Fairham Way

Fairham Way was a new-build development of residential flats in Nottingham which consisted of three blocks plus communal areas. We joined at the first fix stage, when services, penetrations, and compartment lines were being formed daily by ongoing installs.

Unlike a reactive “fix it after inspection” job, this project needed to be proactive from the start. The scheme sat under the BM TRADA certification scheme, and the client wanted installation guides and expectations clearly set in pre-start meetings. Passive fire protection was designed into the build and not bolted on later.

The challenge wasn’t an existing defect list. The challenge was the reality of a busy site where the scope and coordination points kept shifting. Ventilation installs had to match the programme, electrical runs changed at short notice, water mains were adjusted at the last minute, and variations were ongoing throughout the programme.

With multiple subcontractors working in parallel, the risk wasn’t “what we found on day one”  it was what could change by day twenty. And while the building wasn’t occupied, the pressures were the same ones that derail new builds such as making sure compliance was right the first time, ongoing deadlines as the programme kept shifting and keeping track of costs due to uncontrolled remedials.

From the client’s point of view, passive fire protection was delivered proactively and signed off under the BM Trada Certification Scheme.

We delivered passive fire protection and compartmentalisation across flats and communal areas, working as a subcontractor alongside main contractors and multiple trades.

Because the scheme was under BM Trada, we aligned early on installation guides and expectations in pre-start meetings so passive fire requirements were understood from day one.

We demonstrated that we could work around different stakeholders, such as ventilation teams while electrical runs, water main changes, and ongoing variations kept moving from the original drawings making sure passive fire protection aligned as the build evolved.

Our quality was monitored through monthly building control visits and checks from independent third-party fire officers and engineers.

The team approach was delivered using local contractors as part of our ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility. This project was a strong example of how we operate as a reliable subcontractor, ensuring that we were turning up prepared, coordinating with other contractors, and keeping compliance on track even when the programme and scope were ever-changing.