Works update - August 2024

Welcome to your latest resident's update from Equans. Below we have included information as displayed on your most recent quarterly resident's newsletter.

The newsletter will provide updates on the works going on across the estate and give you an opportunity to get involved.

If you have any queries about the works being undertaken by Equans, please direct your query to your appointed Resident Liaison Officer.

We would like to thank all residents who attended the recent summer fun day - it was great to be able to meet with so many of you and discuss the ongoing and upcoming works.

Site update

As we look ahead to working on the rest of the estate, we will be introducing new members of the Equans site team, including Site Managers and Resident Liaison Officers. We will send out communications specific to each block to introduce them to you, as well as provide the necessary contact details.

We are also looking to expand our site office area by adding extra office space and storage. We will be having the extra facilities delivered on 10th September, so please don't be alarmed if you see some lorries and cranes, these are only needed to lift these resources into our compound on the tennis courts. We will have teams on site to manage the movement of vehicles and minimise any disruption.

We would again like to take the opportunity to thank all residents for their ongoing support and would welcome your feedback on the project. This can be done through the resident liaison team or via the suggestion boxes we have installed in the ground floor lift lobbies at each block.

Markland House update

The scaffold erection is now fully complete to all levels and the roof, we are continuing with the external concrete and brickwork repairs. This also includes stripping the old paint coatings from the concrete balcony soffits. The roofing works are now being programmed and will commence in September along with stripping of the existing asphalt on the balconies.

We are also now arranging works to flats, our resident liaison team are working with residents to start making bookings for the removal of the shunt ducts and the follow-on kitchen, bathroom and internal works, like the installation of sprinklers and new TV and media cabling. These works will also be commencing in early September, with appointments being arranged directly with residents. Works will be completed two properties at a time starting from the top floors and working down the building - when we get to the bottom floors, the teams will then go back to the top and commence with the next two properties on each floor and again work down the building completing these in pairs.

Window design work is now concluding, and these will be going into manufacture through September. The current programmed date for delivery is the end of October with installs due to commence soon thereafter. Appointments will be made directly with residents in due course.

Frinstead House Update

We have been in contact with the adjoining properties to discuss the scaffolding and are now concluding the design work on the temporary structure. As we noted in last month's newsletter, due to some challenges with access around Frinstead and the need to arrange this with Peabody, we now propose to commence scaffolding at Dixon House next, but we will still be programming non-scaffold dependent works to start at Frinstead - these works will initially commence with the replacement of one of the lifts which is being programmed for September (the exact date will be confirmed to residents via letter in the coming weeks).

Other communal works will then follow, including the installation of the new dry riser, sprinklers and containment for the new electrical and media services. We will contact residents of Frinstead directly via letter to advise of dates for these works in the coming weeks.

Dixon House Update

We will be moving onto scaffolding at Dixon House next, but before we start this, from 2nd September, we will be removing the existing protection scaffold. Once removed, we will need to prepare the ground areas for the new scaffolding and then start to erect this from around 16th September. Letters will be sent to residents to confirm these dates.

The scaffold will be handed over in four lift intervals to allow surveys of the concrete and brickwork to commence as the structure rises. Breaking out of the repairs and stripping of the balcony soffits will also commence sequentially as the scaffold goes up the building. At the same time, we are reviewing the internal works sequence, and the current proposal will be to commence with the replacement of one of the internal lifts along with the other communal works such as a dry riser, sprinklers and containment in readiness for the new electrical services.

Letters will be sent out to residents with specific dates for each element in due course. Our resident liaison team will also be in touch shortly to begin arranging kitchen designs where necessary.

Whitstable House Update

Our resident liaison team and mechanical and electrical engineers are continuing with their surveys to Whitstable House. The plan is that this will be the last of the four towers where scaffolding will be erected, however, we are currently working with the lift contractor to programme in the first of the two lift replacements which is planned to commence mid-September. Once confirmed, letters will be sent out to all residents advising of dates and duration. If residents with mobility issues require any additional help for the duration of the lift repairs, please contact one of your resident liaison team; Jahdai on 07929 657 540 or Mohamed on 07974 288 893.

You said, we listened

Equans and RBKC received some resident feedback regarding parking issues and the difficulties that you were having - as a result of this, the teams worked closely together to find ways to strike a balance.

We are pleased that we have been able to reduce the initial number of parking permits issued, this is as a result of listening to your valued views.

Working Group Meetings

This is just a reminder about the ongoing working group meetings we hold with residents. They are open to all and present a good opportunity for you to provide us with valuable feedback. Your input is a key element that informs discussions at the regular design and progress meetings held between Equans and the RBKC client team every six weeks at the Equans site office.

Additionally, we are also collating the resident suggestions that have been provided in the suggestion boxes at each block. We would like to thank all residents who have taken the time to write and post these - suggestion boxes are checked every Friday by the site team.

Date of the next meeting: Tuesday 10th September at 6.30pm at the Equans Site Office.

If you would like a formal invite to the next Working Group Meeting, please contact RBKC's Resident Liaison Officer, Jillian Innis on 07968 379 234 or by email at capital.investment@rbkc.gov.uk

Coffee Mornings Starting Soon!

Coffee mornings will be starting in September - location details and times will be announced on the notice boards in each block.

Please click here to view a copy of the full Resident's Newsletter.