Taylor Wimpey plans to start reopening construction sites next month
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has announced plans to reopen the majority of its construction sites in England and Wales at the start of May.
Taylor Wimpey will be the first major housebuilder to reopen sites after weeks of lockdown. The firm said site management teams will return on 4 May, with the first subcontractors returning on 11 May.
Last month, Taylor Wimpey closed all construction sites after the national lockdown was announced. This was despite the government confirming construction sites could remain open.
The remobilisation process will start on sites in England and Wales which meet certain criteria. The firm does not expect to start work in Scotland at this point, until it receives government support.
The housebuilder said it is confident it can restart activity “in a safe, managed and phased way to comply with strict social distancing requirements on a sustainable basis”. Sales centres, show homes and regional offices will remain closed while it “monitors the latest guidance around social distancing”.
As part of plans to protect its workers, Taylor Wimpey has designed and is self-manufacturing a face shield which will attach to a construction hard hat. It will be used on all Taylor Wimpey sites for key two-person tasks.
Taylor Wimpey said it is continuing to see demand for homes, with sales being made remotely. Cancellations represent less than one per cent of its current order book.
The company completed 2,271 homes, a 14.1 per cent fall for the 16-week period ending 19 April. Its order book value stood at approximately £2.7m, compared with £2.4m in the same period last year.
Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes, said it would restart work on 90 per cent of its partnership sites and a number of housing sites from 27 April.
Shares in Taylor Wimpey are up more than 10 per cent. Vistry Group is up 9.91 per cent.