Construction charity lends helping paw to small animals

Wednesday 02 October 2019

Rabbits, rodents, reptiles and kittens will soon have a home of their own at the animal shelter thanks to a partnership with a local construction charity, which will see an old kennel block transformed into a small centre for them.

The Brick Foundation - a charity set up by local construction industry specialists with the aim of putting something back into the community - has already started work on what is their biggest project to date.

The Brick Foundation is made up of local companies which offer their services or products either free of charge or with heavy discounts.

The charity raises funds throughout the year to fund projects along and pool together specialist resources they have at their disposal to carry out one "meaningful" project each year.

Pictured: One of the old kennels will be turned into a small animal centre.

“I’m extremely proud and grateful for my Jersey Construction Colleagues to come together, and pull off the Brick foundations largest project to date," charity Chairman Steve Jewell (Romerils) said.

"Their generosity never ceases to amaze me, and demonstrates how strong their desire is to put something back into our community."

This year, they have decided to help the JSPCA by re-developing one of the old kennel blocks and turning it into a bespoke Small Animal Centre. It will be home to critters including rabbits, rodents, reptiles and even kittens, with units built to fit the needs of each species. 

Pictured: The project will be completed in 12 to 14 weeks.

While this large-scale project would normally take months to complete, the Brick Foundation has promised to have it ready in 12 to 14 weeks.

The new build will help JSPCA "maximize the value and potential of the St. Saviour's Road site, in order to be sustainable for many years into the future, whilst in no way sacrificing the needs of the animals".

It is hoped the small animal centre will pave the way for all the future projects that the JSPCA has in mind in order to achieve these goals.

Pictured: The project is the largest to date undertaken by the Brick Foundation.

“When I visited the team at the JSPCA to see how our charity could help them, we had numerous project options, but we wanted and decided to go for the big-one," Project Manager Andy Fleet (Bridgewater Property) explained. 

"It was a very ambitious challenge and project size, but with a fantastic design team, contractor and suppliers, we’re about to get this over the line."

Dominic Wilmott, of Hacquoil & Cook, the main contractor, said he didn't hesitate to get on board with the project, which has also had input from Morris Architects, Hartigan and Jersey Electricity.

"The JSPCA is such a great organisation, and provide an invaluable service to Jersey’s community and animals welfare, and having now built this unit, this great service will continue to many families and animals for years to come.”