Gravesend regeneration wins Pride in the Job awards

Ahmed Bidiwi, site manager at Christian Fields, Countryside Properties' regeneration project in Gravesend, Kent has been recognised with a Seal of Excellence Award in addition to a Quality Award in the prestigious National House-Building Council (NHBC) Pride in the Job competition for quality workmanship.

The awards were presented at the NHBC's South East Regional ceremony last Friday.

Pride in the Job seeks out and rewards the best site managers across the UK. Judging takes place in unannounced visits by NHBC inspectors, who score across 38 different areas of site management, including technical knowledge, build consistency and leadership skills. Over 18,000 site managers across the country are entered into the awards.

David Everett, subsidiary Managing Director of Countryside Properties, said: "Pride in the Job is one of the most sought after awards in the industry. It provides an accurate measure of performance and is a tangible result of our continual efforts to raise the quality of home construction. To achieve such a top award as the Seal of Excellence is testament to Ahmed's hard work and reflects the quality of his team. It is a great achievement."

Ahmed Bidiwi comments: "We work closely with the NHBC and their inspectors who visit site on a regular basis, particularly at key stages of the development. They really do see what is going on. I am delighted to have won this award and would like to thank my colleagues at Countryside, both on site and at head office, for their hard work and support. I could not have done it without them."

The regeneration of Christian Fields Estate is a partnership between Countryside Properties PLC and Moat, in conjunction with Gravesham Borough Council and the national regeneration agency, English Partnerships. Work began in March 2007 to provide a £60m mixed tenure development comprising 426 new homes. English Partnerships has contributed £9.95m towards the delivery of the project.