MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING OF COLDEAST DRIVE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
HELD ON FRIDAY 24th JANUARY 2025 AT THE ORANGE GROVE HOTEL AT 2 P.M.
PRESENT: Diana Hindle, Stuart Kimber, Allan Duncan (Chair), Tony Amber, John Adam, and Tom Middleditch
APOLOGIES: Apologies were received from Angela
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: The Minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
COMMUNICATION WITH ERMC AND HOMES ENGLAND:
It was agreed that the communication had become even worse from both ERMC and Homes England, despite our efforts. To try to re-establish effective two-way communication, the following actions were agreed:
The ERMC website appeared to show a new ‘team’ had been put in place; Allan would make positive contact and invite them to meet with us.
Allan would contact Jon Byrom of Homes England to ascertain who had been appointed to represent Homes England on the board of the AW2 Management Company. Allan would also try to find details of any other Directors.
To ensure that we can represent our residents even more effectively, Allan was asked to enquire, again, about the appointment of two Shadow, Resident Directors – Diana and John volunteered to fill these positions. This would ensure that ERMC are held to account for the provision of services at realistic costs, with the Management Company Board Members not being available – it is critical to oversee actions at a local level via these appointments.
Should we continue to suffer from unacceptable communication from ERMC and Homes England, Allan was asked to fully investigate the possibility of the residents forming a Management Company.
SERVICE CHARGES:
It was agreed that part of our remit was to hold ERMC to account for the following:
1. Details of the Communal Gardening Contract, which should have been renewed in September 2024
2. More details of the Debtor Situation – numbers, dates, and amounts regarding the overall amount (not individual residents). Also, details of what exact measures ERMC are taking to get the debts paid – for instance whether there is a plan to take long-term debtors to the Small Claims Court. Tom agreed to keep asking for answers to these questions.
3. An analysis of the various components of the Service Charges to ensure that we are getting value for money. This will include details of Budget V Actual for last year and 2025.