One of the flat owners had applied for permission to make structural alterations to their flat and had submitted architects
plans and related documents. The Association’s Surveyor had carried out an inspection of the plans and the flat and recommended
approval. The Board had now written to the owner granting approval, subject to the submitted plans.
Insurance
Possibly as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire and its aftermath, potential insurers of the block are requiring more and more paperwork be submitted
before providing a quote. The Chairman went through the list of documents we now have to provide, including: EICR (Electrical Reports for common parts),
Legionella Testing report, RCA (Reinstatement Cost Analysis), Fire Risk Assessment/Manual, together with legal documents such as the
Certificate of Incorporation,
Gardens
The Gardens Director reported that preparations for winter were well under way; among other activities, the geraniums had been taken in. Shrubs and
bushes around the Court have been cut. Some tulips will be planted for spring soon. There are plans to spray the weeds around the Court,
but due to recent weather, it hadn’t been done yet.
Premises
Two of the directors had accompanied the surveyor when he carried out an inspection of the buildings at Surbiton Court.
Unfortunately they had not had access to the roof. The surveyor will be preparing a report and a maintenance schedule for the block.
Services
There was an enquiry about the procedure for replacement of light bulbs in common parts. Both residents and Directors should contact the
Services Director (as detailed in the Handbook), who will then arrange for light bulbs to be replaced.
AOB
It was agreed that the directors would have a walk around the Court on Sunday morning, 05 December, in order for the outgoing Chairman to
familiarise them with the infrastructure and boundaries/curtilage, together with the roof and tank rooms.
There had been an application to the Board for a Deed of variation. The chairman had replied that it is not the Board’s
policy to enter into Deeds of Variation. This is following legal advice from our solicitors.
Gardens
Preparations for winter were well under way; among other activities, the geraniums had been taken in. Shrubs and bushes around the
Court were due to be cut back soon.
Premises
The Premises Director had arranged for a surveyor to carry out an inspection of the buildings at Surbiton Court, then prepare a
report and a maintenance schedule for the block. Two directors would accompany the surveyor during the inspection.
One of our regular surveyors had pointed out that under current law, in the Surbiton Court Lease, activities identified as ‘maintenance’ are
paid for by the annual maintenance charges, but anything labelled ‘improvement’ must be paid for separately via a non-recurring ‘surcharge’.
The chairman observed that, compared with most neighbouring blocks, we should make it clear that there is a difference in the way that Surbiton Court
is currently managed, i.e. directly, by the Residents Association, rather than through an outside managing agent.
The subject of the iron gates on the roadway from the front of the Court and round the side of the building was raised. A Surbiton Court resident
had been kept awake at night by passers-by incessantly banging one of the gates to close it. The Board agreed that the offending iron gate should be
left propped open and the ‘Please Close The Gate’ sign removed.
The Health & Safety Director had asked a resident to move the pots outside thiei front door, as they constituted a trip hazard.
The resident had complied willingly.
Services
Nothing to report on Cleaning.
The Services Director reported that the two worn-out wheelie bins in the bin areas had now been replaced with brand new ones. The old bins
had been removed and disposed of.
AGM
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was agreed that the AGM for 2020/21 should be postponed until 2022.
AOB
The Technology Director had been contacted by one of the garage owners, asking about our plans for electric vehicle (EV) charging.
The Technology Director had replied, describing his negotiations with Pod Point and Pod Point’s quotes for installing the necessary
infrastructure and the charging points themselves. The Chairman pointed out that a separate garages sub-committee had once existed and
suggested that it might be re-constituted. The Technology Director said he would canvass all the current garage owners in due course
for opinions and feedback.
The Premises Director commented on the recycling and waste bins for Surbiton Court No 3. They were obstructing the footpath between
Surbiton Court and St Andrews Square and could constitute a hazard. He would write to the managing agents for SC3 about it.
The Premises Director calso proposed writing, once again, to the Council about the state of St Andrews Square (bins obstructing the
pavement, rubbish strewn about, uneven flagstones). He also questioned the point of the new bicycle ‘hangar’, which was unused and
in the wrong position, thereby depriving the Square of at least one parking place.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to ‘socially distance’, Board meetings had been suspended from
February 2020. This meeting was the first to take place since 30 January 2021.
Transfers
Approximately 5 flats had been sold since the first lockdown, and 2 were currently under offer.
There had been over a dozen changes of tenancy in sub-let flats.
Gardens
The gardens were looking good this year. The weather had been a combination of heavy rain and hot dry spells,
to which the plants had responded vigorously.
The Gardens Director reported that another skip had been ordered recently and the area beside the greenhouse cleared.
