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Liverpool Mutual Homes completed a dramatic transformation of a tired residential building into a vibrant place to live. Teodora Lyubomirova inspects


A


flagship scheme – this is how John Bowker, property services director at Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH), describes the housing association’s refurbishment of a 1960s building comprising 12


maisonettes in Wavertree, Liverpool. The residential building, on 62-72a Wellington Road, went through an


eight-month, £750,000 transformation that was completed in March. Following the refurbishment, which gave the homes a colourful new cladding and various security and energy efficiency enhancements, the scheme earned a place in the running for Best Regeneration Scheme in the 2017 Housing Excellence Awards. However, despite the building’s excellent location – on a busy street opposite


the Liverpool Aquatics Centre – years of low investment in its maintenance meant a comprehensive regeneration was urgently needed. Since 2008, when the building was transferred from Liverpool City Council to LMH, the housing association carried out various refurbishment works, including kitchen and bathroom fit-outs as part of the Decent Homes Programme, and upgrades to the communal areas. However, the persisting problems around the building’s appeal, energy


efficiency and security had hindered the community and contributed to a high tenant turnover and anti-social behaviour. With the scheme deemed ‘potentially unsustainable’, both tenants and HA staff agreed that a comprehensive refurbishment was needed.


IMPROVING THE KERB APPEAL The £750,000 regeneration reimagined the four-storey building as a “modern, attractive site that enhances the local landscape”, as LMH explained. To maximise efficiencies, the work was carried out by the association’s building and maintenance arm, Housing Maintenance Solutions (HMS), while local architects TADW provided the designs. Tenants were consulted on the proposals and were asked for feedback at least once a week during the refurbishment, with their input being fed into weekly site team progress meetings held by the contractor. In addition to the key improvements to the building fabric – which included


roof repairs, insulating, over-cladding and carrying out hard and soft landscaping works – some design flaws were also addressed. “Security was poor, waste management was problematic, parking was only available on the busy main road and the unloved communal gardens were rat infested and strewn with sharp objects,” confirmed the HA. A long-term issue, which affected the kerb appeal and caused obstructions and trip hazards, were the individual bins strewn across the front. The solution was a secure bin storage at the back of the building, with a separate access for refuse collection from the adjacent Nelson Street. Another key alteration was integrating the street parking at the rear into


the scheme. Before the refurbishment, the parking had been obscured from view by the boundary wall, prompting safety concerns. Now, an integrated, secure and well-lit car park comprising nine


parking spaces, including one disabled parking space and cycle storage, is available to residents of the maisonettes. In addition, level access was formed to all ground-floor entrances; boundary walls were replaced with new brickwork, fences or railings; fob access was devised to all entrances; and all external areas were designed to comply with Secured By Design standards.


ROOFING & FACADE The first stage of the works conducted by LMH and contractor HMS focused on roofing upgrades. HMS carried out essential fire safety works as well as structural alterations to improve efficiency, safety and design, and installed a new protective covering. The changes included replacing the existing roof with concrete roof tiles, while the party walls were extended up to the underside of the roof to reduce noise between the upper floor maisonettes. This was followed by extensive upgrades to the facade, which now give


the scheme its bright appearance. HMS added external insulation to the front and back elevations, while the existing brickwork gables and ground floor front and rear received cavity insulation. Maintenance-free, iridescent cladding panels that don’t discolour were then installed on top of the insulation, providing the block with a striking new look on its south elevation, while a subtler grey colour was used on the rear, combined with the red panels to mark the windows on both sides. The difference with the old worn-out render is particularly stark,


and Bowker admits the change had been a talking point for some locals. “I’m not saying that everybody likes it,” he says, “but I think that’s quite often the case with architecture – you get polarised opinions. We really wanted something to make a statement, and the majority of people like it.” The contractor also installed a single communal satellite system as per residents’ requirements to eliminate the need for individual satellite dishes fixed on the exterior. Further alterations to the facade included installing efficient grey


uPVC windows and removing the brise soleil on the communal stairs. This was replaced with glazed curtain walling, which significantly enhanced daylighting. In addition, the recessed balconies were encased to increase the internal floorspace of the upper level maisonettes. Bowker explains: Continued on page 27...


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM September 2017 | 25


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