Meet your local Site Manager: Blair Harvey at Meadowburne Place

Eastbourne housebuilder Barratt Homes is encouraging more women to enter the construction industry, having recently appointed Site Manager Blair Harvey at its Meadowburne Place development on St Martins Road.

The 32-year-old has been with Barratt Southern Counties for seven years, having joined the business in 2015 as part of a graduate scheme after completing her degree in Building Surveying at the University of Greenwich. “I was Googling trainee surveyor roles when I stumbled across Barratt’s graduate program and signed up on a whim. I already had a good understanding of the industry thanks to my studies, but the graduate programme allowed me to get stuck into a live construction environment, with a very clear career goal at the end,” Blair says.

After completing a year in accelerated construction as part of the scheme, Blair was quickly fast tracked to a junior site manager role at the housebuilder’s Wychwood Park development in Haywards Heath. “I have had such great mentors at Barratt, everyone has spurred me on at every turn. I worked with the team at Wychwood Park for two years before going on maternity leave, and then when I returned I was quickly promoted to site manager and moved to a new development in Eastbourne.”

Blair is now one of five site managers responsible for managing the build of new homes at Meadowburne Place. “It’s a step up in terms of responsibility, but the culture at Meadowburne Place is just fantastic. There’s a buzz in the air and a real sense of respect within the team for one another, from the most senior site managers all the way down to our newest graduates, which creates such a positive working environment.”

In her role, Blair is responsible for a number of day to day tasks to ensure the smooth running of development at Meadowburne Place. “We do everything from ordering materials to risk assessments for health and safety,” Blair says. “Most of my time is spent out and about in my boots and hard hat, as I am responsible for the quality of the build, managing the subcontractors, implementing the build programme and checking scaffolding.”

Barratt Southern Counties offers a number of apprenticeship and graduate opportunities for young people looking to enter the construction industry, alongside a dedicated degree program for site managers. Blair explains: “It’s a very fast paced role and it’s the kind of environment that someone with a can do attitude can really thrive in. There’s only so much that you can learn from a textbook – the graduate scheme meant that I could get real hands on training by being out and about on site every day. My one piece of advice is that there’s no time to doubt yourself, so if you are organised and outspoken, anyone can learn to do this role.”

Blair’s role means that she works on all stages of the construction process, from laying the first brick all the way through to the completion. Her favourite part of the role, however, is handing over the keys to happy homeowners. She remains passionate about creating further opportunities for women in construction, and hopes to be promoted to senior site manager in the future.

Blair and the team are currently building a number of four and five-bedroom homes at Meadowburne Place, where prices start from £544,995 for a four-bedroom family home.

To find out more about Barratt Southern Counties, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8498.

For further details about careers with Barratt, visit www.barrattcareers.co.uk.