North East & Yorkshire

£6m refurbishment of Cambridge Street flats now complete.

The refurbishment of 224 flats on Cambridge Street, Hull, North Humberside, is now complete. The £6m project commenced in January 2010 and was completed in August 2011 and each of the 224 energy saving flats have now been brought up to Decent Homes Standard.

The main contractor was Bullock Construction and the architects were NPS. The project manager for NPS, Jim Holmes, said:

“It has always been an issue – whether to demolish and rebuild or refurbish buildings of this nature. In this case, it was deemed much more practical and feasible to refurbish, especially in a tight mixed urban area.

“The work has been done with residents in place. As can be expected, some have been frustrated by the intrusion. However, the vast majority have welcomed the work and appreciated the benefits it brings. As part of our plans to deal with their presence, a full risk register was carried out to give us 100% knowledge of the situation. We have had a lot of comments from residents, all of which have been taken into account, and most of which are very positive.”

As well as the full range of Decent Homes improvements, the buildings have benefited from improvements to communal areas such as stairways, corridors and lifts, and works such as new lighting, windows and insulation. The new windows, insulated walls and heating systems will help to save energy and keep costs down for the elderly residents. Slimline Building Services were responsible for the supply and fit of the external wall insulation and render.

Earlier in 2010, Hull City Council took the laudable decision to help residents to prepare for the work by helping them to cut their unneeded clutter. Elizabeth Ormerod, the council’s customer liaison officer based at the flats, was on hand to help.

She said: “Some residents are having a lot work carried out in their homes, including a new kitchen and rewiring. This is a chance to give their homes a whole new look, and some of the items they have kept for years no longer have a place. So, we arranged for a skip to be delivered and residents seized the chance to ‘de-clutter’.

“Some of the unwanted items were fairly large items of furniture, so representatives of Dove House Hospice came along and collected those they could offer for sale in their shops.”

Janine Drury, regional sales manager for Dove House, said: “We are grateful for all donations. Every item donated is turned into funds to help with the operating costs of the hospice. We wish to thank the residents of Cambridge Street flats for their support. Without donations we wouldn’t be able to continue to run the hospice.”

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