At Knights Brown, social value isn’t a bolt on, it’s built into how we plan, deliver and measure our work. Here, we’re sharing a snapshot of our social value highlights, demonstrating how infrastructure projects can deliver benefits that are both tangible and measurable, for people, places and the environment.
Across coastal protection schemes and complex live environments, our focus is community trust, local opportunity and lasting legacy.
Putting communities first from day one
Major infrastructure brings disruption, especially in cherished coastal locations. Our teams prioritise early, consistent engagement to build trust long before projects reach their most visible stages.
Throughout the Mumbles Coastal Protection Scheme (CPS), more than 39 public engagement events were delivered, supported by full‑time public liaison officers and clear, accessible communications for residents and businesses. Engagement ranged from face‑to‑face sessions and local noticeboards to digital updates, QR‑coded information and social media activity that reached thousands of people.
Alongside resident engagement dedicated monthly business forum events have been established for the Paignton and Preston Waterfront Scheme. Developed in partnership with Torbay Council, they provide local businesses with regular project updates and a direct route to raise questions or concerns with the project team.
From adapting programmes around peak tourism periods to creating pop‑up trading spaces for local businesses, we take practical decisions to keep communities moving and livelihoods protected.
The result isn’t just progress on site; it’s stronger relationships, reduced scepticism and genuine local support built over time.
Keeping investment local
Supporting local economies remains a cornerstone of our approach to social value.
Through deliberate, early supply‑chain decisions, Mumbles CPS achieved 86% local spend, significantly exceeding original targets and delivering 172% of the expected local economic benefit. By planning locally before breaking ground, investment has been channelled into regional businesses, strengthening supply chains and keeping value within the communities where we work.
At the Paignton & Preston Waterfront Scheme we have created local employment opportunities across a range of site‑based and support roles, working in partnership with employment services, local authorities and community organisations.
These outcomes don’t happen by accident. They’re the result of treating local procurement as a strategic choice rather than a contractual requirement.
Skills, careers and progression
Delivering long‑term opportunity is central to what social value means in practice.
For Mumbles CPS, nine apprenticeships were created, more than doubling our original commitment. In parallel, 1,099 apprenticeship weeks were delivered, exceeding target by more than two and a half times, supporting sustained learning rather than short‑term placements. We complemented this with more than 1,300 hours of CPD and upskilling.
Targeted partnerships helped widen access to opportunity, focusing on people furthest from the employment market. Crucially, the individuals recruited through these programmes have been retained and continue their career progression within Knights Brown ensuring that skills investment delivers lasting benefit.
At Paignton and Preston, targeted recruitment partnerships are helping create local employment opportunities across a range of site and admin roles by working closely with Jobcentre Plus, Torbay Council and local employment support organisations such as Torbay’s Foundations For Work.
Social value delivery also extends to those furthest from the employment market. Through collaboration with HMP Channings Wood, the project is supporting improved employability outcomes for people approaching release, helping them access pathways into sustainable construction careers.
Education, engagement and legacy
A guiding principle of our approach is projects should leave something positive behind.
Education and engagement initiatives at Mumbles CPS supported more than 300 students through school assemblies, classroom resources, site engagement and employability workshops. Bespoke bilingual (Welsh/English) learning materials, linked directly to the national curriculum, have been designed to remain in use well beyond construction programmes.
Education engagement at Paignton and Preston focuses on employability as well as awareness, with school sessions at Paignton Academy and interview skills workshops delivered in partnership with South Devon College to help students prepare for entry into work.
By embedding education into project delivery, learning becomes shared, visible and enduring, connecting young people to both place and possibility.
Environmental value that goes further
Environmental social value goes beyond compliance.
Carbon reduction measures, renewable electricity use and material efficiency at Mumbles delivered a 42‑tonne reduction in CO₂ emissions. Alongside this, an innovative approach to biodiversity was introduced, integrating specialist habitat features within the coastal defences, transforming this essential infrastructure into an active marine environment.
These initiatives demonstrate how resilience, sustainability and environmental improvement can be delivered together, protecting communities while enhancing the natural environment.
Giving back to communities
Our team at Mumbles contributed over 1,000 volunteering hours, supporting community clean‑ups, local initiatives and charity activity. This has been complemented by £10,000 in donations and sponsorship, reinforcing our commitment to supporting the places where we live and work.
Beyond the site boundary, our team at Paignton and Preston is supporting community events that matter locally, including sponsorship of the Torbay Half Marathon and volunteering support for the English Riviera Air Show, reinforcing a commitment to local pride as well as project delivery.
Measuring what matters
We underpin our social value delivery with a robust measurement framework that tracks economic, social and environmental outcomes. At Mumbles this was complemented by our client’s bespoke programme, holding us to account for the community’s local priorities.
Overall, the project achieved 100% for total social and economic value. It also achieved a perfect 45/45 Considerate Constructors Scheme score across community engagement, workforce wellbeing and site management.
Data provides accountability. Stories give meaning. Together, they ensure social value is both credible and human.
Looking ahead
These social value highlights reinforce a clear message: when social value is embedded early, resourced properly and designed for legacy, infrastructure can do more than solve technical challenges.
It can build trust, create opportunity and leave communities stronger than before.
That approach continues to shape how we plan and deliver every project that follows.
