Wates Residential expands in Wales due to success of flagship Cardiff Living programme
Developer moves offices and workforce doubles following partnership with Cardiff Council
Wates Residential is expanding in Wales and has moved offices after its appointment as Cardiff Council’s trusted development partner.
The national developer has moved from St Fagans to Cardiff Gate to support an ongoing recruitment drive, which has already seen the team double in size to 30 direct staff. The new office will also cater for the expansion of the Cardiff team going forward.
Wates is part-way through the ‘Cardiff Living’ programme, which began in January 2016. Designed to tackle the growing demand for housing in the city, the scheme is set to deliver approximately 600 council homes for rent or assisted home ownership and a further 900 for sale on the open market.
Alongside the move, the business is inviting local people who are interested in joining the expanding team to get in touch. Prospective emails should outline relevant experience and be sent to communities@cardiffliving.wales. Wates has recently awarded a £50,000 contract to a local social enterprise, GR Cleaning, and are continuing to support the company to enable sustainable growth.
It comes after Wates and Cardiff Council made a joint pledge to use the ‘Cardiff Living’ programme to create employment and training opportunities for local residents, including on-site apprenticeships, work experience placements and structured training programmes.
In the first year of the project, an estimated £2 million has been generated in economic, environmental and social value, with around £3m also spent with local SMEs.
Paul Nicholls, Managing Director of Wates Residential South, said:
“Following our appointment as Cardiff Council’s trusted development partner, a key priority has been creating a strong base in Cardiff that will allow us to continue delivering much-needed housing for local people.
“We are delighted that we have now been able to move into a bigger office, which will enable our team to expand further and continue its exciting work alongside the Council.”
