The Story
Rita Hunt Court in Beverley is a purpose-built extra care housing scheme, offering varying levels of care and support to its residents. Recently built in 2015, it consists of 40 two-bedroom self-contained apartments available to rent from East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The apartments include modern wet rooms, well-equipped kitchens and comfortable living/dining rooms and all have a small balcony or terrace giving residents easy access to the outside.
Rita Hunt Court specifically helps to ensure and encourage all the residents. Enabling them to live independently in their own homes, safe in the knowledge that assistance and support are there when they need it. All residents at Rita Hunt Court have varying conditions and mobility restrictions, with two of the residents requiring wheelchair assistance. The building was initially built to accommodate wheelchairs, with wider doorways and two lifts for easy access and as such, modifications have not been necessary. However, with the new wheelchair users, it became apparent that the doors were heavy for them to open independently and therefore they rarely used the communal areas. To give them the freedom to use the facilities as they wish, Steeper’s assistive technology team installed automatic doors to return independence back to the residents.
The Installation
With over 30 years’ experience in assistive technology, our team of engineers and product specialists is the largest in the industry. As a result, we have built long term working relationships with our clients, the NHS and the local authorities. Trusted within the industry, we are regularly called on to provide the expertise needed for commercial installations.
With all commercial installations, the ability to work collaboratively with different companies is essential. At Rita Hunt Court, Steeper completed the assessment, JC Services completed the remedial and preparation works and close communication was necessary with the access control company, Tunstall. Ensuring that timescales and specifications are met is the result of our dedicated team of product specialists who are there to ensure the project runs smoothly, meeting budgets and deadlines. In order to provide the least amount of disruption to the residents, the whole installation was completed within one week. The installation included the fitting of four corridor doors fitted with Gilgen automatic swing door systems, one with Steeper push pads. An upgrade to one resident’s Yale lock system was also included, as was a full lock system installation to another resident’s apartment.