POLYBOUND JOIN DIY SOS: THE BIG BUILD FOR CHILDREN IN NEED

The community-focused team at resin bound suppliers Polybound have been working hard to restore the outdoor area for a local charity, as part of the BBC’s DIY SOS: The Big Build project for Children in Need.

Brighouse-based Polybound donated resins, aggregates, binders, and rubber EPDM granules to the Getaway Girls, as part of a life-changing transformation of their headquarters for the popular BBC One series hosted by Nick Knowles.

The Getaway Girls was founded in 1987 to empower girls and young women to support each other to build confidence and resilience, raise aspirations, develop new skills, and take positive risks in a positive environment which offers cooperation and support.

However, the charity’s outreach centre in Seacroft needed some major renovation. It was a project that Children in Need and the DIY SOS team, headed by Nick Knowles and designer Gabrielle Blackman and supported by Radio 2 stars Zoe Ball and Scott Mills, took on with an army of volunteers, including the Polybound team.

The charity is enthusiastic about giving young women the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities and adventure education – an ethos that spurred the Polybound team to offer their resin and rubber products and installation services for the show.

The new building includes offices, a creche, activity spaces, a music and media studio, counselling rooms and a garden – which the Polybound crew helped to transform into a colourful space accessible to all.

The company installed safe new resin bound pathways and a vibrant garden area blending bright purple and lime green rubber granules to create a flexible, non-slip surface that perfectly matches the charity’s branding.

The team, including Polybound’s Owner and Director Liam Richards and Trade Operations Manager Michael Cummins, also rolled up their sleeves to provide labour for three days to install the new resin bound pathways and garden area, along with their colleagues Chris Wojarski, Lewis Walker, and Ashton Rowntree, who all gave their time to complete the installation in record time.

Liam Richards, Owner and Director of Polybound commented: “When we heard that DIY SOS: The Big Build was visiting Leeds to transform the Getaway Girls headquarters, our team were keen to be involved with the project.

“Spending active time outdoors is something many of us take for granted, and providing a safe, inclusive outdoor space for the young women to use – whatever the weather – was a truly rewarding experience for our whole team.

“It was a very busy few days, but to see the finished results thanks to all the hard work and generosity of the tradespeople and DIY SOS team, made it all worthwhile. It’s an experience we will never forget – and the knowledge that we’ve helped, in some small way, to change these young women’s lives for the better is absolutely amazing.”

Polybound, along with sister company Resinbound Surfaces, who provided the labour and installation, supplied their high-quality resin products to ensure the longevity of the new outdoor space. Products included:

Rubber flooring:

• Black SBR (recycled tyres) to provide a solid foundation for the rubber installation
• Dark lime green and bright purple runner EPDM safety granules mixed with a clear binder

Resin bound pathways:

• Clean, washed, and dried aggregates in a mix of golden quartz and autumn quartz colours
• Anti-slip dried sand finish, mixed with a commercial-grade non-UV resin binder

The Polybound team had plenty of support from fellow tradespeople in the community and would like to thank their supplier Pennine Aggregates for providing the aggregates and local haulage company Shipley Transports for delivering the materials directly to the DIY SOS site free of charge.

Flavia Docherty, Director of Getaway Girls commented: “We are thrilled to have been given this amazing opportunity and couldn’t be more excited for the future of the charity. The new space will provide the chance for us to support even more girls from across the city and make a positive difference in their lives.”

To find out more about the important work that the Getaway Girls provide to girls and young women in Leeds, visit their website.