A team of apprentices working on the £10m New Bolsover Model Village housing improvement programme have been given a range of brand new tools from builders merchant Travis Perkins.

The apprentices, who all started their apprenticeships last year with Robert Woodhead, are currently working on the two and a half year programme of works at New Bolsover. They joined members of the project team as they accepted the tools from Travis Perkins' key account manager, Marc Holmes.

Each apprentice has received tools specific to their apprenticeship:

  • The three joiners were given a hammer, screwdrivers, tape measure, Stanley knife, a combo square and a hand saw
  • The groundworker was given a lump hammer, bolster, space, strong line, tape measure and Stanley knife
  • The two plasterers were given a Stanley knife, hammer, surform, tape measure, trowel and hawk.

Mr Holmes said: "We're delighted to support the apprentices as they start out in their careers with Robert Woodhead Ltd. We've worked with Bolsover District Council and Woodhead many times before, and are very pleased to be providing our services to this exciting project."

Robert Woodhead Ltd's specialist team, Woodhead Improve, is delivering the complex scheme at New Bolsover.

Matt Stone, Woodhead's quantity surveyor for the New Bolsover Model Village programme, said: "We are working very closely with Travis Perkins on this project, as they have a base just around the corner and we try to source as many of our materials as locally as we can. We're very grateful to them for their generous donation. The brand new tools were a real boost for the apprentices and they're really looking forward to using them as their training progresses."

Over the course of the two-and half-year programme of works at the Model Village, Woodhead will carry out essential repairs and restore architectural features of the 194 Grade II listed properties, including the windows and doors. The project, which began in October 2016 and is expected to complete in the Spring of 2019, is being funded by Bolsover District Council with part funding for Conservation works from Heritage Lottery Funding.