Girl Guides Visit One Horton Heath

The Allbrook Girl Guides donned high vis, hard hats, and full PPE to visit a live construction site following a recent planning session with the Lower Acre’s contracted builders Wates Residential, to discuss their ideas for One Horton Heath. 

Guided around safely zoned walkways, the group saw where the first new homes are being built and learned how modern features like ground source heat pumps and clean water systems are being installed. They even discovered how 150-metre-long pipes will help bring both warm and cool air into the homes. A real highlight was getting to sit on a dumper truck and learn about health and safety on a working construction site!

Another key topic was ecology. The group heard how the protected great crested newts are being looked after, thanks to specially created habitats and the clever ‘newtorway’ – a network of tubes that help the newts safely navigate the site.

Girl Guide Leader Maz said, “It was a fantastic experience for the Guides — they started with a fun activity designing their own dream town, with a little help from the Wates planning team, and then got to visit the building site itself. Wearing full PPE, both the Guides (and the Leaders!) loved seeing the development in action and learning about the wide range of careers available in construction. It was a great learning opportunity and a real half-term highlight for the group.”

To support the site’s biodiversity, the girls are now designing and building an insect hotel. This will sit alongside existing features like bee bricks and mammal tunnels. We’re looking forward to seeing how they get on later in the year!

Interested in finding out more about the One Horton Heath site – contact us.