_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Fortem
Solutions
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Across the UK, housing providers are rethinking how they invest in existing homes, aligning energy performance, safety and asset management in ways that were previously handled in isolation. Retrofit programmes are at the heart of this change, uniting design, delivery and resident engagement on a large scale. For Fortem Solutions( Fortem), this approach is now central, with the Birmingham project showing how programmes can deliver results without disrupting residents and their homes.
As part of the Willmott Dixon Group, Fortem provides repairs, capital works, high rise cladding remediation and retrofit services for social housing clients across England. Working with 16 local authorities and housing associations and managing 350,000 repairs each year, the business combines planned and compliance work with an expanding retrofit offer. Its‘ FOR Our Future’ strategy sets out growth targets that put retrofit alongside digital systems and service delivery, with an ambition for zero-carbon housing by 2030.
Within this framework, retrofit has shifted from a specialist function to a core service. Fortem’ s programmes now connect data, technical design and resident input. The Middle Park Estate project in Birmingham brought funding, planning and delivery together as one integrated scheme.
Middle Park model
Fortem supported Birmingham City Council in securing £ 24.8 million from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, including £ 12.5 million invested directly in Middle Park Estate. The overall programme reached £ 32 million and covered 415 flats across 32 blocks, with all work completed while residents remained in their homes.
The project included external wall insulation, roof and window upgrades, fire safety improvements, ventilation systems and communal heating. Fortem also
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