Construction projects are opening up opportunity for jobs in London and the South East with the expansion of one of the country’s big suppliers of cement, concrete and aggregates.
The Hope Construction Materials company has just marked its third anniversary with plans to open new depots and extending existing sites at Stratford and Dagenham, as well as in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire.
Use of the railway network features heavily in Hope’s plans, with four of its five sites now able to receive raw materials such as aggregates and cement carried on freight trains, following the opening of its new rail distribution depot last year in the Midlands.
Details of the latest developments to be open for business during the first quarter of 2016 include a new depot connected to the rail network next to the Olympic Park at Stratford, in partnership with DB Schenker rail freight operator.
Hope Construction is bringing crushed rock to the east London market as well as supplying its own depots in the area.
A new cement distribution depot and packing facility connected to the rail network has opened at Dagenham that is also supplying the company’s cement in its own branded bags.
“These developments are a major investment in the business,” the company’s chief executive Chris Plant said.
“We’ve been growing steadily since launching three years ago and these latest depots in east London and the South East are part of a strategy to develop our rail distribution network.”
Two-thirds of the company’s aggregate products are now being distributed using the national rail network, taking many disruptive heavy cement lorries off the crowded roads.
Hope Construction in the past year alone has sold 1.5 million tonnes of cement, 4.7 million tonnes of aggregates and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete.
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