won the Quality Award. I was on site at the time and went round thanking every member of the team for helping me achieve this incredible accolade, as it is very much a collaborative effort.

“I am very grateful to Bellway for taking a chance on me and supporting me as site manager at New Cardington Fields and I am glad I was able to repay that faith. This is my first development as site manager, and to win this award is very gratifying and motivating.”

Josh, 31, who lives in Northampton, has now won three Quality Awards, including two in successive years at New Cardington Gate. After serving in the Royal Marines, Josh entered the construction industry as a trainee site manager five-and-a-half years ago, joining Bellway in early 2021 as a senior site manager.

He said: “I feel really pleased with this win, a third for me and a second in a row for this development. As Northern Home Counties’ first dual-brand site, to attain this achievement for two years in a row is validation of the graft put in by the whole team.

“I would most definitely consider this win a career highlight to date. Winning three consecutive NHBC Quality Awards reaffirms that I am doing a good job and the fact our efforts have been recognised by an external body means a lot.”

Cymon, 45, who lives in Northampton, has won his second successive Quality Award for his work at Wavendon View in Milton Keynes. He has been in the industry for over 20 years, including seven-and-a-half years with Bellway.

He said: “I feel pleased to win this award on behalf of all those working with me onsite. My approach to work has always been to build every home as if it was my own. As we come towards the end of construction here at Wavendon View, the fact we have won for two years in a row is proof of the consistency that has enabled us to deliver five-star quality houses.”

Ross Jenkins, 36, from Northampton, has achieved a long-held career ambition by winning his first Quality Award in recognition of his work at Hawthorn Place in Wellingborough.

He said: “Receiving the news was incredible. To receive the acknowledgement for all the hard work my team and I have put in here at Hawthorn Place has really given us all great satisfaction.

“I had set myself the target of winning a Quality Award from the start of the job so to achieve it was really rewarding. To receive a Pride in the Job is incredible and to do it on my first site as a site manager really is a huge achievement for me.”

Martin Elderton, 39 from Higham Ferrers has been awarded for his work at Chestnut Vale in Wellingborough.

Martin said: “Winning this award is a great achievement that all Site Managers strive to win. This is a first PIJ for me so receiving that email congratulating you is amazing. We work hard to produce homes for our customers that we can be proud of, so to receive recognition like this, is great.

“This can only be achieved with a strong team around you that have the same goal. Bellway have helped support us in doing so, moving forward, I wish to win many more!”

Iain Hunter, Construction Director for Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “Quality is at the heart of everything we do at Bellway, so as a division it’s a real achievement to have six Pride in the Job award-winning site managers. I’d like to congratulate Cymon, Dan, Josh, Martin, Michael and Ross and all their teams for working together and putting their wholehearted efforts into delivering exceptional homes at our developments in Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.

“Site managers will be the first to tell you that accolades of this distinction can only be achieved through a team effort, with everyone who works on the development playing their part in delivering homes of the highest quality.”

To find out more about the new homes being built by Bellway Northern Home Counties’ award-winning site managers, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/northern-home-counties.