Birthday surprise for a future construction star

A young boy’s birthday wishes have been made a reality by Miller Homes, who invited the keen onlooker onto the site of their development in Frimley.

Louie Thomas, who turned six on 8 February, was surprised by his parents, Amy and Dave, who had secretly arranged with Miller Homes and Collard Contracting to let Louie – who lives with Autism – visit the site and be given the VIP treatment, even letting Louie have the opportunity to sit on the diggers and machinery used on site.

The development, off Chobham Road in Frimley, will be known as Frimley Square, replacing the recently demolished buildings which once housed Siemens’ UK operations, known as Siemens Square.

Louie – who regularly passes the site on his way to and from school – has been eagerly awaiting progress on the development since he first saw the site was derelict, and was overcome with excitement when the former buildings were demolished to make way for the new development to be built.

Louie’s Mum, Amy, said: “It’s a guaranteed topic of conversation every day before and after school, so when the first buildings came down recently, the car exploded with cheers from Louie!

“We’ve all become invested in the progress of the site through Louie’s passion. He’s a tech whizz so quickly located a YouTube channel which has drone footage of the site. Since a very young age, Louie has always been interested in the design of buildings and architecture.

“Since spotting the former Siemens building was derelict, and seeing Miller Homes’ signs go up to announce new homes were coming to the site, he’s been busily considering how the homes and infrastructure will impact people and the wider area in which we all live – I’m sure he’s going to go on to use his skills to do amazing things!”

After contacting Miller Homes to let them know it was Louie’s birthday wish to see inside the site itself, the housebuilder quickly set plans in motion to ensure the surprise for Louie could be safely and secretly delivered.

The developer made arrangements with its demolition contractors – Collard Contracting – to enable Louie to visit the site, be allowed onto some of the machinery and equipment, including an excavator, all while wearing specialised PPE. The construction companies even arranged for a birthday cake to be presented to Louie during his visit to the site.

Amy Thomas said: “It was just a dream come true for Louie, and we’re very grateful to Miller Homes and Collard Contracting for arranging this huge surprise for his birthday.

“He is so happy at being able to say he’s been to an actual construction site, which he’ll now get to watch transform into new homes, and can always say that he was one of the first people to go into that site before the new homes were built!”

Following the completion of demolition works, Miller Homes has plans to build 170 new homes at Frimley Square, the first of which will be released to the public for sale in March.

Katrina Crawford, sales and marketing director of Miller Homes Southern, said: “When we heard about Louie’s birthday wish and his passion for new homes and the construction industry, we knew we had to make his dream a reality – which we’re all really proud to say we’ve achieved.

“Louie is a fantastic character and is mature beyond his years, demonstrating his logic for how new homes can help wider society and he has a wonderful appreciation for design and technology. We’re so pleased Louie had a great birthday surprise, and we will look out for his future career in construction!”

For more information on the homes being built at Frimley Square, visit https://www.millerhomes.co.uk/new-homes/south-east/frimley-square,-frimley,-surrey.aspx.