Canada Street, Manchester · September 2015
The Big Build round the corner
Sixty-two houses across two streets, a purpose-built support centre for veterans, and a site five minutes from our gate. We gave the transport, the storage and the yard.
The photographs
Canada Street, then and after
Our vehicle on the street during the build, and the street as it was left.
The unit that ran the job
One of ours, in the cab
The finished street
The new turning head
The rebuilt junction
Leaving at the end of the job
The support centre
The 2015 roundel set into the road
What happened
The biggest Big Build the programme had done
Nortons Hiab Services Ltd was involved in the BBC DIY SOS project at Canada Street, Manchester, which is just round the corner from our headquarters. The production used our facilities for storage and for setting up their catering tents, and our transport department volunteered their services on the project.
The programme, presented by Nick Knowles, took on its biggest project to date: renovating 62 houses across two streets. The homes and a purpose-built support centre provide accommodation and facilities for military veterans.
Walking With The Wounded and Adactus Housing Group worked with Manchester City Council on it, combined with an enormous amount of time, skill, resource and material donated by volunteer contractors and private individuals. Prince William and Prince Harry visited the site and got their hands dirty during the day they spent there.
The Veterans’ Village officially opened on Monday 28 September 2015. The finished project went out on BBC One on 14 and 21 October 2015.
We were one of a great many suppliers on it, and much better known names did much more. But the yard was round the corner, we had the vehicles and the space, and it did not seem like a difficult decision.
Afterwards
The thank-you letter
“I would like to start with a big THANK YOU from everybody at ISG for the extremely valuable support you provided for Walking With The Wounded / DIY SOS: The Big Build, Veterans Special.
Our thanks can be added to the many testimonials received on the project, particularly from Nick Knowles and his team, who emphasised the importance of your support on the BBC shows and accompanying interviews, and also via social media. Manchester City Council, Haig Housing and Walking With the Wounded have also expressed their thanks. There is no doubt — we could not have done it without you.
Your generosity of time and materials was crucial to the success of this massive project, the biggest ever Big Build, and your contributions to the fundraising for WWTW will help the charity in firmly establishing their North West base.”
Danny Murray, ISG — 23 November 2015
Since then
Community work we have done since
Carrbrook community centre
A unit delivered to the community centre at Carrbrook in 2020.
RNLI at Birkenhead
A new lifeguards’ cabin craned into position on the front at Birkenhead.
A community bike library
A container delivered and positioned for a community bike library in 2024.
If you are running something local and the transport is the part that is stopping you, ask. The worst that happens is we say the vehicles are out.
Common questions
About this project
What did Nortons do on the DIY SOS build?
Transport, storage and the use of our facilities. The site was in Canada Street, which is round the corner from our yard in Miles Platting, so the production used our premises for storage and to set up their catering tents, and our transport department volunteered their services on the project.
When was it?
The build ran in September 2015. The Veterans’ Village officially opened on Monday 28 September 2015 and the finished project was broadcast on BBC One on 14 and 21 October 2015.
What was built?
Sixty-two houses across two streets were renovated, along with a purpose-built support centre. The homes and the centre provide accommodation and facilities for military veterans.
Do you work on community projects?
Often — a community centre at Carrbrook, a lifeguard station for the RNLI at Birkenhead, a community bike library.
Tell us what needs lifting
Tell us what you need lifting or transporting and we will come back with a vehicle and a price.
