Dated 9th January 2005
The Residents’ Association welcomes everyone’s contribution. If you have a problem, suggestion or news please contact a Committee member. They are: Jim Hurson (flat 6) Shirley Batten-Smith (flat 7) Syd Hall (flat 9) and Paul Ryzman (flat 11)
Also on the committee are the Directors of Langwood Residents Association Ltd who are:
Tony Batten-Smith (flat 7) Alan Goodridge (flat 21) and Stephanie Beardsworth (flat 22).
Our Managing Agent is Dennis Brooke of Qualitas telephone: 01923 211331
The following items were considered at the latest meeting.
Block Doors.
Installation set for w/c 21 March 2005.
Door Security.
This project is still in hand.
Maintenance.
Tenders are about to go out for external redecoration, internal redecoration (common areas and flat doors) and gutter replacement.
Parking.
Thank you to those residents who responded to the item about parking that appeared in the previous newsletter. Everyone knows that parking at Langwood is tight and likely to get worse. The committee believes that there must be the fullest possible debate and everyone’s views sought before any decisions are taken.
There will be a special discussion of the subject at the next meeting. Your views are important so please either come to the meeting or speak to or write to a Committee member in advance.
To help your thinking a paper is attached setting out some of the points made so far.
Connie and Graham Jones
Connie and Graham, who have lived very happily in flat 20 since they retired in1976, have now moved, with some reluctance, to Essex. I’m sure that all Langwood residents will join in wishing them well for the future.
Committee Meetings
The Committee was asked to consider whether it could hold meetings other than on Sunday mornings. The request came form residents who would like to attend but found Sunday mornings difficult.
There was a very full debate on this question with the result that no change is proposed at present.
Firstly, it should be stressed that everyone involved in Langwood welcomes any and all inputs from residents whether owners or tenants. All meetings are open to all residents. Secondly, you do not have to attend a meeting to raise a matter of concern. Residents can always contact a committee member or our managing agent, Dennis Brooke. Thirdly, recognising the difficulty of finding time in the busy modern world to attend meetings, the committee always consults widely on important or controversial issues.
However we cannot operate without meetings and they need to be as well attended as possible to reflect as wide a range of opinion as they can.
The committee has met on the first Sunday of each month for several years (certainly since1999 and perhaps earlier) but has on several occasions looked for a more suitable alternative. The only realistic option would be mid week evenings. The AGM, for example, is held on a Wednesday evening. A handful of other meetings have been held mid week but only in special circumstances (eg to receive presentations from double glazing reps.) but the attendance was inconsistent which lead to repetitious delays.
Obviously, Sunday suits those who currently attend regularly. They are the Directors and committee members (see top of page for details). In addition one or two others attend more intermittently. Some of these people would not be able to attend regularly (and some not at all) if the meetings were on mid week evenings.
In the circumstances therefore and with apologies to those who cannot attend on a Sunday the committee has decided to instigate any change at this time.
Next Meeting: Sunday, 6th February 2005 at 10.30. in flat no.
Sending the newsletter by email saves time and paper. If you would like your newsletter sent by email please let Alan know your address on alanjgoodridge@hotmail.com
PARKING AT LANGWOOD – the story so far.
The first step must be to establish the extent of the problem.
Cars: Presently 17 flats have 1 car, 3 have 2 cars and 1 has 0 a total of 23. (This is an estimate and, obviously, varies from time to time).
Spaces: Each of the 21 flats has a garage but some are used for purposes other than parking. In addition there are eight spaces in the large car park and four in the small one. Extra space is available in front of some of the garages and a small car can comfortably park in the turning head of the small car park.
On site: The large car park is usually full during evenings and weekends while the small one is slightly less heavily used. During weekdays Parking is generally easy for both residents and visitors. At present there seems to be no real problem with ‘illegal’ parking.
Off site: Both Grandfield Avenue and Langwood Gardens provide space for overflow parking.
Problems: Later this year all parking will be banned in Langwood Gardens. When work starts on the new properties pressure on local parking will be increased by construction traffic. Grandfield Avenue may become part of the controlled parking zone (cpz) requiring a permit to park there during the day.
Possible solutions:
Maximise the utilisation of on site provision – encourage the use of garages for parking; encourage parking in front of garage doors where feasible; (if the cpz is extended) encourage residents to buy permits.
Increase on site parking provision: expand the small car park; create new spaces behind the garages.
Issue permits: to identify those vehicles permitted to park on site; contract out enforcement.
Implications:
Some of these points raise issues of enforcement and cost; some involve weighing the value of gardens against parking space and some the impact of the quality and value of amenity against the sale value of the flats.