Construction response to riot 'overwhelming'

A web site set up by two architects in response to the riots has been overwhelmed by the response from the construction industry.

Riot Rebuild matches the needs of riot victims with construction professionals willing to help in the aftermath of this weeks trouble.

Lee Wilshire, one of the founders said he was ’humbled and astounded’ by the level of support shown by members of the construction industry.

The scheme works by encouraging riot victims to post their requirements to the site alongside professionals offering skills and expertise.

Wilshire set up the website after he and fellow architecture graduate Nick Varey were inspired by the Twitter campaign ’Riot Cleanup’, which co-ordinated members of the public to sweep the streets and clean up the mess left by the riots.

Wilshire identified the need for professionals to be involved as soon as possible to start the actual rebuilding work, and set up the site to ’get the ball rolling as soon as possible’.

He said that despite it being very early days and having only promoted the scheme via Twitter and Facebook, the response had been ’overwelming’.

He said:“We’ve had a fantastic response from the industry, with people getting in touch wanting to offer their time and resources, sending guys from contractors etc.”

He added that the social media sites had helped to spread the word internationally, with people from America and Germany getting in touch to offer their moral support.

As well as Riot Rebuild, online marketplace MyBuilder.com said it had ’hundreds of tradesmen who have indicated an interest in giving up some of their time for free to help rebuild the destruction caused by the rioters’.

It is asking victims of the riots to post jobs on the site marking them ’riot repairs’ so they can match up builders or tradesmen in the area who have volunteered.

Wilshire said that Riot Rebuild planned to link up with mybuilder.com, using the contacts of the Riot Rebuild founders with the exposure of the MyBuilder website to reach even more people.

In terms of skills needed by the scheme, initially the focus is on contractors needed for boarding up and repairing damaged buildings, but longer term Wilshire says they will need the help of interior designers and planning consultants as people try and rebuild their businesses.

Information on how to offer your services to Riot Rebuild can be found here