Improving Fire Safety in Student Accommodation at Askham Bryan College
Project: Fire Stopping Installation
Client/Contractor name: NEO
Location: York
Framework/DPS: Fire Safety (FS2)
About the Project
Askham Bryan College identified the need for extensive fire safety remediation works across its estate. With students living on campus and teaching continuing throughout the year, the college needed to deliver vital upgrades while maintaining a safe, fully operational learning environment.
Through the Northern Procurement Alliance (NPA) Fire Safety (FS2) framework, the college appointed Neo, a PTSG company and specialist contractor in passive fire protection to undertake the works.
Alongside improving fire safety compliance, the project supported wider social value outcomes by creating safer environments for students, staff and visitors, protecting access to education and strengthening the resilience of an important educational institution serving the region.
The Challenge
Askham Bryan College had a fixed 10-week delivery window between 7 April and 27 July 2026. The accommodation blocks remained occupied, requiring works to be carefully planned around the needs of students, residence managers and the college's estates team.
To ensure minimum disruption to the running of the estate, the college needed to:
- Complete all works before the start of the new academic year
- Maintain normal operation of occupied accommodation blocks throughout delivery
- Ensure all operatives met strict safeguarding requirements, including Enhanced DBS clearance
- Manage restricted access arrangements, including delayed access to student bedrooms
- Maintain a comprehensive audit trail for every fire safety installation
The project was further complicated by discrepancies between the original surveys and conditions identified on site. As works progressed, additional remediation requirements emerged, requiring programmes to be reviewed and adjusted while maintaining progress against the completion deadline.
The Solution
Neo worked closely with Askham Bryan College to develop a delivery programme built around the needs of students, accommodation managers and the college estates team.
The delivery team undertook detailed site reviews and implemented a phased approach to ensure works could be completed safely within occupied buildings.
Key elements of the strategy included:
- Fire safety improvements were undertaken within 8 accommodation buildings
- Early procurement of materials to support programme certainty
- Building-by-building and floor-by-floor sequencing aligned to occupancy levels
- Flexible programming to accommodate changing site conditions and evolving scope
- Robust quality assurance and compliance processes throughout delivery
Because students remained in residence throughout the programme, communication played a critical role in the success of the project. The estates team coordinated communication with students, providing advance notice of works and access requirements.
Access to accommodation blocks was carefully managed, with works beginning from 9:00am and access to student bedrooms restricted until 10:00am. Daily discussions between the delivery team and residence managers ensured schedules could be adjusted based on room availability and student occupancy.
To support student wellbeing and safeguarding, health and safety information was shared through the estates team, project information was displayed on notice boards and operatives wore clearly identifiable uniforms so students knew who to approach if they had questions or concerns.
This collaborative approach enabled the project team to respond quickly to challenges, maintain positive relationships with stakeholders and identify efficiencies that generated savings for the college.
The Results
The project was completed on time and without disruption to student accommodation operations.
Neo enhanced fire safety measures in 8 student accommodation buildings. The works promoted individual wellbeing by ensuring students now feel safe and secure.
Careful scheduling and regular communication helped minimise disruption, ensuring students could continue living, studying and accessing support services throughout the programme, improving health and wellbeing.
The project supported educational continuity by enabling students to remain safely accommodated throughout the programme.
The project also demonstrated strong responsible business practices through rigorous safeguarding procedures, proactive stakeholder engagement and collaborative problem solving when unexpected challenges arose.
Working closely with the Estates and Facilities teams enabled solutions to be developed quickly, helping the college maintain programme objectives while managing costs effectively.
Benefits Delivered
The NPA Fire Safety (FS2) framework provided Askham Bryan College with a compliant and efficient route to market, enabling the appointment of a specialist contractor with proven fire safety expertise.
Benefits included:
- Access to pre-qualified fire safety specialists
- A fully compliant procurement route
- Reduced procurement time and resource requirements
- Confidence in contractor competence and quality standards
- Delivery of critical safety improvements within programme deadlines
- Minimal disruption to students living on campus
- Strong stakeholder engagement throughout delivery
- Safe, compliant accommodation for current and future residents
- Wider social value outcomes through improved wellbeing, safeguarding and community resilience
FS2 helps education providers and other public sector organisations procure passive and active fire safety works efficiently and compliantly, supporting both building safety objectives and wider social value outcomes.
Barry Whitehead, Operations Director at Neo
Mark Gent, Director of Estates and Facilities