Two residents who are very enthusiastic gardeners had developed small patches near their flats and put in an assortment of plants.
The Health & Safety Director asked whether anything could be done to eliminate the broad-leaf weeds infesting the lawns.
The Gardens Director replied that an ‘electric knife’ had been tried, but without success. The only effective way appeared to be
to spray the rosettes individually each week with weed-killer (to avoid damaging the surrounding grass). It would take time and good
weather to eliminate them all.
Premises
Although Board meetings had been suspended, the Directors had maintained close contact by phone and email in order to deal with
Association matters.
Over the past year, the roof had been cleaned, re-painted and the wood structures repaired and refurbished where there had been
weathering. At the height of the pandemic, with strict social distancing in effect, it meant that Shane Williams could continue
carrying out maintenance activities.
The guttering and woodwork around Tank Room E (above Flats 37, 39 and 41) had been completed: scaffolding had been hired for a
few days to facilitate the work..
The refurbishment of the entrance to Flats 18-20 had been completed. Work had involved restoration and re-plastering of damaged
plaster, chasing in of electrical conduits and pipe work, plastering walls to a smooth finish to enable easier cleaning as well as
a better appearance, replacement of light fittings, re-painting of front doors and cupboard doors. After this remedial work, re-decoration
had been completed. A professional plasterer had been employed to speed up the work, and the quality of his work had been excellent.
(The Board agreed that he should be invited to work here again, when more plastering was required.).
The next scheduled maintenance task would be the repair/refurbishment and redecoration of the woodwork around the garage doors of
Garages 11-18 and 55-59.
Following a resident’s complaint about noise from the wrought iron gate, the Premises Director had inspected it, and reported that
it required remedial work to the hinges as well as re-painting. He would obtain quotes and report back. Earlier in the year, he had
also undertaken to obtain quotes for the refurbishment of the entrance to Flats 66-69.
The Health & Safety Director reported that part of the ornamental architrave of the entrance to Flats 54-59 had come away. The
Directors had a look after the meeting, and the Chairman would ask Shane Williams to repair it.
The guttering and woodwork around Tank Room E (above Flats 37, 39 and 41) had been completed: scaffolding had been hired for a
few days to facilitate the work..
The Health & Safety Director had carried out a reduced inspection for Fire Risk (omitting locked areas like the tank rooms and
the SCRA cupboards). His main concern had been over the pot plants that several residents had placed on the balconies leading to a
number of front doors. While some of the pots constituted a hazard (especially in the dark, or in low lighting conditions), others did
not. He felt it would be heavy-handed to ask for them all to be removed. After some deliberation, the Board concluded that just one
resident should be asked to move two pots, which are a definite trip hazard, from next to the front door to the other side of the balcony.
Services
Nothing to report on Cleaning.
The Services Director reported that he had been through a protracted process attempting to find out from the Council whether they would cover
financially the replacement of two of our 1,100-litre wheelie bins, which have developed holes in the base from corrosion. After receiving
a number of conflicting answers, the definitive reply appears to be that we must purchase our own bins, but that the replacements must
conform to the ‘Eurobin’ standard. Kingston Council advised that Veolia provided (at a cost) a replacement service, but when the Services Director
contacted them, Veolia said that the Council’s advice was incorrect. We are now in the process of locating a supplier and finding out the
likely costs of purchase, delivery and the removal of the old bins.
The Services Director had also been investigating the possibility of having Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points installed in the 23 Association
garages. EDF had referred him to a company called Pod Point, who had sent an electrical surveyor to inspect the site and provide a report.
The garages are ideally placed as far as access to a 3-phase electricity supply is concerned and the main infrastructure could be installed
quite tidily. This would consist of a control box and two heavy-duty power cables threaded through the back of the garages (or possibly in a
trench at the back). Not such good news was that the cost of the infrastructure would be £20,000 (or £900 per garage) plus an extra charge to each
garage owner of about £2,800 to install the charging point itself. In the light of this, while the subject of EV charging was being debated,
the Services Director felt that the garage maintenance charges should be reviewed in the meantime.
The Chairman observed that the Garage Owners fund (payable by garage owners) had been set up circa 1990. The charge had been set at £15 per
quarter and had never been reviewed.
AOB
The Chairman gave notice that he would be resigning permanently from the Board in due course. During the transition
period he would continue a ‘holding operation’ handling current matters such as day-to-day finance, existing transfers, current building maintenance
activities and would work closely with the other Directors to ensure a smooth transition.
The Directors thanked the Chairman for all his work over the years. For the record, he had served on the Board since 1988, first as Treasurer,
then as both Treasurer and Chairman.
