Hobson and Porter have been chosen to carry out a £12m contract for a further 2,000 refurbishments to homes in Newington and St Andrew's as part of Gateway's multi million pound regeneration of the area.
Hobson and Porter, which has recently completed the successful refurbishment of homes on Alliance Avenue, Carew Street and part of De La Pole Avenue, currently employs over 120 people - over 95% of whom are from Hull and the surrounding area.
Russell Horner, Estimating Director for Hobson and Porter, welcomed the announcement, which will see work starting on site in October. He said: "We are delighted to have secured this scheme and to continue our association with Gateway. Working on local projects and employing local people is particularly important in these difficult times for the building industry."
The contract will allow the local firm to safeguard its current staffing levels despite the current climate, and will see up to 60 staff working on the programme each week. There will also be one trainee bricklayer and one trainer joiner post on offer each year, which will be recruited from within the city.
Any new vacancies that are created as part of the scheme will be advertised via Construction Works; a Hull based company that specialises in recruiting local people for the construction industry.
Laura Carr, Interim Chief Executive for Gateway said: "We are delighted to be working with Hobson and Porter on the next phase of refurbishments, particularly as they are a local company with a local workforce. We are committed to using local labour wherever possible and this is just one example of the regeneration benefiting the city as a whole." Cllr Rick Welton, Cabinet Member for regeneration at Hull City Council said: "I am extremely pleased to see a local company being used for this scheme. This demonstrates our commitment to local jobs in these difficult times."
Residents will be offered a variety of frontage improvements including new fascias, paths, gutters and brick walls and railings to the front boundary of their property in a bid to bring back some of the original Victorian character to the streets.
The refurbishment scheme is an integral part of the wider regeneration work being carried out in Newington and St. Andrew's by Gateway and Hull City Council, which will see an estimated £400m radically improve the area over the next 10-15 years.
