13 May 2024
Key stage one children from Armitage CE Primary School in Ardwick, Manchester, this week took delivery of ten, new, specialist bikes as part of a community outreach programme by Kellen Homes who are building a new development of homes nearby.
The youngsters were thrilled with their new wheels and proudly showed them off when local councillors Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Amna Saad Omar Abdullatif and former councillor Bernard Priest came to visit.
Kellen Homes is developing 272 new homes on brownfield land at Bennett Street Manchester, a stone’s throw from the school, in partnership with one of the leading providers in the build-to-rent market, Sigma Capital Group Limited. The scheme will see 172 new houses and 100 apartments, 0.82 acres of public green space and a community centre with parking and disabled parking for local people, developed on the 13-acre, former Olympic Freight depot on Bennett Street.
Kellen Homes’ Senior Construction Manager, Mike Riley; Head of Land & Partnerships, Ellie Frith; and Site Manager Martin Hudson visited the school to officially hand over the 10 bikes and scooters this week.
Ellie underlined Kellen’s commitment to the local communities where Kellen is building homes. She said: “It’s a genuine delight to be able to gift these fabulous trikes and scooters to the children and see the joy and benefit they are already getting from them. As a housebuilder we believe in creating and supporting communities and so to be able to help a local school with equipment that they desperately needed, is very much part of our ethos and commitment.”
Assistant Headteacher at the school, Carolyn Doherty, described the importance of the new equipment. She said: “We really appreciate the outdoor play equipment that has been donated. The bikes, trikes and scooters are all suitable for the younger children in both Key Stage One and Early Years.
“Not only are the children having a huge amount of fun, but they are exercising, balancing, playing, sharing, and learning life skills which is all part of their overall development and growth.”
Councillor Amna Saad Omar Abdullatif added: “It’s fabulous to see how much enjoyment the children are already getting from these scooters. The new houses will provide homes for the local community, and it is great to see the benefit of the investment already being felt by the children of the area.”
