Warner Estate regeneration

The estate has a large percentage of elderly residents and the improvement work has had to be handled in a sensitive and tactful manner to ensure residents were not overly disturbed and distressed by the refurbishments.

Jenny Guilfoyle, Business Growth Project Manager for the Warner estate said, “The refurbishment team has worked closely with residents to try to ensure that the effect of the refurbishment process on them has been as minimal as possible.

The majority of the residents on the estate are older persons, often in their 70s, 80s and 90s and therefore more vulnerable than other residents.

We need residents to temporarily decant due to the significant scope of works being carried out in the properties. However, despite living in unmodernised homes, many residents were very reluctant to move temporarily as they were worried by the thought of the upheaval.”

The team has worked closely with residents to gain their trust of the refurbishment process, and to deal with any practical and emotional challenges that they had including handling any bills that needed to be transferred and arranging the temporary storage of furniture. Circle 33 also worked with Waltham Forest Council on an innovative leasing scheme.

Jenny concluded, “The success we have achieved on the Warner estate so far has been down to our dedication to ensuring that we work closely with the residents. Our approach has helped to guarantee that the project can move on whilst protecting a vulnerable group of residents.”

31/12/08 10:56