Following a stock transfer from Preston City Council, the refurbishment and changing of the appearance of three 11 storey tower blocks at the Avenham Estate, formed part of a larger Estate Renewal Challenge Funding (ERCF) stock transfer scheme.

The project was to refurbish and change the appearance of three 11 storey tower blocks at the Avenham Estate, Preston with tenants living in-situ.  A full-day value Engineering workshop was conducted from the outset, which established the final scope of works, contract sum and completion date.

The workshop identified that the client’s objectives were Price Certainty, Quality and Completion. With delivery of high quality projects a result of the time spent in the pre-construction phase, the design consideration, build ability issues and capability of the Contractor to deliver were reviewed.

The early involvement of all parties and team working, encouraged through Partnering, went far to ensure all programme activities were given proper consideration and that both preconstruction and construction programmes were realistic and robust.

Meeting and improving the programmes gave positive impetus to all members of the team who came to enjoy the process through their knowledge of very defined targets.{insert space after full stop}A philosophy of providing hotel type foyers, welcoming rather than defensive, was discussed in detail with residents and has helped maintain waiting lists in the completed blocks rather than the voids experience before the works.