Author: Directors

The directors have asked Tim to engage a “mole man” to deal with the damage in the common areas which has become increasingly apparent in recent weeks.

We understand that moles prefer to live in deciduous woodland, farmland or grassland, where there is an abundance of food.  They are fiercely territorial and a resident mole will never allow another to share its territory. So in other words there are likely to be only a very small number of moles that are producing the large number of molehills we are seeing.

The contractor who has been recommended to us has said that he has never known as big a problem generally with moles as he has seen this year, so he is very busy. He deals with them humanely by trapping them, using no chemicals.

Areas of molehills have appeared at the side of the green open space, up the wooded side of Marjoram Avenue and Yarrow Close and there are also some in Betony Close. No doubt there are others around which he’ll search for and we think it’s most likely that there are also issues in residents’ private gardens, so if that’s the case you might wish to contact our contractor (although it could be better to wait and see how successful he is!). Alternatively, you may see him working about the estate and could speak to him. His name is Paul Stanford of Ronin Mole & Pest Control and he is a member of the Association of Professional Molecatchers and the British Traditional Molecatchers Register.

We have kept you informed in our earlier updates about the landscape maintenance issues we have been having and we are now very pleased to report that a new contractor has been appointed.

We considered five quotes, not only on the basis of cost, but also upon our assessment of the capabilities and potential reliability of each of the businesses. We would have liked to have chosen a business from this area; however, we found that the only local ones with spare capacity were quite small and we felt that we did not wish to go down that route again, reflecting upon what happened the last time!

A reliable source introduced us to Countrywide Grounds Maintenance Ltd and it’s a pretty substantial business as you’ll gather from their website which is linked here. You’ll also see that they have a very broad range of clients, large and small. They operate from 46 regional locations (our particular region is based in Crawley) and around the UK they employ almost 700 people. Turnover for the whole group for the last financial year amounted to some £40,000,000.

Countrywide has set out an annual plan for keeping Little Meadow up to the standard we would all like to see and so in the spring/summer growing season they will visit every week, but much less frequently during the winter months. The cost to LMC is more than we have been paying but part of that uplift is due to the fact that there was no VAT to pay before. We’re pretty confident it’ll be worth it.

You’ll undoubtedly soon see Countrywide’s trucks and uniformed staff around the estate. They start tomorrow, Wednesday 7th August, and in the coming months they will be gradually catching up with everything that’s fallen behind.

As always the directors would welcome your feedback and ideas, please just use the contact form.

The directors of Little Meadow Cranleigh have appointed a company based in Bramley to fabricate and install a number of signs.

These signs, which will all include a Little Meadow logo on a green background to give Little Meadow a distinct identity, are to control traffic speed, ensure parking is only permissible for residents and their guests and other uses listed below.

The signs are:

• Main sign to state that Little Meadow is a private residential area.
• Additional road signs under the two Marjoram Avenue signs at the Alfold Road junction to state “leading to Betony Close, Primrose Close and Yarrow Close”.
• One 15mph speed limit sign near the beginning of Marjoram Avenue. This is aimed at delivery drivers especially, as there are shared roads used by vehicles and pedestrians.
• Children’s play area to be only for children under 8 and no dogs allowed.
• Open space only for the use of residents and their guests. Dogs permitted provided they are on a lead.
• A number of “parking for residents and visitors only” signs in the bays not directly outside a residence.
• Private Road signs to Betony Close, Primrose Close and Yarrow Close to state parking is for residents and their visitors only.

You may have noticed that there is an issue with the landscape maintenance at Little Meadow.

Craig Dunkley, who took on the job at the beginning of the year, hasn’t been on-site for almost three weeks now and despite numerous attempts by our managing agent, Tim Townsend, with phone messages, emails and texts, he has been unable to make contact.  We are obviously very concerned that something may have happened beyond Craig’s control.

We are fully aware of how Little Meadow looks at the moment so please bear with us while we continue our efforts.  We may have to find another contractor urgently if we are unsuccessful.

Update 21st June 2024:

Still no success in contacting Craig. It’s uncharacteristic and quite worrying.

We are urgently seeking somebody to deal with the immediate problem of giving the grass a good cut throughout. That will give us time to find a new landscape maintenance business to take on the regular visits we need in future.

