Builder of £27m Foyle College wins top industry gong

A LOCAL firm has taken the top prize at a top construction awards event.

Heron Bros in Draperstown won the overall excellence award at the Construction Excellence Awards at the Culloden Hotel.

It took the gong for its work on the new £27m Foyle College and Ebrington Primary School at the former Clooney Army base in Londonderry.

The awards, hosted by the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) and Specify magazine, recognised an additional 14 category winners from across the construction industry here for excellence in general construction, housing, infrastructure and quality performance.

Congratulating the winners, CEF managing director John Armstrong said: “Heron Bros’ work in delivering the £27m project is an excellent example of how our construction industry is pivotal to the development of so many important projects across a wide range of sectors in Northern Ireland each year.

“The judging panel was particularly impressed at the best-practice construction techniques; including major site excavation over a 38-acre site, innovative value engineering changes derived from their sitebased team, and use of emerging mobile technology to manage their supply chain.

“They were also extremely impressed in how the project was managed and, in particular, how Heron Bros exceeded the sustainability objectives to deliver a ‘best in class’ project.”

Martin O’Kane, deputy group managing director at Heron Bros, said: “This award is a testament to our best-practice project delivery approach.”

he added: “It truly was a team effort.

“Our fantastic project team was dedicated to delivering the campus to the highest standards to allow staff and students to thrive for years to come.”

Heron Bros also received the education infrastructure award on the night.