Children and Staff from Ermine Primary Academy, Lincoln, tried their hand at bricklaying as part of a community engagement project organised by LACE Housing.

Children and Staff from Ermine Primary Academy, visited its construction site, situated off Nettleham Road Lincoln. This is one of two current developments being provided by LACE Housing a specialist provider for Housing for older people in Greater Lincolnshire.

When completed the site in Lincoln will be the home of Roman Gate Court, a new development of 24 affordable one-bedroom apartments with communal facilities for those aged 55 and over.

During the visit children were informed of the importance of building site safety, the skills needed to construct a building such as Roman Gate Court as well as turning their hand to bricklaying.

The visit was led by staff from both Lindum Construction and LACE Housing, who provided an insight into the importance of building affordable homes designed for older people.

Nick Chambers, LACE Housings Chief Executive, met with children and together they reflected upon the importance meeting the needs of older people within their local community.

Children left the site with LACE goodie bags and will return in the new year Children will be returning to site in the new year where they will be invited to view the building near completion.

Nick Chambers said: “We were delighted to be able to welcome children and staff from Ermine Academy to Roman Gate Court, our development site in Lincoln.

“This was the first of two planned visits during the construction period, as part of our valued engagement with the local community. The visit provided children with an insight into construction and the importance of accommodation designed for older people within their community.

“It was wonderful to witness the children’s interest and engagement during the visit and we wish to thank Ermine Junior Academy staff for supporting this opportunity. We look forward to the next visit as we near completion.”

Lindum Group Managing Director Edward Chambers said: “We had a wonderful time meeting the children and showing them around our construction site. They were so interested in the project and were really keen to find out as much as they could about the work we are doing. We were impressed by their knowledge of construction and how well they answered the questions we asked them.

“Our Health and Safety advisor Jack talked to the children about the dangers posed by construction sites and explained how they can stay safe when building work is going on in their community. Our subcontract bricklayer Mick helped the children to build a wall, which they loved.

“Each class was given a tour of the site too and I’m very grateful to our employees and subcontractors who gave up their time to host the visit. At Lindum we always say that ‘the difference is our people’ and fantastic events like this wouldn’t be possible without the willingness of our team and our client LACE Housing, which organised the day.

“Once complete, this building will be an important feature of their local community so it’s great that they’ve been involved in its progress. Several youngsters even said they now want to work in construction when they grow up, which is brilliant to hear.”

To find out more about LACE Housing’s new developments, visit the website.