calfordseaden is employed as building surveyor, contract administrator, CDM co-ordinator, clerk of works and building owner's party wall surveyor on Circle Anglia's Warner Estate refurbishment programme, to meet Decent Homes Standards. Trevor Lee gives us an insight. 

The portfolio at Warner Estate consists of 745 tenanted properties and a freehold of approximately 350 leasehold properties, predominately built between 1890 and 1930. Due to bomb damage following the two World Wars, several two and four storey blocks of flats were constructed in the 1950's providing additional housing to meet local needs. The remainder of the properties are purpose built two storey houses and flats known as half-houses.

The scope of works, spanning over approximately ten years, includes major internal and external alteration, refurbishment and modernisation and the remodelling and improvement of living areas while maintaining the original Warner hallmark - the green front door.

The majority of properties have not been modernised and so require extensive works and remodelling to meet today's standards. Approximately 10% of the housing stock had either no bathrooms or half baths built under staircases, kitchens doubling up as a kitchen/bathroom or scullery/WC. Many of the party walls between half houses comprise 25mm thick T&G timber boarding or asbestos panelling, with floors between flats comprising 19mm square edged boarding over overstressed floor joists with a soffit of lathe/plaster. Other problems encountered were poor soundproofing between properties, extensive rising/penetrating damp, timber decay, significant structural movement, and infestation of vermin, watercress beds and Japanese knotweed.

Prior to calfordseaden's appointment, 145 of the properties were refurbished between 2000/04 with grant aid through the Housing Corporation. Following discontinuation of grant funding, Circle 33 put into place a Warner Business Plan to ensure the remaining properties are refurbished by 2010/11. To enable this to happen, additional funding via a Private Sector Leasing Scheme agreement with London Borough of Waltham Forest was put into place, which offered tenants a Qualified Assured Leasehold Tenancy, which could result in a Permanent Assured Tenancy at the end of a ten year period. Auctioning the worse condition properties and recouping monies through the Section 20 Leasehold process also assisted with revenue for the project.

The residents, which are predominantly elderly, are fully supported through the difficult process of temporarily moving out for approximately six months to alternative accommodation for the duration of the works to their home. Where residents declined to move out, a reduced scope of works had to be agreed without compromising Scheme Development Standards. In order to ensue the brief and works are not compromised, regular newsletters, open days and coffee mornings are put into place. This also gives the residents an opportunity to air their concerns and to look at properties recently refurbished and view mock-ups of all the fittings and colour schemes available.
 

The programme is currently in Phase 7 (2009/10) with two local contractors, S&A Gregory Ltd and Ark Build Plc, and overseen by Sharon Blair, Circle Anglia's project team manager. The continued success of the project has also been attributed by the commitment of the Warner Team and their contractors who strive to exceed the Decent Homes Standard and over the years have become individually personally involved. Positive support from the residents throughout the whole process and the level of support from Social Services, Occupational Therapists, Police, Leaseholders and Local Authority has contributed to a very successful scheme.

For further information contact:

Trevor Lee
at our Orpington office
T 01689 888222 
E tlee@calfordseaden.co.uk