A CONSTRUCTION company which puts communities at the heart of its operations is helping tenants gain essential skills. Evolution, which creates better places for people to live across the North-West by delivering quality private housing and social housing, is donating its time and expertise to help residents.

Building communities in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria, Blackpool-based Evolution is working in partnership with Borrow It Blackpool to support a series of skills workshops over the next 12 months. Evolution Managing Director JJ Fitzgerald said: “Providing tenants with better places to live is always the focus of our work, and it makes sense to extend our support by sharing our expertise and skills to help tenants develop these skills. It’s part of building thriving communities which is at the core of everything we do at Evolution.”

Evolution Contracts Manager Paul Garforth and team will be demonstrating their skills and coaching tenants at the first two workshops this month. They will be giving a decorating demonstration at Molyneux Community Centre, Blackpool on November 23, 10am-2pm and a DIY demonstration at Argosy Community Centre, Blackpool on November 28, 10am-2pm.

Borrow It Blackpool is run by charity The Volunteer Centre, Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde, and was launched in June 2023, with funding from Better Start Blackpool, a Lottery- funded bid to improve the lives of 0-4 year-olds in the seven most deprived wards in Blackpool. It has since received funding from Blackpool Council and Blackpool Coastal Housing Tenant Support Fund.

Borrow It Blackpool runs a community lending library scheme – where it takes Household, DIY, Gardening or Leisure items donated by the community or businesses, assesses them, repairs them and puts them on its website for people to borrow. Anyone wanting to borrow the items pays a £10 membership fee for 12 months. Those who would struggle to make that payment are invited to complete a financial assessment to receive support from the organisation’s cost of living team.

Funding from the Blackpool Coastal Housing Tenant Support Fund has enabled Borrow It Blackpool to fund 16 workshops at Blackpool Coastal Housing Community Centres, over the next year – four each in DIY and Decorating which Evolution are supporting and four each in Cooking (supported by SCRAN cookery school) and Sewing (supported by a professional seamstress).

Matthew Winder, Project Coordinator of Borrow It Blackpool, said: “What we have been finding with the lending library is people are saying to us they would love to borrow the equipment but they don’t know how to use it. That’s when we came up with the idea of the Learn and Loan workshops so we would give people the skills as well as the equipment.

“It’s like the old adage, if you give a person a fish it will feed them for a day, if you teach them how to fish it will feed them for life. We are very grateful to Evolution and our other partners for helping us turn that vision into a reality. If there are other businesses who would also like to support us we would love to hear from them.”

Evolution will also be donating a range of tools to Borrow It Blackpool, including paste tables, two drills, four roller brush and tray sets, four tool bags with 40 pieces in each, four sealant guns, four decorators’ knives, four scuttle buckets and wall scanners.

Attendees of the workshops need to be a Borrow It Blackpool member. A 12-month membership is available here https://www.borrowitblackpool.co.uk/product/membership/

Contact Matt at the Volunteer Centre on matthew@blackpoolvolunteers.org.uk or call 07483 041029 for more information about Borrow It Blackpool.

A CONSTRUCTION company with a strong social conscience is inviting businesses to join forces in a can-do collaboration to support a young people’s activity centre. Evolution, which creates better places for people to live across the North-West, is donating its time free of charge to refurbish a base for Blackpool Sea Cadets. The firm is also putting a shout-out to other companies across Blackpool to see if they can also donate their time and skills to help deliver the project for the youngsters. City Electrical Factors (CEF) is already donating all the electrical equipment for the centre.

When the work is done, the cadets will have a base fit for their modern-day activities, including new showers and toilets, with full disabled access. Evolution Managing Director JJ Fitzgerald said: “Building thriving communities is at the core of everything we do at Evolution and we are pleased to be able to donate our time and expertise to help create opportunities for young people in the North-West. “With our head office being in Blackpool this is an ideal opportunity to help young people on our doorstep in a project which aligns with our ethos. “Being involved in the Sea Cadets helps young people build their confidence and self-belief, it shows them what they can achieve, gives them a sense of purpose and instills discipline.

