Consisting of almost 700 homes, the Four Squares Estate, in Bermondsey is currently receiving refurbishment works from community regeneration and housebuilding company, Keepmoat under Southwark Council’s ‘Warm, Dry & Safe’ Scheme.
As part of Keepmoat’s regeneration contract with Southwark Council, an extensive range of works are being carried out at the Four Squares estate. With plans drawn up to meet the Government’s ‘Decent Homes Standard’, regeneration works started on the large, mixed tenure, social housing estate consisting of 691 properties across four, large housing blocks (Layard, New Place, Marden and Lockwood Squares) as well as a number of street properties located on Jamaica Road.
Maintaining constant communication with residents and particularly leaseholders throughout the duration of the contract is particularly challenging due to the sheer size of the estate. With many residents being leaseholders, the site team work closely with Southwark Council to implement consultation procedures that provide detailed information for effective recharges. As residents cannot always visit the Resident Liaison Officer at the site office, a number of coffee mornings/evening surgeries were held so that residents could raise any issues they had. The site team also work collaboratively with the estate’s Tenant and Resident Association (TRA) to support their initiatives, attend their meetings and help pass on information to residents where necessary.
Prior to construction works beginning, Keepmoat also had to consider how to store and move materials around the estate as the local roads are often busy at peak times, with very restrictive parking. With a children’s nursery and primary school in close proximity of the works, protection measures had to be put in place. Therefore, Keepmoat’s site team established an effective traffic management plan allowing materials to be moved around the site safely by forklifts causing very little disruption to traffic. Keepmoat utilised some garage space at Layard and Marden Squares to store materials, minimising the need to take up extra space on each square which would have reduced parking space. In addition to this, Keepmoat landscaped a new car parking area at Marden Square to alleviate parking issues around the estate.
When works began, the site team was faced with the task of removing and rebuilding the external brickwork to several stair towers, whilst retaining the structural integrity of each tower and allowing residents to continue using the internal stairwells. With extensive surveys undertaken prior to works commencing, scaffolding was designed to allow the brickwork to be removed and rebuilt safely, in addition to replacing the existing wall ties which tie the brickwork to each tower’s concrete frame.
In addition, with a large element of the works being undertaken to the external part of the estate, Keepmoat also worked collaboratively with Southwark Council to develop the idea of installing temporary roofing to ensure the pitched to flat roof conversions could continue in times of adverse weather. Only needing to stop occasionally in times of very strong wind or heavy rain, works continued, ensuring the project remained on scheduled.
After reviewing the various types of roofing available, flat roofs have been installed, providing best value for money and longevity when compared to the existing pitched roofs. Keepmoat’s use of approved installers and relationships with the roof system manufacturers has guaranteed that leaseholders will not incur any repair costs for the new flat roofs should they fail within 30 years. This has provided peace of mind to them and assisted the Council’s recharge negotiations.
With both Layard and Marden Squares now complete, residents are already benefiting from improved living conditions that meet Southwark Council’s ‘Warm, Dry & Safe’ initiative and the Government’s ‘Decent Homes Standard’ including modern, spacious and high quality kitchens and bathrooms.
In addition to the completion of the internal works, the improved external works, (including a new sports area which was funded through shared savings), have significantly helped improve the appearance of the entire estate, making it a place where people are now proud to live. With external works currently ongoing to the last two squares, the overall project is due to complete in Summer 2016.
Key features of the project
- Demolition and rebuild of stair towers whilst residents remained in occupation
- Pitched to flat roof conversion with temporary roofing for weather protection
- Delivering a complete refurbishment service under the ‘Warm, Dry and Safe’ programme, bringing properties up to modern ‘Decent Homes’ standard
- Landscaping to create additional bays to alleviate parking issues
