Wirral Company

Paul Taylor & Ricardo Salvatore

WIRRAL COMPANY PUTS HOUSING CHARITY BACK IN THE DRIVING SEAT

A LIVERPOOL housing charity now has a much needed set of wheels thanks to a welcome gift from Wirral based RH Group.

The Birkenhead company, which specialises in the repair, maintenance and installation of surface water drainage and sewerage systems, has donated one of its surplus vans to Liverpool Habitat for Humanity.

The used Fiat Ducato van has been handed over with 12 months MOT and six months tax fully paid and will be used by the charity to pick up materials and transport tools.

LHFH development manager Paul Taylor says: “The donation of this van is a lifesaver as our previous vehicle had to be scrapped last year.  It would have cost us at least £1,200 to buy a van of this make, model and year, and the MOT and tax are worth another £600. We’re extremely grateful to RH Group for their generosity.

“We’ve been fairly dormant on site over the last 12 months but the Territorial Army has recently been working with us to prepare for a new road and the infrastructure for our remaining 23 homes and we hope to start building houses again very soon.  Being mobile will be essential as we get going.”
 

Now working in partnership with Cosmopolitan Housing Association, the charity is building low-cost homes off Kingsley Road, in Granby-Toxteth and relies on volunteer labour plus donations of money, services, materials and gifts in kind.  Future home owners must also invest 500 hours of their own time helping to build the homes in a unique arrangement known as ‘sweat equity’.

Nine houses are already complete and eight families have been housed. The charity is currently identifying home owners for the next phases. 

RH Group is a previous supporter of LHFH and was delighted with the chance to help them again.

Ricardo Salvatore, the drainage company’s commercial manager, said: “Liverpool Habitat for Humanity is an excellent charity doing good work to bring quality housing to those who ordinarily could not afford to own a home of their own. We were pleased to assist and hope that being ‘on the road’ again will make life a little easier.”