The Planned Works and Direct Delivery Team
The Planned Works and Direct Delivery Team will be delivering programmes throughout the borough to improve council homes and areas.
These programmes will include estate improvements, kitchen and bathrooms works and windows and door installs and many more.
Our Decent Homes Project has been improving council homes across the borough.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, we replaced:
- bathrooms in 50 homes
- kitchens in 57 homes
- windows on 173 homes
- doors in 405 homes
- roofs on 162 homes
- insulation upgrades to 214 homes
About the team
We are a team that are made up of experienced Housing professionals, which includes Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors, Clerks of Works and Resident Liaison Officers.
If you have a query about current works, please contact resident.liaison@havering.gov.uk.
If you have a query about future works, please contact the Housing Asset Team, housingassetmanagement@havering.gov.uk.
Our address
Planned Works and Direct Delivery
Housing and Property Services
London Borough of Havering
Havering Town Hall
Main Road
Romford
RM1 3BB
Improvement to Council homes and areas
Kitchens and bathrooms
The kitchen and bathroom refurbishment programme is the biggest programme run by the Planned Works team.
Our contractors Mears will be continuing to deliver the works.
A kitchen refurbishment may include, but not restricted to:
- new kitchen units
- new worktops
- decoration of walls, ceiling and woodwork
- a new sink and taps
- electrical rewiring and a new fuse board
- installation of smoke and heat detectors
- installation of extractor fan (where required)
A bathroom refurbishment may include but not restricted to:
- a new bath, with lever taps.
- a new toilet pan and cistern
- a new wash basin, with lever taps
- full tiling around the bath up to the ceiling
- decoration of walls, ceiling, woodwork, door and frame
- a ‘splashback’ tile course above the wash basin
- new anti-slip floor covering
Residents who are a part of the kitchen and bathroom programme will get Tenant Guidance Packs which will include information of the works including the different stages, some helpful hints and aftercare instructions to ensure the new kitchen and bathrooms stay new for longer.
Windows and doors
The window and door renewal programme with contractor Equans is going well with over 170 properties having received new windows last year.
In addition, our fire door installations are progressing very well with 30 doors per week being done and almost 1,200 installs since 2023.
The windows and doors, including fire doors, which our team have installed so far have been praised by a number of residents with great feedback.
As part of this programme, we are also now upgrading the communal door sets at the same time.
We now have a New Door Maintenance Guide for council tenants and leaseholders to know how to maintain their door to the best of their ability.
This will be passed on to all residents once their new doors have been fitted.
Estate improvement works
Work continues on our borough-wide estates improvement programme with our contractor BTS Property Solutions and we are currently on site at the Shenstone Gardens Estate.
In future, the programme will concentrate on specific issues such as refuse provision, accessibility or safety and security, rather than larger general refurbishment and improvements.
Let us know if there are particular issues on your estate that you would like us to look at.
Gutter cleaning
Our gutter cleaning contract started in April 2023.
This service cleans and clears the guttering to all our residential blocks around the borough using a sky vacuum/camera cleaning system.
Each block will receive the service once in a three-year period.
The work will help to reduce the chance of water ingress which can lead to damp and mould.
It will also give Havering an opportunity to identify other important roof level repairs which can then be undertaken in good time.
Retrofit
We have been working with BTS Property Solutions across the borough for many years and have completed 217 Insulations and external wall installations over the last two years.
In 2022, we successfully bid for a grant of £1.27m from the Government to carry out energy saving improvements to some of our poorer performing homes and in 2024, we managed to obtain a further £2m in grant.
This is in addition to the £27m already budgeted by the Council for this work over the next five years.
Works include installing external wall insulation, loft and cavity insulation, new windows and doors, Solar PV panels and installation of heat pumps to improve energy efficiency, reduce fuel bills and reduce the level of carbon produced.
We are now close to completing these works to over 1,200 homes in total.
External and internal decorations
We have a new seven year decoration contract with Trident Maintenance Services Limited.
We maintain the outside of our properties as well as the inside communal areas of our blocks.
This work includes all previously painted/stained surfaces.
Our intention is to carry out outside redecorations to all previously painted surfaces.
This may include decorating to:
- all front and rear entrance doors and frames
- side and front gates
- garage doors and frames
- and all other previously painted surfaces, unless otherwise stated
Within this work we may also include:
- gutters
- down pipes
- external cladding
- insulation
Any necessary filling, repairs, replacements and making good to walls, ceilings, doors and windows will be carried out as part of the works.
Painting of the internal common parts include walls, ceilings and all previously painted areas.
The walls and the ceiling will be painted with a zero rated fire retardant paint.
The product used is fire protective, harder wearing and has a longer life.
Fire and building safety
We are currently delivering a programme of fire and building safety works to ensure that residents remain safe in their homes.
This includes works such as modernising passenger lifts for use by the fire brigade, installing sprinklers and automatic vents, changing cladding and replacing some older ventilation systems.
Most of this work affects the high-rise blocks, but we also have programmes of work such as fire door replacement, which affect all blocks.