The problem we are finding is that all the local businesses we have contacted are already fully committed in this peak growing season and therefore they cannot give Little Meadow the time it needs, either as a one-off or on an ongoing basis. If you have any useful suggestions please let the directors know immediately via the website contact form, or email Tim Townsend direct: tim@alfm.co.uk.

Update 27th June 2024

Thanks to everybody who has provided Tim with the names of possible businesses to carry out our landscape maintenance – your suggestions are very much appreciated. All of these have been contacted and unfortunately most have said they are already fully committed and therefore unable to help.

However, we are relieved to say that we now have some possible leads and we are pursuing these urgently. While the longer term arrangements still need to be finalised, you should see the grass finally being cut next Tuesday 2nd July by a local gardener, Jason Hammond, who has agreed to help us out. It may not all be done at once, but he’ll do his best to complete the work as quickly possible while working around his existing commitments.

Obviously we’ll continue to provide updates about this pressing issue.

Update 3rd July 2024

Yesterday, Jason Hammond came as promised and he made a good start.

Considering he carried out the work without his team (we were told in advance that they would be working elsewhere) and so it was just him with a standard petrol mower and a strimmer he made reasonable progress. The front of the estate is looking a little better and the green open space and playground is nicely cut. He worked hard, but as expected he did not have time to cut all the grass nor to trim any bushes or extract any weeds, so many areas are still looking overgrown.

He’s returning as arranged next Tuesday 9th July to carry on and hopes then to have others with him to assist.

Tim (our managing agent) who is working closely with the directors, continues to make progress with the difficult task of finding a permanent replacement for Craig. As always we will keep everybody updated here.

Update 17th July 2024

We now have five quotes to consider and a final decision will be made within the next couple of days.

A big “thank-you” to those who provided the names of possible contractors and also we appreciate everyone’s patience while we have been working to find somebody suitable.

Jason Hammond has agreed that he can come back on Tuesday 23rd July to cut some grass because it’ll probably take a couple of weeks to get a new contractor on board, whichever it may be.

It’ll take a while to get Little Meadow’s general appearance back to where it should be, but we’ll get there as soon as we can!

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

The last annual meeting took place on 26th April 2023 chaired by somebody from DJC Management Ltd, now known as FirstPort Property Services No.10 Ltd. It was attended by about thirty-five owners at Little Meadow who voted to appoint the six current directors, all of whom are themselves owners.

FirstPort’s services (if they could be called that) were subsequently terminated and a new managing agent was appointed.

We are appalled that FirstPort have so far failed to provide us with any meaningful financial information for the financial year ended 30th September 2023 nor for any preceding year, which they are contractually obliged to do. This financial information would enable us to see how FirstPort was spending our money and maybe more importantly we would be able to establish how much of our money they are still holding – money they should have paid over to LMC long before now.

The directors are considering what course of action might be appropriate to persuade FirstPort to honour its contractual obligations and meantime we will be filing statutory accounts to 30th September 2023 for LMC as a dormant company in accordance with the professional advice we have received. If we did not do so by 30th June 2024, LMC would run the risk of being struck off the Companies Register.

In the absence of any financial information it’s unlikely that a meeting would serve any useful purpose beyond a general discussion and so the directors think that it would be best to delay fixing one until later in the year. We have early December in mind, which would mean that we will have all the current year’s figures to hand even if FirstPort still hasn’t provided them for the preceding years.

Owners/members are entitled to call for an earlier meeting if they wish to have one; however, the directors are always available to answer any questions should they arise and to receive suggestions, so please just get in touch.

This entire area is wide open to the public but it is actually in private ownership (soon to be LMC’s once the legal transfer of the common areas from Bellway is finally completed). We are aware that in recent days it has been used for ball games by a few people who may not be residents at Little Meadow and that this has caused concern.

We are considering what steps we can take to ensure that the area is treated with respect, thereby minimising disturbance to local residents and avoiding any potential damage to the landscaping and to parked and passing cars.

This is a difficult issue for which any practical solutions would be welcomed.

Tim Townsend (A Lambert Flat Management Ltd) sent out the invoices for the second half-year’s service charges, 1st April 2024 to 30th September 2024, at the end of last week.

Please settle the amount due, which is the same as the first half-year’s charge, as soon as possible.

The final deadline for settlement is 7th April 2024 after which additional costs may be incurred.

As always, please contact Tim directly at tim@alfm.co.uk if there are any queries or alternatively use the contact form on this website.

You may have noticed that Craig Dunkley and his team have been working at Little Meadow over the past few days.

