Meeting: Residents Meeting – Phase 1, Newhall
Date of Meeting: 29th February 2024 at 7.00pm
Held at: Newhall Primary Academy
Issued by / on: 28th June 2024
Present:
Zack Jermy – Property Manager from SHW (ZJ)
Dominic Brownlee – Estate Manager at Newhall (DB)
Marco Devereux – Project Engineer for Newhall Projects (MD)
Derek Hamilton – Communication and Community Development Coordinator (DH)
In addition to homeowners from over 30 different properties (names & addresses omitted to comply with GDPR)
Introduction & Opening Comments
ZJ introduced himself to residents as the Property Manager at SHW looking after Newhall whilst Laura Dinnage is away on maternity leave. Introductory documents had been provided ahead of the meeting and residents were informed they can contact him after with any questions, or use his contact details should anything arise moving forwards. DB, MD, DH gave an overview of their individual roles.
Overview of Previous Meeting Minutes
ZJ discussed previous meeting minutes:
ZJ highlighted that planting by the boardwalk had now been completed.
A request at previous meeting had been for additional play spaces still to be installed. ZJ and MD advised that a request/plan had been submitted to the council but refused. Resident questioned why the application had been refused, MD informed that this had not been provided, and that Harlow Town Council had not approved their proposal. MD explained that they now intended to use the space as a sort of shaped/maintained woodland area, and plans are being drafted to facilitate such.
EV charging had been raised at the previous meeting. ZJ advised that new posts are in and are now fully operational. ZJ directed residents to the website for more information on costs and how to sign up for a resident discount. A resident asked if there are any safety lights, DH confirmed that there are lights but not cameras yet.
ZJ advised that in line with the previous years’ minutes, a document would be provided along with the minutes for the 2024 meeting detailed larger items of expenditure throughout the year.
ZJ highlighted that concerns with footpaths damaged by tree roots had been addressed and repaired.
Service Charge Budget 2024 and Associated Increase
Copies of the budget had been provided ahead of the meeting along with Q1 charges. ZJ confirmed the annual estate service charge has risen by approximately £60 per year, per property. ZJ explained it was appreciated that such an increase was a concern for many and expressed his regret that it was not communicated farther in advance of the new bills.
ZJ explained that the approximate 17% increase had been necessary in order to better reflect anticipated expenditure. ZJ pointed to minimal increases applied over the last 3-4 years’ service charges, which had been maintained at between £300 and £325 since before Covid. When considering the total inflation over this same 3-4 year period, the estate charge had increased at a very similar level
ZJ confirmed that this had been primarily driven due to increased landscaping/gardening costs, which came into effect April 2023. ZJ advised that a similar large increase is not currently projected for the 2025 service charge year.
ZJ highlighted that in his opinion, the quality and appearance of the facilities and community at Newhall is very high and that based on his experience and from examining charges for developments in similar positions/situations to Newhall in nearby areas, he considered £395 per year as a fair and reasonable estate charge, and again repeated that whilst the sudden increase was regrettable, this was an indication that previous yearly collections had been low, rather than an symptom that the new charge is overly high.
A resident questioned why some areas around Newhall are better maintained than others. ZJ responded that certain areas hadn’t yet been taken over from the developer(s) yet, and until they were raised to a sufficient standard they wouldn’t be. This is to ensure that any remedial or snags or other similar work is funded by the developers directly, rather than having to be met by communal estate charge funds.
A resident requested copies of conveyance plans – ZJ advised that he would provide a link to the Newhall Residents website page which detailed a series of plans following the meeting. A question was raised about the difference between a property with stone/cobbled frontage and a property with grass frontage, ZJ informed that because Phase 1 had multiple different developers involved across the phase, there is a variation in the make-up of the front grounds. A resident asked if they could maintain their front gardens themselves, to which ZJ referred residents to their Deed of Covenant to see what they’re entitled to do, but maintained that front gardens across Phase 1 remained the responsibility of the estate gardening team. ZJ did comment that he and DB were more than happy to listen to specific requests, and would escalate any to Newhall Projects for consideration if appropriate.
