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Remedial works
We know that many of you have questions about the remedial works that are required to the buildings at St. Anne’s Quarter.
You told us that you want to understand more about the background to these works; more about the fire alarm system upgrade, and what happens if you want to sell or remortgage your home. We have provided some more detail on these topics below, which we hope you find useful. We will keep you updated as the project progresses, and when we have an agreed plan for the long-term remedial solution.
Following advice issued by the government in January 2020 regarding the management and safety of tall buildings, we’ve been carrying out detailed investigations to our properties to ensure they meet with applicable Building Regulations and the government’s updated guidance.
A Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall (FRAEW) was carried out at your building by an independent engineer. Through the process of carrying out this detailed investigation, it became clear that remedial works are required to the external walls.
We’re currently waiting for the final FRAEW report, but early findings have confirmed there are inconsistencies with the construction of the external walls. Your safety is our utmost priority. We’re in the process of installing sounders in all homes and we’ll be enhancing the fire detection system in all buildings while we wait for more detailed information.
All wall types were checked as part of the FRAEW. We’re currently waiting for the final FRAEW report to get more detailed information on the issues which may be affecting specific walls / buildings.
When we’ve received the final FRAEW report, we’ll have the information we need to agree the most appropriate long-term remedial solution for the external walls.
Completion of this step may take a considerable amount of time. It’s likely to take a number of years as it will involve various stages – including designing a technical solution that’s suitable for your building, seeking planning permission, carrying out works, and getting sign off from building control.
We’re committed to keeping you updated as plans progress.
When we have an agreed plan for the long-term remedial solution for your building, we’ll share the programme of works with you and confirm whether we’ll need access to your home to complete the works. Please be assured, we’re committed to keeping any disruption to residents to a minimum.
We’re currently requesting access to all homes at St. Anne’s Quarter to install sounders and we plan to return to install additional detection in every home. We’ll contact you nearer the time to provide more information on these works and we’ll make sure we give you plenty of notice to arrange access for a convenient date and time.
We’ve been in touch with the original developer of St. Anne’s Quarter to make them aware of the initial findings from the FRAEW. There’s a legal process around this that we’re following and we’ll keep you updated on next steps as discussions progress. At the same time, we’re exploring the availability of government funds that may be available to help fund the remedial works.
Please be assured that the alarm system upgrade and future remedial works to the external walls will be carried out at no cost to you.
Yes. The FRA for your building is valid until such a time that the next FRA is due.
Timings are decided by assessors according to the risk category of the building.
This could be up to three years from the date of the previous FRA.
The programme of works will be designed to ensure the external wall systems meet applicable Building Regulations and the government’s updated guidance.
The works will be recorded as part of the ongoing project and evidenced throughout each stage of the remediation.
We’ll present the results of the BIM modelling to you in 2024, once complete.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the works?
You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
Forthcoming events
Orbit Chief Executive Phil Andrew and Chief Customer Officer, Joe Brownless, will be visiting St Anne’s Quarter on Wednesday 7 August and would like to invite you to meet with them to discuss their vision for Orbit’s future, and to answer any questions you have about how this will affect your homes and services.
The meeting will be held in the sales office below Mineral Court from 3pm to 4pm.
All residents are welcome and we hope to see you there.
Once the fire service arrive, they’ll have either been informed of the location of the fire in advance or they’ll immediately check the fire panel which will show where the fire signal has come from.
The fire service are able to access all areas at St. Anne’s Quarter by using the fobs in the red boxes outside the buildings.
As you’re aware, we’ve changed the fire strategy for all buildings to full evacuation. To support this change, we’re currently requesting access to all homes at St. Anne’s Quarter to install sounders and we plan to return to install additional detection in every home. We’ll contact you nearer the time to provide more information on these works and we’ll make sure we give you plenty of notice to arrange access for a convenient date and time.
When the alarm panel activates, the extraction system starts to remove any smoke from the car park. When CCSS attends to silence the alarm, they’ll also reset the extraction system, although it may continue to run for a short period of time after being reset.
