Nice to see more people walking around the estate and making good use of the green spaces – seen quite a few toddlers practicing their walking around the oak trees – cute.
It is a worry that one of the benches by Old House Lane has been vandalised. There is a requirement under disability legislation for park benches with backs and arms to be provided in good order wherever there is green amenity space over a certain size provided on estates. It has been flagged up to HML for the missing slats to be replaced – but it is likely to be pricey.
You may have noticed that the waste bin has finally been removed from the play park by Southern View. It was removed as it was rarely emptied (and we would have been paying for that), many people were using it for dog poo and the builders used it for their drink cans, snack wrappers etc. Not ideal in a children’s play park. So, given that it is on an estate where we have our own bins not far away, best just to get rid of the bin in the park.
Same play park – you may have noticed a payment of over £900 on the latest HML estate management bill for play park gate closers. We are challenging HML on this as they are not working – the gates still don’t automatically close.
Back onto the subject of dog poo – this continues to be a nuisance for residents – on the green spaces and on front gardens. Please – just bag it and take it home with you and if you’re dog walking in the dark – take a torch so you can clean up after your dog.
Cats’ poo – a bit more difficult to manage as owners can’t do a lot about it – if you are desperate – here’s a few ideas:
https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/pets/a32402647/how-stop-cats-pooping-in-garden/
You may have noticed a tree surgery work item on our latest estate management bill. We queried this as it seemed a significant sum and it turns out that it was actually for replanting some of the borders where plants had died.
We didn’t have any control over this spend and we didn’t know it was happening – so the plan going forward is to have more regular meetings with the grounds maintenance people. It would be good if you (residents) could bring to our attention anything you are aware needs doing.
Responsibility for the attenuation ponds at the bottom of the estates – Countryside have chopped down the scrub and reseeded the ponds. This is probably good news as it does look like the residents will be responsible for looking after these after handover.
Now that we are going to be a bit more involved with HML, and they see the benefits of having a residents’ group in place, there is some hope that messages shared with you will more positive going forward.