Building safety and estates standards - the future of our estates
Earlier this month (March 2026) we held a customer bootcamp to discuss all things building safety and environmental improvements, with an enthusiastic group of customers coming together to help shape the future of our estates.
We shared progress updates on building safety, estate standards and our investment plans for the next financial year. We also highlighted several improvement pilots already making an impact in our communities. We talked about how building and fire safety in our shared spaces will drive future estate standards and had breakout discussions about what matters most; including safety, pathways, lighting, bin stores and the overall feel of our neighbourhoods.
Gordon Warnock, Head of Building Safety and Compliance said: "We're committed to continue working with customers, on the safety of our buildings and estates, and to make sure that our standards don't slip."
Listen and act
Listen — Customers feel their sense of safety and wellbeing is significantly impacted by poor lighting, dark pathways, and the general appearance/'feel' of their neighbourhoods.
Act — We're rolling out improvement pilots in several communities to test better ways of managing shared spaces and rewriting our safety policies to ensure they reflect customer priorities, not just ours.
Listen — Customers want to be involved in safety decisions and ensure their voice is heard when we write our policies.
Act — We've committed to using customer feedback to shape the future of our estates. Following the "Little Big Door Knock", we've already repaired 19 door defects and improved how we communicate emergency procedures. We're implementing Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments (PCFRAs) to ensure residents with accessibility needs have a clear, supported evacuation plan.
Customers at the session shared their feedback:
Customer, Wendy — "It's been good to have these conversations about safety and inspections in our communities."
Customer, Paul — "The bootcamp has been really useful. It's important for customers to give feedback about the communities where we live. It has to be a two-way thing to help improve things."