Simone takes a trip to Pocklington to meet Peter Sharp of CLDH Fencing.

For CLDH Fencing, the close-knit unit of this family run business has been a formula for achievement now for little under a decade. The company covers a sixty mile radius stretching from Catterick to the East Coast and, located just outside Pocklington, a lovely village near York, CLDH are in a terrific vantage point for business and positioned inside the majestic North Yorkshire countryside.  In meeting the director Peter Sharp, it is easy to perceive of a deep-rooted contentment at the core of the company and indeed, if success is not on one’s own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in one’s heart, then it is not a success at all.

The business specialises in the supply and installation of many different types of fencing and gates to suit a range of different purposes. From agriculture to security to highway, Peter maintains that ‘no job is too small or too big’. CLDH own the necessary equipment to carry out many different types of work to the best standard, such as JCB Fastrac with Quick Fencer and Bryce Suma Postdriver, 360 Digger, Tractor driven Chipper for clearing boundaries and four by four vehicles to handle difficult terrain. One of the advantages of the equipment CLDH hold is the smooth running of a recent contract for 4500m post and wire fencing with sixteen timber gates which was completed in a matter of weeks, on time and on budget. The company have been trading as CLDH Ltd since 2001, and previous to that, traded as a sole trader.

Timber is and has always been an integral part of Peter’s life. His father was the owner of Sharp Timber, another success story, which was set up in the 1960s and remained trading well into the 1980s. Though his father is now retired, Peter recounts the moments in which he used to go into the yard to assist his Father when he was a little lad. Peter now runs CLDH alongside a tight-fit team of three, including Allan who has been there for three years, Jamie of two years and Peter’s wife Marie, who manages the accounts. Peter explained that they did attempt to expand the team at one point, but then found that they were having to re-do the tasks that the expanded team had done. The three have now created a workforce so strong, that there is no need for further growth at the moment.

Health and safety is also very important to the firm, and CLDH are fully compliant with the CSCS Construction Skill Certification Scheme and hold the appropriate cards. CLDH are also constantly training and improving their records.

CLDH also run a flourishing tree surgery side to the business, which represents 10% of the company’s income. Alongside such ventures, they also carry out some sub-contract work for Burns Fencing in Doncaster, with whom they recently carried out work on the Scarborough by-pass. One of the firm’s major clients is Millington Grange, the four-farm estate based in North Yorkshire. The two have worked together for the past seven years, with CLDH keeping and maintaining Millington Estate, and as such have built a positive working relationship with them over the years.