Safe as houses

WE KNOW that at the heart of social enterprise is the need to create communities in which residents want to live, work and thrive. And within this is a commitment to the delivery of safe and secure affordable housing.

In 2018, Chartered Institute of Housing, released a final report, entitled ‘Rethinking Social Housing.’ The paper details the “decades of changes and challenge, which have transformed society and our sector, in ways we couldn’t have imagined.”

It acknowledges the awful Grenfell Tower tragedy that “shocked the nation and shone a spotlight on social housing like never before.”

But far from depressing reading, the paper highlights the crucial role social housing has to play and its positive impact on families and communities, in its ability “to create thriving, mixed communities, and meeting needs that the market will not. Done right it does great things.”

Security as a key priority

One key point the paper revisits in this ambition is the significance of security – for residents feeling safe in their own homes and neighborhoods. So much so it came second to affordability and cost for those either in temporary accommodation or on waiting lists for social housing. 

After all, improving security to homes – ‘target hardening’ – is an important way of addressing fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. 

And this is particularly critical today, with the constant media reminders of budget and resource cuts to police and emergency services.

Understanding the context of social housing and the significance of security to residents is the starting point for any specification. Ultimately, ensuring residents homes are safe is a vital duty of any landlord. 

In new build, whilst aesthetics, layout and energy performance are all essential, site lighting and all windows, door entry and access points have to be performance led. And this is not forgetting the critical importance of Equality Act, for those who plan, manage or deliver social sector housing.

The same is true for refurbishment, extension or replacement work programmes, where instead of an afterthought, security requirements should be captured at the design stage, no matter how far ahead the development plans.

This way, by integrating security considerations into the development scheme, it comes integral to the function and design of buildings. And as a consequence, ease of use and convenient for the residents it serves.

Partnership is key

The importance of working in partnership is critical. And for Comelit, this means working not only with the social housing provider, but also selected installers to ensure solutions can be developed on a scaleable basis to fit with budget, time and resource and without affecting the daily working operations. 

Our approach is to understand their ambitions within the realms of door entry and security, also incorporating CCTV and fire detection where necessary.

We can then specify with the right products and services, demonstrating how communication, video and audio door entry systems, access control and video surveillance alongside embracing today’s mobile-connected lifestyle can be simple to install for residents to benefit.

Paradigm Housing

A recent case example is our work with Paradigm Housing Group. Standing as one of the South East’s leading housing providers, it managers over 14,000 homes across 33 local authorities.

It has recently created a new development on Hitchin Road in Luton, offering 97 one and two bedroom apartments, presented as affordable high-quality homes.

Comelit Group was selected by Silver Group, part of the supply chain that worked in partnership with Paradigm Housing Group right from the initial design stages, to complete the work on time and in full, for the benefit of residents.

Christine Nolan, lettings and allocations manager for Paradigm Housing Group commented, “The delivery of safe and secure housing for our residents is an absolute priority. Silver Group recommended Comelit’s range as the most efficient door entry solution to suit our specification.”

By understanding the door entry requirements, Comelit installed nine stainless steel, bespoke designed entrance panels covering all entry points for the residential development, together with mini colour monitors in every apartment, using slimline options from its SimpleBus door entry solution. 

Sergio de Michele, managing director of Silver Group added, “Having reviewed different options of video intercoms for the apartment blocks on the Hitchin Road site, we selected the hardwearing, durable stainless steel bespoke outer panels from Comelit and complementing mini video handsets.” 

“Our clients liked the units for their clean modern look and easy to use interface. For Silver Group, installation with the two-wire SimpleBus interface was much simpler than the alternative options. I would certainly recommend the range to other social housing providers looking to provide vital home security.”

Comelit’s SimpleBus technology has been designed with ease of installation and efficient delivery in mind, able to operate with any type of cable: dedicated Comelit cable, shielded or un-shielded, straight or twisted pair. 

The Mini handset-based colour monitors have a slim and compact profile with a smart, contemporary design and offer a feature-rich range of functions, including a 4.3-inch 16:9 colour screen, contrast, colour and ringtone volume control and melody customisation.

Explains Chris Carroll, business development manager at Comelit UK, “The SimpleBus door entry system is great for social housing providers like Paradigm. They continue to deliver carefully designed sites such as Hitchin Road, which is testament to its dedication to delivering safe and secure affordable homes for those that need it most. 

“Working with Silver Group to recommend the products, shows how we operate together to go above and beyond the minimum performance standards for security. We strive to understand requirements and install solutions that will benefit residents and keep properties protected, without compromising on the visual appeal or apartment design of the new development.”

Safe as social housing

In summary, Paradigm Housing, like every social housing provider has a duty of care to its residents, and must consider ways to ensure their safety and security at home, and in their local community. 

If not for any other reason, to understand that social housing, its affordability and the security it offers to people living there, are highly valued. 

Gaining advice and knowing where to start is the first step, as is working with social housing specification specialists and security installers.

Security and safety upgrades, including door entry, CCTV and fire detection can be made over a long term works programme, and governed by third party accreditation to ensure work is overseen to be of the highest quality.

This way, returning to ‘Rethinking Social Housing’ as it records from an online survey, “social housing is there to ensure everyone who wants a safe, secure home has one, despite their income or means, and from a landlord they can trust and rely on, who in invested in the local area and communities.”

Jeremy King is national specification manager at Comelit. For more information, visit www.comelitgroup.com