Father and daughter team up at Bellway development in Crawley

A father and daughter have joined forces as part of the management team running a Bellway housing development in Crawley.

Amy Somerville, 28, decided to swap her high-flying career as cabin crew for a job in the construction industry three years ago, and is now working with her dad Ken at Riverbrook Place.

Ken, 66, is senior site manager, while Amy is one of two assistant site managers at the Riverbrook Place development on Steers Lane.

“Being a member of cabin crew is not as glamorous as people might imagine and I realised it was just not for me,” said Amy, who lives in Portslade. “I spoke to Mum and Dad about trying for a job in the construction industry and both of them encouraged me to go for it.

“I was drawn to the building industry because Dad was always talking about how much he loved his job as a site manager. He always went to work with smile on his face and came home in a really good mood.”

Amy started as a trainee site manager elsewhere, then moved to another company as an assistant site manager. In July 2023, she joined Bellway as an assistant site manager.

She said: “I was delighted when I got the job with Bellway as dad was already a senior site manager with the company and I thought I could learn a lot from him.

“We are both very open about the fact that we are father and daughter and working on the same development. I don’t get any special treatment from him on site and I don’t expect or want any.

“Everyone on site has been brilliant. They have all been very welcoming and I am really enjoying learning as much as I can about my new role. Dad is an inspiration to me and I would love to follow in his footsteps and became a senior site manager.”

Ken, who lives in Burgess Hill, began his career in construction as a 19-year-old hod carrier after leaving school and trying three years in the merchant navy. In his 47 years in the industry, he has worked his way up from bricklayer to foreman to assistant site manager to site manager and construction director, taking in two spells of working abroad in Egypt and Kuwait.

“I am a quick learner and a hard worker, which is a combination that has served me well so far,” said Ken, who joined Bellway as a senior site manager in May 2022.

“Over the years, I have managed semi-professional football teams in my spare time and in that role I quickly learned an awful lot about people management and when to listen and when to speak.

“I was able to spot the players who responded well to an arm round them and those that reacted better with a more direct approach. I have brought those people skills with me into the building industry where I have to try to get the most out of the team, to get them to perform to the best of their ability.

“I am very lucky to be leading a very dedicated and talented management team, which includes my daughter Amy as one of my assistant site managers. She is very much her own person and learned a lot about the job in her three years before she joined Bellway.

“At the moment, her main role is to look after the trades on site, that is the bricklayers, the roofers and the ground workers. She is not fazed by having to take on this responsibility and it is good to see her holding her own in that environment. She has the enthusiasm and commitment to go far and, as her boss and her father, I hope she does.”

Bellway South London is building 185 new homes at Riverbrook Place, which includes a range of two to four-bedroom houses and one and two-bedroom apartments.

There is currently a selection of one-bedroom apartments and three and four-bedroom houses available to reserve at the development, with prices starting at £245,000, £455,000 and £605,000 respectively.

To find out more about the development, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/south-london/riverbrook-place or call the sales team on 01293 306782.

To find out more about careers with Bellway, visit https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/.