*Updated 20th October 2023*
Grovelands Park in Winnersh won the award for Best Residential Development at the Royal Berkshire Property Awards on 18th October.
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We’re hearing some fantastic news from Wokingham, where a modular development we delivered for the local council has been shortlisted for two awards!
The development of 23 modular two-bedroom homes for homeless families at Grovelands Park in Winnersh near Wokingham has been shortlisted as Best Residential Development and Best Low Carbon Project in this year’s Royal Berkshire Property Awards.
The homes are arranged in two storeys with their own entrances, allowing families to live safely and comfortably while awaiting somewhere permanent to live.
Each has its own toilet and bathroom with an open-plan lounge, dining room, kitchen and internet access, and one will be specially adapted for households where someone has a disability.
They replaced 12 mobile homes at Grovelands, which had reached the end of their useful life and would not have been economical to refurbish.
“We were delighted to be asked to deliver this project for Wokingham Borough Council’s housing team, and we’re very pleased with the results,” said Rollalong Projects Manager Laurie Garside.
“Homelessness is a growing problem for many local authorities, and our offsite modular manufacturing methods mean we can deliver high-quality housing quickly and cost-effectively.
“This new accommodation is of a very high standard and has provided the borough of Wokingham with much needed additional temporary housing.”
Councillor Stephen Conway, Leader of Wokingham Borough Council, said: “We’re so pleased that our hard-working team and partners in this ambitious project have been given the recognition they deserve – and we’re crossing our fingers for good news next week.”
The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony at Reading Town Hall tomorrow evening (Wednesday 18th October).
With the coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort taking place tomorrow (6th May), we’re taking a look back at Rollalong’s royal history.
Back in 1955 Rollalong, then a caravan manufacturer, was approached by the Caravan Club to construct a ‘Royal Caravan’ after Prince Philip became a patron of the club in 1952.
The caravan was child-sized and came complete with sink, bookcase, seating and a table. The classic design was painted half yellow and half cream and featured wooden panelled walls in the interior. It originally contained a set of Beatrix Potter books, a copy of Captain Marryat’s Children of the New Forest and a miniature Poole Pottery tea set.
This caravan was then gifted to Prince Charles and Princess Anne by the Caravan Club. It is believed that their father, the Duke of Edinburgh, used to pull the children around in the caravan on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
At the time of the Caravan Club’s 75th anniversary in 1982 the caravan was refurbished and re-presented to Princess Anne.
In 2007 Rollalong fully restored the ‘Royal Caravan’, and it now resides at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu where the public are welcome to go and take a closer look.
Although Rollalong has moved away from caravans and is now a specialist in modular offsite construction, the team is still very much looking forward to the coronation and enjoyed a royal tea party yesterday to celebrate!
We’re pleased to announce that we’ve recruited Keith Woodlock as Project Director to further strengthen our senior team.
Two more modules have been installed on site at Grovelands Park in Winnersh near Wokingham, where we’re providing modular accommodation for homeless families for Wokingham Borough Council.
The installation was challenging as the nearby school creates additional traffic, but as usual we ensured our operations took account of the school’s key drop-off and pick-up times to minimise disruption.
Twenty out of 23 modules are now in place, and our thanks go to everyone for their patience and hard work in making sure the installation went smoothly.
These new modular two-bedroom homes will replace existing outdated temporary accommodation for homeless families provided by Wokingham Borough Council. The old, prefabricated units were originally built as holiday homes and not intended for long-term occupation.
The project will double the number of homes on the site, and as they are EPC A-rated they will be far more energy efficient than the old units. One will be specially adapted for households with people who have disabilities.
The modular homes will allow more families to be accommodated safely and comfortably while they wait for somewhere permanent to live, and they have their own toilet and bathroom as well as an open-plan lounge, dining room and kitchen.
They are well specified, self-contained homes which provide all the modern facilities one would expect in a new home.
All councils are required to provide temporary emergency housing for homeless families with children or families and individuals who are vulnerable until they find a settled home.
We’ve welcomed eight new employees, including a new business development manager to maintain our growth in the residential sector.
Abi Parsons (pcitured left) has joined us from MASS Concrete, where she was Head of Sales and Marketing.
She is just one of eight new appointments at Rollalong, which has experienced a busy 2022 so far across the residential, defence, education and healthcare sectors.
Among the other new recruits to join the company are: Ian Smicle-Thompson (Senior Quantity Surveyor), Aaron Staples and Ian Harman (Quantity Surveyors), Céline Brard (Procurement Assistant), Lynn Robinson (Quality Compliance Officer) and Dumitru Ipate (Lead Designer).
As Business Development Manager Abi is responsible for tendering via frameworks and for seeking new business opportunities in the residential sector, as well for liaising with Rollalong’s external marketing and PR agency.
“I was specifically looking for a design-led manufacturing business with a link to architecture or product design,” said Abi.
“I have a background in CAD, marketing and sales in bespoke furniture, solar PV and aesthetic concrete. This role is quite different, but in a very positive way, and I’m absolutely loving it so far. I’m very happy to learn and I’m up for the challenge.
“We have a fantastic product at Rollalong and it’s been amazing to learn about the pattern book design of homes that we have developed with Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council as well as the land-led opportunities we are working on with our parent company the Newship Group. I’m really excited to see these opportunities develop.”
Growing Rollalong’s share of the modular residential market in the UK is top of Abi’s list of priorities.
“I hope to remain at Rollalong and I already consider this a long-term role,” she said. “I’m striving for growth within my sector and I’m happy to work hard in order to achieve this.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to Managing Director Steve Chivers, Sales Manager Nigel Allen and all of the team for making me feel so welcome and for offering such great support at all times.”
