Wates’ work on the new £5.7m Bluecoat Academy in Nottingham, delivered in partnership with Nottingham City Council (NCC), with Lungfish Architects (part of Scape) providing design services, is an interesting example of how the East Midlands Property Alliance (empa) framework is a one-stop-shop for local authorities. Commissioned by NCC, the new 420-place school in Bilborough, was opened in 2016 and Wates’ Project Manager remained for six weeks after completion to ensure colleagues were familiar and confident in the running of their school. Wates’ work on-site included the launch of its ‘Adopt a School’ mentoring initiative, which included team-building exercises and career workshops, as part its on-going commitment to enhance the employability of school students and encourage young people to consider a career in construction to help tackle the industry skills shortage. In continuing its relationship with NCC, a team from Wates recently recently carried out a volunteering project at Silverdale Community Centre that saw the team donate 5,000 man-hours as part of the contractor’s national Community Week initiative.