Next Meeting
A series of informal meetings was scheduled. The next formal meeting was yet to be decided.
Board meetings have been suspended since the pandemic, however the Directors have been in close contact by
phone, email, etc in order to conduct Association matters and ensure that work does not fall behind schedule.
Work that has been undertaken during this time includes:
Painting of the roof with solar reflective paint. This is undertaken periodically to keep the roof in
good condition.
Replacement of guttering on turret above Flats 37,39 & 41, which involved the erection of scaffolding.
Day-to-day items such as unblocking of drains, repairs to gates, replacement of light bulbs/fuses in
common parts.
Cleaning has continued with additional sanitisation solutions, as well as several additional
deeper cleans.
Gardening has continued, to maintain the gardens, with regular work as well as seasonal planting-out.
Tree surgery on trees overhanging neighbouring properties (legal requirement).
Replacement of damaged signs.
Restoration/Refurbishment of stair 18-20 has started, in accordance with discussion at Board meetings
and AGMs. Work has involved restoration and re-plastering of damaged plaster, chasing in of electrical
conduits and pipe work, plastering walls to a smooth finish to enable easier cleaning as well as a better
appearance, replacement of light fittings in common parts, re-painting of front doors and cupboard doors.
After the restoration/remedial work has been completed, re-decoration will take place.
The majority of the above items have been undertaken outside/externally and with appropriate social distancing
measures to comply with Covid-secure legislation. There has also been difficulty in purchasing/availability of
materials
It was agreed by the Directors that an increase of 5.5% Maintenance would be proposed at the forthcoming AGM – from £128/month
to £135/month. The last increase had been in 2015, since when there had been increases in several items of current expenditure,
such as Buildings Insurance, Electricity, Cleaning and Gardening, as well as additional periodic expenditure for items such as
inspection of communal water and electricity supplies to comply with Health and Safety legislation.
Gardens
Since the last meeting, the main activity had been pruning the bushes and the Wisteria.
The Gardens Director reported that 5 more Laurel plants had been ordered to complete the new hedge along the roadway by
the greenhouse.
A skip had been ordered for the garden waste.
The Insurance Director asked whether there had been any more incidences of dogs fouling the lawns. There had been none –
the previous incident appeared to have been a one-off coinciding with a visitor (to a resident of the Court) who had
brought a dog with them.
Several Directors noted that there seemed to be fewer foxes around.
Premises
The Buildings Director had noticed that a new air-brick had been fitted in the wall of Flat 49 and installed at an angle.
In addition, the contractors working there had left a considerable amount of mess in the common parts and not cleared it up
when they finished. Mr Shiel said he would contact the letting agent about it. (After the meeting, an inspection showed that
the offending airbrick was actually an old one, near ground level. The new one, higher up, had been installed correctly.).
He also said that he would ask DMS Brickwork to repair the brick edging adjacent to the roadway in the inner Court.
The Chairman pointed out that the guttering on Tank Room E (above flats 37, 39 and 41) needed repair. Shane Williams’ tower
scaffolding was not suitable for working at such a height. Two quotes to erect appropriate scaffolding had been invited/received.
The Buildings Director recommended that the scaffolding should be fitted with alarms.
The Buildings Director reported that the tarmac outside Flats 48-53 was breaking up. The Chairman asked him to obtain quotes
for patching the damaged area(s).
Services
Nothing to report on Cleaning.
The Services Director reported that the owners of two Flats had asked for help in locating and activating the face-plates for BT and FreeView
TV services, respectively. The previous owners of both flats had disconnected the existing cables and covered the existing outlets. In the
case of one flat, the Association had borne the cost of re-installation and connection. The Services Director felt that this was not a
desirable precedent to set, as all flats had originally had cabling installed. In future, therefore, the cost of re-installation should
be borne by flat owners: he would draft some wording to reflect this in the Handbook.
AGM
Notices for the AGM on 27 February 2020 had been sent out. The Accounts and Minutes of the previous AGM would be circulated shortly.(Note:
The AGM for 2020 was subsequently postponed owing to Covid 19).
AOB
The Insurance Director observed that a motorbike had been parked overnight, near Flats 66-69. It was associated with one of the flats. The Chairman
had contacted the letting agent for that flat and the motorbike had been removed.
The Services Director noted the passing of Mrs Mary Cormack, one of our residents, at the age of 98. She had been moved to a Care Home on 13
January and had died a few days later. The funeral would take place at Kingston Crematorium.
The Services Director also gave a progress report on his efforts to obtain professional advice on installing electric vehicle charging points
in the 23 garages.
Next Meeting
Thursday 02 April 2020 (subsequently postponed owing to Covid 19).