So far they have concentrated on the grass verges; mowing the green and the play area; weeding beds and trimming bushes. Shortly they will be topping up the bark mulch on all the flower beds and around the bases of the trees to help prevent weeds.

They have also commenced the clearing of some previously neglected areas – with a lot more still to be tackled.

Craig and his team will be back twice a month from now onwards and subject to satisfactory weather conditions the next two visits will be on 12th and 26th February. Little Meadow should be a tidy and attractive place to live and we believe that a good start has been made!

We hope that we have identified all the things that need to be dealt with, but the directors would welcome your input in case we have overlooked something, so please let us have any feedback via the “Contact the directors” page. As you know, Tim Townsend has now taken up his duties as Managing Agent, acting for LMC, so you may also contact him directly by email tim@alfm.co.uk

Here are some photos to show some of what’s been achieved so far. You can click on any photo to see a slideshow.

It has come to our attention that FirstPort has just written to a number of Little Meadow owners demanding payment of debts which have already been settled in full.

FirstPort was informed by LMC’s directors via a “signed-for” letter and email on 18th September 2023 that they were no longer authorised to collect monies on behalf of LMC or to take any action in respect of alleged arrears; also that future payments would be directed to LMC’s own bank account.

If you should receive a similar communication from them please inform the directors immediately using the website “Contact the directors” form.

FirstPort’s letters were dated 8th January 2024 and, as you are already aware, after 7th January 2024 FirstPort no longer acts for LMC in any way whatsoever.

Update, Monday 15th January:

Just for information we have received a reply from FirstPort to our robust complaint email which says:

“I sincerely apologise you received communication the day after the handover.  I can confirm that our system is showing the site has moved from FirstPort.  As you received communication the day after handover, I can only assume that the system did not update this detail quickly in order for the billing team to see this clearly.”

Let’s hope that’s the end of it, but of course please let us know immediately if you receive any communication from them.

By the way, you may be interested to click on the link below – you can judge for yourself what type of company FirstPort is!

https://www.allagents.co.uk/firstport.co.uk/reviews/

First of all, the Directors of LMC wish you all a very happy holiday season and a great 2024!

On 8th January 2024 our new Managing Agent will take over responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Little Meadow estate, including the invoicing of future service charges – although for maximum financial security, payments from owners will continue to be directed to LMC’s own bank account just like last time.

We obtained management proposals from three potential firms and we judged that Tim Townsend offered Little Meadow the best combination of value and personal service. This is what Tim had to say in his CV:

I am a Chartered Surveyor, and have spent my entire career in Property Management (almost 40 years). I have managed residential blocks and estates; and a variety of commercial premises predominantly in Hants and Dorset. I had my own practice based in Bournemouth, which I owned for 20 years, and then merged with a competitor in 2019 and I sold my shares in 2022. Since then, I have only managed a small portfolio based from home in Chandlers Ford. I am not allowed to manage for others in the majority of Hants or Dorset for three years, but I am allowed to manage outside of that area, and hence I am free to act for you.

I was also a Director, and on the Board of, the industry association which is The Association of Residential Managing Agents (“ARMA”) for four years – I had to resign from there when I sold my business, as I was no longer active in the industry.

I currently manage ten different properties and am looking to take on no more than another five sites over the next six to twelve months. That will allow me to give a very personal, attentive, and professional service, backed by 40 years of experience. I am deliberately keeping my new business very small, it is just me and I would be responsible for every part of the management process, from agreeing budgets with you, sending out invoices, collecting service charges, liaising with contractors, residents, Directors, and any other professional advisers and everything else involved in running an estate. My intention is to keep running a small business providing this personal service for many years to come.

From 8th January 2024, owners may contact Tim directly if there are any issues to be dealt with or if you prefer you can continue to route these via the website “Contact the directors” page.

Tim Townsend MRICS MIRPM
A Lambert Flat Management Ltd
12 Hiltingbury Road
Chandlers Ford
SO53 5ST
Phone: 07811 406057‬
Email: tim@alfm.co.uk

We have taken some huge steps forward since we were appointed directors at the end of April 2023 even though we have been thwarted many, many times by DJC Management, later FirstPort and of course by Bellway throughout!

Some visible changes will finally start to become apparent early in the new year as a huge backlog of maintenance issues is to be tackled by our new landscape maintenance contractor. You can see on this plan what is to be done.

