We’re working to resolve some building issues we’ve identified at Rutland House, Derby.

This page was last updated on 15 August 2024.

 

Background

In February last year, we wrote to you to announce the outcomes of a fire risk assessment at your building.

We told you the assessment had found that the insulation materials used in the external walls of the building did not meet safety standards. We told you that action was needed to address the issue. There were also other issues we needed to address too including works to the roof to stop leaks and action to address other fire safety measures.

We’ve wrote to all customers in May with an update on those issues (read the letter here.) and have provided a further update below.

 

What’s the latest? An update from Scott Barnett, Assistant Director of Building Safety

As we told you in May, we had instructed our legal representatives to assess the validity of a legal claim against the original developer of the building with a view to them funding the work to fix the cladding. They have now concluded this is not viable.

Whilst this is disappointed from a point of view of securing funding, we have also submitted a bid to the Government funding scheme – the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) – which is run by Homes England. We hope that will be successfully confirmed soon.

In the meantime, Riverside, as a group, are finalising on the creation of a new cladding remediation framework. This will help us to appoint contractors to carry out this type of work. We expect this to be concluded in October and we hope we will then be in a position where we have secured funding and to be able to offer the work to contractors.

Once we have done so, and carried out the necessary legal consultation period we will be in position to award a contract and begin to design a solution in consultation with the appointed contractor.

We expect this to be in January 2025 and take around six months including architectural design, engineering and securing planning permission.

Whilst I appreciate that is some time away, I hope this update will assure you that we are taking this project very seriously, that it is a key priority for us and that we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure a safe, effective and compliant solution is achieved at no cost to you.

 

Selling your home – EWS1 form 

The EWS process, and resulting form (EWS1), is a way for a building owner to confirm that an external wall system on residential buildings has been assessed for safety by a suitable expert, in line with government guidance. This may be requested by lenders if you are looking to sell your property.

Following the FRAEW, the EWS1 for Rutland House has been assessed as OPTION B2, with remedial works required.

If you would like a copy of the EWS1 please contact [email protected].

For further information regarding the EWS1 form please click here.

 

Other issues

• Car park – As we told you in our last update, we were working to resolve an issue with the car park shutter which is currently broken because of some vandalism. The shutter is now fixed, and fobs have been delivered to most customers. We are still working to address some supply issues and the remaining fobs will be delivered to the remaining customers very soon. We sincerely apologised for the inconvenience this has caused and we hope there will be no further vandalism and security issues. To assist with this, please ensure the shutters are closed after use.
• Notice board – Finally, customers have reported to us that some messages have been posted on the noticeboard which have caused them concern. Please use the noticeboard responsibly.

I hope this update is helpful. Please remember you can view regular updates on our progress at Rutland House on this page. You can contact us about the cladding issues at [email protected] and the Home Ownership team here.