North Somerset Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)

Griffiths have recently supported a community-driven initiative which has breathed new life into a neglected garden area at Roche Primary School, transforming it into a vibrant space for local scouts, cubs, and beavers.

The overgrown garden, which had fallen into disuse, was donated by Roche Primary School to Roche Scout Group earlier this year. The area was plagued by damaged planters, an old, dilapidated greenhouse, and dense overgrowth, making it unusable. In need of assistance to clear the site, the Scout Group approached Griffiths who were happy to support.

Over 140 in-kind volunteer hours, Griffiths employees Lee Hunt and Adam Hawke, supported by their supply chain subcontractors WBM Contractors, worked diligently to transform the area. The greenhouse was safely dismantled and removed, the planters were cleared with the wood left for recycling by the scouts, and the entire area was strimmed, levelled, and prepared for future use. Additionally, a large section of overgrown trees and brambles was cut back to open up the space.

One of the significant contributions from Griffiths and their partners was the laying of a 20×20 concrete base, supplied by Fahey’s Concrete. This base will serve as a foundation for future developments, including a long-anticipated shed, which will further enhance the facilities available to the scouts.

To ensure the security of the newly rejuvenated area, Griffiths also installed a new gate, replacing the previous one that had rotted away, securing the site for future use.

Roche Scout Group Leader expressed deep gratitude for the community support, saying, “Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the hard work your team put in for the scouts’ area. The scouts, cubs, and beavers are having a fantastic time making use of the new space…..You have created a fantastic space for years to come.”

This initiative is particularly impactful as it marks the first time that Roche Scout Group has had access to its own facilities within the local village, eliminating the need to rent spaces from other groups. The new area is set to benefit approximately 40 children from the village, many of whom are directly connected to our ongoing St Austell to A30 Link Road project.

The transformation of the garden not only provides a safe and dedicated space for local children but also stands as a testament to the positive impact of community volunteering and corporate social responsibility. As the St Austell to A30 Link Road project continues, the collaboration between Griffiths and the local community is poised to leave a lasting legacy far beyond the construction itself.

The Griffiths site team working on the St Austell to A30 Link Road project has successfully collaborated with Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C), the Department of Work and Pensions, and local recruitment agency TR2, in a bid to help unemployed community members re-enter the workforce.

Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change stepped forward to fund individuals meeting their criteria of being unemployed or economically inactive, enabling them to obtain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card and attend a Health and Safety course. Local residents were referred to the charity through the Job Centre to take advantage of this valuable opportunity.

In addition, Griffiths provided these individuals with a site visit and an insightful discussion with the project team, offering a realistic view of what it is like to work on a construction site. This experience was crucial in helping the attendees understand the nature of construction work.

TR2, the local recruitment agency, also participated in the initiative, delivering a talk on how they could support the individuals in securing employment and explaining the various payment methods available. Following this, they conducted interviews with all 11 participants, successfully signing up all of them.

As a result of this collaborative effort, 11 local unemployed individuals have now gained a CSCS card qualification and are registered with TR2, poised to begin work, potentially with Griffiths or within other sectors of the construction industry. This initiative marks a significant step towards empowering local residents and strengthening the community through sustainable employment opportunities.

A40 Prehistoric discoveries

Come and join us on Saturday 15^th June 2023 to find out more about the recent discoveries ahead of the A40 improvement works.

PRESS RELEASE 27.09.23
The North Devon Link Road will be partially closed for a month from Wednesday 11 October to allow essential maintenance work to go ahead. As part of Devon County Council’s ongoing scheme to upgrade the A361, contractor Griffiths needs to excavate the road in a number of areas to waterproof five major structures beneath the highway. Drainage improvements, safety barrier replacement and resurfacing will also be undertaken at the same time.

The work will require the closure of the westbound carriageway (Tiverton to Barnstaple) of the A361 between North Aller roundabout and Landkey roundabout, for a month.
Traffic heading to Barnstaple will be diverted onto the C783 to travel through Filleigh, Swimbridge and Landkey.

On-street parking in these villages on the diversion route will have to be restricted during this period to help maintain traffic flow. The diversion route will be regularly monitored.

There will be a separate advisory diversion route available for HGVs and abnormal loads heading westbound (Tiverton to Barnstaple) to reduce the number of large vehicles travelling
through the villages. This will be signed via the B3226, B3227 and A377.

The eastbound carriageway (Barnstaple to Tiverton) will remain fully open to traffic throughout this phase of work.

Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: “This is a vital element of the link road improvement scheme
and the westbound carriageway has to be closed to enable the work to be carried out and to keep site staff and the public safe in doing so. Some delays will be unavoidable so I would urge people travelling in the area to plan ahead and please allow extra time for your journey. Every effort will be made to minimise disruption and to complete the work as quickly as possible.”

Councillor Paul Henderson, Devon County Councillor for Chulmleigh and Landkey, said: “The residents of both Landkey and Swimbridge have been extremely cooperative to date when
diversions are in place to accommodate the link road upgrade. I fully appreciate the issues that do arise with the increase in flow of traffic through the villages at times such as these. However, with the finishing line clearly in sight now for the completion of the works, I’m hoping that they’ll once again be understanding as to the reasons why this extended diversion period is taking place and thank the residents for their patience. It is appreciated.”

Councillor Jeremy Yabsley, Devon County Councillor for South Molton, said: “It’s really good to see work on the A361 driving towards completion. This is essential work and while some
inconvenience may be unavoidable it will help the scheme progress and provide us all with a much improved road once the job is done.”

Work is specialised and intricate and all efforts will be made to complete it and fully open the road as quickly as possible.

For more information on the North Devon Link Road project go to
https://www.devon.gov.uk/ndlr/ and https://community.griffiths.co.uk/our_projects/north-devonlink-road

Press Release Final 27.09.23

Griffiths were delighted to attend the annual Weston College “What’s Next ” event at the Winter Gardens Weston Super Mare and showcase the civil engineering industry.

Along with 30+ other local and national employers from a variety business sectors, over 300 students, school leavers and their parents were able to look at the variety of career pathways and apprenticeships available, giving them the opportunity to discuss the options available and talk to employers re their first steps towards a career and employment.

We were delighted to visit Winford Church of England Primary School on Tuesday 19th September where we were joined by one of our business partners, Farrans and Bristol International Airport.

An assembly presentation highlighting the “Dangers of Playing on Construction Sites” was delivered to all children from the school with a special appearance of our health and safety mascot “Sally Safesteps!”

This was followed by four STEM activities to their Year 3, 4, 5  and 6 students highlighting the importance of design, teamwork and construction.

We hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the invite!

Firstly, thank you so much for such a fantastic day- the children absolutely loved the assembly and the workshops.

The assembly was so informative and kept the children engaged throughout, they loved the videos and Sally was a real highlight for them! In the classrooms, the children were so motivated and engaged with the STEM activity. It was clearly presented, well resourced and having an ‘adult expert’  to work with each team was an amazing experience for the children.

The children have been talking about the day for the rest of the week! Thank you so much!

Winford Church of England Primary School

It’s been a busy summer for the A40 team in Pembrokeshire, not only with massive achievements in construction, but with community engagement activities.

Being collaborative is one of our key values in Griffiths, and Andrew Davies, Project Manager for the Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross Improvements Scheme, along with the project’s Stakeholder Manager Adam Bateman have had the privilege of hosting several community groups on site throughout the summer.

Delegates from Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales attended an educational event organised by our newly appointed NRW Framework Manager Daniel Ironmonger to review the use of Corrugated Steel Buried Structures (CSBS). This was an opportunity to see first-hand their durability and benefits including the significant carbon savings of using CSBS over more traditional alternatives. (Asset International Structures (A Division of Hill & Smith Infrastructure Ltd)

The team then hosted an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) evening networking event and site visit at the A40 Improvements Project in Llanddewi Velfrey, Pembrokeshire. ICE members from West Wales and Swansea attended to view first-hand progress on the project and to learn more about some of the engineering challenges and the impressive work currently underway.

Having previously enjoyed an evening presentation in Narberth a number of months back, The Narberth and Whitland Rotary Club then enjoyed an evening visit to site to see the latest updates on progress to the project, where they had the opportunity to be driven through the working area which hidden away from the current road and is not visible to the public.

Towards the end of the summer months, the team were pleased to embrace the opportunity to host North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA) representatives, who made the trip down to Pembrokeshire to spend a day with our project team.

Stakeholder Manager for the Scheme added “We were grateful for their time and enjoyed discussing the scheme in depth whilst touring the breadth of the 6km project, answering some really good questions and taking onboard feedback”.

“We embrace the opportunity to collaborate and understand the opportunity it offers to innovate.”

Primary schools close to the A40 Improvements Scheme in Llanddewi Velfrey took part in an ecology and tree planting event recently to highlight the importance of wildlife mitigation on a large-scale infrastructure project, and to be involved with the planting on the project.

Organised by Griffiths, the Principal Contractor for the scheme, pupils ranging from year 3 to year 6 from Narberth CP, Tavernspite and Ysgol Llys Hywel attended the site to support with planting a total of over 70 hazel and willow trees, which are native to the area.

