Council refurbishes sheltered housing schemes

The first three schemes – Guessens Grove, Chilton Green and Springfield House – have been completed. In addition, the Green Community Centre has just been refurbished and is now available for use by sheltered housing residents.

The works, carried out with construction partner Mulalley, included installing new fire doors, a new fire alarm system, new internals walls, suspended ceilings, lighting, ramps, internal remodelling, painting and decorating new communal kitchens and upgrading of community halls.

The team incorporated dementia friendly colouring in key areas. This involved pairing a pastel colour palette, such as light blues and greens, with stronger feature colours that stand out for key areas like doorways, furniture and signage. The overall effect is calming and safe, helping residents, particularly those with dementia and sight loss, to clearly identify front doors and familiar rooms. The team also used bold hues to highlight stairs, with nosing (the overhanging front edge of a stair) in a contrasting colour and on each floor level.

Maximising natural light was also a significant part of the project, providing visual stimulation for occupants and supporting mental wellbeing, with lighter, brighter communal areas and hallways. Artificial lighting was upgraded to energy-efficient LED lighting, whilst additional lighting was installed in internal and external entrances, as well as in bin and scooter stores.

Two more schemes are scheduled to be completed in the next two years, with more schemes expected to be added to the refurbishment programme.

Councillor Gemma Moore, Executive Member, Housing, said:

“These improvements are fantastic to see, and with the careful considerations over lighting and colour, create the sense of calm and safety that makes spaces as inclusive as possible. The refurbishment programme highlights our commitment to putting local residents at the heart of everything that we do. Our vision is to provide homes to be proud of, and with these refurbished sheltered housing schemes, I think that we have really achieved that. I would like to thank our construction partner Mulalley for their ongoing work on the refurbishment programme.”

Welwyn Hatfield Mayor, Cllr Lynn Chesterman OBE is photographed at the Chilton Green scheme with the Leader of the Council, Cllr Rose Grewal, Cllr Jane Quinton, Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Gemma Moore, Executive Member, Housing and Cllr Alan Chesterman.