Following recent updates from both the UK and Scottish Governments and the focus on construction activity, we want to share our current position. All ARK Estates developments have been closed since 17 March and will remain so until the Government’s advice for Scotland changes. This means we won’t be restarting construction activity until it is safe to do so for our employees, our suppliers and the communities in which we work.
While we might not be active on site, we are still busy planning for future projects. We are working closely with our design team partners to create a pipeline of work for when lockdown ends. ARK Estates has projects to the value of approximately £3.5m ready to go, and we are keen that the benefits of this are felt throughout our supply chain.
We are also planning increased safety measures for our work sites when they do reopen. This could include the introduction of a rota system over a seven-day working week to at least halve the number of people on site at any one time, and increased parking to allow all workers to commute alone. Other measures will be introduced as required, and we will be closely monitoring government advice so that we can quickly react to any changes. As much as we are keen to get back to our work of developing residential, retail, industrial and commercial buildings, we will not put any people at risk to do so.
We want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all our incredible key workers. The team is so grateful to everyone working extremely hard on the frontline, including those in the NHS and our other essential services, those in the care sector, and everyone involved in the production and distribution of essential goods in our communities.
We also very much hope all our suppliers, partners, clients and friends are managing to stay safe and healthy.
William Gray
ARK Estates Managing Director
