Jess Brown-Fuller MP Visits Covers Timber and Builder’s Merchant to Support Local Businesses

Jess Brown-Fuller has visited Covers Timber and Builder’s Merchant, a key local employer, to meet staff and learn more about the company’s role in supporting local construction projects and small businesses across the Chichester area. 

During her visit to the site, Jess met with the management team to gain insight into the company’s operations, including its provision of timber, building materials, and the specialist support the company provides for smaller contractors who rely on Covers for supplies.  

Jess Brown-Fuller MP with the team at Covers Timber and Builder’s Merchant Chichester. 

Covers Timber has a long history of serving the local community and supporting local trades, being founded by the Green family in Chichester in 1846. Ranked among the top 20 UK Builders Merchants, they have expanded consistently since the 1960s, providing an essential service for builders, carpenters, and other construction professionals, employing over 180 people in the Chichester area alone. 

Throughout the conversation, Rupert Green, Chairman of Covers, vocalised the difficulty in recruiting young people into certain roles such as vehicle technicians, with many of those working in the Chichester branch commuting in from Bognor, Portsmouth and other areas: Jess has been vocal in raising transport issues strangling local businesses and a barrier to growth in Chichester, recently chairing a Westminster Hall debate on Transport in the South East.  

Rupert Green, Chairman of Covers Timber & Builders Merchants added:

“We were delighted to welcome Jess Brown-Fuller MP to our Chichester site and to share more about Covers, our people, and the role we play in supporting the construction and building materials sector across the South.

The visit provided a valuable opportunity to discuss several of the practical challenges facing local businesses, including road congestion, limitations within the electricity network affecting EV charging and the export of solar energy, the importance of flood resilience, and the cost and timescales associated with the planning process for smaller projects.

Jess taking the time to visit and engage with our colleagues demonstrated a genuine interest in the issues affecting local employers, and we very much appreciated her interest and engagement.”