On a cloudy, breezy Friday morning teams from Bassett House, Aspin, CRC, Fairhaven, Hope Lodge School and Anglesey Lodge visited QE2 Activity Centre to take part in the first QE2/Hampshire Autistic Society Canoe Regatta. Following a set of hard fought heats the final was between teams from Bassett, CRC and Hope Lodge.

Bassett took an early lead from the first mark with CRC in hot pursuit. A late challenge from Hope Lodge was thwarted by an enthusiastic CRC but in the end it was Bassett who won the day - and the Cup.

The event was sponsored by Foreman Homes who provided a barbecue and the Winner's Cup. Thanks to Graham Foreman and his colleagues; thanks to everyone who took part and thanks to the QE2 staff who worked so hard to make it happen. And congratulations to Bassett House!

Freegrounds Junior School in Hedge End are again celebrating sporting success. Their football and netball teams have won their respective Eastleigh and District Leagues, and it appears that this is becoming a habit.

The footballers have been crowned champions for three out of the last four years, while the netball team have won twice in a row.

Head Teacher Malcolm Barrett commented: “I am grateful to our staff who coach the children in all weathers to bring such success, and to Foreman Homes who sponsor our teams.”

Foreman Homes has forged an exclusive partnership with Freegrounds Junior School, sponsoring the School’s sports teams since 2003.

Managing Director, Graham Foreman, commented: “Freegounds Junior School have achieved fantastic results again this year and we are proud to have been associated with their success over the past 3 years.”

Foreman Homes is proud to be supporting local education by sponsoring Freegrounds Junior School in Hedge End, Southampton.

The local housebuilder has forged an exclusive partnership with Freegrounds Junior School, giving them the opportunity to invest in education - arguably the most fundamental and important experience in anyone’s life – and put something back into the community.

Managing Director Graham Foreman says: "We have always taken our role in the community very seriously. There is increased pressure nowadays for companies to be more responsible in their communities and I'm proud to be able to say this is something that we've taken to heart."

Foreman Homes has been working with Freegrounds Junior School since 2004, initially sponsoring the School’s football and netball teams. The partnership has further developed and Foreman Homes will this year be constructing and providing the building materials for a new petanque court and an outbuilding for the School’s golf course.

Tim Simmonite, Deputy Headteacher of Freegrounds Junior School, adds: “We are delighted to have entered into a partnership with Foreman Homes. It is wonderful that a local business associated with the school feels they can support and extend our children’s education in such positive ways as our petanque court, sports kit and golf course”.

The first site to commence following Michael Avery joining the successful team at Foreman Homes as Construction Manager connects him with his past.

Michael has over 3 decades of experience working within the construction industry and during his career had the opportunity to work on a number of royal residences whilst working as part of a team who maintain and renovate buildings owned by the crown estate.

Michael said “I’ve always had a keen interest in history and enjoyed my work on the royal residences. I was pleasantly surprised to see upon perusing the plans for this new development that Foreman Homes’ architects had incorporated many of the features of key interest to the original building and had replicated a heritage of the local area within their design”

Company Secretary Karen Spake said “Nigel Wood of West End historical Society contacted me some time ago after hearing about us developing the site and we agreed from the outset that we would be happy to allow the society access to the site prior to demolition, to take photographs and should there be anything of historical interest we would arrange for it to be donated to the local museum. Following our meeting on Monday 30th October 2006 we agreed to donate the decorative stain glassed window panels to the side of the front door, the sign written window panel and an original gas lamp. “Foreman Homes are pleased to be in a position to assist the society in prolonging our history and giving the public the opportunity to view objects used by our ancestors".

In anticipation of the release of their new contemporary development of twelve one and two bedroom stylish apartments in Toynbee Road, Eastleigh, local house builders Foreman Homes Ltd enlisted the help of the children at the neighbouring Crescent Primary School in Toynbee Road, Eastleigh by running a competition for the children to name the new development.

First prize of £100 worth of Toy “R” Us vouchers was won by to 10 year old “Adam” with his entry of “Cresbee Court”. Adam said he chose the name Cresbee Court because the flats are near the Crescent Primary School and are in Toynbee Road.

Company Secretary Karen Spake said, “As a company we pride ourselves in getting involved within the local community, and as this development is conveniently located near The Crescent Primary School it was an ideal opportunity for us to involve the local children. The Directors of Foreman Homes greatly enjoyed reading all of the entries and found the children’s artwork very impressive and the reasons for choosing their particular name for the development were incredibly entertaining. I especially enjoyed our second place winner Alice’s entry of “Blocker Flats”. I must give a special thank you to all of the staff at The Crescent School for their assistance in organising the distribution and collection of the entry forms and to all the children for taking part in the competition

I would also like to say a special thank you to everyone at Royal Mail and Eastleigh Borough Council Highways Department for agreeing to allow the children to name the development”.

Third place, and a prize of £50 Toys ”R” Us vouchers were given to Ryan for his entry of “Whopping Willow”. Two computers were also donated to the information Technology department of the school by Foreman Homes for all the children to enjoy.

Cricketers Nic Pothas, Dominic Thornly and Dimitri Mascarenhas are used to performing in front of a crowd but not the sort that greeted them at Park Gate for the launch of the brand new Foreman Homes development Cavendish Place.

