GALLIFORD Try construction workers at the contractor and housebuilder’s Carlisle Street development in Felling have celebrated the topping out of the first phase of the development.

As the weather got cooler, site manager Gary Easton and staff were keen to get the block of 11 apartments sealed and weatherproofed before their Christmas break.

The final bricks to the gable end were laid this month to allow to allow the roofers to complete the roof while the crew moves on to the construction of the 14 family homes the development also contains.

Galliford Try contracts manager Simon Grylls said: “The team have been working hard on this scheme to meet our delivery deadlines.

“It was very important that we got the apartment block weatherproofed before the break and the lads have done a fantastic job in some testing conditions at times to ensure the development’s progress.”

The Carlisle Street development will see the construction of 25 new affordable homes for Newcastle-based Home Group, consisting of 11 apartments specially designed for elderly residents, including two that are wheel chair friendly, and 14 family homes around a public courtyard with landscaped and play areas.

All the properties will be built to the Level 4 standard of the Code for Sustainable Homes with high standards of insulation.