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Minutes of the General Meeting held on Tuesday 8^th February 2022

Members

Mrs K Creese took the chair. Apologies from Mr W Gee and Mr E Busko, all other committee members were present with a further 8 society members in attendance.

Minutes

Mr Pawson pointed out that the minutes supplied to be confirmed were the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and not the minutes of the previous General meeting (held prior to Covid). Both sets of minutes to be read at the next Annual General Meeting.

Matters Arising

None

Chair’s Report

Mrs Creese began by explaining that permission will no longer be given to house swaps into empty properties or soon to be empty properties. House swaps into empty properties cost a lot of money. Each property cost £35,000+ to renovate and costs are rising. Anchor Tenants are not social landlords and the Committee’s only involvement in a house exchange will be to authorise it after both properties have been inspected.

For shareholders succeeding a tenancy (with the exception of surviving spouses) will in future be treated as a new tenant and rent rises will be applicable, following a Committee inspection of the property. A credit check will be carried out by an independent company. Should this fail, the society may ask for a guarantor who will also be credit checked. This is in the interest of all shareholders and to save the estate money by not having to begin eviction proceedings in the future.

With the rising cost of materials it is looking increasingly certain that rents will have to rise in 2023. The last rent increase was 5 years ago and with ever increasing costs we will have to be extremely careful on expenditure this year. Electrical checks on the estate are continuing. The electricians have stated they have found many electrical additions, a lot of which were in a dangerous state. Please do not carry out any electrical work or add on’s yourself. Please employ a suitably qualified electrician to carry out any additional work. Future checks on the electrical installation of each property will be carried out every 5 years.

Condensation and mould in properties is an ever increasing problem. We are currently fitting passive air vents into properties that are renovated. We will also fit these air vents into houses experiencing mould problems where necessary, when the house has been assessed by the maintenance contractor. Windows should be wiped down and opened every day. Laundry should not be dried on radiators. When new properties are let there is no sign of mould, condensation or damp. The problems some tenants are experiencing is mainly down to lifestyle. As a matter of interest, 1 load of washing dried on radiators releases 4 pints of water into the air which is then distributed throughout the house.

We have a new maintenance contractor working with us. His name is Simon and he is self employed and sub contracted to us 2 days per week.

As you are aware, we were left in the lurch in 2021 by our previous accountants, Evolve. We have now instructed a new auditor and are pleased to announce that our new accountants are Cunningtons. The gentleman now looking after Anchor Tenants is Mr Graham Smith.

If any property has, or is having CCTV cameras installed there must be visible signs on the property stating that cameras are installed.

We have purchased a defibrillator, which is on a waiting list for delivery. This will be situated on the outside wall at the front of the hall. I am sure you will agree that this is a much needed piece of equipment and will benefit everyone in the area.

You will all have received information of our Jubilee party to be held on Saturday 4th June in the garden. We are hoping this will be a wonderful occasion with something for everyone and all ages. With entertainment activities for the children, treasure hunt, live band, brass band and much, much more. This should be a momentous occasion celebrating the Queen’s 70 years on the throne. We are hoping to get partial closure of the roads. We are applying to the Council so will have to wait for their decision on this. We have a Jubilee party committee which currently meets once a month. If you would like to be a part of this, please speak to Mrs Osborne as I am sure she will be happy to give you the information.

It was unfortunate that we had to cancel the over 60’s New Year party, but Covid took over on this. We hope to be able to host the party again in January 2023. The children’s Christmas party was a great success. All who joined us had a great time and it is booked again for this year.

This concluded the chair’s report.

Nominations for Committee

Nominations are Mrs J Benning, Mr W Gee, Miss D Smith and Mr I Carter. A nomination received for Mr E Busko was void as Mr Busko is already a Committee member. As there are two vacancies and four nominations, a vote will be required. Mrs J Bradshaw and Mr G Baker volunteered to act as scrutineers.

Mr Pawson asked the Chair why two committee members were standing down this year, two next year and four in 2024. Mrs Osborne stated that she was out of sync because she had been asked to stay on by the previous chair due to Covid. The chair asked shareholders their opinion and those present felt it was not a problem for it to stay as it is. Mr Hollis then went on to ask Mr Pawson if he was happy to leave it as a decision of the committee, to which Mr Pawson replied yes.

General Business

Mr Pawson asked the question if the estate is compensating tenants following electrical work in properties. For example if kitchen tiles need removing? Mrs Benning explained there is no current policy for this and Mrs Creese continued that no complaints have been received. If tenants have a problem following electrical work they should contact the office.

Mrs Smith asked that when a complaint is made why is nothing done about it. The tenants individual problem was discussed.

Mrs Allen asked whether their were any plans to open the housing list to step-children. Mrs Creese replied that the housing list is quite long and there were no plans at present to open it again.

Mrs Smith asked how many empty properties there are currently. Mrs Creese replied, officially none at the moment.

Mr Pawson asked if the committee had any plans to communicate more with shareholders and residents. Mrs Creese replied that all shareholders will receive a copy of the minutes but the question can be discussed further in a committee meeting.

Mrs Allen and Mrs Bradshaw expressed their thanks to the committee for their continued hard work.

This concluded the business of the meeting and Mrs Creese thanked members for their attendance before declaring the meeting closed at 7.42pm.

These minutes are the official record of what happened, and not a verbatim account.

These minutes are the official record of what happened, and not a verbatim account.

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