ONE of North Yorkshire’s most respected construction companies has had its most successful year ever in the sector’s most prestigious awards scheme.

Northallerton-based Walter Thompson has a long track record at the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) National Site Awards, but this year won five awards – one gold, three silvers and a bronze – for its work on sites across the region.

he CCS scheme was introduced in 1999 to recognise and reward the UK’s most considerate sites for the contribution they have made toward improving the image of construction. The CCS scheme looks at measures companies have put in place to be more considerate to neighbourhoods, their workforce and the environment.

This year’s awards were held at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh where the UK’s leading construction companies were vying for the coveted CCS titles.

Walter Thompson’s record haul included:

•A gold award for work completed at St James House, Middlesbrough for Atha Developments. The winning site managers were Mike Hamm and Andrew Caisley;

•A silver award for work at Stainton Care Home for Angela Swift Developments, where the site manager was Graham Cooper;

•A silver award for work on site at Sutton in Craven Primary School for North Yorkshire County Council. The site manager was Ian Save;

•Another silver award for work at Harrogate Care Home for Hadrian Healthcare Group. The site managers were Steve Thompson and Eddie Dowson;

•A bronze award for work at Willow Burn Hospice Helen McArdle Wing, Lanchester, for Willow Burn Hospice, where the site manager was Andrew Smith.

Last year, family owned Walter Thompson won two gold and two bronze awards for its work at Central Lodge in Middlesbrough, Le Cateau School in Catterick Garrison, Peterlee Care Home and Middleton Hall Retirement Village near Darlington. And two years ago, the company, established in Northallerton in 1920, won the UK’s Most Considerate Site Award in the £500,000 to £5m category for an extension and refurbishment work at a Middlesbrough school.

Paul Hammerton, managing director at Walter Thompson, said the company was thrilled to have won so many awards: “Our consistent success at these awards is down to our site managers putting consideration for our neighbours at the top of our priorities. All of our site managers and our teams on site work hard to keep disruption to a minimum and always go above and beyond what is expected through the CCS scheme.

“The awards are one of the most revered accolades within the UK construction industry, recognising sites that have demonstrated the very highest level of consideration in respect to the community, environment and our own teams – so obviously we’re delighted to win five awards.

“Our sites consistently score highly at the awards and our success places us in the top 7.5 per cent in the UK in terms of Considerate Constructor Performance – we’re particularly proud of that, but we’re certainly not complacent.”

Walter Thompson is one of the largest privately-owned construction companies in the north east, undertaking contracts up to a value of £15m across a variety of sectors including: education, health care, leisure, MOD/DE, restoration and retail.