Foreman Homes have had an association with Hampshire County Cricket since the club’s move to The Rosebowl in 2002 so the trio were invited by the Directors to officially launch the sale of the modern one and two bedroom apartments and the opening offers available.

Director of Foreman Homes, Karen Spake said, “As one of the official sponsors of Hampshire Cricket we are extremely proud that the provillion end of the Rose Bowl is known as the" Foreman Homes End" and because of our association with Hampshire Cricket we thought it made sense to invite some of the team members to join us at the official opening of our Flagship site in Park Gate." During the very successful evening a shirt signed by all of the Cricket Team was raffled and the sum of £200 was raised and donated to the BBC Daisy Appeal and we would like to thank everyone who helped to make the evening such a success.

The apartments have been designed to meet the needs of the younger executives that are moving to the area in increasing numbers due to the fantastic transport links to major commuter routes and the growth of businesses in the area. Each is built with to a high specification with contemporary fixtures and fittings in kitchens and bathrooms and comfortable living space throughout.

As it becomes increasingly difficult for younger homebuyers to get on to the first rung of the property ladder Foreman Homes have specifically addressed this housing issue and are building to meet the growing demand of this demographic.

Cavendish Place has everything to offer for retail, leisure and pleasure and combines convenience and comfort with style and individuality.

For further information on the Cavendish Place development call the Foreman Homes Sales Hotline on 0845 450 771

On the 1st April 2006 Company Accountant Nick Hardcastle will be appointed as Financial Director to Foreman Homes. Nick joined the company in May 2002 as an accounts manager and through hard work and strength of mind he was promoted to Company Accountant in September 04. Heading up a very competent team dedicated to achieving the targets set, his ability and commitment to the business was quickly realised by the directors and as the Chairman of the board Alan Foreman said “the Company prides itself on recognising and rewarding talent and Nick is thoroughly deserving of his new position”.

Foreman Homes are to be implement the COINS integrated House Building system.

Last year was a significant landmark for the company with over 200 new homes being built in a year for the first time in the company’s 10 year history. Foreman Homes are growing rapidly and have also recently moved premises to support the growth.

Nick Hardcastle, Financial Director ‘the company has grown significantly and we needed to review our current systems. Initially we looked at just finance based systems but we concluded that these would have given limited business benefits over and above what we already have. We then reviewed COINS and it quickly became apparent that it would provide us with a system that not only supports the finance function but provides support for our key commercial functions. For example there are modules to support the acquisition of Land, Cashflow Forecasting, Sub-contractor Valuations and Procurement. There are other systems which have these capabilities but the coins system is one integrated system and is not reliant on separate systems having to interface with one another’.

Our ethos is not just about building houses it's about building homes and we are totally committed to providing the highest level of service up to and including the purchase and beyond, with our dedicated after-sales service. The coins House Sales and Customer Care systems that will implemented as part of this project will enhance this level of service even further. Nick adds ‘coins will provide us with a total cradle to grave solution in this area. We will quickly be able to identify which sub-contractors have worked on a home should a defect be reported’.

When it comes to sporting success youngsters at Hedge End's Freegrounds Junior School just can't get out of the habit of winning.

Freegrounds' A team have recently won an Eastleigh junior football league with the B team finishing runner-up. The team are sponsored by developer Foreman Homes as part of a corporate responsibility strategy.

Managing Director Graham Foreman (pictured above with the football and netball teams) said "We have always taken our role in the community very seriously. There is increased pressure nowadays for companies to be more responsible in their communities and I'm proud to be able to say this is something that we've taken to heart."

The strategy involves, among other things, construction of community facilities in areas that are being developed, regeneration of existing facilities and transport networks and involvement within the community and local schools.

Marketing Manager Tracey Heard added: "Freegrounds was a natural choice for us. It's fantastic to hear how well they've done this year and we wish them every success for the next season."

The new Foreman Homes development ‘Daisy Fields’ is launched this weekend in the bustling village of Fair Oak. The uniquely designed homes include bungalows, apartments and houses, situated within walking distance of some of the best educational establishments the area has to offer and a huge range of shops and facilities.

As part of the ongoing corporate social responsibility strategy employed by the developer, a charitable donation was made last weekend to Wyvern Day Nursery for Dr Barnados and the ‘Improve the Pre-school Play Area’ fund.

Director Karen Spake said, "It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to help facilitate the construction of the new play area for the toddlers, especially as it is such a key stage of the children's personal development and this play area will help to build on their social interaction skills. At Foreman Homes we like to take an interest in the communities in which we build and as we will shortly be launching our new development ‘Daisy Fields’ close to the school this was a perfect opportunity for us to be able to do just that”.

The energetic youngsters of the Nursery held a sponsored toddle of half a mile in aid of the Dr Barnados charity and the money raised from a fete held on the day was matched by Foreman Homes for the Play Area Fund.

Jane Lyons, Day Nursery Manageress said, “We all had such good fun on the day and raising as much money as we did for the play area was a bonus. We are grateful for all of the support that we received from the parents and would like to say an extra big thank-you to Foreman Homes for matching the amount that we raised".