The Welsh Government Scheme, to construct and improve a new section of A40 between Redstone Cross and Llanddewi Velfrey has already achieved some of its commitments in terms of environmental mitigation, with contractors for the Scheme already planting over 100,000 trees. A total of 301,000 trees will be planted by the end of the project. These plants will provide excellent habitat for the local wildlife such as birds, bees, and protected species such as the dormouse.

Griffiths continues to work hard to promote social value and sustainability on major projects such as the A40 Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross Scheme, with a significant emphasis on promoting STEM educational activities (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in their projects.

Carla Rendell, Social Value Manager at Griffiths added; “Planting trees and flowers is an excellent way for children to connect with nature while also learning how to protect our planet. We hope it has helped children learn about the trees around them.”

Children also benefited from an ecology session along with planting their very own sunflower seeds, which they took away with them as their own project to manage over the coming months.

Carla also said; “By allowing children to be part of such a varied and interesting project, and by facilitating the opportunity to learn about important subjects such as ecology and sustainability, we hope that we can bring an added element into their studies and provide good quality, real-world learning that will complement their classroom activities”.

The children had a fun session on the project and it’s a legacy they will remember for the rest of their lives and probably remind many people of the day they helped build the A40 Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross Scheme.

Contractors working on the £60 million North Devon Link Road upgrade are using a more environmentally friendly fuel as part of a series of measures to cut carbon emissions.

Griffiths is one of the first companies in the country to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel which is a “green diesel” made from waste vegetable oil or fats and hydrogen rather than methanol.

Although it can be used in many conventional diesel vehicles, HVO produces up to 90% less CO2 than regular diesel, which fully supports the carbon reduction commitments of both Griffiths and Devon County Council.

The County Council has adopted an approach to reduce carbon emissions in all of its highway maintenance projects, and the measures being employed in the construction of the Link Road are a prime example.

Griffiths staff are also using two electric vehicles on the North Devon Link Road scheme.

Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said:

“The County Council has declared its commitment to achieve a target of net zero carbon by 2030, and every aspect of the council’s work has to play its part. Reducing carbon emissions in highway construction and maintenance is a challenge when you consider the vehicles and materials that are needed, especially on a project the size of the North Devon Link Road upgrade. However, we and our contractors are adopting pioneering approaches to ensure we can meet out carbon reduction targets – and the use of HVO fuel is making a massive difference.”

The North Devon Link Road is the first site where Griffiths is using HVO in its diesel vehicles, and the company aims to roll out the fuel to 50% of its sites by the end of this year, and to the remainder by end of March next year.

Griffiths Project Manager Hedley Martin said:

“We were delighted that the North Devon Link Road project was chosen to be part of the Griffiths trial decarbonisation programme. The experience has been extremely positive for everyone involved, knowing we are doing our bit to reduce the emissions makes us feel very proud. We were also impressed with the Health and Safety benefits that the fuel delivered. Our onsite Plant Operatives have experienced a more pleasant working environment with better air quality since the machines have been operating on HVO fuel.” 

To date construction has been restricted by dormice habitat preventing work on parts of the Link Road site, but as dormice are now emerging from hibernation, work is set to progress. It will initially concentrate on earthworks and drainage, particularly in the Landkey junction area where a new roundabout is being constructed.

Councillor Andrea Davis the cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport at Devon County Council said;

“It was good to see the progress on the upgrade to the North Devon Link Road and to see for myself the measures in place to protect the dormice. We are fortunate to have such a vibrant population of dormice in North Devon, these residents are being well looked after and protected by Griffiths.”

Griffiths staff attended Caernarfon airport recently to hand over a donation to the Wales Air Ambulance.

Back in December 2021, the Air Ambulance was called out to attend an incident at our A55 Abergwyngregyn to Tai’r Meibion project. Having witnessed first hand the great work of the Air Ambulance, the site’s Good Causes Committee, made up of representative across all our on-site departments, decided to support them through fundraising.

Following feedback from the local community, daffodil bulbs from the works were made available to the public for a donation, with others donated to local community organisations. Having raised £310 in total, two of the Committee were able to hand over the cheque to the crew of Helimed 61, who were delighted to show them around the helicopter and describe the very specific features of the aircraft.

Alwyn Jones, Community Fundraiser for the Wales Air Ambulance:

“Fundraising is crucial to enable us to continue our specialist care service”

“We’re delighted that the staff at Griffiths have been so proactive in raising these funds, and glad that the staff who visited us had the opportunity to meet the flight crew and have a close-up tour of the helicopter.”