Two ex-forces site managers in Bedford bring home top industry award

Two construction site managers with military backgrounds have both won a coveted industry award for their work at neighbouring housing developments taking shape on the former RAF Cardington site in Bedford.

Dan St Hilaire, who is in charge at Bellway’s New Cardington Fields site, and Josh Croxford, who heads up Ashberry Homes’ New Cardington Gate development, are two of 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.

Afghanistan veteran Dan and ex-Royal Marine Josh both work for the Bellway group, whose Northern Home Counties division is delivering a total of 592 homes under its Bellway and Ashberry Homes brands across the two sites off Mason Road.

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.

Along with the other winners they will now go forward to the next stage of the competition – the NHBC’s Seal of Excellence and Regional Awards this autumn.

Judging for the Pride in the Job awards is a meticulous process, which began for this cohort of site managers in July 2022. As well as undergoing spot checks on the day-to-day running of their site, each site manager is assessed across six key areas: consistency, attention to detail, leadership, interpretation of drawings and specifications, technical expertise and health and safety.

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

This is the first Pride in the Job award which 36-year-old Dan has won. He joined the Parachute Regiment at 18 and spent a decade in the military, completing two tours of Afghanistan and being promoted to lance corporal.

After his successful military career, he trained for two years as a gas engineer before entering the construction industry as a trainee assistant site manager and joining Bellway in March 2022.

Dan, who lives in Bedford, said: “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.

“I loved being in the Army and was worried about what would happen after I left but winning this award has given me validation and shown me that I have another career now and I am successful in that too. I always strived for excellence in uniform and now I am enjoying doing the same thing in the construction industry.”

This is Josh’s third successive Pride in the Job Quality Award. After serving in the Royal Marines, he moved into the construction industry and joined Bellway early last year as a senior site manager.

Josh, 31, from Northampton, 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 hard work put in by the whole team.”

Alan Holmes, Project Manager of both Dan and Josh said: "This is Dan's first site as a Site Manager, so to be awarded a Pride in the Job on his first attempt is testament to his total commitment and hard work.

"I am extremely proud of both Josh and Dan for the way they conducted themselves in a very challenging role and working side by side on such a large development. It is credit to both and their site teams for again completing a double for Bellway and Ashberry at Cardington, after we had the same success last year.

"I wish them both all the very best of luck in the next round of judging and hopefully bag a Seal of Excellence".

Bellway is building a selection of two, three and four-bedroom homes for sale at New Cardington Fields. For more information, visit here or call 01234 923909.

Ashberry Homes is building a selection of two, three and four-bedroom homes for sale at the neighbouring New Cardington Gate site. To find out more, visit here or call 01234 958537.