Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has, in addition to the major refurbishment works to the large housing estates at Moorish Castle, Glacis and Laguna Estates, also over the last few years embarked on the complete external refurbishment of other buildings which make the Government’s Housing stock.

Many of these buildings are located in the Upper Town so the refurbishment also goes hand in hand with Government’s urban renewal strategy for this area.

The refurbishment of Macfarlane House was completed recently and it has undergone a complete transformation. The works undertaken were as follows:

• The facade of the building was refurbished with a proprietary insulated render to improve its thermal capacity.
• A new proprietary mono pitch roof system has been fitted over the flat roof areas
• All windows were replaced with new energy efficient composite windows and shutters
• Internal communal areas including staircases, lobbies and corridors were also refurbished which included painting and replacing of floor tiles
• New trunking installed from the roof space to the ground floor on both stairwells to tidy up services.
• Redundant salt water tanks emptied and now by passed so that there are no longer any tanks or pipes in the roof area
• All pipework for fresh water and salt water systems have been renewed
• New letter boxes were installed to accommodate larger envelopes
• Existing steel bridge and handrails was also refurbished and painted and new no-slip external quality floor paint was applied to the walkway
• Existing concrete bridge was treated with a proprietary epoxy concrete repair system and painted over
• New aluminium main entrance doors suitable for heavy duty use were installed
• Existing stone walls thoroughly cleaned
• All aerials, accretions and redundant fixtures, fittings and pipework removed throughout

Such works were in line with the building beside, Anderson House, which has also underwent a major refurbishment before MacFarlane.

Anderson House has gone through a complete transformation, from a weathered and tired Government Rental Block to a brand new looking building. A bespoke mono-pitched roof has been installed to the existing flat roof to eradicate the rainwater penetration issues suffered by various tenants over the years. The external walls have been further enhanced with the addition of an approved insulation layer to improve the environmental footprint of the building. New drying line baskets have also been introduced. All windows have been replaced with double-glazed units to add to the environmental performance of the building. As part of the refurbishment, the stairwell cores have also gone through a change by overhauling certain elements within this part of the building.

Commenting on the major refurbishment works, Minster for Housing Samantha Sacramento said: “Our investment in the major refurbishment of Governmental stock has not stopped at the major estates. At the same that we have been refurbishing the previous forgotten estates at Glacis, Laguna and Moorish Castle, we have continued with a capital works programme in other areas too. Anderson House and the recently completed MacFarlane House are examples of two of these and there can be no doubt that these works, which have been completed to a very high standard, have most definitely improved the tenant and visitor experience. These are but two examples of the work that we have undertaken and we will continue with our refurbishment plan of the housing stock.

“These refurbishment works are a true testament to the commitment of this Government both to our tenants who live in rented housing stock as is our commitment to rejuvenate the upper town and to tackle as many existing Government Residential Buildings as possible.”