Contractors supporting charities
As construction work ratchets up across the project, our teams are working hard to support the communities where we’re based.
The Siemens and BAM Nuttall teams working to build Sandford substation have set up a regular monthly collection for Banwell foodbank. This is part of Weston foodbank, which is operated by the Trussell Trust network.
“We’re working with the local parish council to support the Banwell foodbank,” said Graham Finnie, Siemens Site Manager. “We’re always on the look-out for ways to support the local community we are working in and, with lockdown restrictions starting to lift, we hope we can do even more in the future.”
Meanwhile, teams based at Tarnock compound, from where the construction of a large section of the Hinkley Connection overhead line and the underground cable across the Mendips Hills is coordinated, have also been busy.
Main contractor Balfour Beatty’s Kelle Hebron arranges regular donations to a local homeless charity, Somewhere to Go. This includes donations of pot noodles, toiletries, cereal, tinned vegetables and toilet paper, which are always on the ‘wanted’ list.
Tarnock was also the base for a charity bike ride, where the overhead lines team challenged the cables team to a ‘race’. Volunteers each cycled for 30 minutes on static bikes.
Forty-five team members participated, with some doing more than one stint. A total of 775.2 km was covered, the equivalent of cycling from the Tarnock compound to Dundee.
The overhead lines team won by 5.6 km – but, more importantly, the ride raised £1,100 for the Weston Hospice. The participants enjoyed it so much that another challenge is being organised for later in the summer.
