Riverside - Centenary House

The Riverside Group is a major provider of affordable housing, care and support services across England and Scotland.

Based in Derby City Centre, Centenary House is a secure hostel providing support, advice, and temporary accommodation to local homeless people, with a number of units specially designed for alcohol-dependent individuals.

In early 2020, following the successful refurbishment of one
of the wings within the hostel, J Tomlinson was appointed by Riverside to undertake refurbishment of Centenary House’s high- dependency wing with works including new floor coverings and internal decorations, new bathrooms and wet rooms, new kitchens, and new doors.

Despite the project having to be extended due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was completed both on time and on budget.

Live hostel environment

As work took place in a live hostel environment, J Tomlinson liaised closely with Riverside’s staff to unobtrusively relocate affected customers whilst any potentially disruptive works were being undertaken.

Safe working environment

COVID-19 pandemic: Following the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, resident-only access restrictions meant work had to be paused to protect staff and residents; upon return to work following the easing of government lockdown restrictions, J Tomlinson staff wore appropriate PPE and ensured social distancing was adhered to as much as possible to minimise the risk of infection spread.

Secure access: As Centenary House is a secure building, the J Tomlinson site team were given an access key at the start of every day to make working as efficient as possible; the key was returned safely at the end of every day to prevent security breaches.

Helping vulnerable customers

As part of the works J Tomlinson created new bedrooms containing bunk beds, with a view to encouraging interaction, discouraging solitude, and aiding in the development of communication skills. New fencing was installed around the building to improve security and make customers feel safe and at ease during their stay at Centenary House.

Social values - donations to customers

Once lockdown restrictions had eased, J Tomlinson donated a range of clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, towels and food to Centenary House’s customers.

ON TIME AND BUDGET COMPLETION – The project was completed on time and on budget, and to a high standard.

ADDED VALUE – J Tomlinson donated supplies including clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash and towels
to Centenary House customers.

LIVE HOSTEL ENVIRONMENT - Working in an environment occupied by vulnerable and highly dependent customers, J Tomlinson’s collaborative approach with Riverside staff helped to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all customers and staff.

COVID-19 SAFE WORKING - All works were completed in line with government social distancing guidelines, helping to prevent infection spread.