Lovell completes volunteering initiative to benefit South Wales and South West communities

Staff at Lovell – which is building new homes in South Wales and the South West of England – have completed 75 days of volunteering across the two regions.

To celebrate 50 years of partnership housebuilding, Lovell launched its Big 50 Challenge at the beginning of last year. The challenge saw staff complete two initiatives, including 50 Miles to Change a Life, which encouraged employees to track their fitness and was completed in August, and the 50-Day Difference, where staff took part in seven community volunteering sessions until the end of the year.

In September, Lovell teamed up with Pobl Group to give a well-loved community facility in Maindee, Newport a makeover. Both teams combined their skills to tidy up Community House Maindee by preparing, plastering and painting the walls, and replacing the skirting on one wall. The 11 Lovell volunteers worked alongside others to help make the project a reality in five days.

In October, Lovell teamed up with Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association to clear an overgrown bank and plant wildflowers next to age-restricted flats in Merthyr, creating a tidier and more enjoyable outdoor space for residents to enjoy. 12 volunteers from Lovell, alongside volunteers from the housing association, battled the rain to help cut back overgrown trees and shrubs, clean up the area, and plant a variety of plants over a two-day period.

In November, Lovell joined forces with Abri Group to pick litter from its Foxglove Meadows development in Hutton to the Weston Super Mare Grand Pier. The volunteers walked 11,000 steps each while tidying up the streets, and were able to fill 20 bags of litter along the way.

During November, Lovell also teamed up with Newport City Homes to make a concrete base for the community greenhouse and shed in the park gardens in Alway, Newport.

In December, 12 Lovell volunteers, two volunteers from Cadwyn Housing Association and a group of local volunteers picked litter around The Mill housing development in Canton, Cardiff, collecting 24 bags of rubbish in just a few hours.

Also during December, six Lovell volunteers teamed up with volunteers from Blaenau Gwent Council Borough Council and the local wildlife trust to help clear and build a natural weave barrier at Sirhowy Hill Woodlands, a space for the local community to enjoy and to learn about bushcraft in Tredegar.

In December, Lovell joined forces with Melin Homes to clear a woodland area and build an outside classroom at Castle Park Primary School in Caldicot.

Gemma Clissett, regional partnerships director at Lovell, said: “Our Big 50 Challenge has been a huge success, and we are very proud of our staff who have worked so hard on the projects involved, enabling us to continue to help out the communities which surround our homes.

“Giving back to the communities we have helped to build is a big part of our Lovell values, and to celebrate the anniversary of our first partnership, we are delighted to announce that Lovell has now completed 75 days of community volunteering within the region.”

To find out more about Lovell Partnerships, visit https://corporate.lovell.co.uk/how-we-work-in-partnership-with-you/. For more information on the new homes Lovell is building, visit https://lovell.co.uk/.