Private Landlords | Fedden Village
A view of this magnificent listed building, built on a sloping site overlooking the Bristol Channel in Portishead. Built in the late 19th century the main building at Fedden Village was a Nautical School commissioned to train young boys in the art of seamanship.
These boys would then be deployed into the Royal or Merchant Navy.
The school was closed and the last boys moved out in 1983. The site languished for a couple of years and the building deteriorated during this period.
Eventually a developer, Henry Hector, bought the site. However, due to the listing, the developer had to preserve the magnificent facade of the building which overlooks the Bristol Channel.
The Client
- The School Building now houses 93 luxury apartments. These have a variety of layouts, some properties being single storey and others being on two levels connected via winding wooden staircases. Owners come from various backgrounds, some being full year residents, some spending a large proportion of the year overseas and others letting out the apartments to tenants.
The Challenge
- To install a bespoke Integrated Reception System, taking into account the building’s unique aesthetic appearance and listed status.
- To complete the project in a four week time frame, not knowing the complete design and structural layout of the building.
- The building’s location caused difficulties in receiving reliable signals, compelling us to use two different transmitters to receive Digital Terrestrial and Analogue Terrestrial broadcasts.
- Inordinately long cable runs had to be avoided, and technical constraints and performance criteria therefore complicated our wiring designs.
The Result
A fully operational IRS system, with a minimum amount of cable or containment being routed on the outside of the building or on the inside in the communal corridors. Instead, dry risers and cavities in the walls and the loft areas were used wherever possible to house the cables. These routes had to be found on a search and try basis.
Testimonial
“We are delighted with the work which Avonline undertook for us. In fact the Board minutes following completion of the work contain the following statement:
'Several residents have expressed the opinion that the work was carried out in a very professional and unobtrusive manner and these comments will be passed on to Avonline.'
Residents have also noted a significant improvement in picture quality with the new IRS, after several years of poor reception.
This is true even of analogue reception, although the main purpose of the IRS is, of course, to prepare the building for the digital switchover at the end of 2009.
In summary I have no reservation whatsoever in recommending Avonline as a supplier of Integrated Reception Systems.”
Dr Fred Hewitt, Secretary to the Board,
Fedden Village
