In a ground-breaking collaboration, The Hill Group has partnered with Peabody, a leading housing association with a rich legacy in community development. Together, they are undertaking a landmark initiative adjacent to Dagenham Dock railway station, seeking to deliver 3,502 new homes here, of which 1,550 will be affordable, in addition to a secondary school, local shops and restaurants and a five-acre public park.

The scheme will become the urban heart of the area, designed to connect locals, new residents, and visitors, centred around social amenities to create and foster a sense of community. 

A wide range of housing tenures and uses will create an inter-generational neighbourhood where all ages can live and thrive together to be part of the heritage story of Dagenham.

Peabody, with its history dating back to 1862, has been a stalwart in providing affordable and quality housing, contributing significantly to London’s landscape. Their commitment to creating vibrant and sustainable communities aligns seamlessly with the ethos of The Hill Group, a distinguished housebuilder with a track record of delivering award-winning developments.

JosTec are delighted to have been appointed for our full roster of services on the first phase of this visionary development, encompassing 935 homes. We have already provided a comprehensive suite of services, including Overheating Calculations, Noise Surveys, SAP Calculations and SBEM Calculations, all of which have been crucial in adhering to the demanding timelines set by The Hill Group for the initial phase.

As the homes start to reach completion in the upcoming year, JosTec’s team of seasoned on-site engineers will conduct Air Tightness tests and Sound Insulation tests, covering every home. These tests are integral to ensuring that the homes meet building regulations targets and are a comfortable and enjoyable place to live.

Our role in this prestigious collaboration underscores our dedication to delivering top-tier services to the very best housebuilders and developers. We’re delighted to be contributing to the realization of The Hill Group and Peabody’s vision for an innovative and sustainable residential community.

At JosTec, we take immense pride in the enduring relationships we foster with our clients. While we are honoured to collaborate with a diverse range of customers, from individual self-builders to national housebuilders, our greatest satisfaction lies in guiding clients through the entire lifecycle of a project—from the planning stage to the conclusive Building Control sign-off.

Among our valued clients is Sterling Rose Homes, a distinguished developer with a track record of crafting hundreds of homes in and around London over the past eight years, spanning more than 40 projects. Sterling Rose, known for prioritizing community and integrity, discovered JosTec early in their journey, and we have been privileged to support them on every project since.

Sterling Rose will always ask us to complete our full suite of services on all their projects, allowing them the convenience of dealing with a singular team. This approach not only saves valuable time otherwise spent navigating between suppliers but also mitigates the risk of conflicting suggestions from different consultants.

Sumeet Shah, Project Manager at Sterling Rose, commends our collaborative relationship, stating, “All the guys at JosTec are exceptional. Our strong relationship is a result of their commitment to hiring like-minded, knowledgeable staff who comprehend the intricacies of our projects from inception to completion. In a landscape of red tape and gatekeepers, it’s refreshing to know that JosTec can deliver numerous services consistently on every project.”

When we commenced our collaboration with Sterling Rose, they were embarking on small-scale developments of two or three homes. Through the years, we have accompanied them on their journey, and today, we are proud to be part of one of their largest projects to date—24 flats in Banstead. Witnessing their growth parallel to ours has been a gratifying experience.

Sumeet also values the reliability of our services, and notes, “They always meet deadlines, and when we require expedited services (sometimes extremely expedited!), they consistently go above and beyond to accommodate—whether it’s for SAP calculations, air tightness testing, sound insulation testing, or any other aspect, we can always rely on them to deliver. In the eight years of our partnership, they have never overcharged us or increased their prices. Dealing with companies like JosTec makes my job significantly easier.”

Our collaboration with Sterling Rose Homes exemplifies the enduring partnerships we aim to cultivate, providing consistent and reliable services throughout the evolution of our clients’ projects.

Sons & Co, one of our most valued clients were working on their prestigious development, 169 apartments at Triptych Southbank when they called us with a problem: They needed air tightness and sound insulation tests for every single plot and they needed them in less than two weeks! That was 169 air tightness tests and 106 sound insulation tests, totalling 275 tests, in 10 working days.

No mean feat, but a challenge we relished. We expedited our quote process to get a quote to Sons & Co within 24 hours, and within 48, we’d scheduled in all of the testing. Once that was done, the real work could begin. We sent all available engineers to site, utilising overtime hours and relying on the general awesomeness of our employees, who worked tirelessly over the course of a week to complete every single test.

We were completing reports wherever possible, as we were going along, so that by the time the testing finished, the client had their reports in their inbox within mere hours. They not only met their building control sign-off deadline, but were a couple of days early!
Happy JosTec, happy client, and happy engineers, who were afforded a little breather the next day!

In a pivotal project funded by the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), JosTec have been commissioned by Mulalley to utilise our expertise in air tightness testing, carrying out the service on homes undergoing significant retrofit works. Our objective was to conduct both pre-works and post-works evaluations, totalling 750 tests, ensuring these homes met enhanced energy efficiency standards. 

Originally planned for a 3-month duration to complete 375 pre-works and an equal number of post-works assessments, the project’s requirements evolved, leading to an extension beyond 6 months and increasing the total number of tests to well over 1000

Mulalley, executing retrofit works for Notting Hill Genesis, needed JosTec to ensure all properties air tightness scores improved over the course of the works, which would indicate a positive result against support the overall goal of reducing carbon emissions and enhancing living conditions through the SHDF. Retrofit works typically include upgrading insulation, installing advanced heating systems, and improving windows and doors, contributing to reduced energy consumption, lower carbon footprints, and enhanced resident comfort.

Our team maintained near-daily availability to keep pace with the ambitious project timeline set by our client. As the scope of work expanded, we redirected resources swiftly to meet the increased demand without compromising on service quality or testing accuracy.

This project also presented a unique challenge. Usually, our air leakage tests are completed on unoccupied, new build homes. These tests were carried out in the far more dynamic environments of existing, tenanted homes.

Conducting tests in tenanted homes introduced the need for heightened coordination and flexibility. Our technicians had to operate with utmost respect for residents’ privacy and schedules, ensuring each interaction was as unobtrusive as possible. This approach required adaptable scheduling and frequent communication to accommodate homeowner availability and ensure each visit was conducted efficiently.

Despite the unexpected increase in scope and the challenges of working in occupied homes, JosTec successfully met the project’s expanded requirements, completing over 1250 air tightness tests. This project not only helped improve the energy efficiency of the homes but also played a critical role in advancing the goals of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.