As always, please tell us via the contact form if there is anything you want to say.

There is a statutory requirement for an annual safety inspection of the play area and this was carried out in November by a representative of Playsafety Ltd. They are licensed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (“RoSPA”).

A copy of the report may be downloaded here.

One remedial matter was identified – updating the contact details on the signage – and this is being dealt with so that our new managing agent’s details will appear there as soon as he is appointed in early January 2024.

We still believe that the slopes on the slide mound are too steep and we continue to pursue Bellway for this to be remedied; however, the inspector maintained that this was a marginal issue which he would classify as a landscaping matter and therefore not relevant to his report.

In addition to the annual inspection, a weekly visual inspection is also being carried out by a designated director. Obviously, if you should spot anything that needs to be dealt with, please contact the directors immediately via the website contact form and it will be handled as a matter of urgency.

It’s about a month since the last news here, so an update is due.

Almost all of the forty-eight personal owners at Little Meadow have now paid directly to LMC’s own company bank account their Service Charges for the first half-year 1st October 2023 to 31st March 2024. The very few that remain outstanding will have received a follow-up reminder email and they have been asked to pay as soon as possible.

Aster Housing Association will also be settling the charges shortly for each of their twenty-seven properties, but the change of payee from FirstPort to LMC has meant a short delay while the new details are checked and added to their system for each individual property. The relevant tenants/part-owners will be contacted directly by Aster for settlement of their total charges; that’s if they’ve not had something already.

A full list of owners’ names and email addresses has been compiled by LMC in the absence of any help whatsoever from FirstPort and so we are almost ready to hand over the day-to-day work and future invoicing to our new managing agent, although settlement will continue to be directed to LMC’s own bank account. The new appointment will take place in early January 2024 when our current contract lapses. The directors are meeting on-site with the new agent on 6th December 2023 and we’re currently agreeing the wording of the management contract. The change of managing agent should be a breath of fresh air after the dreadful experience we have had with FirstPort.

On that subject, FirstPort have continued to be unhelpful to the point of being obstructive, but within the last week we were finally sent a timetable for ending our involvement with them. They have a lot of work to do before the split and, after it takes place, detailed accounts will be prepared and there will be a final payment of LMC’s money to LMC’s own bank account – this will include any accrued sinking fund. We anticipate some “robust discussions” before we get everything agreed.

After receiving Little Meadow owners’ payments LMC finally has some money available and we’re bringing on board the local company Craig Dunkley Landscaping. They did the final grass cutting of the season for us after Allwinds abandoned Little Meadow (we suspect that was because they hadn’t been paid by FirstPort) and in future they will be coming regularly. If you’re on FaceBook you can see their page by clicking here.

We are also getting some quotes to put right some of the other outstanding issues that have been reported to us so that these can be rectified without too much further delay.

The saga with the remaining Bellway issues continues, so unfortunately we have seen very few changes to some of the areas of Little Meadow that are crying out for attention. Many promises have been made by Bellway but few have been actioned, so there is still a lot for them to do. The latest plan was that work to resolve matters was to start on 6th November 2023 but that date came and went with almost nothing happening and anyway, Bellway never released to LMC the full list of what they intended to do. As we’ve indicated before, our preference would be for Bellway to pay LMC a sum of money to cover everything that needs to be done and for LMC to make the necessary arrangements – all we can say is that we continue to put pressure on Bellway to do something! The directors simply cannot understand why Bellway doesn’t get a grip, do what’s needed and then finally be free of their responsibilities at Little Meadow – that seems to us to be the obvious solution.

The transfer of the common areas of land from Bellway to LMC is at last beginning to move forward, albeit at a snail’s pace. We are currently waiting for IBB Law, Bellway’s solicitors, to send us the Land Registry TP1 transfer agreement for review.

Finally, we are told that the adoption of Marjoram Avenue by Waverley Borough/Surrey County Council has been agreed between the various parties after Bellway made a final payment to conclude matters. So the road adoption should now proceed without any further hiccups although we need to remember that local authorities are not renowned for their ability to do things quickly!

We have started the process of issuing requests to owners for payment of Service Charges. This is the first instalment for the financial year 01 October 2023 to 30 September 2024 and it is to be paid directly into Little Meadows (Cranleigh) Management Company Ltd’s own company bank account, which DJC/FirstPort has no access to.

You may already have received your request but if you haven’t did you respond to our circular letter a few weeks ago seeking your email details and confirmation of your outstanding balance, if any?