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been shortlisted for a prize at the London Construction Awards!
Our ongoing project to build residential accommodation for homeless families in Winnersh near Wokingham, Berkshire has been shortlisted in the Offsite Innovation of the Year category.
Colleagues from Rollalong will be in London on 23rd September for the gala dinner and awards ceremony.
The London Construction Awards have attracted a record number of entries in 2022 – more than double the number of entries compared to last year.
You can view all the finalists here: www.londonconstructionawards.com/finalists.
The London Construction Awards are part of London Build, the UK’s leading construction and design show.
To find out more about our development at Winnersh, read our latest blog post.
Work is progressing well at Grovelands Park in Winnersh near Wokingham, where we’re providing modular accommodation for homeless families.
Six more modules were installed on site this week, which means that 18 out of 23 modules are now in place.
The new modular two-bedroom homes will replace existing outdated temporary accommodation for homeless families provided by Wokingham Borough Council.
The project will double the number of homes on the site, and they will be far more energy efficient than the old units. One will be specially adapted for households with people who have disabilities.
The modular homes will allow more families to be accommodated safely and comfortably while they wait for somewhere permanent to live, and they have their own toilet and bathroom as well as an open-plan lounge, dining room and kitchen.
“We’re very pleased with how this project is progressing and delighted to be working closely with Wokingham Borough Council’s housing team,” said Rollalong Projects Manager Laurie Garside.
“Homelessness is a growing problem for many local authorities following the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Fortunately, our offsite modular manufacturing methods mean we can deliver high-quality housing quickly and cost-effectively.
“This new accommodation is of a very high standard and will provide the borough of Wokingham with much needed additional temporary housing.”
All councils are required to provide temporary emergency housing for homeless families with children or families and individuals who are vulnerable until they find a settled home.
At Grovelands Park the old prefabricated units had to be replaced as they were originally built as holiday homes and not intended for long-term occupation.
Features
– Two bedrooms, four people
– Fully building regulations compliant
– Design life of 60 years
– EPC rating A (with the addition of PV)
– Single or two-storey configuration
– Factory-fitted timber cladding
– Fully fitted bathroom and kitchen
– 4.1m wide x 14.3m long, 50m² GIA
21st March 2022
Young footballers in Christchurch are getting used to playing with full-sized goals thanks to a donation from Rollalong.
We’ve provided two pop-up goals for Christchurch FC U13 to use in their training sessions, and their assistant coach – our quantity surveyor Richard Butler – says they’re making a big difference already.
“It’s been a difficult 18 months owing to the pandemic, and although the club is run very well financially, there is little money available to upgrade current training equipment,” said Richard.
“This is the team’s first year playing with full-size goals, and we were having to cobble together either parts of old pop-up goals or in extreme cases tie two smaller goals together to enable the lads to get used to playing with a 21-foot by 7-foot goal in training.”
Paul Jones, manager of Christchurch FC U13, said: “As you well know the last couple of years have been a difficult time for grass roots sport. Being able to receive such backing from local businesses is what makes it possible for the club to continue the great work it does with the local youth.
“The U-13 were training with goals which, in reality, were too small for their age group, but the 21-foot x 7-foot goals have made a great impact in training and thankfully we are seeing the benefits on the pitch each Sunday!”
Steve Chivers commented: “We were only too pleased to support Rich and his youth football club with this donation.
“Grassroots football has played a big part in my life and it’s important that we continue to support clubs wherever we can.”
Christchurch FC U13 are currently second in the Bournemouth Youth Football League U13 Division 10, and the new training goals are certainly helping – their recent winning streak included a 17-0 victory!
15th March 2022
We’re using our expertise to provide accommodation for homeless families near Wokingham, Berkshire.
We’re delivering 23 modular two-bedroom homes at Grovelands Park in Winnersh, replacing existing outdated temporary accommodation for homeless families.
Phase one has now been transported to the site and work to complete the installation of all 23 homes is expected to be completed by August 2022.
The project will double the number of homes on the Wokingham Borough Council site, and they will be far more energy efficient than the old units.
The modular homes will allow more families to be accommodated safely and comfortably while they wait for somewhere permanent to live, and they have their own toilet and bathroom as well as an open-plan lounge, dining room and kitchen.
One will be specially adapted for households with people who have disabilities.
“We are delighted to be working with Wokingham Borough Council’s housing team,” said Laurie Garside, Rollalong’s Projects Manager.
“The accommodation we have installed for the initial phase of the project is of a very high standard and will provide the local area with a much needed boost for temporary housing.”
All councils are required to provide temporary emergency housing for homeless families with children or families and individuals who are vulnerable until they find a settled home.
At Grovelands Park the old prefabricated units had to be replaced as they were originally built as holiday homes and not intended for long-term occupation.
The new timber-clad homes have modern and reliable heating systems and are highly insulated which will prevent pipes from freezing in winter, reduce heating costs and limit their carbon footprint.
They also feature the latest fire safety and sustainability measures such as sprinkler systems, double glazing and solar panels, and they are fully furnished with internet access.
Some homes are also trialling the latest air source heat pump technologies, an environmentally friendly system that draws heat from outside into the home.
11th March 2022
If you’re looking for a job in the construction industry in the South West we may have the very thing for you!
We’re looking for energetic and determined operatives to join our production team producing high-quality modular buildings in our factory near Bournemouth in Dorset.
The successful candidates will work on the fabrication and assembly of factory-built modular units in a defined work team, achieving planned levels of output and quality while maintaining a safe and tidy working environment.
Knowledge and experience in the use of power and hand tools would be advantageous.
To apply, send your CV in an email to anne.evans@rollalong.co.uk.