Grange Farm Development receives SBD Gold and ATLAS25 Recognition

The award recognises the work of Designing out Crime Officer (DOCO) Danny McPhail, the local authority and the developers.

Originally built in the 1960s as a temporary housing solution to meet rising demand, Grange Farm Estate was one of the last prefab estates still standing in London. 282 homes were constructed quickly in three-storey blocks using a now-outdated building material called Resiform - a type of glass fibre reinforced polyester panelling.

Before photos showing the prefab three-storey estate

Sixty years later and the flats had begun to seriously deteriorate. Roofs and panels were damaged, homes were inefficient to heat and the whole estate had become increasingly difficult to repair and maintain.

Along with the physical decline, Grange Farm Estate had also developed a reputation as a hotspot for crime and disorder. Gang activity and drugs were rife, and violent crime was not uncommon including serious incidents of acid attacks, stabbings and at least one shooting.

In 2019 the London Borough of Harrow approved a huge four-phase regeneration programme in partnership with developers Higgins Partnerships and Hawkins Brown Architects. The plan involves demolishing the old blocks to deliver approximately 500 homes, 40% of which will be social housing. The new Grange Farm development will also include a new community centre, shared public open spaces and new walking routes to transport links and local areas. DOCO McPhail from the Metropolitan Police has been a key adviser from the outset.

Phase One has already delivered 68 much needed new council homes, and 21 shared ownership properties for locals along with a new network of public streets and squares for communal use. However, recognising that the original pre-approved lighting plan fell very short of SBD crime prevention standards, the Met DOCO created an improved scheme involving extra lighting around the block and communal gardens.

On completion the three blocks of flats received SBD Gold awards, but the two town houses initially were awarded Silver. Harrow Council Housing wanted to aim higher and after further measurements suggested by Officer McPhail including the installation of extra lighting, CCTV and intruder alarms, Phase One of the development went on to achieve five SBD gold standard awards. Tenants have already moved in.

As a result of the regeneration up-to-date crime statistics show only one reported theft of a motor vehicle occurred in the two years since completion, no reports of anti-social behaviour by non-residents and no burglary or criminal damage reports.

Harrow Council has now launched Phase Two of the project which aims to deliver two new apartment blocks with secure bike storage and parking spaces, landscaped communal areas, pedestrian friendly streets and a children’s play park.

DOCO Danny McPhail commented, “It was a well-designed phase and Higgins understood the Secured by Design requirements. They kept in regular contact and ensured that any concerns were fully discussed and actioned upon. The only issue related to external lighting, which had been agreed without any prior discussion. However once it was identified Higgins addressed all the concerns in a timely manner and rightly obtained five Gold Secured by Design awards for the development.”

Yaseen Parkar, Pre-Construction Director (Technical) at Higgins Partnerships, commented: “We are privileged to receive the ‘Highly Commended’ Secured by Design award for our Grange Farm Phase One development.

“Not only did the scheme achieve Secured by Design Gold certification, but we were also informed that crime in that part of the estate has been almost non-existent since we handed the project over more than a year ago. That’s a clear testament to the effectiveness of these design measures in creating safer, more resilient communities.”

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What is Secured by Design?
Secured by Design (SBD) is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit.

SBD’s product based accreditation scheme – the Police Preferred Specification - provides a recognised standard for all security products that can deter and reduce crime.

There are currently many hundreds of companies producing thousands of attack resistant crime prevention products, across 30 different crime categories, which have achieved Police Preferred Specification.

Improved security
Developers around the UK can achieve SBD awards for incorporating crime prevention measures and techniques into their developments in all kinds of building sectors, such as residential, education, health, transport, commercial, retail, sport and leisure. Indeed, SBD can be used as evidence to discharge third-party obligations under Part Q of Schedule 1 (Security) to the English Building Regulations, the Scottish Building Standard 4.13 (Security) and Welsh Building Regulations Part Q (Security – Dwellings). These awards are gained by working with police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs), who advise architects, developers and local authority planners long before construction begins – and continue to provide advice and guidance until the development is complete. 

Academic and other research shows that improving standards of security in brand new and refurbished properties, helps deter and reduce crime. Reducing crime and the fear of crime has direct links to better physical and mental well-being, such as with regard to high volume crimes like domestic abuse.    

The built environment influences the behaviour of people who work, live, socialise or simply pass through. SBD seeks to create environments where the law-abiding feel safe and secure whilst at the same time causing the criminal or anti-social to feel vulnerable to detection and thereby influence behaviour in a positive way. This continues to be a key objective for SBD.

Find out more about SBD Developers Awards here.

SBD Design Guides
SBD has produced a series of authoritative Design Guides to assist the building, design and construction industry to incorporate security into developments to comply with the Building Regulations in England, Scotland and Wales and meet the requirements of SBD.

These Design Guides, available to download for free at the SBD website, have been updated over the years to keep pace with changing patterns of criminal behaviour and advances in building design and new technology.

They are a valuable source of reference to architects, developers, self-builders, local authority planners and police officers and cover a range of building sectors, including residential, education, health, transport and commercial.  

Police Designing Out Crime Officers 
DOCOs provide specialist crime reduction advice to the public, businesses and colleagues about premises or property security. They also work with building developers, architects, and council planning departments regarding new developments and refurbishments, to 'design out' crimes like burglary and anti-social behaviour (ASB) by providing advice on street lighting, building and street layout, entrances and exits - as well as preferred standards and specifications for doors, windows, and locks, under the Secured by Design initiative. 

DOCOs are able to deliver site specific interventions required to help design out crime in areas that suffer disproportionately from acquisitive crime, based on local crime pattern analysis, police, local authority and community engagement and the collective knowledge and experience of how criminals behave.
DOCOs are specialist problem solvers, working every day to make a positive difference, changing lives for the better and helping people to be safe and secure in their homes.

Contact details for local DOCOs can be found here.