It would be appreciated if you could settle the amount due as soon as possible. Once we have some money in the bank we can finally start to make some changes for the better!

This article describes in more detail the action taken by the directors of Little Meadows (Cranleigh) Management Company Ltd (“LMC”) to bring under LMC’s control those who have previously been acting for the company. We are entitled to do this because the contractual arrangement is that FirstPort acts as Agent for LMC, while LMC is the client or Principal – so in other words LMC calls the shots, not FirstPort or anybody else.

In our post of 3 October 2023 on this website we told you of the termination by LMC of FirstPort’s authority to invoice and/or collect charges and fees. It has come to our notice that, despite our clear instructions, FirstPort appears to have ignored us and has continued to pursue a few owners robustly for settlement. Incredibly FirstPort has, in possibly more than one case, instructed debt collectors without first seeking LMC’s consent; which we have to say has not been given and is very unlikely to be given.

Below there are some links so that you can see the letters that have been sent by LMC. They are signed by one director acting on behalf of the company, but they represent the views of – and reflect the course of action agreed between – all six of LMC’s directors.

We hope that this additional information will provide guidance should you receive any relevant correspondence. Please feel free to contact the directors using the email address contact@littlemeadowcranleigh.co.uk or by using the website contact form.

Letters we have sent:

The Termination Notice of 24 July 2023 for the current five-year fixed-term contract running until 7 January 2024.

Our letter of 18 September 2023 requesting (again) the disclosure of commissions paid to FirstPort and also terminating their authority to bill and/or collect half-yearly sums due from owners.

Letter to Maybeck Collections giving them notice that they are not authorised to act in any way whatsoever relating to Little Meadow owners. By way of explanation, their communications state the name of their client as Bellway Homes Ltd, which is clearly not the case.

If you’ve kept yourself up to date by reading the various posts on this website you’ll already be aware that the directors of Little Meadows (Cranleigh) Management Company Ltd (“LMC”) have become increasingly unhappy with our contracted managing agents, DJC Management Ltd, now renamed FirstPort Property Services No.10 Ltd (“FirstPort”).

Owners at Little Meadow who are also Members of LMC will have recently received through their letterboxes a circular letter.  For the twenty-seven Aster Housing Association properties the housing association is the Member of LMC so we have also made sure that they are fully aware of what we’re doing. 

Our initial plan for the way forward:

In addition to our Termination Notice for their management contract, effective early January 2024, FirstPort have just been formally advised of the immediate termination of their authority to invoice and collect charges and fees, so if you receive any communications from them please advise the directors straight away using the email address contact@littlemeadowcranleigh.co.uk or via the contact form on this website.

After a rather lengthy application process, LMC finally has its own bank account and in a few weeks’ time we will be issuing to Members a copy of the budget we have drawn up for the forthcoming financial year, together with an invoice for the first half-year 2023-24 service charges which will be payable directly to our new account (details will be provided on the invoice).  This means that FirstPort will have no access to this money which will be completely under LMC’s control.

We have also asked Members to provide us with a contact email address and to confirm that the balance on their service charge account is what FirstPort says it is – excluding any unauthorised fees that may have been charged.  Members have been asked to respond to these questions by email directly to contact@littlemeadowcranleigh.co.uk 

Our ongoing plan:

Once LMC has some funds available to it from the charges you have paid, we expect to be in a position to start reviewing the maintenance arrangements, to get some of the reported outstanding repairs sorted and finally to move towards achieving our objective of getting the whole estate up to an acceptable standard and looking good.

With FirstPort’s contract ending early next year we will be appointing a new managing agent who is already lined up to take over the day-to-day running of Little Meadow, with LMC having ultimate control.  We will advise everybody of their contact details once they have been officially appointed and the invoicing of future charges (so the charges due at the end of March 2024) will become their responsibility, although payments will continue to be safely directed to LMC’s own account.

Finally, LMC’s insurance policies fall due for renewal next May and since the current broker is a FirstPort group company they have already been advised that we will be taking our business elsewhere.

Other matters:

The saga of Bellway completing all outstanding work continues.  We still have a long list of work we are expecting them to carry out, or otherwise to pay LMC a sum of money to organise the work ourselves – that would be the preferred solution for us since we will then be in a position to make sure everything is done fully and properly.

