TWIN brothers from Acomb have become the first apprentices to be appointed for the £25 million development of St Leonard's Place in York.

Sixteen-year-olds William and Charlie Dickinson, who left York High School this summer, have enrolled on a three-year apprenticeship with York College.

This month the duo will start working for Hall Construction Group, which was appointed by developer Rushbond to restore the former City of York Council head office in St Leonard's Place into five townhouses, 29 apartments and six mews homes.

Alex Organ, construction manager for Halls, said: "This really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these two apprentices to gain first-hand experience on a magnificent building.

"By shadowing our expert joiners, as they painstakingly restore the floor joists and floorboards through to skirting and architraves, they will learn all about the importance of bespoke workmanship, which should be hugely beneficial to them and their future careers.

"A lot of apprentices tend to work on new build projects when they first start out, and although William and Charlie will be doing some new-built joinery work on the new mews homes, they will predominately be learning about conservation, attention to detail and how to problem solve.

"William and Charlie will be able to glean a whole host of restoration techniques and skills from our joiners who have decades of joinery experience."

Built in the 19th century, St Leonard’s Place is due to be fully restored and ready for occupation next year.

The next sales release has just been launched earlier than originally planned due to success of the initial launch."

William said: "It’s a great privilege to have the opportunity to work on such an awesome building, and to play a small part in restoring St Leonard’s Place to its former glory. The fact that I get to work with my twin brother every day is also a bonus – both of us have always been really interested in construction so I feel very proud to be working alongside him for Hall Construction Group."

Charlie added: "We already feel as though we’re learning lots about the art of joinery and how important it is to get every tiny detail in a development like this exactly right.

"We spend four days a week on-site and a day at college, so it’s a great mix of theory and practice, and definitely the best way to learn."