Posted on 04 March 2024
We’ve secured an A1 EWS1 - the highest fire safety rating for remediation work at Gary Court in Croydon.
Gary Court is a nine-storey high rise building and comprises 150 homes and several commercial units. It was built with what was later confirmed to be non-compliant and combustible elements. We applied for funding and commenced the design work. Then worked with contractor Equans and consultant Martin Arnold to carry out the major work to replace all combustible elements of all of the external walls.
Luke Driscoll, our Director of Asset Management and Sustainability, said: “Making sure our homes and residents who live in them are safe is our priority. We’re really proud of the work we’ve done at Gary Court and I’m pleased to say the work carried out has landed us an A1 EWS1 rating, which is the highest rating that can be issued by a fire engineer.”
An A1 rating means that the building is safe and does not contain any combustible materials – so no further external wall work will be needed. It also means that we as well as our residents have clarity about the external makeup of the building, knowing that it’s safe. And importantly, homeowners are now able to sell and remortgage their homes.
The remediation project cost just under £10M. Of this, we were awarded £6.4M through Government’s Building Safety Fund. So, no charges have been passed on to our residents.
Gary Court was wrapped in scaffolding for two summers – 2022/23, with the site compound completely taking over the car park and internal courtyard. We carried the work out while residents remained in their homes. The impact on residents was considerable, so resident engagement was key. We shared regular updates and held monthly meetings with residents.
The work also included redesigning the car park with a new pedestrian gate and lowering kerbs to accommodate disabled residents.
Luke added: “This was quite a unique and interesting project because we removed all individual bricks – every single brick was taken down from the walls, cleaned, stored, and then put back. That’s more than 250,000 bricks that we removed and put back on the building.
“The work we’ve completed at Gary Court ties into our Sustainability Strategy and Building Safety Programme, ensuring our homes are safe, decent and energy efficient.”
Daniel Assender, Senior Associate at Martin Arnold, said: “Hyde’s decision to remove all the combustible insulation behind the brickwork at Gary Court illustrated their commitment to resident safety.
“Constant and effective communication between all parties allowed for the successful completion of this project with a building that is now safe for residents.”
The work we carried out at Gary Court will make sure we're compliant with building safety regulations and keep our residents and their homes safe.