Residents applaud their new lift solution

Reeve Court in Rainhill, St Helens is a retirement village with a central block and adjacent houses and bungalows. The main block has a central precinct with restaurant, bar, shops and leisure facilities as well as wings of apartments over three floors. Lift usage is high and traffic demand is up to 300,000 trips per annum. The existing hydraulic lifts suffered problems associated with overheating. The lifts are often used by residents in mobility scooters and the original cars and doors were not durable enough to resist impact from everyday use in this environment.

The original lifts installed to a design and build specification in 2003 had been very unreliable and residents had lost confidence in them. Lerch Bates designed and specified a lift modernisation scheme which improved performance, ride quality, durability and quality of appearance. Residents selected the car finishes themselves by ballot and are delighted with the result.

Michael Bottomley, Lerch Bates Consultant for the project said “Modernisation is the most challenging aspect of the industry. Getting the specification right is the start of the process but getting a Contractor to engage with the Client is essential when you are working in people’s homes, especially if you want to exceed expectations. This is a good result for Arena Housing, Lerch Bates and Rubax Lifts.”

In the picture Steve Hawney, of Rubax Lifts, cuts the ribbon on the newly modernised lifts at Reeve Court, The project for Arena Housing was completed last month a week ahead of schedule. The residents were so happy with the way the works had been completed that, rather than cut the ribbon themselves, they assigned the honour to the lift fitter whose efforts they have so greatly appreciated.