Regeneration of the Maiden Lane estate, including some form of new development, had been the subject of consultation with residents, ward councillors and community organisations for some time.

The estate had a particularly high investment need and the redevelopment scheme was proposed to generate income to the council to meet this need.

McBains was appointed in July 2011 to perform an interdisciplinary duty - providing project management, cost management, structural design, mechanical and electrical design and CDM services - to develop the scheme and subsequently to procure and administer the costs.

Our team worked with the client through a complex planning pre-application process comprising detailed consultation with the GLA and the London Borough of Camden planning department, in order to establish a proposal which not only met with the council’s aspirations but also those of the existing community; delivering a high quality development to an estate in need of regeneration.

As the local authority retained its obligation to maintain the estate, careful consideration was given to the quality of the proposed buildings, materials selection and specification of equipment.

Having responded to the queries raised by the London Borough of Camden planning department and the GLA, a positive response was received by the pre-planning development control committee. Planning was submitted and determined in January 2013.

Design and client consultation proved to be an invaluable source of information which informed the detailed design process.

The need to ensure that quality levels were maintained alongside the client’s desire to minimise risk, led to lengthy consideration regarding both the form of contract and the method of procurement.

Having drafted various papers on procurement strategy in collaboration with the client and the team, recommendations were presented comprising a two stage tender process, with a significantly enhanced design based on RIBA Stage E.

The successful contractor was engaged under a Design and Build form of contract in 2014, with the level of design assisting in maintaining the level of quality desired, whilst simultaneously delivering the risk transfer required by the client. In undertaking this approach the client’s facilities team was further engaged during the design process enabling them to provide insight into current maintenance issues and to agree on means by which to minimise the cost of repair works to the new stock.

McBains’s sustainability team was heavily involved in the regeneration of the existing estate, having been invited to review the district heating network and to conduct an options appraisal to determine the most appropriate and economically feasible form of heating and hot water renewal strategy for the estate. The review examined historical data and also used energy modelling to evaluate the most suitable upgrade for the systems.

The Maiden Lane Estate regeneration is believed to be one of the first in the country involving a local authority procuring and selling private residences, the sale of which helped fund the new council homes as well as the renovations to the existing estate stock.