A group of LMC directors met with Bellway representatives at Little Meadow on 27th September and they were encouraged to think that the developer finally wants to close out the remaining work within a short timeframe.  We shall see what happens!

The transfer of the common areas of land is barely moving forward and we are at a loss to know why this would be.  We continue to press for some progress and have made enquiries with some local law firms with a view to having them check over the transfer documentation when we eventually get it. 

The directors will continue to keep everybody informed of progress and as always we would welcome any comments or suggestions.

In this post we outline the progress we’ve made since the mid-July update – unfortunately there’s still been almost no movement on the practical side of getting Little Meadow up to the standard we would all like.  On the organisational side though, there has been some progress which we detail.  At the end of the post we also comment on the situation regarding owners’ service charges which you should note carefully.

Let’s get the less welcome news out of the way first.

Practical Matters

Bellway never responded to our request for more detail about the work that was to be done in the first week of August.  They had promised to supervise the work as it was being done, but this is an extract (it’s a bit garbled) from the message we received from them on 25th July:

“We have nobody there due to prior commitments, however that doesn’t mean the work will not be checked or redone if not to your satisfaction, it’s our busiest week in the year and that then follows a lot of annual leave being the summer holidays, however I will get the new manager who comes available from the 31st to liaise with yourselves and arrange for a sign off plus any programming of outstanding works or issues”

We are sure you are as frustrated as we are because:

1. Nothing has been done by Bellway to deal with the matters listed in our last post on this website;
2. We have had no further update from Bellway despite chasing them by way of numerous emails and phone messages;
3. We have now been assigned a different Bellway manager (again) who, to date, has not communicated with us.  

Actually to say “nothing” has been done is not strictly true because some contractors came to clear the area in Betony Close adjacent to Amber Parkside; however, in our view it now looks worse than it did before, with trees and bushes untidily hacked and the ground still overgrown with weeds.

Please rest assured that we are doing our very best to get the outstanding Bellway matters finally sorted and if you have any ideas about how we might achieve that we’re more than ready to listen.

To conclude the bad news on this side of things, DJC/FirstPort have continued to be completely unresponsive to our many emails and phone calls and in fact to date the LMC directors have never had a single communication from the Property Manager who is supposed to be responsible for Little Meadow.

Organisational Matters

Let’s now turn to some more positive news as we are moving forward on the organisational side.  Firstly, we should inform you that DJC Management Ltd has changed its company name to FirstPort Property Services No.10 Ltd, but to avoid confusion we will continue to refer to them as DJC/FirstPort:

1. For a number of reasons, including to no small extent the lack of any communication from our assigned Property Manager, LMC has sent a Termination Notice to the managing agents, DJC/FirstPort, informing them that the five year fixed-term contract which runs from 8th January 2019 until 7th January 2024 will not at that point be rolled over for another year (which is how it would otherwise be extended).  The Termination Notice was sent by signed-for mail on 24th July and delivered the following day but to date, and true to form, we have heard nothing in response. The Notice stipulates a list of requirements which DJC/FirstPort must keep to in the meantime and these are the main ones:
   
   • Any future outgoings, individually in excess of £250 plus VAT, must be approved by the LMC directors before being paid away;
   • The LMC directors must be provided with details of LMC’s current financial position;
   • That prior to sending out any bills, the LMC directors must approve a maintenance budget for the next financial year (which starts on 1st October 2023).
     
2. The LMC directors have received detailed proposals from three prospective new managing agents and one has been selected to take over from DJC/FirstPort when we part company with them.  More details will be provided in due course.
3. The three remaining Bellway-appointed directors have now effectively resigned after we sent them a formal ultimatum.  So LMC now only has the six owner/directors who were appointed at the members’ meeting on 26th April.
4. We have a new Company Secretary (who is an owner at Little Meadow) and LMC’s official Registered Office is now located at his business address.

Legal Matters

We haven’t yet mentioned the outstanding land transfer of the common areas from Bellway to LMC, but you’ll probably not be surprised to hear that there has been no real progress there either.  One of the issues we had previously raised was related to the ownership of, and responsibility for, the strip of land and the swale at the front of the Little Meadow estate and it has now been confirmed that nobody owns it!

Bellway got around this issue by taking out a third-party insurance indemnity, which all buyers benefit from, and which in the very simplest terms safeguards access to Little Meadow across the orphaned strip of land in perpetuity.  The LMC directors believe that it is in every Little Meadow owner’s interest for LMC to try and keep this prominent area in a tidy state on a “good neighbour” basis, although we shall not be formally accepting responsibility for what does not belong to us.

