Two weeks ago today, Patrick McGinnis, founder of the Braidwater Group, along with his wife Breda, collected the Belfast Telegraph award for Property Personality of the Year.

Breda and Patrick pictured at the Braidwater Group’s Church Road development.

Patrick was praised by the judges for his contribution to house-building in Northern Ireland over the past 50 years with the Braidwater Group growing into a major housebuilder, winning awards for private and social housing developments throughout Northern Ireland.

Earlier this week, Patrick gave an interview to the Belfast Telegraph and shared his delight at winning the coveted award.

‘’Winning the award was a surprise to me but an acknowledgment of our excellent committed staff, who continue to demonstrate a drive for learning, development and professional training.

‘’Many staff members have long service to the family company and their efforts have contributed to creating a productive and happy work environment.

‘’The core characteristics of operating with a loyal and long serving team have allowed us to build a solid and innovative organisation, establishing a strong foundation for delivering high quality homes within ambitious timelines and budget.

Patrick went on to state how important it was to work within industry guidelines:

‘’Together with the National House Building Council (NHBC), and local Building Control inspectors, we have been able to form the basis of a quality system that is continuously improving and ensures our developments are built with a carbon conscience and catering to the needs of an evolving customer base.

‘’Customer service and consistent communication is of paramount importance for the Braidwater Group. We never forget why we are here and that we exist to serve our local communities. This approach to our business ensures we conduct our operations with diligence and empathy, recognising that homes simply aren’t being built quickly enough in the region.

Breda and Patrick onstage at the Belfast Telegraph Awards.

Future development was also to the fore with Patrick:

‘’Over the years, we’ve demonstrated our ability to adopt collaborative efforts to find solutions in the face of increasing legislation, compliance and developer contributions. With the rising demand for employment and quality homes, having a solutions-focused methodology has proved extremely effective in dealing with statutory approvals and timelines.

‘’This is further demonstrated with our ambitious project plan which contains over 3,500 homes in the next 10 years.

Besides the economic current climate, Patrick outlined the difficulties posed with house building in the UK:

‘’Current legislation and infrastructure constraints make delivering houses both challenging and costly. This needs to be addressed with urgency and with an equality mindset at the forefront of decision making. We need to strike a balance between those who have had the privilege to build in their locality in the past, with those who aspire to do so in the future.

Looking ahead Patrick was full of optimism and determination for the Northern Ireland housebuilding industry and the employees it relies on:

‘’Braidwater remains committed to nurturing our talented workers and providing opportunities for all which we believe will act as a major catalyst to convincing our talented young people to stay local and play a key role in urgently growing our economy.’’

He concluded, ‘’On behalf of Breda, my family and myself, I’d like to thank friends, employees, business associates, sub contractors and suppliers, who over the years have played a pivotal part in the Group’s success and have allowed me to get on with what I love doing, building good quality homes.’’