The Scaffolding at Salmon

This huge operation is needed in order to safely remove the combustible cladding which envelops Davoll Court and replace it. The contractor is Guildmore Ltd. who were appointed following an open tender process and the contract is set to be completed by June 2024. Davoll Court is owned and managed by Hyde Housing, one of the largest housing associations in the country. It was Hyde Housing which procured the design and construction of Davoll Court between 2008 and 2010 in their capacity as Lead Developer for the Bermondsey Spa Regeneration Area.

The total cost of over £5m is being met through a grant from HM Government’s Building Safety Fund which is being administered by the Greater London Authority.

This is all, obviously, great news for the residents of Davoll Court, but the disruption will undoubtedly test the patience of all our users and neighbours. And it’s worth adding that getting to this point has proved to be a huge distraction to the work of the Youth Centre, for which such a project is not ‘core business’. The effort and energy that has gone into getting this far is matched only by the huge pressures put on our finances as insurance and other costs have soared.

We hope and pray for a safe operation and for a smooth passage of the works with no untoward events slowing progress. And as the scaffolding starts to come down in the spring of 2024, we hope that this will pave the way for a new dawn for the work of the Salmon Youth Centre in the community as we emerge not only from the COVID pandemic but also this cladding crisis.