Needless to say, we continue to pursue the land transfer.

Service charges

We think that most owners have now settled the outstanding charges that have been invoiced, although we have no definitive up-to-date information since we are also waiting for this data from DJC/FirstPort.

It was mentioned at the 26th April meeting that it was felt that because of the poor standard of maintenance at that point and the many uncertainties there were, it should be a personal choice whether to settle at that time what was owed; however, the legal issue relating to whether LMC is entitled to charge owners (since it does not yet own the land it is maintaining) are now clear and it is indeed the case that any outstanding charges remain due.

Owners should already know that service charges are owed to LMC (which is effectively your company) and that our managing agents have only been delegated the responsibility for collecting them, so they get no benefit.  See the article “DJC/FirstPort’s role” on this website for a more detailed explanation. 

So please bear in mind that one way or another all outstanding monies remain due to LMC and will eventually have to be paid in full.

Summary

We really want to get to a point where we can all be happy with the standard of maintenance of Little Meadow, but we still remain quite a long way from that position and we are being hampered rather than helped by our current managing agents.  Also some of the other matters mentioned above continue to be ongoing issues.  Needless to say we are doing everything in our power to get there.

So you are asked to continue to bear with us while we try to get everything finally sorted and as always please contact the LMC directors via the website with any comments or suggestions, or if something needs to be added to our long list of things to do.

It’s been a very busy few weeks for us – since the last progress report on 26th June there have been another 145 emails exchanged between the directors and with the various parties involved with LMC.

Of course it’s not really about the huge number of emails.  It’s more important to realise how much work is behind them in an effort to get things to a point where we can be happy with the standard of maintenance of Little Meadow; also to ensure that the corporate side of LMC is stable and secure; and finally to get the level of service from our contracted managing agents up to scratch.  

Unfortunately there’s still quite a long way to go in each of these areas.

On the practical side of things:

• Bellway have finally agreed to complete some of the outstanding work and this will commence in the first week of August under the supervision of a Bellway manager.  We are seeking more detail because their description of what is actually to be done is quite vague.
• Bellway’s contractors are to repair the road surface at the junction of Marjoram Avenue and Primrose Close which has sunk and which puddles in heavy rain.  We understand that residents will receive a leaflet drop about this because the road will briefly need to be fully or partly closed in that area while the work is completed.
• The missing wooden posts at the boundary with Knowle Park will be installed.
• Some clearing and tidying of hedges will be carried out (we don’t know for sure, but we assume this refers to the issue in Betony Close adjacent to Amber Parkside)
• Instructions have been given to Allwinds to schedule mowing the grass between the road and the pathways in the south loop of Marjoram Avenue.  This is not strictly LMC’s responsibility but we have taken the view that it is important to the overall appearance of Little Meadow and sadly there is little chance of getting Bellway to do it (technically they are responsible for roads and footpaths until the road adoption is completed, at which point Surrey Highways would take over)

There is still quite a lot of other work to be done which we have previously listed and there are three matters of particular concern:

1. The reduction in steepness of the slide mound slope in the playground.  Bellway have forwarded a copy of an independent safety inspection which was carried out when the playground was almost complete and this does not express any concern about the mound, which in our opinion is too steep.  We remain adamant that Bellway should not renege upon their earlier agreement to take action.
2. The clearance of the swale alongside Yarrow Close and the seeding for a wildflower meadow in accordance with the detailed specification in the Waverley Planning documents.  Since it is the wrong time of year for seeding, the alternative is for Bellway to provide a monetary contribution to LMC to cover the cost and this is our preference because we would then have direct control over what is done.
3. Clarification of ownership and responsibility for maintenance of the swale alongside Alfold Road

Our contracted managing agents, DJC/FirstPort, do not seem to be responding to our emails and phone calls.  We have informed them that the directors are becoming exasperated and that LMC deserves better – but still nothing!   Purely by chance we recently discovered that a site visit/inspection was undertaken by DJC/FirstPort’s representatives on 6th/7th July.  The directors were not informed that this was to take place so we were completely unaware until after the event.  We have asked DJC/FirstPort to provide us with an explanation.

The practical aspects of looking after Little Meadow are naturally what concerns most of us but some of these cannot be dealt with until we’ve sorted out some pressing issues on the corporate side.  We are pleased to say that there has been progress in concluding some of these; perhaps not as much as we had hoped for, but progress nevertheless.

