Client of the Year Award
May 20 2009 by Francesca Craggs, The Journal
Sponsor: Ward Hadaway.
Winner: Jane Ritchie MBE.
Project: The Work Place
Nominated by: Clugston Construction Ltd
IT is not every client who bakes large fruit cakes for their construction team, but then Jane Ritchie MBE is no ordinary client.
She is the inspiration and sole benefactor behind The Work Place, a new learning centre in Newton Aycliffe which opened in September 2008. It is a place where education and business can work together. She was able to fund the creation of The Work Place when a relative left her a multi-million pound inheritance.
But, as Peter Burrell of Clugston Construction says, nominating Jane for Client of the Year was not only about sacrificing her own wealth and unselfishly giving something of great benefit to society. It was also about her single minded drive to engender a “family” approach to overcoming the many hurdles and difficulties to successfully delivering an iconic and forward-looking facility.
Those challenges included the need to test and treat contaminated ground; creating a “cattle grid” for newts (the amphibians managed to delay the project for nearly a year); the installation of 12 bore holes for a ground source heat pump system and the construction of a rainwater harvesting system.
Throughout the process, says Peter, Jane was an inspirational member of the team constantly challenging opinion and ensuring consensus. Jane always stated that “tea and support in abundance” was always supplied by the site team, and in her own way contributed towards their overall health and wellbeing by baking large fruit cakes for Christmas and other events.
From the outset, Clugston recognised Jane’s inexperience in terms of acting as a developer client. But in particular, the company went to great lengths to ensure that the whole Team realised that inexperience and took over the mantle of acting as “custodians of her aspirations”.
Peter said: “Jane has been a client-developer ‘extraordinaire’ and all who have had the benefit of working with her have benefited from her insatiable appetite for getting to the root of a problem, seeking advice, and driving the matter forward. She has, throughout the whole process, consulted with everyone she felt could add benefit and most importantly listened to everyone.
“Jane’s enthusiasm has been infectious and ensured that Clugston and the Team are proud to have been part of delivering such a successful facility.”
Highly commended: Fabrick. Nominated by: Southdale Homes.
