Talking About Regeneration

bpha’s Ashburnham Court

Steve Storey, Senior Regeneration Manager at bpha, talks to LABM about Vista, the housing association’s exciting regeneration project to improve the living experience of its customers in several of its Bedford tower blocks.

The 14 blocks within the town are home to over 1,000 residents. Built in the 1950s and 1960s, nine of the blocks are classed as high-risk residential buildings (HRRB) being over 18 metres in height.

To ensure they are fit for the future and continue being desirable places for our residents to live, in 2018 we conducted a full review and condition survey of all the blocks. This assessed environmental performance, safety and general appearance. Although structurally sound, the main issue was their ability to retain warmth. Concerns over fuel poverty for many households and the rising costs of energy, meant that instead of just replacing windows and roofs, we took a more holistic approach to refurbishing the blocks.

To address these issues and to achieve bpha’s goal of getting all our homes to at least a Band C EPC rating, we are externally insulating the blocks while installing new windows and roofing. With new rainscreen cladding, the new external insulation will protect the buildings from water, reduce heat loss in the winter, and ensure the flats stay cooler in summer.

We discussed our plans through a series of face-to-face consultations with

bpha’s Vista project will see 14 tower blocks in Bedford regenerated

our customers. It was a great opportunity to hear and respond to questions, including any concerns regarding cladding on high-rise buildings. We received helpful insight on how residents use their communal areas and what improvements they would like to see.

Scope of works

We expanded the scope of the project to include updating internal areas. This included redecoration, installation of new sprinkler systems, new security systems and installing new high-speed broadband to provide an improved IT and TV service. At Ashburnham Court, to make the block safer, we replaced gas boilers with a new energyefficient central heating system. We also increased the size of the lifts to make them more accessible for residents and their visitors. We followed Public Contract Regulations and advertised the opportunity to deliver the works through Official Journal of European Union (OJEU), allowing all suitably sized and experienced contractors to express interest. We were keen to not only improve the homes in which our residents live but create an environment and community they could be proud to be part of.

A significant part of the tender process involved demonstrating social value and how residents’ lives would be enhanced during and, more importantly, after the works had completed. The expectations included ‘into work’ training, IT support and wellbeing activities. The successful contractor was United Living (South) Ltd, who now provides this training.

Due to the scale of the project and the number of high-rise buildings involved, we took a phased approach with Ashburnham Court in the heart of Bedford being the first block in the programme to be refurbished.

The tendering process coincided with the start of COVID and this made continuing to engage with residents on a face-to-face basis difficult, with early meetings between residents and United Living (South) Ltd, online.

In 2018 bpha conducted a full review and condition survey of all its tower blocks

“A significant part of the tender process involved demonstrating social value and how residents’ lives would be enhanced during and, more importantly, after the works had completed.”

Resident engagement

As part of bpha’s commitment to continue to engage with residents a virtual engagement platform was introduced called The Place. This allowed residents to receive updates and information, ask questions and discuss the works. We asked what social value initiatives they would like to see that would benefit them and their community.

In July 2021 we were finally able to hold an in person ‘Meet the Contractor’ event in the gardens of Ashburnham Court, giving the residents an opportunity to meet the team, view samples of the cladding and windows, and discuss the significant improvement to heat retention from the new external insulation. We were also able to explain how new balcony enclosures would create new all year round ‘winter gardens’.

The refurbishment of Ashburnham Court is anticipated to take 12 months. Works started in October 2021, with new windows installed along with the new, more efficient, heating system.

The next phase of the project, due to start in winter 2022, will see similar improvements and enhancements to our blocks at Bury Court and Brickhill, increasing their longevity and sustainability and ensuring they become places where our residents love to live.