Pictured above: Preparing to bury the time capsule -
(back L-R) Guy Higgins, managing director, William Davis, Cllr.
Geoff Morrison, Major of East Staffordshire, Ellia Hallow, Grange
Community School and Eddie Davis, chairman, William Davis with
(front L-R) Paul Blackshaw, project manager, Trent & Dove and
Neil Hurst, site manager William Davis.
A time capsule, designed to give children in 50 years time a
sample of what life was like in 2009, has been buried on the site
of a new £3.2m housing development in Burton-on-Trent.
Partners on the scheme, Loughborough-based contractor and
developer William Davis Ltd and Registered Social Landlord (RSL)
Trent & Dove Housing Ltd, approached children from two local
schools - Paget High School and Grange Community School - to
contribute to a commemoration of life in 2009 by burying a time
capsule on the site.
The children produced a variety of work which was sealed in the
time capsule, including examples of their likes and dislikes e.g.
The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent; current affairs e.g. swine
flu, the credit crunch, as well as poetry and drawings of how they
envisage life in 2059, when the capsule will be unearthed.
Pictured above: (Front L-R) Neil Hurst, site manager,
William Davis Ltd and Paul Blackshaw, project manager, Trent &
Dove bury the time capsule whilst being observed by children from
Paget High School and Grange Community School and representatives
from William Davis and Trent & Dove Housing.
The time capsule was buried by representatives from both scheme
partners and the two schools in the presence of the Mayor of East
Staffordshire, Cllr. Geoff Morrison.
Guy Higgins, managing director, William Davis said: "Our work
with local communities is extremely important and we endeavour to
achieve high levels of involvement wherever possible. I have been
both surprised and impressed by the breadth of work produced by the
children from these two schools, as I am sure those who uncover and
open the capsule will too."
Ron Dougan, chief executive of Trent & Dove added: "As part
of the Corporate Social Responsibilities shared by Trent & Dove
and its partners we work with the local community in all aspects of
our work. As the former Trading Standards building had so much
history behind it, we thought it would be a good idea to get local
children involved in leaving a message for children in the future,
to be able to see what some of the key issues were for them in
2009. The children had a fantastic time and also learnt a great
deal about building site safety. "
Part funded by the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) with a
£1.5m grant from the National Affordable Housing Programme,
the scheme, formerly the Staffordshire County Council Trading
Standards building, will create 34 stylish 'city-living' apartments
complete with car parking, a communal landscaped area and three
covered cycle stores. All the properties have been designed to
achieve Code for Sustainable Homes 3 star rating and the project is
due for completion in September 2010.