18 September update

Hello all

See below and on our webpage, our latest update outlining progress on the Greenside development.

Updates from the Construction team

Work on site since the last fortnightly update includes the following activities:

• Hard landscaping to the area fronting Alton Road is now nearly complete.
• Witness testing took place as planned between 28 and 30 August across the development. Calford Seaden (see Glossary) need to issue a report on its findings, which Mulalley may be required to respond to. Mulalley also needs to close out actions relating to lift compliance for all blocks. We will update you at the next fortnightly update.
• Our third-party fire consultant (OFR) visited site on 20 August to carry out the pre-occupation FRA (Fire Risk Assessment). Their report will be issued to Mulalley the week beginning 23 September, with all actions to be closed out prior to handover.
• There are two outstanding planning conditions:
  • Condition 20 is a pre-occupation planning condition which requires approval of external lighting levels. A survey needs to be submitted to the planners to close this condition, which Mulalley is dealing with.
  • Condition 22 is a compliance condition relating to the s278 crossover works. The Non-Material Amendment (see Glossary) is due to expire shortly so we’ve requested an extension from the council to allow occupation of Blocks B & C prior to works being complete.

We previously indicated two primary factors contributing to the anticipated delays: our limited control over the contractor achieving practical completion by the end of August, and uncertainties surrounding the timely provision of necessary documentation for Building Safety Registration. This hasn’t changed since the last update.

The NHBC have confirmed that Block B must be handed over as a complete building. We’ve decided to factor in a six-month delay after practical completion to allow for the building safety registration process. This hasn’t changed since the last update.

Since the last update, the NHBC have confirmed safe access and egress, but they require an additional phased handover fire strategy report. This needs to clearly identify how phased occupation is to be carried out, by demonstrating the fire safety measures are in place. Mulalley is revising the fire strategy to submit to the NHBC inspector to close out this action.

Once this is complete, Block C can be handed over in sections.

Virgin Media and s278 works update

Virgin Media submitted a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to the Council on 13 September and are waiting for Wandsworth Council to approve and issue a permit.

Mulalley continues to liaise with Wandsworth Council to obtain the permit for the s278 works it will need after the Virgin Media works are complete. The final technical drawings were submitted to the Highways Engineer on 29 August. We’re told to expect the review to take six weeks from receipt, which takes us to 10 October. The engineer has already raised queries, which Mulalley is dealing with.

Water ingress update

Mulalley has presented the final drainage and waterproofing solution to the NHBC for review. There has been no fresh evidence of water ingress since the levels were reduced in the units affected.

The proposed solution is to reinstall the paving on a permeable base of crushed limestone. This maintains level access whilst creating a drainage solution under the paving that will enable the existing gullies to handle localised ponding.

Blocks A and D progress

• All snagging is complete on flats in Block A.
• Works are in progress to the ground floor communal areas.
• Contractor’s snagging is almost complete in Block D.

The Council will be given three months' notice to occupy Block A on receipt of the Practical Completion certificate. This will allow mobilisation of the care provider team.

Block B Progress

Our Clerk of Works (CoW) de-snagging inspections and sign off are ongoing for flats on the 1st to 5th floors.

As of the CoW inspection on 16 September 2024:

• All flats have been snagged, apart from B01, 02, 05 (lower ground floor) which are affected by the water ingress issue.
• 20 flats have been de-snagged and 17 have been second de-snagged.
• 11 are complete, awaiting sales sign off.
• Communal stairwell and corridors initial snag complete 1st - 4th floors.

Block C progress

Our CoW de-snagging inspections and sign off are ongoing for flats on the 1st to 5th floors.

The initial snag of the communal stairwell and corridors, from the ground to 4th floors, is complete.

As of 16 September 2024, our CoW records that:

• All units in Block C, apart from C06, 07, 08 (lower ground floor) have been snagged.
• 19 flats have been first de-snagged and 6 have been second de-snagged.
• 8 flats are complete, awaiting sales sign off.
• The entrance lobby has now been decorated, ready for contractor snag.

What this means for the timeline

We will be able to better assess the timeline for occupation once we’ve reached PC.

Updates from the Sales team

There are no updates from the Sales team this time. If you have any questions for the Sales team, please get in touch directly with adina.shaw@southernhousing.org.uk or sarah.dodd@southernhousing.org.uk

Updates re the webpage

We provided an out of sequence update on Wednesday 11 Sept in response to several buyers asking us for timescales and dates following our 4 Sept update.

To reiterate, we will inform you if anything changes regarding our expectation that mid-October is a realistic date for Mulalley to complete outstanding work on site.

Buyers also queried the sequence of events following PC:

We’ve since updated Key milestones on the webpage to clarify that handover of Block C follows on from Practical Completion, whereas handover of Block B follows on from Building registration confirmed by the Regulator.

This does not mean that BSR registration must wait for occupation of Block C; it will follow on from PC.

The Key milestones tool is linear and doesn’t illustrate things happening at the same time without looking cluttered. We’ve added a note to the ‘Building Safety Registration submitted’ milestone to indicate it ‘Follows PC, Block B only’.

Next update

Our next update will be on 2 October 2024. You’ll find additional information on our webpage, which is updated more frequently.