AN EDINBURGH project manager has won a top industry accolade at a prestigious national awards ceremony in London.
Mark Foley, of CALA Homes (East) took home the esteemed “Multi-Storey Building” award after representing Scotland at the National House Building Council (NHBC) Pride in the Job Supreme Awards, at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster.
This year’s judging process began with the assessment of thousands of site and project managers from across the UK and culminated in only four Supreme Award winners.
Mark, 49, faced tough competition from projects in York, Poole and London but his work on the UNESCO-accredited site, The Crescent at Donaldson’s, stood out against his competitors.
This success follows Mark’s win in the qualifying heats of the NHBC ‘Pride in the Job’ Quality Awards in July and Regional Awards in October 2019, after impressing a team of inspectors during a series of rigorous and unscheduled visits to the development.
As well as undergoing spot checks of the day-to-day running of their sites, each Site Manager is assessed across 37 different areas of site management, including technical knowledge, quality and consistency.
Mark is CALA’s most decorated project manager with 13 Pride in the Job awards, alongside nine Seal of Excellences and two regional awards.
Mark said: “Delivering excellent quality for customers is what most site teams strive for and for our work at The Crescent to be recognised by the NHBC at the Supreme Awards is a real privilege and without doubt, the highlight of my career.
“Having the opportunity to work on such a prestigious site, with this level of architectural design, makes it all the more exciting.
“While my name is on the award, I want to make sure that it is appreciated how much of a team effort this is, and it couldn’t have been achieved without the amazing team I have working alongside me.
“I was immensely proud of the whole team at the Regional awards, but to make it to the Supreme Awards, and come out victorious, is a dream come true.”
Kevin Whitaker, Chief Executive Officer of CALA Homes, said: “The Pride in the Job awards recognise the industry’s best site managers and the exceptional contribution they make in creating homes of outstanding quality.
“The Supreme Award is the very highest accolade that a site manager can receive and we are extremely proud of Mark for this fantastic achievement.
“This award doesn’t just represent success for Mark, however, but for the entire team at CALA Homes East, who all play a vital role in ensuring that this unique and complex architectural design is delivered safely and to the highest quality standards for not only our customers, but also the wider Edinburgh community, on what is a very important site for the City.”
Steve Wood, NHBC Chief Executive, said: “Through Pride in the Job, NHBC has been celebrating the best of the best in house building for almost 40 years.
“There is no doubt that these awards have been instrumental in driving up the quality of new homes and results show that Pride in the Job winning sites have higher levels of customer satisfaction.
“The final stage of this competition is tough, so to earn the highest accolade of Supreme winner a site manager must have successfully managed a wide range of competing demands and challenges.
“Their determination and success in achieving excellence deserves recognition. More importantly, site managers like Mark are creating high quality outstanding homes that their customers can have confidence in – they are building the future. Congratulations, Mark.”
Designed by architect, Richard Murphy OBE, The Crescent mirrors the curve of the traditional New Town homes it finds itself inspired by.
Situated in the tranquil grounds of the iconic Donaldson’s estate, homes at The Crescent offer the convenience of capital living with an authentic rural feel with expansive views of the Pentland Hills.
The final remaining homes in the development’s west wing have not long been available and offer a range of sizes – from one-bedroom apartments to a deluxe penthouse – to cater for any potential buyers from £595,000 – £1,750,000.
For more information, or to register interest in the Crescent development visit: www.cala.co.uk/the-crescent or call 0131 341 2667.