Author: Directors

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.

In case you haven’t received it in the post, the letter regarding DJC’s takeover by FirstPort has now been sent out. It says that it is a “further update” but as far as we know it’s the first communication with owners.

There’s also a letter which says that the first was sent in error and there’ll be another one on its way soon; however, it seems most people got the correct one the first time around (so didn’t need an apology!).

The content of both letters are self-explanatory and you can download a copy of the first one (dated 8th June) here. For what it’s worth the second one (dated 12th June) is here.

If you’re trying to register with their My Home portal as they suggest, you might find that there are several issues with the registration process and it may be necessary for you to call to ask them to email a registration link.

You’ll also notice that the way the letter is addressed is incorrect, so we will be advising FirstPort of the correct format for future postal communications.

Not a very good start, but it’s early days yet.

The latest estimate from Bellway is that they are targeting August/September for Marjoram Avenue to be adopted by Surrey County Council. Before this can be done there needs to be a repair to the paviours near the junction with Primrose Close as there is slight subsidence there following drainage work a year or two back.

None of the closes, Betony, Primrose or Yarrow are to be adopted which is in accordance with the original plan. LMC will have responsibility for their upkeep.

We await news on Thames Water’s adoption of the drainage which we believe has to happen at the same time as the road adoption. Thames Water owns the land on which the sewage pumping station sits (adjacent to Primrose Close) and it is already responsible for that.

We were told only recently that DJC Management Ltd (“DJC”) has been taken over by a larger company called FirstPort. The website for DJC now automatically diverts to FirstPort’s although at the time of writing the DJC MyBlockman portal (which many of you will have registered with) is still operational.

Of course the directors are keen to establish what the effects of this change will be and as soon as we have some more information you’ll be able to read it here.

We met today as planned and over the course of an hour and a quarter we reviewed a file of information that had been supplied to us by DJC Management and formed an outline plan on how best to deal with the many maintenance aspects of the Little Meadow estate.

There are lots of things the directors will need to consider and we hope that the fruits of our labours will become apparent in the coming months.

As always, please contact us with any comments or if there’s something that needs doing.

Since the meeting at the end of April you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing has happened but the directors have been working hard on two threads:

1. Trying to get Bellway to complete the remaining outstanding work.
2. Getting up to speed with how LMC has been managed previously and beginning to form a plan for its operation from here onwards. The directors are meeting on Saturday 3rd June to discuss things having obtained some limited information about operations from DJC Management.

Today, 31st May, we finally met with Bellway’s representative and had a walk around the estate. The key points covered (in no particular order) were:

• The rubber matting around the playground area (particularly around the swing) is to be removed and relaid or replaced in a proper manner.
• The culvert below/behind the pedestrian bridge to the Berkeley site is to be cleared out.
• Despite originally confirming in writing many months ago that they would carry out the work , Bellway is now refusing to improve the playground slide area by flattening the slope. The reasons given are that firstly, no matters were identified during their own inspection and secondly, that RoSPA have certified that it’s safe. We intend to approach RoSPA and/or their inspector and to express our concerns directly which we hope will put pressure on Bellway to honour their promise. Subsequently we have heard that their decision is being reconsidered.
• The landscaping plan specified that 3,000 bulbs would be planted in and around the open space and clearly this was not done. Since it is the wrong time of year to plant these, the intention is to get a monetary contribution from Bellway to cover the eventual cost.
• Similarly, a monetary contribution will be given by Bellway towards the maintenance of the swale at the front of the Little Meadow estate which is not to be adopted.
• Approximately fifteen wooden posts are to be installed to mark the eastern boundary with Knowle Park.
• The area in Betony Close where the fence has been removed is to be weeded, re-planted and mulched in accordance with the landscaping plan.
• The swale alongside Yarrow Close was cleared a while back but nothing else was done so it is again largely covered by weeds including nettles and thistles. Bellway intend to clear this again and then sow wildflower seeds in accordance with the landscaping plan; however it is the wrong time of year so it’s possible that a quote will be obtained and Bellway would make a monetary payment to cover the eventual cost.
• Dead trees to be replaced throughout the development.
• The adoption of Marjoram Avenue by Waverley/Surrey and of the sewer system by Thames Water is still proceeding slowly. No timetable has been given but there is still remedial work to be done to correct a dip in the paviours (which floods) near the junction with Primrose Close before this can take place. This work should be scheduled by Bellway “soon” and they will also advise further on the adoption status.
• Completion of the pathway to the A2D site once that part of the next-door development has been completed.

In addition to the above we have requested as-built drawings and relevant maintenance documents to be provided for all common areas including above and below ground services.

This was the first meeting of the company since Little Meadow was completed and it was organised and run by Zack Jermy of DJC Management. Zack gave some general background about how Little Meadow has operated to date.

There was an opportunity for members to vote to appoint new directors of LMC who are also owners. The Bellway-appointed directors continue in post for the time being but they will resign once the transfer of the land comprising the common areas takes place from Bellway to LMC . Until that happens the six new directors outnumber them so effectively the owners are now in the driving seat, although it’s inevitably going to take a while to get up to speed with everything.

The meeting was then opened to members from the floor and discussions took place about a wide range of subjects and concerns.

Minutes are to be produced by Zack of DJC but these are still awaited.