“It’s all part of opening young people’s eyes to possibilities and opportunities, helping them fulfil their potential and be the best they can be. “This is exactly the type of project we like to support at Evolution and are more than happy to give up our time to help. “It’s also one of those opportunities where we could achieve even more as a business community if we join forces and work together.

“If we all do our bit and combine our efforts we can achieve a really powerful outcome for these young people. “That’s why we are putting the call out to see if other businesses want to help by donating materials for the project.” Kay Jackson, Chief Petty Officer (CPO) of Blackpool Sea Cadets, said the support from Evolution has been amazing and will make a real and positive difference to young people in the resort with the base long overdue a revamp.

Kay said: “The toilets we have at the base were built before I joined the Sea Cadets when I was 13. I am 42 now! This work will help bring us into the modern era.

“It’s really important that young people have a safe haven like this to come to. It’s an environment where they learn how to be responsible adults, we give them life skills and a work ethic, help them learn how to be part of a team and also how to be a leader. We have had so many cadets go on to achieve wonderful things.”

The group has 45 cadet members, aged 10-18, from an area stretching from South Shore to Thornton and over Wyre, and 15 adult volunteers of all ages. They meet every Tuesday and Friday all year round, except for two weeks at Christmas.

“It’s vital in 2023 for young people to have a place like this. During Covid, children suffered with the social side of losing that contact. We kept going with Zoom meetings and played quizzes, and gave them safe online spaces to chat to each other, but now we are meeting up face to face again, we really need the base to be upgraded. “One cadet didn’t stay with us because we didn’t have single-sex toilets.

The toilets are not disabled-access friendly either. We would never want someone’s mobility, or how they identify, to restrict them from attending Sea Cadets and miss out on all the amazing opportunities. It’s going to make a massive difference to the Cadets to be able to have that privacy and modern facilities. “A massive thank you to Evolution. We are so grateful for their help. I know how hard things are at the moment for everyone, so any other businesses who can help, we would really appreciate it.

“We charge the children £15 a month for membership – it does not even cover the cost of the heating and lights – but we are not willing to put the price up as we don’t ever want money to be an issue or a reason for a young person not to attend. “We rely on the generosity of businesses and the community and the Cadets and staff would appreciate any help so much.”

The project equipment wish-list which businesses might be able to help with includes: portable toilets with hot wash facilities, four bathroom suites (WCs, basin and pedestals) with two including shower trays, curtains and showers, copper pipework and fittings, plasterboards, multi-finish, skim beads and other plastering materials; paint, undercoat, top coat, brushes, rollers, masking tape, four internal doors and casings, timber for building partitions, skip hire, a welfare facility and some labour, including a multi-skilled tradesperson.

Anyone interested in donating materials or time and expertise and joining forces with Evolution to help revamp the Blackpool Sea Cadets base is asked to contact jess.corbett@evolution-ltd.co.uk

Change is working to improve people’s life opportunities across a North-West community – now we need to accelerate action.

That was the message to 150 business people, education leaders and community representatives invested in making a positive difference in Blackpool and surrounding areas.

Dame Julia Cleverdon was speaking to attendees at the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network’s 5th Anniversary event held at Blackpool Football Club on Friday, October 20.

The Fylde Coast Responsible Business network’s three priority aims are:

• Raising aspirations for young people and work readiness
• Creating job opportunities and reducing unemployment
• Improving mental health and wellbeing of the Fylde Coast workforce

Julia said: “When it comes to energy, drive, resilience and the can-do factor the Blackpool business community has it in spades. “Can we harness that and get the business community to work collaboratively to make Blackpool an unstoppable force? “It’s the business world who can make so much difference. Everyone needs something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to.