MD and ZJ reminded residents that their estate service charge contributes towards the maintenance of the whole estate, not just front grounds of their property, nor just Phase 1 areas. Aside from gardening and landscaping, it also includes waste removal (bin collections), dog waste removal (and dog waste bin collections), with a team of 5 gardeners and 1 estate manager on site every day.
A question was raised as to whether the grounds maintenance contract had been re-tendered properly, and whether correct areas were being covered. ZJ confirmed this had been conducted correctly and advised that copies of the landscaping specification and plans would be uploaded to the website the following day.
A resident highlighted a specific clause in documents for a Phase 1 property that they believed had been interpreted and applied incorrectly, commenting that it showed front gardens should not fall under communal maintenance. ZJ asked the resident to provide the specific clause after the meeting and he would investigate accordingly.
A question was raised on the inclusion of the estate manager provision within the budget. ZJ advised that item covered all costs involved with the role of the estate manager, including base salary, pay roll costs, overtime if required, holiday cover if required, and any other associated items with the role. ZJ added that a description of each role will be issued shortly, which will detail the responsibility of each individual position – i.e. the role of SHW, the estate manager, landscapers, and so forth.
Question asked on reserve fund total, ZJ advised at the time of the year-ending December 2022 there had been approximately £200,000 in the reserve fund, a figure that can be seen reflected on the year-end financial statement, copies of which can be found on the aforementioned Newhall Residents website. ZJ confirmed that once 2023 accounts were finalised, an updated financial statement would be posted online; this would likely be in around June or July.
Several residents raised concerns with the parking issues at Flint Lane, Langdale Street & The Chase. ZJ and MD advised that residents should contact the developer, Vistry. There is little that either SHW or Newhall Projects could do here, given the roads do not fall under their responsibility.
A resident queried on the nature of who made the decision to introduce a 20mph speed limit, MD confirmed this formed part of the requirements of the traffic and road planning.
A resident from one of the blocks of apartments raised concerns with their insurance policy and an ongoing claim. ZJ asked the resident to approach him separately after the meeting or using the contact details previously provided, as he was unable to address block management matters in the greater Phase 1 meeting due to the limited time.
Grounds Maintenance & Landscaping
ZJ commented that grounds maintenance items had already been discussed under the previous item and progressed the agenda.
Community Engagement, Communication, and Interaction
Due to time constraints, ZJ progressed the meeting to item 6 so that area specific items could be discussed. ZJ and DH confirmed further communication would be made in due course regarding greater resident involvement in community matters.
Area Specific Items:
ZJ advised that the issues with the potholes and road adoptions both remain with the council. ZJ and MD encouraged residents to report issues such as the potholes to the council. MD advised that unfortunately Newhall Projects have not been given a time-line on how quickly these will be actioned.
Resident asked for details to be provided to show different responsible parties across the estate.
Further query was raised relating to the ongoing road adoption progress. MD advised there had recently been a change of contact for road adoption matters at Vistry, Ben Hunt is now involved and believes there will be an improvement in the next few months.
Resident raised issue with how long road issues are taking to resolve. MD advised roads are safe and serviceable and not a priority, but they are continually referred to Essex Highways. MD assured that Newhall Projects were equally keen for all road adoptions to be resolved, but many items were out of their hands. MD and ZJ agreed to publish separate guidance in the near future.
Any Other Business/Residents Questions
ZJ confirmed a full development tree survey had been carried out and the few low-risk resultant works had been instructed.
Community Centre – MD advised that the old timbers had now been safely taken down and were currently being refurbished by a specialist, for re-use. Works proper would likely begin later in the year. MD cannot provide definitive timeframes but believed the community centre is likely to be complete by the end of 2025.
ZJ highlighted to all present that he was aware of misinformation being circulated regarding potential remortgaging issues. ZJ stressed that there should be no issues with remortgaging, nor had he been previously been made aware of residents being required to pay exorbitant fees. ZJ advised that the fixed rent charge is contained within the Deed of Covenant and rentcharge. This has been checked with solicitors and more information will be provided in due course, including an accompanying guidance note. ZJ advised resident surgeries will be set up in due course, likely to be held on a Thursday between 10am – 1pm, and that any residents would be welcome to attend the estate office to discuss any issues that they may have.
With no further comments, the meeting finished at 8:20pm.
