Welsh construction is something we can all be proud of – certainly we had the chance to celebrate on Friday night last week at the CEW Awards. What a great evening. You can check all the details here. But the key message to take from the awards is not just how good our industry is right now, but the evidence the CEW Awards points towards.
Of the £4.5bn of CEW Award winning projects, £1bn is spent within 20 miles of their sites, 350 Welsh SMEs are employed and 78% of the spend remains in Wales; and there are often direct positive outcomes for local people, ranging from 300 charities being supported and 450,000 trees planted, to restoration of wetland and 2,000 apprenticeships established. The CEW waste programme – which established the groundbreaking Green Compass waste handling initiative – has diverted 374,836 tonnes of waste from landfill, producing cost savings of more than £22m.
Frustratingly, there remain some doubters and critics; and the task facing CEW is a work in progress. Despite CEW’s work alongside this evidence, there is still pressure to return to adversarial working practices and an emphasis on cost – not value.
What’s more, with the current political uncertainty and further concerns about where and what money should be spent upon, we need to stress – now more than ever – that best practice is the right route towards creating a Wales for future generations. We know it works, but we have to keep reminding everyone.
For example, the UK Government needs a gentle nudge regarding its EU climate commitments. A group of 30 clean energy and environmental groups have urged Theresa May's new government to commit to key EU carbon cutting targets for 2020 "irrespective of Brexit". Signatories to the letter include: Ashden; Bioregional; E3G; Energy Saving Trust; Energy UK; Friends of the Earth; Greenpeace; Renewable Energy Association (REA); Solar Trade Association; Sustainable Energy Association and; the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.
But as well as worrying, we need to celebrate. Let’s shout about the CEW Award winners and let’s talk up great Welsh successes, such as that Loyn & Co Architects are on the shortlist for the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize. This is exactly the kind of thing ignored in Wales – so let’s celebrate how good we are.
