14th November 2008
Shropshire family firm EJ & GJ Groom from Church Stretton beat the cream of Britain’s builders to be crowned the Best Commercial builder in Britain at this year’s Master Builder of the Year Awards 2008 for their wonderful work on a community centre to complement a beautiful Grade II* listed parish church.
Naomi Cleaver, presenter of C4 Grand Designs Trade Secrets presented the award to EJ & GJ Groom for the quality and craftsmanship of the work, as well as their excellent site management and collaborative attitude in building The Trinity Centre, a community centre adjoining the Holy Trinity Church in the 10,000–strong parish of Meole Brace in Shrewsbury.
“With over half of the total funds raised through parishioners’ personal donations and the vested interest of the whole Parish in the project, it was inevitable that the builders would be under close scrutiny from the community,” said Tim Creyke, representative of the Community Group Committee.
“However, the winning team made this a very well-handled job. They were a pleasure to work with and were also very careful to save money for us. Without reducing the quality of the build, they suggested changes that saved us around £25,000.”
In terms of craftsmanship, EJ & GJ Groom worked hard to realise a high quality building, which blends a modern design with traditional appeal. They brought in local craftsmen and women for the specialist carpentry, stonework and to create the beautiful stained glass window, which provides a perfect complement to the Church.
Not only did they do a fantastic construction job, but also they were able to contribute to the life of the building by suggesting a “basement” area to store furniture and other equipment. They also incorporated a play area for the Sunday school children and helped them to contribute to Church fundraising by giving them topsoil to create a vegetable garden to grow produce to sell to family and friends.
The Master Builder of the Year Awards, now in its ninth year, is organised by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the UK’s largest building trade association. These annual awards celebrate the outstanding work delivered by the vast majority of builders who can only be nominated by highly satisfied clients.
EJ & GJ Groom triumphed to win the national award in the Best Commercial builder category, which is supported by AON and Sage.
Speaking at the Awards ceremony, FMB director general, Richard Diment said: “These Awards are an opportunity to showcase projects around the country that would otherwise be overlooked. Size is not important, while solid craftsmanship, excellent customer service and delighted clients are. The Awards give these clients a platform to publicly thank their builder both for their excellent work and for the consideration shown to them throughout the build.
“For us it is heartening to see that so many clients are still willing to invest in improving their properties, something that is vital for the future of the domestic construction market, and also to see that they are increasingly concerned with energy efficiency and sustainability,” Richard added.
“Our congratulations go to EJ & GJ Groom for this well-deserved award, but equally our thanks go to Tim Creyke, who nominated them,” said Richard.
EJ & GJ Groom and Tim Creyke each win a luxury all-inclusive weekend break for two at any of the UK Barceló Hotels.
