The challenge
Curaa operates residential care homes housing vulnerable adults. The buildings date from the early 1800s to the Victorian period and have had multiple updates and additions over many years under different owners. They are occupied around the clock, every day of the year. Any inspection method involving scaffolding, noise, or restricted access has a direct impact on residents’ wellbeing and daily routines.
Condition data was virtually non-existent. Manual roof inspections were intermittent and limited by access. Ageing buildings, patched fixes over many years, and multiple previous owners meant a consistent, impartial assessment had never been done.
One site, Broome End, sits inside the Stansted Airport Flight Restriction Zone, requiring pre-flight approval from ATC.
What Ovrsite delivered
Ovrsite inspected all homes without scaffolding, without disruption to residents, and without restricting access to gardens or communal areas. For Broome End within the Stansted FRZ, airspace clearance was obtained from ATC in advance.
The heritage construction of these buildings means traditional scaffolding carries additional risk of damage to period features. UAV capture removed that risk entirely while providing high-resolution imagery of roof structures, chimneys, parapets and stonework that would otherwise require expensive specialist access.
AI-assisted analysis produced a complete condition record across all homes, with every finding geolocated and photographed. For buildings where virtually no prior condition data existed, this was the first comprehensive evidence base the operator had ever had.
The result
Curaa received a complete condition record covering building elements that had gone uninspected for years because of the cost and disruption of traditional access methods. The data supports CQC regulatory requirements around premises maintenance and gives the operator’s board a clear, evidence-led picture of what investment planning is needed across the portfolio.
For buildings of this age, having a dated, located condition record is particularly valuable because it establishes a baseline. When the next inspection runs, Curaa will be able to see exactly what has changed and where, moving from reactive maintenance to planned, evidence-led capital allocation.
Ovrsite is now the preferred provider for all new property acquisitions by Curaa.