Don Kennedy: My Back to the Floor at Wapping Wharf
For my recent Back to the Floor, I spent the day at Wapping Wharf in Bristol. As a development where we oversee the management of the private and Shared Ownership buildings, as well as the heat networks, communal areas and public realm, I knew that this was a site where our team is responsible for ensuring several components can work smoothly together. Spending the day as an Estate Manager, I was reminded of what the day-to-day looks like for the people balancing these different elements and delivering our services on the ground.
In my role as Area Director and Head of Later Living, I spend a lot of time in meetings. Our Estate Managers may perform a different role, but I found the day to be equally busy. During the morning, the development is particularly active, and I was focused on dealing with customer and contractor queries, supporting with tasks like issuing fobs and arranging parking. I found it insightful to see first-hand how busy the mornings are for our teams.
While the services delivered by the Estate Management team for our residential customers tend to be carried out more behind the scenes, there is often more direct interaction with our commercial customers in order to support the maintenance and management of the Wapping Wharf estate. For me, these customer interactions were the most enjoyable aspect of the experience, highlighting what property management is all about.
In the afternoon, I joined the team in a walking site inspection and supported with the completion of essential jobs like water flushing. This process prevents the risk of bacteria building up in taps and other infrequently used water outlets. What struck me was how the Estate Managers worked well as a team to complete this crucial health and safety role in line with the site’s Water Management plan. This is one of many important safety tasks that happen behind the scenes that our customers may not be aware of and which forms part of our effective property management strategy for the site.
As a mixed-used development, there are a lot of different tasks for our on-site teams to support at Wapping Wharf. Overall, the team’s goal is to ensure that the site runs smoothly and safely for everybody. Throughout my experience, I’ve seen how crucial flexibility, patience and customer care are to this role. The Estate Managers at Wapping Wharf demonstrated clear communication with contractors, and displayed empathy and consideration when addressing the needs of our customers.
