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Minutes of the General Meeting held on Wednesday 23^rd October 2019

Members

Mr T Gee took the chair, apologies from Mrs L Osborne, Mr W Gee and Mr I Pawson, all other committee members were present with a further 13 society members in attendance.

Minutes

Minutes of the previous general meeting were confirmed and signed, proposed by Mr G Baker and seconded by Mrs J Bradshaw.

Matters Arising

None

Chairman’s Report

As usual, because we are only partway through the year, the report will be brief.

First, I must apologise for the change of time for the meeting, but with the hall being booked most evenings, we have to fit in between bookings.

In my report in October last year, I said that we still had 3 properties to renovate and re let. These have now been completed and I can report, and I say this with a feeling of trepidation, that all houses are now occupied, and we have no empty houses at the moment. The last time I made this statement, before a week was out, we had two properties come in with more to follow later. But that is the nature of things.

The last house that was finished, on Keyham Lane, we opened to the tenants and their families, so that they could see the standard to which we bring empty properties up to, and the amount of work that has to be done. We need to carry out this work to make sure they comply with current legislation, but also to save us time and money in the future. The opening proved quite successful and we hope it gave the people who came a better idea of our work.

The painting programme included Chestnut Avenue and the lower part of Lilac Avenue, in order to make sure we get value for money; we always obtain more than one quote. Cheapest is not necessarily the best, as we found out. The problems we had on Chestnut Avenue, were not all the fault of the contractor, weather played a big part, as rain kept interrupting their work. But and it grieves me to say this, also the un-cooperative attitude of some of the tenants didn’t help. When we asked them to make sure that access was made available, so that the rear of the house could be worked on, some of the tenants either forgot or couldn’t be bothered to comply. We were not all that happy with the contractor and have engaged a different one to work on Lilac Avenue.

We are pressing ahead with the replacement of all cast iron gutters as fast as we can. This means, in most cases, that scaffolding has to be erected around the house. This is in order to comply with the Health and Safety Act. We appreciate that it can be a bit of a nuisance to have scaffolding all around the house and ask tenants to bear with us while this work is in progress. It is important that we remove all the cast iron guttering before any more problems occur.

Some of you may have noticed that the housing list is no longer displayed on the website. When we consulted the Data, Protection people. We were told that displaying the list contravened the Data Protection Act, so it had to be taken off. Also, that information regarding a person’s position on the list should not be given out over the phone. or by e-mail. If any person wishes to know their position on the list, they must now write in with their name and address and folio number if available. This will be checked with the name, address and folio number that we hold, and we will let them know their position by return of post. And so, another layer of red tape is added to the huge amount that we have to cope with already.

Winter will soon be with us again; the clocks go back this coming Sunday. This is the time of year that we tend to get the most problems with condensation. It is almost impossible to completely prevent condensation in the home, but it is possible to reduce it to a level so that it does not cause problems. If you are going to hang your damp washing on the radiators and keep all your windows tightly closed and not allow air to circulate around the house, you will get problems. A small change of lifestyle may be all that is needed to make a big difference. We do have a leaflet that explains how this can be achieved and should you require one please let us know.

The Government are in consultations with various interested parties on reform of the Landlord and Tenants Act, with particular emphasis on those parts that deal with tenancy terms and eviction. We as responsible landlords, welcome any improvements that stop rogue landlords from evicting tenants for no reason at all. The problem is that it tends to make things so much more complicated for all landlords and not just the few it is aimed at. The results of their consultations are to be published next year. It maybe that we shall have to change our rental agreement to include any new legislation, we will wait and see.

The government have also said that they are to introduce mandatory 5-year electrical installation checks. This will make it a legal requirement to carry out electrical safety checks every 5 years. Again, no date has been set for the legislation, but we need to prepare for this sooner than later.

At the moment it is our policy to only take down trees if they are dying or we consider them to be a danger to life or property. We are aware that some of the larger conifers, particularly where they form part of the boundaries between gardens, are now becoming a nuisance. It is our intention to tackle these trees as and when finances are available.

On the subject of trees, we are hoping that some of the tenants will take up our offer of having a tree planted in their garden. A small to medium ornamental tree can make such a difference. We now have a list of available trees for those that are interested.

We have places left in the Hall car park should you wish to take advantage of the situation. At the moment there is no charge for parking there, but we will have to charge a one-off fee for the key, this is £15-00. Please let Susan know if you are interested. Cars must be taxed and insured.

This concluded the chairman’s report.

Nominations for Committee

Nominations are Mrs V Walker, Mrs K Creese, Mr I Pawson, Mr T Gee and Mrs C Smith. As there are three vacancies and five nominations, a vote will be required. Mrs J Bradshaw and Mr G Baker volunteered to act as scrutineers.

General Business

Mr Parr asked when the guttering was going to be replaced on the top half of Lilac Avenue. Mr Gee said that we were waiting for the quote to come in and hope that this is done before the painting programme, as Lilac Avenue is the next to be done. Mr Parr said that with all the heavy rain it is wetting the walls. Mr Gee said that there have been three houses where sections of cast guttering have fallen off these have to take priority and be done first.

Mrs V Walker said regarding the damp she likes to keep her windows open especially when the weather is o.k. she said that this is becoming extremely difficult with the bonfires that keep being lit. Mr Gee said that if they are becoming a nuisance then she should contact the City Council Environmental department. There is no law regarding lighting bonfires only if they become a nuisance and then they want times and names before they can take action. Mr Walker asked if a letter can be sent to tenants. Mr Gee said to send another letter out to everyone on the estate is a lot of work. Mrs Benning said it will be in the minutes and everyone will get a copy and be aware of it. Mr Cort said that you know people who live around so you can knock their door and ask them if they could be a bit more thoughtful when lighting their bonfire. Further discussions took place regarding bonfires.

Mrs Gaten asked where new trees are going to be put, as she used to look out her back and see the hall now, she can only see giant trees. Mr Gee said that there was an awful lot of houses now without a tree in the garden. He said that any trees that have to be taken down we consult with the tenant first. Mrs Gaten asked what sort of trees would be planted. Mr Gee said that we have a list it includes flowering cherry’s and ornamental trees. He said having taken quite a few trees down, it would be nice if we could replace some as when you look around there are blank spaces.

Mrs Taylor suggested when sending out letters or flyers they could be sent by e-mail, a reminder for meetings could also to be sent out by e-mail. Mr Gee said that he would hope that people would read the letters that are sent out and not need a reminder. He went on to say that would it make a difference if they had a reminder and bearing in mind it would mean trying to collect peoples e-mails and not everyone has one. Mrs Taylor said that it would be a good idea, Mr Gee said that they would give it some thought. He went on to say that we had previously sent out a reminder regarding a meeting, but it made no difference, it was still only the same people who attend every meeting that came.

Mr Parr asked if there had been any feedback regarding the painting at the bottom of Lilac Avenue. Mr Gee said there had been comments regarding the colours, some like them some don’t, but this is giving the tenants their choice.

Mrs C Smith said that the paths on the estate are in a dangerous condition. Mr Gee said that this was down to the council. He said that there is a website that you can report a complaint and put a photograph and details on. They are quick at acting on this.

Miss Branston said she would like to thank everyone for all their hard work.

This concluded the business of the meeting and Mr T Gee thanked members for their attendance, before declaring the meeting closed at 8.40pm.

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

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