Kier in Sefton has helped restore the Norris Green Youth Centre in Liverpool as part of a special edition of the BBC's DIY SOS for Children in Need.

Due to be aired tonight, 10 November, at 9pm on BBC One, The Big Build for Children in Need calls upon the local community, trades and companies to pull together to provide a full refurbishment and extension to the local youth centre. It is in one of the most deprived areas of Liverpool with high unemployment and association with high crime rates and gang violence.

The project, which is the biggest Big Build challenge that presenter Nick Knowles and his team have tackled so far, ran for nine days in total and included a final unveiling to youngsters on day ten – usually a project of that scale would take between six and eight months to complete and would cost in the region of £1m. The DIY SOS: The Big Build team was given the challenge of completing it in just ten days and relied completely on the generosity of local tradesmen and companies.


Kier donated an external landscape package to the 1,800sq ft site, which involved work on hard landscape areas surrounding the youth centre allowing the planting of vegetable patches and turf to be laid, as well the installation of a new external gym area. Additionally, the team of 12 Kier colleagues installed Trespa cladding to the front of the building for weather proofing and applied Tarmac to a large open walkway at the entrance. General labour was also provided by the team to help with other aspects of the scheme.

Kier senior operations manager for maintenance, Andrew Kenny, said: "The Norris Green Youth Centre has done some amazing work transforming the lives of local young people and steering them away from crime. They have at least 50 children and young people attending every evening and they are open seven days a week. We were more than happy to donate our time to this very worthwhile project; we're pleased to have made a contribution to the lives of those who use the centre."

(CD/GK)