York-based house building giant Persimmon plc said on Friday it will begin “a phased restart to work on site” with effect from Monday, April 27, “in response to the UK Government’s objective of getting the construction sector back to work.”

Persimmon CEO David Jenkinson said: “The UK Government has been very clear on the importance of the construction sector to the UK economy and its desire to see activity continue through the current period of crisis, provided appropriate public health measures are adopted.  

“Nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and wellbeing of the public, our colleagues, sub-contractors and suppliers.

“Having spent the last month developing and testing new site protocols that incorporate the necessary social distancing and protective measures, we believe that we are now able to return to site safely and support the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

“These new measures are fully compliant with Government public health guidance and will be strictly enforced by a specialist team, with any individual failing to uphold standards being subject to disciplinary action and removal from site. 

“Persimmon’s strong financial liquidity has enabled us to maintain our operational capability through this period by supporting all our colleagues on full pay, which will allow us to reopen sites swiftly, and emerge from the shutdown well-prepared and ready to deliver the new homes the country needs, aided by our strong work in progress position.”