By concentrating on doing what only you can do, you in the business community can help make that happen for people across this community.” Funded by local business Beaverbrooks since its inception the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network is connecting those with the passion and expertise to support community projects which deliver the town’s plan of making Blackpool an even better place to live and work.

Network member DES Energy Director Sean Egan told the meeting his business had taken on 83 apprentices in 23 years with today’s jobs for the likes of apprentice Conor Britton involving bringing 21st Century solar panel technology to the resort’s historic Winter Gardens business and leisure complex. Sean said: “When Dame Julia gave us all the call to action 12 months ago we thought about what we could do to help so we have created more opportunities for young people by taking on more local apprentices.”

Network member DES Energy Managing Director Sean Egan told the meeting his business had taken on 83 apprentices in 23 years with today’s jobs for the likes of apprentice Conor Britton involving bringing 21st Century solar panel technology to the resort’s historic Winter Gardens business and leisure complex.

Sean said: “When Dame Julia gave us all the call to action 12 months ago we thought about what we could do to help so we have created more opportunities for young people by taking on more apprentices.” Managing Director of Evolution JJ Fitzgerald is giving a second chance in life to young people who might have had a tough start, including those outside mainstream education across Blackpool, Fleetwood and the rest of Fylde Coast.

Thanks to connections made through the network JJ linked up with Viv Thomas of Educational Diversity, Blackpool, to work with young people at a pupil referral unit and was blown away by their entrepreneurial spirit with one young person delivering an 84.4% return on a £10 investment challenge.

JJ said: “I am determined to fight for people in our communities, so that if you are someone who grows up here you have the same opportunities as someone growing up in a more affluent area of the country.
“Our experience of working with these young people is that they are amazing, and we want to do more to help young people get on the right track. If you have a rewarding job and a decent home you have the foundations to build a better life.” Through linking up with the network on a range of initiatives, Eddie Nelder, Managing Director of Choice Hotels, has given 120 young people work experience opportunities and employed three full-time care leavers.

Matt Porter, Managing Director of Hesketh Press, has also engaged with young people to offer opportunities through a link-up with Claire Gilmour, Headteacher at Larkholme Primary School, Fleetwood.
Andy Anderson, chair of the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network and head of Research and Development at Victrex, encouraged more businesses across the Fylde Coast to get involved with the network so even more can be achieved across the community in the weeks and months ahead to meet Dame Julia’s call that over the next 12 months 80 per cent of effort should be focused on action in the community.

To join or find out more about the network contact project manager Michelle Walker Michelle.Walker@bitc.org.uk; 07734 495212; www.fyldecoastrbn.co.uk

A PIONEERING construction business well-known for creating better places for people to live and regenerating communities has reached a major milestone on properties across a North-West town. Evolution takes pride in delivering quality private housing, social housing, and sheltered housing to create sustainable communities across Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

After more then a decade of success in the construction industry, the business recently completed a total of 5,000 jobs – either refurbishing or maintaining properties – in its hometown base of Blackpool.Evolution, set up by JJ Fitzgerald in the bedroom of his mum’s council house in nearby Fleetwood, creates positive social impact across the communities it serves through more than a decade of success in the construction industry.

Evolution Managing Director JJ said: “We renovate houses to give people quality homes and we provide jobs which help people build a better life.
“We believe business is a force for good. We put people, places and the planet at the centre of everything we do, offering a brighter, sustainable future to those living in our communities.”

JJ is passionate about giving young people a better start in life and supports a range of pioneering training and employment initiatives, including giving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds opportunities to build a career in the construction industry. JJ said: “At Evolution we are a family and we care about our people and our communities. “Providing opportunities to young people is really important to us. It’s about changing people’s lives.”

Evolution employs a team of 20 tradespeople across Blackpool bringing empty properties back to life with complete refurbishments and maintains 650 properties managed by My Blackpool Home. Evolution’s refurbishment projects, which often include installing new kitchens, new bathrooms, full rewiring, plastering, dampworks and decoration, take from six to 12 weeks to complete.

