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Berkeley strives to create welcoming and inclusive neighbourhoods with homes of all tenures provided, alongside beautiful, landscaped spaces for both residents and the public to enjoy. Our developments transform sites to create thriving spaces for people to live, work, visit and enjoy.
Our team has a wealth of experience in delivering complex developments that provide much needed homes, community facilities and improvements to local infrastructure.
Supporting circa
Construction Jobs
Committed
of the Marble Arch BID
Ongoing engagement and support of local
Social Value Benefit of
Tailor-made
and skills plan
Bespoke
plan
Focus on getting
into employment across all areas that the development will enable
The Berkeley Group is committed to contributing to, training and upskilling the communities in which it works, through initiatives such as apprenticeships, graduate schemes and training programmes.
The Paddington Green team (above) took part in a Canal Clean-Up event in June 2021 as part of the Great British Spring Clean event
To read more about Employment and Skills at Berkeley, click on our case studies below.
Rilwan, 28, and his brother Rafiu, 21, are apprentice painter/decorators at Berkeley. Rilwan told us:
‘I was working in the restaurant business but it wasn’t going the way I wanted. When the pandemic came, there was no work… It was hard’. Rilwan and Rafiu were told about apprenticeships at Berkeley and St Edward by Street Elite.
Now enrolled as an apprentice, Rafiu said: ‘It’s a much better way of learning for me. If there’s something you are not sure about, you just ask. Plus, we get Fridays off to study’. Rilwan added: ‘Even though I had already studied painting and decorating at college, I am learning new skills and improving skills I have all the time.’
At its peak, West End Gate will provide hundreds of construction jobs. One year into our four year Employment and Skills Plan, we have created 24 local jobs, 37 local apprenticeships, 16 bespoke work placements, and run 35 career events.
We offer direct apprenticeships for school leavers and work experience for those considering a career in the built environment. Currently, 20% of our WEG project team are graduates or apprentices. One young woman, Rekiya Shodunke, attended our careers seminar last year. She enquired about a work trial with us, impressed us on the job, and is now a Technical Apprentice at West End Gate.
This month, we are hosting a Property Development & Construction Careers seminar for c.600 students across two days.
Dushka Dejanovic was living in a one bedroom council flat with her 15 year old daughter when she found out she was eligible for a two-bed socially-rented flat in Berkeley’s West End Gate. She told us:
‘I like the natural light in the living room and the private balcony. It feels very calm here. The real difference is the size – having two bedrooms for myself and my daughter makes a big difference as it means we’re not on top of each other.’
‘I never had a dishwasher in my life, nor things like comfort cooling. I like my bathroom and the taps, it’s very good quality. I like the storage space. I feel like I’ve won the lottery. Everything works and if I need any help, Berkeley will help, they are so polite and courteous.’
‘I’m so proud to invite friends over now. I still have this disbelief that I’m living here. It’s my oasis in the chaos of London.’
West End Gate enabled Safi Benslimane to swap his cramped one bed for a spacious apartment. He told us:
‘I found out about my new home through my Housing Officer. It was the best news as it meant I could stay in my local community and easily get around. I work in St Mary’s hospital nearby and also go there a lot with my health problems, it’s only three minutes away. I know the shops, I know everyone as I’ve been here for so long.’
‘In my old house I couldn’t even turn. Now I can turn, go to my bedroom, balcony and bathroom freely. I can watch TV with my friends and family. I have my own washing machine and dryer for the first time.’
‘I just have a better quality of life. My home used to be more like a hotel, a place to sleep. Now I have everything and feel proud when I invite people over. The impact on me was really, really big. We are one of the fortunate ones to get a flat here.’
‘I’m always down at the Green Community Centre, helping prepare and distribute meals. We have many locals in there, we run lots of activities.’
Berkeley is committed to being an active participant in the neighbourhoods in which we operate. As part of our development at West End Gate, we have interacted and worked with vital community groups to bring support to important local projects.
In 2022 alone, we have worked with Westminster Wheels, a community bike shop, Marble Arch, nearby primary schools, Church Street residents and the Westminster City Council Regeneration Team. Engaging with these groups, we have been able to assist in exciting local projects and events, such as an Eid celebration in the Church Street market, an action fundraiser, repainting the railings of Church Street, a volunteer action day and a ‘Fighting Food Poverty’ workshop.
In August, ten staff members of Berkeley staff picked up a paintbrush to refresh classrooms at Christ Church Bentinck School ahead of the new academic year. Mrs Tyrell, the headteacher, said:
‘The group were an absolute delight to work with and it was fantastic to see them prep, paint and clear all three classrooms so neatly in such a short space of time… this thoughtful gesture will go such a long way.’
The Berkeley Group has enjoyed a long history of working in partnership with Westminster City Council, sustaining thousands of jobs and investing millions in local infrastructure along the way. The adjacent site to Paddington Green, West End Gate, is currently the largest development site in Westminster. We are able to deliver on our promises because of the relationships we build, the partnerships we create and the quality we deliver.
We have recently completed three schemes in Westminster: Ebury Square, Abell & Cleland and 190 Strand, together providing over 550 new homes alongside beautiful refurbished public squares and inspiring architecture.
Furthermore, we are delighted to have also started work and begun occupations on a further 1,000 homes to be provided at 9 Millbank, West End Gate and 14-17 Paddington Green.
Squire & Partners is an architecture and design practice with experience spanning four decades, earning it an international reputation for architecture informed by the history and culture of where it is placed.
Squire & Partners’ approach responds to the unique heritage and context of each site, considering established street patterns, scale and proportions to create timeless architecture rooted in its location.
Delivering new homes and open spaces in a revitalised Paddington Green