CASTLE Green senior site manager Nigel Pritchard is celebrating after winning a Seal of Excellence in the NHBC’S prestigious Pride in the Job awards.

It’s the fifth such award for 47-year-old Nigel, who heads up construction at the housebuilder’s Bron Y Castell development in Abergele, and his first with St Asaph-based Castle Green.

Nigel is one of only seven from Wales to have achieved the hugely respected accolade this year.

He said: “It means that the hard work and the dedication that you put into the job has been recognised in the industry and there’s a huge sense of pride.”

Launched more than 40 years ago, the NHBC Pride in the Job awards recognise site managers who provide an exceptional contribution in creating homes of outstanding quality, and are among the most highly regarded in the housebuilding industry.

Nigel received a coveted ‘Quality’ Award for his efforts for the company in July, one of only 450 chosen from 16,000 throughout the UK - less than three per cent of those who entered.

Nigel added: "These awards aren’t won alone. It’s not a solo effort. I am a cog in a system, I have to keep things running but we’re a team, and everyone from the trades to the sub-contractors has a part to play.

"You have to have support and people behind you to win this.”

Nigel, of Anglesey, has been in the housebuilding industry for 30 years since starting as a 17-year-old trainee site engineer in 1991.

It was a role he held for five years before progressing to assistant site manager, then site manager and, latterly, senior site manager.

The father to Hannah has won 10 Pride in the Job ‘Quality’ awards and gone on to take three regional titles in the premier housebuilding competition.

He joined Castle Green four years ago, working briefly at two other sites, before taking the helm at Bron Y Castell in 2018 and winning another ‘Quality’ award for that site in 2019.

Nigel, who has partner Mandy, said: “You set your stall out from the beginning. You strive always to improve and never settle for second best.

"I like things to be done right, I think that’s well-known, and I don’t mind that. I want to build houses that I would want to live in.

“I have high expectations both in work and out of work. I do sports like five-a-side, I keep fit and I go to the gym; I set my goals high, and I do the same when I’m working. I am here to build a relationship and a rapport with the team, to motivate them, and I hope that’s what I do.

“Covid has changed the way things have had to get done, from working practices to health and safety measures; but Brexit has also caused issues with shortages of materials like timber and, of course, there is the challenge of bad weather in Wales.

“There have been so many obstacles to overcome but, if you can get through those, it’s a huge achievement. And it would be boring without challenges.”

Gwyn Jones, Castle Green chief executive, said: "Nigel’s track record in this competition is exemplary.

"We consider ourselves very fortunate to have him in our team and customers buying homes built under his supervision can be certain that the quality of their home is second to none."