Ben Reader, Evolution Contract Manager, said: “We pride ourselves on the speed and quality of our work. We always deliver on time, on budget and to an industry-leading quality standard, creating better places to live for people across the region. “It is very satisfying to walk into a property when we first start a job and then a few weeks later walk back in and see how it has been completely transformed and is ready for new tenants to make it their home.”

Dave Spalding, Evolution’s Helpdesk, Fleet and HR Manager, manages the maintenance of 650 My Blackpool Home properties. Dave said: “We enjoy working with My Blackpool Home which is raising the standard of the rented accommodation market to provide better quality homes – the work we do improves the living conditions of people across Blackpool.”

Evolution employs up to 80 people renovating private housing, social housing and sheltered housing across the North-West.

A STUDENT whose dad died two years ago said winning a bumper Blackpool days out ticket was the perfect opportunity to bring the family together for all the right reasons. Leah Peachey, 20, couldn’t believe it when she was selected at random as the winner of a Blackpool Big Ticket, donated by Blackpool-based business Evolution to help a local family forget the cost of living crisis for a while and enjoy a host of attractions in the UK’s number one fun capital this summer. Leah, from Cleveleys, said since her dad Chris, a big Blackpool FC fan, died two years ago the family hadn’t been able to enjoy many happy times together and the competition win proved just the ticket.

Winning the competition enabled Leah, her mum Lisa, and gran Susan, to treat Leah’s three-year-old brother Oscar, and 13-year-old stepsister Daisy, to unforgettable fun times together. Leah said: “In 2021 my, Oscar and Daisy’s dad passed away. We had not had a chance to do stuff as a family since then. Winning this Evolution competition enabled us all to have a lot of fun and create new memories together.” The family

The family enjoyed three full days out visiting a host of Merlin Entertainments venues including Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Peter Rabbit Attraction, Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse, Blackpool Tower Dungeon, SEA LIFE Blackpool and Blackpool Tower Circus, all in the space of a week. They only missed out on adding Madame Tussauds to the list because Lisa had a hospital appointment. Leah said: “We all absolutely loved sharing these amazing experiences. We went right up to the top of the Tower – we thought Oscar might be nervous – but he absolutely loved it. “It was brilliant for me and my mum to see him so happy and enjoying it all so much. “Daisy hadn’t been to SEA LIFE and the Blackpool Tower Circus for ages and she really loved doing that too.”

Leah, who is about to start her final year as a psychology student at Lancaster University, is a ballroom dancing fan, a member of a ballroom dancing society at university, and loved her first ever visit to Blackpool Tower Ballroom, the spiritual home of TV’s Strictly Come Dancing. Leah said: “I am a really big fan of ballroom dancing and do it at university as a hobby. I’d never been in the Tower ballroom before. Going into the ballroom and seeing it for the first time, it is such a beautiful building, and seeing all the people dancing was amazing.”

Speaking about how their win came about, Leah said: “We saw the Evolution competition on Facebook. I do enter these things, but we never win anything so as soon as I told my mum we had won, she couldn’t believe it. I had to tell her ‘honestly it’s not a scam, it’s real’! “We can’t thank Evolution enough. There are no words for how we all feel about it. We will all be forever grateful for the prize we won. “I had never heard of Evolution before this. But after we won I looked into the business.

I am really glad that there is a company in Blackpool that has these values and morals and tries to give back to people in the community – it’s absolutely brilliant.” JJ Fitzgerald, Managing Director of Evolution, said: “Evolution creates positive social impact across the communities we serve through more than a decade of success in the construction industry. “Our mission is to have a positive impact on people, places and the planet so we take every opportunity we can to give back to our communities. “We are delighted that Leah and her family had such an amazing time and thank them for sharing their experiences with us. It’s truly heartwarming. Thanks too to everyone who entered our summer competition.”