Member Article

School contracts support healthy outlook for building contractor

A Shropshire building contractor is predicting a good report for 2023 with projects in the education sector worth £13.4m underpinning its timetable for success.

Pave Aways Building Contractors has six education projects in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin for completion or start in the next three months, along with contracts in healthcare, industrial and commercial sectors on its books.

It has recently broken ground on new classrooms at Whittington C of E Primary School with work also underway on a new hall and entrance at West Felton CE Primary School near Oswestry.

Pave Aways is also building a new girls’ house for day and boarding students at Shrewsbury School – its 12th scheme at the independent school – and science laboratories at Packwood Haugh at Ruyton XI Towns.

This summer, its teams will start work on major transformations for two schools in Telford & Wrekin - a single storey extension that will allow Lawley Village Academy in Telford to increase its student numbers and a dining hall extension and kitchen refurbishment at Burton Borough School in Newport.

Managing director Steven Owen said the education sector had always been a core pillar for Pave Aways, thanks to its extensive experience in working with local authorities, universities, colleges and private schools on new build and extension schemes.

“There have been fears nationally that construction output could start to decline soon but that’s not our experience to date,” he explained.

“We have become a go-to contractor for many schools and local authorities for our abilities to deliver high quality and cost-effective new facilities with minimal disruption to day-to-day school life and this is undoubtedly supporting a positive outlook for 2023.

“Despite our success in the education field, we aim to work across a range of sectors to spread risk and this has obviously stood us in good stead as we head towards our 50th anniversary in October with a healthy order book and a sustainable business.”

The latest contracts for Pave Aways bring additional benefits for its supply chain across Shropshire and Mid Wales as the firm is committed to using local businesses as far as possible.

Steven added: “Our spend in our supply chain within 20 to 30-miles from a project is 78 per cent, which gives a boost to the surrounding economy and businesses. We also carry out projects that benefit the communities where we’re working to pay something back where we can.”

Pave Aways marks 50 years in business on October 1. It has grown from a groundworks contractor to one of the leading privately owned main contractors providing design and build services in Shropshire, Mid and North Wales and the wider Midlands.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melanie Boulter .