Greenmill Gardens, Seacroft
Greenmill Gardens saw the construction of a new extracare facility comprising of 64 apartments and associated external works. Completed in 2022, it is a safe and secure place to call home for people aged 55+. The development offers 16 two bed and 48 one bed apartments, all for affordable rent, and a range of services including a restaurant and café, hair and beauty salon, hobby area, communal lounges, an assisted bathing suite, a guest suite, and landscaped gardens.
Key Stats
- 185 hours volunteering for local causes
- 20 educational engagement activities were delivered
- 99% diversion of waste from landfill
- 98% of supply chain were SME'S
- 58 tonnes of carbon was saved through the use of HVO fuel
- £2,000 raised for the Home Group Fund
At a Glance
Budget
£11m
Completion
August 2022
Location
Seacroft, Leeds
Sector
Residential
Social value
£29.6m
Sustainability
58 tonnes of carbon save
We designed and delivered this scheme which now provides much needed self-contained one and two-bedroom extra care housing apartments. The development is dedicated to the needs of older people in Leeds, offering vital services and facilities to the surrounding area, ensuring families and social networks from the local community can stay within close vicinity of one another.
Our Approach
This project was all about the community – and so, as part of our Responsible Business strategy and Intelligent Solutions approach to enhancing lives, we focused on delivering a comprehensive Social Value programme which focused on a number of key initiatives:
Community integration
In partnership with Home Group, LLL and Leeds City Council we issued a quarterly newsletter to the Seacroft community to keep local people informed on build progress and how apartments in the facility would be allocated.
Also in partnership with Home Group, LLL and Leeds City Council, we supported Leeds Older People’s Forum by hosting an community open day at the site during the Age Proud Festival week, with local residents over 55 invited for morning coffee and bacon sandwiches or afternoon tea for a chance to meet the site team and architect to learn about the new scheme, meet community neighbours and browse stalls from community groups including local history and chair yoga.
Employment & skills
We delivered employment talks as part of an employment day at Seacroft jobcentre.
Our site team attended careers events in schools and colleges across Leeds and hosted site visits and career talks for students at local secondary schools, York College and Leeds College of Building.
We hosted work experience placements in site management roles for students at Leeds College of Building and York College. Our site team also hosted paid internship for an engineering student at Leeds University and ran a 1-day virtual work experience Skills Challenge workshop for secondary schools and colleges across Leeds City Region, including Garforth Academy, Roundhay School, UTC Leeds and Leeds College of Building.
Tackling inequality
Our site team mentored a local care leaver through his CSCS test and bought him a pair of safety boots to support his journey into employment.
We also hosted a Digger Day for children at local Seacroft playgroup during summer holidays, where children enjoyed learning about the different diggers and hand painting posters for the site office, before dressing up in PPE to view the site and meet the site team, including 1 young wheelchair user who was lifted into the driving seat of a stationary digger.
CCS Ivor Goodsite goody bags were handed out to children before they left.
Improving social mobility
We undertook work experience placements with Build Force to support local Armed Forces service leavers as they transition into construction careers.
Community nature restoration
Our site donated money for school children to take part in a clean-up and sustainable food day with Climate Action Seacroft in the summer holidays to learn about protecting natural capital and the need to reduce our carbon footprints.
Our Greenmill Gardens team was able to deliver a number of successes throughout the life of the project. Over the 16 months the project was under construction, we saw that £2.66 went back into the local economy for every £1 spent – a total social value of almost £30m. We kept the project’s supplies almost exclusively local, with SMEs making up 98% of our supply chain.
The project welcomed 12 apprentices, two undergraduate placements, and seven work experience placements (two of whom were ex-armed forces). We also undertook 20 educational engagement activities at local schools and colleges.
The project team spent 185 hours volunteering for local causes, with some of our team (together with supply chain staff) completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and raising over £2,000 for the Home Group Fund.
Morgan Sindall Construction has ensured long term jobs for local people through investing locally in the supply chain and we hand over a lasting legacy for all stakeholders to feel proud of as it continues to make a difference to so many lives as it opens its doors to residents and staff.”
Paula Broadbent, managing director of Lovell Later Living
Gallery
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