Tom Collins House and Mount Pleasant have both benefited from external and communal upgrades. The £1.87m works included structural works to balconies, external painting, improvements to address ongoing maintenance issues, health and safety measures, an upgrade of communal landlord services and a full modernisation of all communal areas and furnishings. Tenants were consulted on the regeneration proposals right from the start of the process and were able to influence the works. The artwork and design themes they suggested have been applied to the communal areas.

Tom Collins House also benefited from fire safety improvements including the retrofitting of a sprinkler system making it one of the first high rise buildings in the North East to complete the installation of a new sprinkler system following the Grenfell Tower tragedy last year. John Baines, Assistant Chief Officer at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS), said: “I am delighted that Byker Community Trust has chosen to install an automatic fire sprinkler system at Tom Collins House. This is a progressive step in enhancing fire safety for the residents of Newcastle and is the first residential high rise in the City to retrofit fire sprinklers. Quite simply, fire sprinklers save lives, reduce injuries, improve firefighter safety and protect homes and businesses, which in turn supports the economy and protects the environment.”

BCT were are delighted that Sir Keir Starmer MP helped celebrate, with our tenants, the completion of the project in November 2018. He recognised the contribution and hard work of all partners involved in the project.

In June 2019, Tom Collins House went onto win the ‘Preservation and Rejuvenation’ category at the Constructing Excellence in the North East (CENE) awards. This prestigious award was in recognition of the recent external and communal refurbishment of the building which saw the full installation of a new sprinkler system, new health & safety measures, fire safety improvements and upgrading of communal landlord services.