The Bench Blog June 2025

 

Whether it’s the intrigue of those walking past, or the larger-than-life presence of the crane dominating the Dover skyline, The Bench building is already creating a stir with locals and visitors.

We caught up with quantity surveyor Lee Foottit and contracts manager Sean McLellan, both from Jenner Group and working on The Bench building, to find out more about the project and how their careers in construction have developed.

Lee has been with the company for 20 years. His experience includes a mix of commercial and residential - working on a variety of projects and more recently a high-end residential development on Folkestone Sea Front, a Care Home in Margate and a retirement living project in Chatham. 

Sean joined the Jenner Group six years ago, and before the Bench project, he was a site manager for the council’s William Muge and Snelgrove development in Dover (consisting of 29 shared ownership apartments, 24 social housing apartments, and 12 town houses). He has worked on external works for the completion of the skatepark in Folkestone and is currently also managing a housing development project in Rainham.

Starting out

The best skills to have aren’t necessarily learnt in a classroom.

Quantity surveying wasn’t a career that Lee knew about while at school. His main strengths at school were focused towards sports and maths, although he understood that the chances of pursuing a successful career in sport would be a challenge for him. It was Lee’s dad, who regularly worked alongside quantity surveyors in his career, that suggested the commercial side of construction could be a good career path to explore.

He said: “My dad and grandad were both successful brickwork and groundwork contractors, and my older brother started his career in brickwork and then later moved into groundworks, so construction has always been a common interest within the family’’.

“Whilst considering career paths, I naturally fell into work experience for both groundworks and brickwork, although I soon realised that I wasn’t the most practical of candidates and there was no real enthusiasm from my family members when I was considering a trade-based career! With maths being one of my main strengths at school, I continued to explore the commercial route of construction.’’

Lee was fortunate enough to receive a job offer from Jenner as a trainee quantity surveyor, supporting him through 4 years at college and a further 3 years at university.

Two years studying for the National Certificate of Construction at Canterbury College, followed by two years completing the Higher National Certificate in Construction at Medway College was the career path that Lee took, before going to South Bank University in London and completing a three-year Quantity Surveying degree.

Lee explains: “All my studying was completed on a day release basis, which meant it was a big commitment and took a lot longer than if I had attended full time. I was, however, able to gain invaluable construction experience whilst studying, which paid dividends when applying this knowledge within assignments and assessments.”

For the first three years of his training, Lee had a mentor at Jenner who he shadowed, learning about the job and set tasks. When doing his degree, Lee was then given more responsibility, which was then followed by assuming the role of the quantity surveyor (QS) on a residential job with somebody overseeing him. Lee started as a trainee quantity surveyor, progressing through to assistant QS and now holds a senior QS position.

Sean’s grandad also worked in construction throughout his life and often talked to him about his work. Following school, Sean went on to study a three-year Accounting and Finance degree at the University of Kent and was encouraged to earn while he studied by labouring part-time for a local contractor. This changed from a summer role to doing more work for them during term time and then working for their small works department while he was studying.

Sean said: “I got through to the final stages of selection for a graduate accountancy role but realised then that it wasn’t really what I wanted to do.

“What drew me to construction is the fact that every day is different. While I was quite good at accountancy it was quite repetitive. I’ve been involved in construction for around 15 years now, and it never gets stagnant or boring.

“There’s always something to learn, and always someone who knows how to do something quicker or better. Jenner doesn’t just build houses, so there’s always some new method or advance in technology or blend on a job. Materials are getting better, lighter and stronger. Programmes get shorter, budgets are tighter, and constraints tougher which forces you to evolve as an industry and as a team, to do things differently.”

The project

There’s a lot of local interest in the project and by those passing by

For Lee, who grew up in Dover, seeing how the town has changed over the years makes him realise this is a milestone project, and the first time he has worked on something so central to the town.

