All 150 Tulloch Homes' staff all back at work following coronavirus lockdown
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Tulloch Homes has taken its 150 employees fully off furlough and brought back its local sub-contractors.
The Highlands’ largest housebuilder reports that a surge in pent-up demand has continued for its new homes.
Sales for the past eight weeks are now 28 per cent higher than the same period last year.
“We feel there is a responsibility on us, in the circumstances of the pandemic, to provide work and retain jobs,” chief executive George Fraser said.
“Therefore, it is good for the community for us to have taken all our people off furlough and to be generating work again for our sub-contractors and supply chain in Inverness and Easter Ross.
“Our initial sales rush, after our sales offices had been shut for so long, was a real boost, but it is even more encouraging that the rate of new sales is now actually increasing.
“Strong demand is certainly there, with homebuyers in the post-lockdown era seeking extra office space to do their jobs along with a nice garden. Our enquiry rates are showing us evidence that more people want to come and live and work in the Inverness area, which is good news for the city.
“We’re also keen to play our part in supplying much-needed affordable housing.”
He praised Tulloch Homes’ staff for adapting well to new post-lockdown ways of working, with a range of anti-virus procedures in place, including staggered shift patterns and enhanced hygiene regimes.
In-depth inductions and regular briefings have helped the workforce’s awareness of the changes in their working environment, he said.
He added: “Some of these measures will become the normal.
“Improved dialogue between trades on site has brought ideas-sharing.
“This protects health and safety and we’re proud of the way our teams have adapted.”
In terms of the firm’s current workload, Mr Fraser said that having concluded the sale of sites at Milton of Leys to Parklands – for a care home and “longer living” housing – the final part of the community’s neighbourhood hub will be the transfer of land to Highland Council to allow Milton of Leys Primary School to be extended.
The land transfer deal has been completed and is awaiting legal documents being finalised.
The final phase of Tulloch’s development at Wester Inshes is also on the verge of being sold out, as are developments at Broomhill in Muir of Ord, Braes of Conon in Conon Bridge, and a development at Glenrothes in Fife.
Tulloch staff began to return to on-site work in July, with a range of additional safety measures put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic including staggered arrival and departure times for workers and the same for lunchtimes to cut down on infection risk.
