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Residents win the right to
manage their own common areas.
15th October 2021
The properties in Phase 7.
The Green Shaded Areas are those common areas maintained by Chamonix
The Blue Shaded Area is maintained by Thorner Homes
Residents in Shepton Mallet’s Tadley Acres estate have won a two-year fight to remove Bloor Homes from control of their estate management company and appoint their own resident directors.
(See Directors' Update February 2022 below)
The estate management company was set up in 2014 as a condition of planning consent by Mendip District Council. It not only manages the community spaces in Phase 7 - open spaces, grass, and parking areas - but is also responsible for charging residents for the costs, and for maintaining standards and enforcing covenants.
Bloor Homes appointed the sole director when the company was formed. All owners of Phase 7 properties were required to be members of the company and to pay potentially unlimited costs.
The developer should have stood down in 2018 after the final property had been sold. However, Bloor refused to give up control, and without resident directors, there was no cap on residents’ bills and no effective scrutiny of standards or contracts. Bloor had appointed Chamonix Estates as ‘Agent’ but allowed them to run the company, giving Chamonix power to set both the fees and the standards. It was a classic ‘Fleecehold’ situation.
So in July 2019, a group of residents formed a residents' association and began to fight for control of their company.
Because Mendip District and Shepton Town Councillors continued to ignore requests for help, the only way forward was to seek legal advice. Local Solicitors Chubb Bulleid stepped in to offer valuable assistance. With legal support, the residents’ group contacted every property owner in Phase 7 and forced Bloor Homes to call a Company Meeting at which residents put forward a resolution to appoint their own directors.
Local resident Eve Swallow, who started the campaign, said: ‘Despite the lack of help from Councillors, we won the vote, the Bloor director stood down, and five local residents were appointed as directors. We now have control of our estate management company.’
Now that residents in Phase 7 have gained control, standards can be properly monitored, local contractors can be appointed, and best value contracts can be put in place. The group are encouraging the rest of the Tadley Acres Estate to establish a full estate Residents Association to improve the maintenance of all the green spaces currently managed by the Council.
Directors' Update for Residents
February 2024
Since our election as resident directors in September 2021, we have continued the process of examining levels of service and costs from FirstPort (previously Chamonix Estates). We have met on site with the Regional and Area Managers to review the work and identify any rectification needed.
Local Contractors. FirstPort initially agreed to us putting forward local contractors for our first budget round (2022-23). This is something that a number of residents asked for, and something that we fully support, as it will provide local employment and enable much closer scrutiny of work. However, FirstPort have proved obstructive when local contractors were identified, insisting on appointing contractors with costly qualifications. We have also received poor service from FirstPort, and are now considering alternatives.
Community Garden. We identified land behind 25 Clarks Meadow, adjacent to the visitors’ car park and open green space, as being in need of work. It was originally going to be an orchard, but had been allowed to degenerate into waste space. To avoid additional costs, we want to open this piece of land to residents to turn into a communal space. It could be planted as a communal garden, an orchard, or allowed to be re-wilded. Following an open meeting in the Spring of 2022 for anyone interested in bringing a fork and spade to this bit of land, several residents have turned this waste area into a beautiful garden with newly planted fruit trees.
Costs. We approached two local estate management agents for costings, and both were roughly comparable to those provided by FirstPort. We therefore decided to work with FirstPort for one year’s budget round, during which time we can assess the service provided and review at the end of this period. However, we have continued to find FirstPort difficult to work with, and at times, obstructive. We are now considering a local arrangement that will considerably reduce costs and improve service levels.
Maintenance Schedules. After obtaining competitive quotes for grass cutting, we found FirstPort's contractors to provide a reasonable service at a competitive price. Grass cutting, ground improvement, and hedges are high on our priority list.
Property Transfer Services. We have already expressed concerns to FirstPort about both costs and the poor service experienced by residents when buying or selling their homes. A meeting to establish a binding service level agreement for property transfers did not improve matters, and this will be a priority if we change agents.
Richard Thomas (Chair)
Sally Lever (Secretary)
Vicky Harris
John Longman
Rich McNairn
Pauline Dodds