2 minute read
John Cradock
JOHN CRADOCK LTD
Building Hope
John Cradock Ltd partnered with Homeless Care CLG to bring to life the vision of Jigginstown House, a residential facility for vulnerable young adults
t has been seven years in the
Iplanning, and stalled at the fi nal hurdle by shutdowns during the pandemic, but a new residential centre, for young adults progressing from State care to independent living, is fi nally ready to open its doors.
Homeless Care CLG was set up to help protect vulnerable young people at risk of homelessness. The charity had been on the verge of collapse in 2014, due to lack of funding. With John Cradock Ltd coming on board, the fi rm brought their business experience and technical expertise to create a long-term vision and strategy to deliver the fi rst purposebuilt residential facility of its type in the region.
Dylan Broderick, Quality Manager at John Cradock Ltd, outlines the journey to bring the vision of Jigginstown House facility to life, explaining that funding from the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) meant that it was not appropriate for them to take on the building contract. “We helped with the business side and accessing the government funding. It wouldn’t be right for us to be doing the work, so we had to put the actual work out to public tender. We advised at arm’s length.”
INDUSTRY SUPPORT The initiative brought together industry rivals, as Broderick recalls, “We had great support from our industry bodies, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), and even from competitors that we would price against, that gave donations and helped facilitate getting it over the line as we went through the funding process. I would imagine it’s quite unusual for competitors to be coming together in this way.” The project also benefi tted from signifi cant donations from the local community.
The fi nished residential and training facility comprises 12 units of 40 sq m apartments in converted outbuildings with the original farmhouse, renovated to hold the reception, kitchen, meeting rooms and a communal room,
as well as accommodation for two social care workers.
There is room for further development of the fi ve-acre site, and Broderick reveals, “The development only takes up about 20% of the site so there are plans to do more work on rest of the grounds, to provide more facilities for training programmes for users— gardening for example.”
While the original plan was to get the centre to the point of being up and running, and then step away, now there is a vision for the next stage of the plan, and Broderick is clear: “We will be continuing the relationship with them.” Staff at John Cradock Ltd also look after all the admin support for the Homeless Care CLG charity, as well as getting involved in fundraising initiatives including the annual Golf Classic and participating in the Runamuck challenge.
