We've been waiting for some progress on the cordoned-off steps opposite our front door. Thing are now happening and here is a recent communication from Helen Davinson of the BEO.
As
I’m sure you’ve noticed ouR contractors have been going round the estate to
replace the white stair edge tiles that are slowly breaking and without suitable
like for like replacement. It transpires that these tiles should never have been
used in the first place as they’re internal swimming pool tiles and not durable
enough for prolonged outdoor use. As part of the Beech gardens project a
suitable replacement tile was agreed with Planning and this is what’s being used
across the rest of the Estate.
When
it came to the stairs from the front of Shakespeare Tower to Sculpture Court our
contractors commenced work in the normal way. It quickly became apparent that
all tiles were completely loose and came away in one large piece. This is
because the original brick staircase had just been tiled over. Over the last 9
months, we have used 4 different companies to attempt to clean up/refurbish the
original brick steps. Earlier this summer Structural Renovations completed a
very successful trial area and we were very optimistic that we’d found the right
solution. But when they came to do the larger area, this was sadly less
successful. Out last attempt prior to tiling it all back over is for Structural
Renovations to have one last go. This should have been in August but due to
their holidays they’ve had to postpone this work until the beginning of
September. Should this not work out then the stairs will sadly be tiled back
over.
I
appreciate that this has been a painfully long time but the brickwork was a
complete surprise and we’ve tried really hard to bring it back to its former
glory.