• The Minutes of the members’ AGM held on 26th April have been finalised.  These were promised by DJC immediately following the meeting but never materialised so we have taken on the task ourselves from our best recollection of the now long-ago meeting.
• The directors’ appointments have at last been officially filed at Companies House.  DJC/FirstPort took rather longer than the statutory 14 days to do this (an incredible 73 days in fact) but at least it’s now done and the new owner/directors are officially recognised as representing LMC.
• The annual Accounts as at 30th September 2022 and the statutory Confirmation Certificate were filed at Companies House on 30th June 2023.  One more day and there would have been a late-filing penalty (which we had already advised FirstPort would be down to them) and the possibility of LMC eventually being struck off the register.  The accounts were signed by one of the Bellway-appointed directors; however, they make little sense as the company was described as dormant at that date – no assets, no reserves, every figure in the accounts is zero.  Obviously this anomalous situation is being explored urgently.
• Representations have again been made to Bellway to seek the swift transfer to LMC of the common areas of land.  Bellway have referred this and other matters to a second legal adviser and it is hoped that the legal process will soon commence.
• The next directors’ meeting has been fixed for Saturday 22nd July when our progress to date will be reviewed and some necessary decisions will be made regarding the future management of Little Meadow and the operations of LMC.

We will continue to keep everybody in the picture as much as we are able to.  As always, please use the contact form on the website if you wish to reach us.

LMC’s directors have been going through a very frustrating period, but we want to let everybody know that we are still working hard to achieve the resolution of the many issues we are facing in the management of Little Meadow. 

In the last seven days we have counted forty-nine emails exchanged between the directors and with the other parties involved in this saga!

• The integration of DJC’s and FirstPort’s two separate systems was carried out over the weekend of 3rd/4th June.  Since then our designated Property Manager has changed twice.
• The vote to appoint the six new owner/directors took place at the Members’ meeting on 26th April and these changes should have been filed at Companies House by our corporate Company Secretary, DJC Secretarial and Management Ltd within 14 days.  We understand that the relevant department at FirstPort has been waiting for the necessary authentication codes to enable them to do this, but at the time of writing the filing still hasn’t been done.
• The formal Minutes of that members’ meeting have still not been received as promised from the DJC representative who attended that evening.
• Bellway has again gone silent on the completion of the outstanding items in the list posted here on 31st May.
• We still await full details from DJC/FirstPort about the current financial position of LMC.  After many requests we received some additional information last week, but it was incomplete and plainly inaccurate.
• LMC’s accounts for the year ended 30th September 2022 are due for filing at Companies House before the end of this month and a confirmation statement is due to be completed and filed by 4th July.  We have not been able to establish if these documents are ready yet and we have insisted that they are signed off by one or more of the original Bellway-appointed directors as none of the new directors has any knowledge of the affairs of LMC up to that point.
• The legal transfer to LMC of the land comprising the common areas is barely inching forward and we are trying to arrange a meeting between the directors of LMC and Bellway Homes’ senior management to get this and other matters finalised as soon as possible.  The suggestion of a meeting has been turned down due to the pressures of Bellway Homes Ltd’s impending financial year end (which falls on 31st July 2023) but we are promised that one will be arranged as soon as time permits.
• There is no further news on the adoption of Marjoram Avenue by Surrey Highways, nor of the adoption of the sewers by Thames Water.  It is entirely Bellway’s responsibility to pursue adoption and there is nothing LMC can do to expedite it beyond keeping pressure on Bellway to bring things to fruition. Undoubtedly there is a bond agreement in place so the eventual outcome is not in doubt, just the timing.
• The gardening work will continue to be carried out by Allwinds for the time being but this will be kept under review for a possible switch when some of the more pressing administrative matters mentioned above have been dealt with.  Meantime, the directors are keeping an eye on the quantity and quality of their work and will make sure clear instructions are given to effect improvements. 

As you know, DJC/FirstPort, is contracted by LMC to carry out work on its behalf and in accordance with its instructions (see ‘DJC/FirstPort’s role’ in an earlier post). We have made it clear that we are unhappy with the quality of service they have provided so far and have told them that Little Meadow deserves better.

Please be assured that the directors are doing all they can to resolve everything and to protect the interests of all owners and residents of Little Meadow. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please get in touch with us.