Jobs boost as Ring Stones gets down to work

RING Stones, the Lancashire construction company created as joint venture between housing provider Calico Homes and maintenace group Forrest, is creating 30 jobs after starting its first project.

Work has now begun on a £15m planned maintenance contract, involving an external works programme for some of Calico Group’s 4,500 homes in and around Burnley.

Ring Stones has been formed to undertake  up to £45m of planned maintenance and development work across for Calico over the next decade.

Rather than sub-contracting work Ring Stones employs staff directly to ensure jobs go the local people – so far 96% of the current staff come from East Lancashire.

There are 19 staff already working on the project, including plasterers, joiners, roofers, bricklayers, labourers and a site manager.  It is now recruiting for another 10 staff including a quantity surveyor, contracts manager, customer liaison officer and gas engineers.

Michael Birkett, chair of Ring Stones, said: “The £15m contract represents a strong start for Ring Stones and demonstrates the long-term potential of the partnership.

“Thousands of Burnley residents are set to benefit from the improvements directly, while continuing to focus our recruitment efforts within the area will help create local employment opportunities and drive investment in the community during this challenging time for the wider economy.

“The new recruitment drive will add talent to our capable workforce and ensure we have a strong local supply chain for the delivery of improvement works over the next 10 years.”

Although a joint venture with Forrest, legally, Ring Stones is a subsidiary of Calico Homes.