Newsletters
January Update - Enhancing the estate
Posted 6th Jan 2025
Enhancing the estate and its services
This Newsletter is sent to provide essential information and background ahead of a possible Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be called by a group of former Directors. Since its inception in July 2024, the Board consisting of Chair Yvette Hubbard, Patricia Dalal and Michael Foy have worked tirelessly and completely voluntarily to enhance this estate and the services it requires.
An initial task of the Board was to appraise the contractors and expenditures that, in our finding, had endured with a minimum of control over many years. With considerable experience in contract management, Board members decided to take direct control of many expenditure issues, such as insurance, lift refurbishments, undercroft lighting replanning, surveying, fire doors and drainage clearance; many of which were found to carry double charges for consultant checks on works commissioned. From its outset, this Board determined that every penny to be spent would be covered by work orders and approved estimates, with no sign-off amount allowed to the managing agent. Many thousands of pounds in savings have been realised for leaseholders.
This inevitably led to a rationalisation of the immediate role for the incumbent Managing Agent, Sensible. With the Sensible contract up for review last November, the Board asked Sensible to tender within an amended definition of service. Sensible declined to tender and then announced its resignation. The Board conducted an extensive research and tendering process including three alternative companies - and, eventually, appointed Wishtower as the new Managing Agent, commencing 1.2.25. The Directors have experienced a campaign of defamation against them by disgruntled ex Directors, one of whom has accused Board members of being "totally untrustworthy", guilty of "malpractice", "complete liars", "incompetent" and of our "deceiving leaseholders" - without any substantiation. He has advised of his "prosecuting the Board and the Directors individually for defamation of character." In a sorry attempt to undermine the Wishtower relationship with the VQMC company before it had started, an ex Director has even attempted to undermine the reputation of the Directors by writing to Wishtower stating that: "The current Board of Directors are for the most part incompetent."
Challenging the lawful Board
Ms Lintott, on behalf of a group of those aforementioned former Directors is now conducting a process of questioning the very lawfulness of the Board to exist, citing the EGM of 23.11.23, to have been illegally conducted, with Yvette and Patricia not being first named leaseholders on the company Register. At the last EGM, the Chairman Iain McCulloch and Martin Ayling of Sensible assured all members that this was not the case and they both wished Yvette and Patricia all the very best going forward. The appointments were officialised by the Chairman, Plummer Parsons and Companies House. There was no challenge to the appointment of Yvette and Tricia at that EGM from any member or authority, nor at any time since.
Serving the leaseholders
This Board set out to offer complete transparency and information to all members - and to treat all members with respect. We are regularly praised for our Newsletter communications. We have achieved a considerable amount despite being derided by ex Directors, seemingly not able to countenance any change. We have referred to major projects we have undertaken, but can point to a recent workload agenda that has included revamping the houses quadrant and tree surgery, meeting with lift contractors all over Christmas, constant CCTV investigations and liaison with the Police in respect of the raft of bike thefts, constant monitoring of bin stores and CCTV protection from fly tipping, managing interior rendering and the constant leaks from apartments and undercroft, recovering costs resulting from a break-in to the company store.
When Sensible were previously tendering to take over the whole finances of the company, we have maintained Plummer Parsons as our experienced Accountant, developing an excellent working relationship with Chris Gorringe and his team. We have prepared a robust budget for 2025, which has determined a minimal service charge increase of 6%. We are developing the original 5/10 year plan of expenditures as formulated by Sensible and previous Directors. This continual re-assesment in conjunction with our new Managing Agent, Accountant and Surveyor will be regularly reported in our Newsletters. We have maintained a Reserve for major works of £320,135, with all this information published for comment or challenge by leaseholders. We are entirely voluntary Directors and do not receive any payment for our services to leaseholders. Our workload continues to be considerable and we are constantly seeking to recruit other Directors to join us. If you think you could make a contribution to our endeavour, we would like to hear from you.
Yvette, Tricia & Mike
The Directors of VQMC
MAKING MACQUARIE QUAY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Your Quay Matters - December Update
Posted 18th Dec 2024
NEW MANAGING AGENT FOR MACQUARIE QUAY
With the Managing Agent contract of Sensible up for review at the end of last November, the Directors asked the incumbent to tender against a defined specification of rationalised management requirements. Sensible declined to tender and then advised of their giving VQMC three months notice of ending the association with VQMC. Sensible’s contract will, therefore, terminate at end of January 2025.
The Board researched the market for suitable managing agents, sounded out and appraised recommendations and invited three companies to tender. After a lengthy consultation process, the Board has selected Wishtower as the new Managing Agent for VQMC. We consider Wishtower www.wishtower.com entirely appropriate for our needs and budgeting. They display impressive credentials and experience, have flexibility to respond promptly from their local base and have the enthusiasm to make a highly significant contribution to the ongoing wellbeing and financial stability of our estate.
We like the key personnel of Wishtower. We hope you will do too. To this end, we have asked Wishtower to meet leaseholders at an informal "getting to know you" presentation in early February. They will be happy to address any questions you might have. The Board has retained the services of Plummer Parsons, as the company accountant.
