Our Story

Our team has formed to do what we can to use our areas of knowledge and expertise to contribute to making the world a better place for generations to come.

We’re community focused, inclusive, proactive, friendly and positive.

Rebuild incorporated in June 2021, and by January 2022 we were trading from our little shop on Kingmoor Park North. The team gradually grew, and almost a year to the day we moved in to our new premises within the same building. In the first year of operating we saved over 100 tonnes of materials from going into down-cycling and landfill. We worked with 30 community groups to provide free materials for projects, and we saved 7.6 tonnes of embedded carbon in the first 8 months of operations.

Emma

Emma has worked most of her career in the construction industry. She is Managing Director for Story Contracting’s Construction division and Chairs Cumbria LEPs Construction sector panel. She is also interested in local economic development; she Chairs Carlisle’s Town Deal Board and is on the Borderlands Economic Forum. She is energetic, passionate and full of ideas (too many ideas!). She also gets things done. And she cares deeply about sustainability and being a force for good.

Maisie

Maisie loves spreadsheets and to do lists and is utterly content that she gets to use both extensively working with Rebuild. She sings loudly, cooks ‘creatively’ and gardens enthusiastically. At the weekend you can find her up a hill, tending her beehives or masterplanning the next adventure with her collie Fast Geoff. Maisie has managed an extensive range of projects for third sector organisations both in her home county of Cumbria as well as further afield in London, Devon, Nigeria and Tanzania. She is determined to leave the world a better place than when she entered it. Her current plan to do this includes copious amounts of tea.

Mark

Mark is our Non-exec Director and chief critical friend. Currently Managing Director of H&H Land and Estates, Mark brings a wealth of experience from a distinguished Cumbrian career previously working for Sellafield, and more recently with BAE Systems and as Head of Strategy and Policy for Cumbria LEP. Mark is a down to earth Barrovian who runs on default positive, seeing the best in people and supporting everyone to reach their potential. He is on his second round of Wainwright bagging, this time with his dog Woody.

Debbie

Debbie is somewhat of a Circular Economy geek. This is fuelled by the belief that creating a CircularEconomy is part of the solution to get us humans out of the mess we have made, and are continuing to make, of the planet. We have spent too long chasing profits at all costs, losing sight of how crucial it is to equally balance profit, people and the planet. However, she has faith (most of the time) that we can work together to make a difference and turn things around.

Debbie spent a good proportion of her career in marketing and business development. Her interest in sustainability and more recently the circular economy began whilst working in the built environment sector, culminating in undertaking a PG Cert in Innovation, Enterprise and the Circular Economy. Increasing involvement with the CE agenda over a number of years through work and being co-organiser of the local chapter of the Circular Economy Club resulted in Debbie establishing Cirklo Consult to focus on circular economy related training, education and advisory projects. In addition to The Rebuild Site, Cirklo project work and involvement with a number of circular economy working groups, Debbie now also works part time with EnTRESS at the University of Wolverhampton supporting SMEs to adopt sustainable, circular strategies.

Helen

Helen, our fantastic Shop Manager, joined Rebuild in August 2022. With a background in retail, Helen brings an infectious positive outlook to the team, and is the driving force behind shop operations. She takes a pride in customer service and is often seen welcoming everyone who visits the shop, encouraging our volunteers to reach their potential, or whizzing around the depot on our forklift with a big grin on her face.

OUR ETHOS

Our vision is to contribute proactively and practically to the creation of a genuinely sustainable construction industry, one that generates zero avoidable waste and zero pollution, and delivers social, environmental and biodiversity net gain.

We are enabling, inclusive, proactive and sustainable.