“It gives back to the community,” he said. “We are using local subcontractors where we can, including scaffolders, carpenters and electricians, and once it opens, it will give our community a much-needed opportunity to study and work locally. It gives our young people more choices – and short-term leases available for new business start-ups will encourage more people to start their own business with lower risk and the support of a brand-new building with brilliant views for promoting themselves.

The scheme has used a modern method of construction with a significant amount of additional off-site design detailing which ultimately accelerates the programme on site.

Lee explains: “We’ve got a Steel Framing System (SFS) with a brick slip façade which will replicate the appearance of traditional brickwork construction. The site is extremely challenging from a logistics point of view with minimal storage which has been one of the driving forces for a SFS system with brick slips. There’s also significant workmanship and quality control with the brick slip application over traditional brickwork’’.

On the day-to-day work schedule, Lee will often lead on issues that have a commercial impact whereas project practicalities and buildability are Sean’s area, as he notes: “Lee may confirm that something is commercially viable and it’s my job to highlight if it’s not going to work from a buildability point of view.

“I prepare the monthly progress reports for Jenner, providing an update on the programme, health and safety, procurement, instructions received, instruction required, information requests, lost time and all manner of things.

When Lee first started at Jenners (over 20 years ago), the average contract value was circa £3m, which through company growth now varies between £8m and £50m. He acknowledges the risks are so much more financial, and it’s essential that everything is accurate.

He continues: “On the Bench project, we work closely with Ellie Farlow from Atkins Realis, who is the project manager on the client side (Dover District Council). It means that we have a single point of contact which streamlines decision making.”

Key milestones

A key day will be when the crane is removed

Both Sean and Lee agree that there will be some fundamental moments in the project.

Lee said: “The building is being built around the crane. Once complete, a bigger mobile crane will lift the tower crane back out in sections which will be a nerve wrecking day for Jenner site management team!”

Sean adds: “The key dates are when we physically start on site, when we complete a floor and most definitely when we’ve completed the roof. This is called topping out, and for the Bench building, it’s scheduled to happen later this summer. Additional moments to mark include when your last brick is laid (or brick clip) and when the scaffold comes down. From that point on, it’s then the race to the end to deliver a quality job on time and to budget.”

Community

There’s a strong community feel to the project

Both Lee and Sean, who live locally in Dover and Deal respectively, conclude that there’s been a good feel to the project throughout the design and build, as Lee explains: “We’re working at pace to meet tight deadlines and there’s a real collaborative effort from the whole project team. Students will be coming into the building in September 2026, and we can’t wait to see that happen.

 “It’s on my doorstep. For me, to take my daughter for a bike ride along the seafront where she can see the crane, and then to be able to explain to her about the building and what it will be makes me feel proud – I’m working on something special in my own community.”

And finally...

 A career in construction

Our projects don’t succeed without teamwork

Sean is a big advocate for working as a team to learn your stuff: “Working with someone who was ‘old school’ and very hands on and practical taught me so much more than a textbook ever would.”

“Qualifications are not necessarily a prerequisite to any job. Education gives you a fantastic foundation, but you can learn on the job, and you can’t beat the practical side of being on site and seeing how a site does run.

“One of the joys that construction does bring is speaking to people. I get to speak to all kinds of people on a daily basis, from contractors on site through to the managing directors of various companies. Strong interpersonal skills really help in this role.

“We have people that started as site labourers who have worked their way up to handyman and finishing foreman, some who then transition to assistant site agent, and at no point does the fact that they haven’t got a degree hold them back.”

Lee adds: “My advice to anyone interested in progressing a career in construction is to invest as much time during the early years of your career in obtaining qualifications at both college and university as this will only strengthen your position as a candidate when applying for roles within the industry.’’

Sean concludes “There is a role in construction for anyone wanting to come into the industry. It’s a varied career path and we often go out to schools and colleges to promote construction and the project.”

The Bench Blog March 2025 - For International Women's Day we profiled three of our female team members working on the design, architecture and management of the project.