Brent Social Housing to Undergo £35m Works Programme

The Wates Group will deliver a £35 million major-works programme across Brent Council’s social housing portfolio, which will include measures to improve energy efficiency.

Scheduled for run for 80 weeks, the works will see improvements such as new windows, kitchens, and bathrooms, as well as lift refurbishments.

Brent Council’s fire safety and compliance will also be supported through the installation of new sprinkler systems, as well as full mechanical and electrical upgrades.

As part of the council’s retrofit strategy, the energy efficiency of these homes will also be improved by new external wall insulation.

Promise Knight, Brent’s cabinet member for housing, homelessness, and renters’ security, said:

We are committed to providing tenants with a high standard of housing across all of our estates.

“This requires regular maintenance to homes and estates, as well as refurbishment of our older housing properties, improvements to energy efficiency of our least energy-efficient homes and safety measures, including fire safety.”

The Wates Group have previously worked with the council

Wates’s previous work with Brent Council has included an array of retrofit installations to increase home efficiency following the Group’s successful retrofit pilot, which reached completion at the end of 2021.

Through the project, the Wates Retrofit team installed energy efficiency measures in void properties, taking them from an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E to B, which exceeds the government’s 2030 target for social housing.

James Gregg, managing director of Wates’s Southern planned maintenance division, said that this previous relationship equips them with an understanding of the council’s needs, and what needs to be achieved for their residents.

“This places us as an ideal repairs and maintenance partner and will enable a smooth and efficient mobilisation in the coming weeks and months,” he said.

There are many strands to social housing repairs and maintenance, all of which are important, not least fire-safety compliance and energy-efficiency retrofit.

“Delivering these aspects concurrently, as we will be for Brent Council, is a very effective way of ensuring that all repairs and maintenance needs are prioritised and delivered with real value for money.”