The Nelson Project has already won a number of awards, including the Royal Town Planning Institute award in May, and the Abercrombie Award for design and excellence earlier this year.
Gareth Jones, Development Director for LiveWest said: “We are delighted to have worked with our partners on this scheme in Plymouth, supporting the further regeneration of Plymouth. The Nelson Project provides much-needed housing for a wide range of people and also offers something unique and special, where ex-service personnel had the opportunity to train and build on the scheme supported by the Community Self Build Association. We are proud to be instrumental in bringing forward high-quality build and a design which focuses on the wellbeing of residents making it an exemplary project.”
At the Michelmores awards, the judges said: ‘’The most outstanding element was the rehabilitation programme of military veterans who built the development and have now gained construction skills.’’
The Nelson Project is a partnership project between Plymouth City Council, LiveWest, the Community Self Build Agency (CSBA) and Homes England.
During the course of the project, ex-service personnel helped with the construction of the 24 homes, including 12 for military veterans and mixed-use affordable homes.
The veterans completed a course which gave them the skills they needed to engage with the project and equipped them to seek jobs in civilian life. Thanks to this training, many achieved accreditation from the CSCS, the leading skills certification scheme within the UK construction industry.