The Opportunity
UPP is one of the UK’s leading providers of on-campus student accommodation, partnering with universities to create and manage residential communities for thousands of students nationwide. As part of its ongoing commitment to building safety, compliance, and responsible asset management, UPP appointed Anstey Horne to undertake a comprehensive review of fire safety arrangements across a portfolio of 16 student accommodation blocks.
The commission was driven by UPP’s need for clear, reliable documentation of the fire safety position across its estate. This required an understanding not only of how each building had been designed, but also how it had ultimately been constructed and how it performs in day-to-day occupation. Given that many of the buildings had evolved over time, UPP sought assurance that its fire safety management arrangements accurately reflected the real, as-built condition of each asset.
Our Approach
Anstey Horne produced a suite of 16 retrospective fire strategies, each tailored to the specific characteristics of the individual building. Our approach combined a detailed review of available construction information with comprehensive site inspections, enabling us to establish both the Type A as-built position—documenting the building as constructed—and the occupied position, reflecting current use, layout, and management practices.
Where information gaps, deviations, or areas of concern were identified, these were clearly documented alongside practical, proportionate recommendations to support UPP in meeting its ongoing management and compliance obligations.
The project delivered a portfolio of clear, accessible, and consistent fire strategy documents, providing UPP’s estates and compliance teams with an auditable baseline across all 16 assets. Rather than relying on generic assessments, each strategy reflected the unique design, construction, and operational characteristics of the building it described.
The result was a robust evidence base that enhanced UPP’s understanding of its estate, strengthened confidence in its fire safety management arrangements, and provided a valuable foundation for future maintenance, refurbishment, and investment decisions.
