Month: June 2024

Knowle Wood is the protected area of so-called “ancient woodland” which is located to the north of Little Meadow. With the informal help of somebody who knows about trees, we were alerted a few months ago to the fact that there could be issues that needed to be dealt with.

The Knowle Wood land is owned by Berkeley Homes (Southern) Ltd (“Berkeley Homes”) and we therefore asked them to arrange for the trees to be examined in order to identify any potential risks to property at Little Meadow or matters that could cause personal injury.

We’re not sure how widely Waverley Borough Council has circulated the information, but you may have received in the post a formal Notice of a Planning Application from them. The application has been made on behalf of Berkeley Homes following an independent report from a Consultant Arboriculturist which identifies a number of risks and recommends that certain remedial action should be taken. It is our view that the work will only make a modest difference to the overall appearance of Knowle Wood and we support the application.

You can see all the documents on Waverley’s Planning Portal.

Please be in no doubt that the work for which Berkeley Homes has sought permission is to ensure the safety of people and property and it is important for everyone that it gets approved, firstly by Waverley and then by The Forestry Commission which must issue a “felling licence”. You will be able to see the latest news in the Planning Portal as the application progresses.

It’s been a while since our last general update and you’ve probably wondered what the directors have been doing. 

The answer to that question is “a lot, we’ve been very busy!”.

The directors of Little Meadows (Cranleigh) Management Company Ltd (“LMC”) meet roughly every six to eight weeks and the most recent meeting was last Sunday, 2nd June.  A wide range of topics and issues were discussed:

• We have become aware that the standard of the landscape maintenance appears to have fallen recently.  We are learning as we go along and it is clear that Craig needs to come more frequently in this peak season of growth to stay on top of things.  A revised schedule is under discussion and we hope that this can start soon.  An increase in the frequency of his visits is obviously going to cost more but this should be largely offset by a reduction in his visits over the winter.
• The 31st March post here on the website about the use of the green/open space prompted us to think about whether the current layout is the best it can be.  As a result of this we’re considering a slight re-design, so that it will remain an attractive open space for all to use but hopefully it should be less than ideal for serious ball games.
• Living as we do very much “in the country” we have moles popping up again and we are arranging for a visit by the local mole man to advise us of the best way to discourage them.
• We are considering planting some additional decorative trees around the estate.  In some places there are still some dead trees standing, but their replacement remains Bellway’s responsibility and we are reluctant to tackle them until we have an agreement for reimbursement.
• The pathway through to Amber Parkside in Primrose Close is now open and the way through to Knowle Park should be open very soon [edit: it’s now open!].  Much of the boundary is overgrown and this will be tackled once the construction work the other side has been completed.  Similarly the boundary in Betony Close is to be tidied; the unruly brambles will be cut back and the trees trimmed.
• We think that some signage around the estate would be sensible and even more so now that visitors to Knowle Park might want to enter through Little Meadow.  We have in mind guidance on visitor parking, private roads etc.  It’s also intended to have a Little Meadow sign at the entrance to our estate which will say something like “Leading to Betony Close, Primrose Close and Yarrow Close”.
• We are sorry to mention FirstPort again, but they have still not provided us with any figures whatsoever for the period during which they were our managing agents, before our appointment as directors.  Because of this, we have no idea what happened to all the money we paid to them and to DJC Management Ltd before them.  We received an interim payment of £7,000 in January 2024 when their contract was terminated, but it is our view that they must still be holding a significant amount.  Remember, that is YOUR money (and ours!) which they were supposed to be keeping in a client account, in trust.  Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to get FirstPort to act professionally and honestly in this regard.
• Thanks to FirstPort, we have no figures for the financial year ended 30th September 2023 (or indeed for the previous year) so with a statutory filing deadline approaching we have decided just to file accounts for a dormant company at Companies House, which is technically permitted.  Frankly, they are meaningless but with effect from this current financial year the accounts will contain full details and of course we are now able to monitor current income and expenditure closely.
• The trees in Knowle Wood to the north of Little Meadow are classified as ancient woodland but the land is owned by Berkeley Homes who paid the princely sum of £1.00 for it.  That makes them responsible for the trees, many of which lean towards or overhang Little Meadow.  We have Berkeley Homes’ promise that they will carry out a professional tree survey to make sure all is well and we will follow this up soon.
• We have just renewed LMC’s insurance cover with an 18% saving on the premiums compared to last year.  The arrangements have been made via a broker suggested by our new managing agent, Tim Townsend.  The policies we inherited (which were taken out via a FirstPort insurance subsidiary) have now expired.
• We are sure you will have noticed the new steps to the slide mound in the play area.  These still need some fine-tuning: removing some rough edges, making the rise of the steps consistent etc., but we believe they enhance safety particularly for smaller children and their adult assistants!  A fresh RoSPA safety inspection can be viewed here and the necessary remedial action has been taken.
• We are considering whether to introduce some parking rules.  This is a complicated issue since we have private roads in addition to the soon-to-be-adopted (by Surrey County Council) Marjoram Avenue.  If we decide to change anything we’ll let you all know.
• We are still pursuing Bellway to complete our list of outstanding matters and it’s very frustrating that they continue to move at a snail’s pace.  Furthermore, we are pressing for ownership of the land comprising the common areas to be formally transferred to LMC.  This makes no practical difference except that it will be the moment that Bellway have to complete everything they are supposed to have done already and we can then wave goodbye.

As always, we will endeavour to keep you up-to-date and we would welcome any comments or suggestions. You may contact us via this website or feel free to email Tim Townsend at tim@alfm.co.uk