Discover Cormac’s journey from delivering Cornwall’s civil engineering needs to offering a true end-to-end service beyond the county
Over the past year, Cormac has achieved £144 million in annual revenue through delivery of civil engineering, highway, and environmental services,” begins Dominic Bostock, Managing Director. “We have also experienced significant improvements in public satisfaction for road maintenance, which is no small feat given local authority budget pressures.”
He continues with some more details on the latest developments. “We were delighted to secure places on two lots of the Environment Agency’s new Asset
Operation and Maintenance Framework. The framework is a national procurement exercise to secure delivery partners across the country, delivering regional solutions for the agency. Cormac will be focused on works across the Southwest of England. In practice this provides a great opportunity for us to deliver a significant amount of work in the areas of civils, construction, vegetation management and landscaping, helping us to grow as a business.
“We also delivered £38 million of social, environmental, and economic impact in Cornwall alone. We’re waiting for the data to be verified but are confident we’ll exceed that figure,” he enthuses.
“A recent restructuring of services within Cornwall Council has resulted in additional functions being transferred to Cormac. We have ensured that all staff, whether Cornwall Council or Cormac, work collaboratively to deliver improved services for residents despite the challenging budget constraints. Cormac’s specialist service, ‘Cornwall Highways’ now delivers many of the traditional client functions, taking responsibility for managing the highway network. These new arrangements optimise the use of available resources and enable greater collaboration, innovation and development of modern agile working practices. They drive continuous improvement in productivity and quality, allowing the council and Cormac to better respond to its customers.”
Positive projects
Maintaining close community relationships is important to the business. The residents of Coverack recently invited Cormac to take part in the planting of a celebratory tree, following the completion of the £3.25 million coastal defence project that now protects the village, its main access road and coastline. “We are incredibly proud to have worked on that project to safeguard the community, its main access road, and the coastline with a fifty-seven-metre-long reinforced concrete wall, and eight thousand tonnes of granite rock armour,” Dominic shares.
“Likewise, our work on the Newquay Strategic Route is progressing well and is set to open later this year. We are delivering this project on behalf of Cornwall Council in partnership with Network Rail and the Duchy of Cornwall to unlock growth in Cornwall’s largest urban extension. We are also constructing Fordh Langarth, a main ‘spine’ road connecting Cornwall’s city with a new garden village, following several years of pre-construction work. A vital aspect of this project is our commitment to sustainable development and ensuring critical infrastructure is in place before homes are built.
“Our design, project management, and construction activities have also led to the completion of numerous housing projects and mini-village communities. Rethinking the concept of emergency accommodation has been a significant success. This has altered perspectives, priorities, and the approach to homelessness.
“Equally, the impact of our Making Space for Nature delivery and new Urban Green Shoots projects cannot be overstated. These initiatives are enhancing the natural richness of public spaces, creating accessible green sanctuaries that impact some of Cornwall’s most deprived communities. By fostering a deeper connection with nature, especially for those who need it most, these projects are positively transforming communities and our environment,” he elaborates.
Circular economy
Sustainability sits at the heart of everything Cormac does and is deeply embedded in its business focus on a fairer, net-zero future. “We support a regional circular economy for secondary materials,” Dominic highlights, “thereby, reducing the adverse impacts associated with the extraction of raw primary resources. We have five Environment Agency-permitted sites where waste from highway construction and maintenance activities is processed into quality, affordable, and sustainable secondary aggregate products.
“We are also proud to highlight our incredible work with PPE waste; cleaning, repairing, and repurposing it into new products, some of which we are buying back. Alongside this, we are exploring opportunities to produce and use biochar to support environmental stewardship and mitigate climate change impacts. Likewise, we are championing a research and development project to promote ocean health. We supply a by-product from our quarry to create custom-made blocks that encourage marine organisms to colonise in coastal areas.
“Our volunteering programmes facilitated more than 28,000 community volunteering hours last year, helping residents develop new wildlife-friendly skills and a sense of achievement. We have also switched to a green energy provider, partnered on a £1.6 million pilot project to extract biomethane fuel from dairy farm slurry, and invested in a 425MWh solar farm at our quarry.
“We now produce low-carbon asphalt, and we’re aiming to have a 100 per cent ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) fleet of vehicles by 2030. We’re also in the throes of delivering highway schemes through the Live Labs 2 project, pioneering the UK’s first net-zero-emission roads, which will act as a proxy for highway maintenance.
“It’s an inspiring time for us,” Dominic enthuses, “the breadth of our diverse and innovative activities is extensive, and there’s so much to talk about in terms of what we’re doing as a company. I’ve only scratched the surface, but I hope it has provided insight into how we are striving to build a sustainable future.
“As reflected by my career journey at Cormac, it is possible to have a lifelong career where individuals can continuously learn, adapt, and grow professionally, while aligning their careers with their values and aspirations. Over the last 12 months, Cormac has shown commitment to delivering value for its communities by investing over £1 million in training and development. We are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce, which is demonstrated in our early career programmes and apprenticeships.
“We support a permanent, highly skilled, fully trained workforce with quality employment. This approach also promotes skills development, allowing individuals the opportunity to maximise their capabilities and gain new skills through our mix of contracts. Our apprenticeship strategy helps local young people learn skills and gives them the opportunity for a career in Cornwall, rather than out of the county. We are also working with schools, colleges, and universities to ensure that the next generation knows the opportunities on offer in this exciting industry.”
Looking to the future, Dominic shares his hopes for the next few years. “We will continue to raise the bar in sustainability and delivering value for our communities through an impressive growth programme. We have a responsibility and opportunity to achieve highly positive outcomes for the wider environment, community, and economy across the Southwest and further afield with our growing partnerships and client base.
“Wherever we work, our deep connections in our communities give us a local perspective and a commitment to social value, making us different from other contractors. Our collaborative approach has led to considerable improvements to our services. Putting people first, our own staff and the residents we serve, allows us to ensure that we are providing a first-class delivery. Ultimately,” he concludes, “we will continue to deliver value for our communities in everything that we do.”