Barratt Homes appoints new Meadowburne Place Site Manager

Barratt Homes has appointed Blair Harvey as a Site Manager at its Meadowburne Place development in Eastbourne.

Blair first joined  Barratt Southern Counties in 2015 as part of a graduate scheme having received her degree in Building Surveying at the University of Greenwich. After a year spent in accelerated construction, she was promoted to junior site manager at  Barratt  Homes’ Wychwood Park development.

She is now one of five site managers charged with overseeing the development of new homes at Meadowburne Place, responsible for a range of tasks to keep the site developing smoothly. She works on all stages of the construction process, from laying the first brick all the way through to the completion.

Blair said: “I was Googling trainee surveyor roles when I stumbled across Barratt’s graduate program and signed up on a whim. I already had a good understanding of the industry thanks to my studies, but the graduate programme allowed me to get stuck into a live construction environment, with a very clear career goal at the end.

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“I have had such great mentors at Barratt, everyone has spurred me on at every turn. I worked with the team at Wychwood Park for two years before going on maternity leave, and then when I returned I was quickly promoted to site manager and moved to a new development in Eastbourne.

“It’s a step up in terms of responsibility, but the culture at Meadowburne Place is just fantastic. There’s a buzz in the air and a real sense of respect within the team for one another, from the most senior site managers all the way down to our newest graduates, which creates such a positive working environment.

“We do everything from ordering materials to risk assessments for health and safety. Most of my time is spent out and about in my boots and hard hat, as I am responsible for the quality of the build, managing the subcontractors, implementing the build programme and checking scaffolding.

“It’s a very fast paced role and it’s the kind of environment that someone with a can do attitude can really thrive in. There’s only so much that you can learn from a textbook – the graduate scheme meant that I could get real hands on training by being out and about on site every day. My one piece of advice is that there’s no time to doubt yourself, so if you are organised and outspoken, anyone can learn to do this role.”

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Featured image credit:  Barratt Homes