If the extraction system can’t be reset for any reason, the manufacturer is called out to St. Anne’s Quarter to resolve this. We appreciate that the noise from the extraction system will continue to cause a disturbance for some customers under these circumstances and we’re speaking to the manufacturer to look at whether they’re able to shorten their response times.
We’re also looking into whether we can make any changes to the system so we can manage the works with our contractors rather than the manufacturer. However this may not be a possibility due to the complexity of the system.
CCSS were appointed following a competitive tender process to manage all our fire safety equipment servicing and repairs. They have contractors working in all local areas and will attend, silence and reset panels within one hour from receiving a call.
We’re aware that there have been delays to CCSS receiving a call. When the alarm system’s activated, it automatically dials an alarm receiving centre which then calls the fire service. The alarm receiving centre has now been provided with a number for CCSS so they can report the alarm direct to CCSS after they’ve alerted the fire service. This helps to overcome any delays experienced by the previous process, where the alarm receiving centre notified Orbit rather than CCSS.
The fire service hasn’t charged for any call-outs to St Anne’s Quarter to-date. If we were to receive a charge for any call outs, this would not be passed onto customers.
In the unlikely event of a fire, please leave the building immediately and move to the meeting point. The fire service will let you know when it’s safe to return to the building once they’ve arrived and carried out their checks.
Alarms should not be silenced by anyone other than competent professionals approved by us. If the alarm panel is silenced prematurely, it could put people’s lives at risk as residents who are in the process of evacuating may assume it’s safe to return to their homes when this is not the case.
It’s also important that when the panel has been silenced, it’s then fully reset and left in working order.
Only a trained engineer will have the knowledge to carry this out effectively.
The fire alarm system consists of detectors within your home which have a link to the main communal panel, which can send signals of fire and receive signals of fire.
The system will not stop false alarms, but it should help lower them as we will be able to identify where issues are occurring and manage these more effectively using the data.
You will have a detector within every room in your home larger than 1m square, except for your bathroom. In addition, there is a module installed near your fuse board and a moveable control panel.
No, the system can be disconnected from the main alarm system without coming back into your home. This would then become the detection system for your home only, supporting a stay put evacuation policy to a LD1 standard (the best level of domestic detection).
Detectors which are currently within your flat will be replaced with a new detector using the existing cabling, all other detectors and control unit will be wireless. The only piece of equipment which cannot be wireless is the module installed near your fuse board. This module must be hard wired, but cabling/trunking will be kept to a minimum.
We would recommend a standard position by your main entrance door. However, we can place this where you would like.
You press the “test” button on your control panel.
We will reach out to you once we have a confirmed programme. You should receive approximately 3 weeks’ notice and by letter. We’ll also display information on your digital noticeboards.
We anticipate the installation taking up to 2 hours per property.
As the works are not optional, we will work with you to rearrange your appointment if you are not available at the time it is initially booked in.
On the control panel there is a silence button, you can press this to confirm that there is no fire.
The app is downloadable on any smart device and it allows you to review and monitor your system. We will provide a handout with more information during the installation, and you will be able to register to use via the app via the Property Safety Team.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the works?
You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
Forthcoming events
Orbit Chief Executive Phil Andrew and Chief Customer Officer, Joe Brownless, will be visiting St Anne’s Quarter on Wednesday 7 August and would like to invite you to meet with them to discuss their vision for Orbit’s future, and to answer any questions you have about how this will affect your homes and services.
The meeting will be held in the sales office below Mineral Court from 3pm to 4pm.
All residents are welcome and we hope to see you there.
A Fire Risk Assessment to the external wall (FRAEW) is a more detailed assessment compared to an EWS1 form and the FRAEW has discovered issues that were not captured in the EWS1 assessment. Orbit’s view is that this new information means the EWS1 has been invalidated.
With no valid EWS1 currently available for your building, we understand the difficulties you may be facing if you want to remortgage, sell your home, or buy more shares in your home (‘staircasing’).
In December 2022, the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) updated its guidance for valuers regarding external wall systems where there is no valid EWS1.
The guidance offers a way for valuations to take place where:
If you wish to remortgage, sell your home, or buy more shares in your home, we suggest that the information provided in this FAQs is presented as part of your discussions with lenders, along with the guidance on RICS website.
Please speak to our homeownership team if you need a letter for your solicitor or lender to confirm that the cost of the remedial works will not be passed onto you. We’re aware that, in some cases, solicitors are still requesting a copy of the original EWS1 form and we will of course provide this.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the works?
You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
Forthcoming events
Orbit Chief Executive Phil Andrew and Chief Customer Officer, Joe Brownless, will be visiting St Anne’s Quarter on Wednesday 7 August and would like to invite you to meet with them to discuss their vision for Orbit’s future, and to answer any questions you have about how this will affect your homes and services.
The meeting will be held in the sales office below Mineral Court from 3pm to 4pm.
All residents are welcome and we hope to see you there.
We’re committed to keeping you regularly updated with the latest information about your building and the remedial works. If you’ve changed your email address or mobile phone number since you moved into your home, please let us know so we can make sure we’ve got the right contact information for you. You can do this via the email address or telephone number provided below.
Please also let us know if you or any member of your household would not be able to evacuate using the stairs in the unlikely event of a fire so we can discuss this with you and make the fire service aware. You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk to provide this information.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the works?
You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
Forthcoming events
Orbit Chief Executive Phil Andrew and Chief Customer Officer, Joe Brownless, will be visiting St Anne’s Quarter on Wednesday 7 August and would like to invite you to meet with them to discuss their vision for Orbit’s future, and to answer any questions you have about how this will affect your homes and services.
The meeting will be held in the sales office below Mineral Court from 3pm to 4pm.
All residents are welcome and we hope to see you there.
Following the water outage on Sunday 28 April, we want to provide you with details of how the situation was resolved, along with confirmation of compensation that households at Austin House, Bartholomew Court and Hop Pole Yard will be receiving.
Firstly, we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by the disruption to your water supply on Sunday 28 April. We’re grateful for your patience and understanding as we worked with our contractors throughout the day to understand the issue and restore the supply to your building.
When the issue was first reported to us, we requested that Anglian Water and our maintenance contractor MPS both attend initially. Anglian Water investigated and confirmed that the loss of supply was not due to anything that they were responsible for. MPS also sent a team to investigate, and they successfully restarted the pumps and restored the water supply by approximately 7.30pm.
We also requested that our specialist pump engineers attend to carry out a full review and service of the pumps later that evening. We suspect that the pumps had dried out following a wider water outage in the early hours of Sunday morning, and this had led to them short-circuiting. We’re continuing to look into this to reduce the likelihood of the issue recurring.
During the afternoon of the outage, we ordered bottled water as a contingency measure, and this was delivered to St. Anne’s Quarter later in the evening. Members of our team also visited St. Anne’s Quarter to provide any necessary support and answer any questions you had.
Our complaints resolution policy sets out the situations where we pay compensation, and our compensation calculator determines the amount. Compensation for loss of water is usually awarded at £5 per day. It’s important that we also recognise the inconvenience and disruption you experienced, and that the compensation covers any expenses you might have incurred – such as the cost of bottled water that you may have purchased. We’ll therefore be providing a £40 Love2Shop voucher to residents at Austin House, Bartholomew Court and Hop Pole Yard.
You’ll receive this regardless of whether or not you make a complaint. An e-voucher will be sent to you via email in the next 10 working days. If we don’t have an email address for you, you’ll receive the voucher via post. Thank you again for your patience and understanding. If you’ve got any questions or concerns, please call 0800 678 1221 and we will do our best to help.
Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns about the works?
You can contact us on 0800 678 1221 or email SpecialProjectsTeam@orbit.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
Forthcoming events
Orbit Chief Executive Phil Andrew and Chief Customer Officer, Joe Brownless, will be visiting St Anne’s Quarter on Wednesday 7 August and would like to invite you to meet with them to discuss their vision for Orbit’s future, and to answer any questions you have about how this will affect your homes and services.
The meeting will be held in the sales office below Mineral Court from 3pm to 4pm.
All residents are welcome and we hope to see you there.