May we take this opportunity to wish all leaseholders a very happy Christmas and New Year - and to thank all those of you who have offered their support and encouragement in 2024.
The Board of VQMC
MAKING MACQUARIE QUAY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Your Quay Matters - December update
Posted 4th Dec 2024
UNDERCROFT SECURITY UPDATE: THROWING MORE LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT
We write further to the last special Newsletter concerning bike thefts from the Undercroft areas. With regard to the incidences of Thursday, October 31st, the Board was able to provide the Police with good quality CCTV images of the perpetrators. These same culprits were next found on the CCTV on Friday, November 1st, stealing an unlocked electric bike from under Vega House. They even found time to pump up the tyres before cycling off!
A gateway to theft
It would now seem that the most likely method of entry was by simply putting a key into the "Firemans Lock" as can be found outside undercroft gates. These keys can be purchased from Amazon for £4.99! Fireman’s Locks are designed to allow quick key access for emergency services. So, the Board faces the dilemma of whether these locks should / can be removed. The Board is taking appropriate Police advice and your observations would be welcomed. Another likely way of entry could, of course, be thieves following cars in through our slow closing undercroft gates. The gate at Altair/ Capella is, unfortunately, out of CCTV camera shot. Signs are now being placed on all gates asking for drivers to wait until the gate closes fully behind them, before moving to their parking space. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated in this respect.
The other critical factor to emphasise once again, is that bike thieves really are deterred by heavy duty D locks fixed to a frame or back wheel; even better if the lock itself emits an alarm sound when movement of the bike is detected. The warning can then be transmitted to a remote sensor - possibly in your apartment. Finally, a leaseholder has asked the Board to bring Immobilise.com to the attention of all bike owners. By registering bikes free on www.immobilise.com full details can then be put on a national database that Police can access and compare items that have been found or recovered from suspected criminals.
Seeing the light
One absolutely essential determinant of undercroft security and safety is, however, the deterrent and reassurance of adequate illumination. The recent spate of bike thefts determined the need for nighttime inspections of the undercrofts - and Board members were truly alarmed by the extremely inadequate state of lighting, with missing bulbs, inconsistent illumination sensors and forbidding dark corners throughout. It was a sobering experience to see complete darkness beyond the immediate areas of illumination where one stood, or where one’s car was accessed. The Board has viewed Hamilton Quay as a benchmark for safety and feeling safe, with its constant nighttime illumination. Even at the expense of additional communal energy costs, the Board is to instigate a budgeted trial of full triggered illumination from dusk to early dawn. The electrical work will be completed by Tuesday, December 10th. Once again, all views are welcomed on this radical change of undercroft facility.
SUBSCRIPTION CHOICE
We’ve taken the liberty of distributing this Newsletter again to the email addresses held by The Managing Agent for all previous communications and Notices sent to all our Leaseholders. If you would like to unsubscribe, or update an email address, please email the Directors with your request and property number to vqmc@macaquariequay.com
WORKING HARD TO MAKE MACQUARIE QUAY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Macquarie Quay - Undercroft Bike Theft
Posted 5th Nov 2024
SPECIAL EDITION: UNDERCROFT BIKE THEFT, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Over Thursday, October 31st and Friday, November 1st, there were a spate of bike theft incidences in our undercroft with, we think, two valuable bikes stolen. The first audacious theft saw two thieves ’casing’ the whole undercroft on an electric scooter and, what looks to be, a disposable shopper bike around 9.15pm. They look to have entered the undercroft by following a car in, or they might have forced the gate at Capella. Then, they used their bike to prop that gate open for quick get away, while they again toured the undercroft.
They found two covered bikes under Capella, with one of them only having a heavy lock on its ’quick release’ front wheel! The bike next to it was locked on its frame or back wheel, so the thieves married up what they found; a frame from one and a wheel from the other. They were tooled up for any mechanical need and completed the wheel change exercise in the open part of the undercroft in full view. The obvious lesson from this theft is not to just lock a front wheel. The general lesson is that only heavy duty locks will deter thieves looking for an easy steal.
On an inspection of the undercroft on the morning after the above, the Board was amazed to find so many bikes completely unlocked! Over the above two days, another bike was stolen under Vega and other covered bikes were disturbed in Orion and Carina. Obviously all the above has been captured on CCTV and the Board remains in dialogue with the Police, assuring them that CCTV downloads will be made available.
The grave concern the Board has is the absolute vulnerability of the undercroft - and the potential dangers for residents if thieves are challenged. Clearly, vigilance is now of paramount importance with, perhaps, the hooting of car horns if suspicious bike activities are seen. The Board intends mobilising a task force, to thrash out ideas for new security measures we might adopt. Thoughts so far include approaching Premier Marinas for additional security patrols, Commissioning our own security patrols, a ’neighbourhood watch’ roster of volunteers, audible sound warning to our CCTV cameras/ wall lights. Naturally, the Board will be asking the Police for an urgent site appraisal, to help us in our deliberations. If you can offer experience, have your own ideas or just want to register your help, please contact the Directors as soon as you can at vqmc@macquariequay.com
Thank you
WORKING HARD TO MAKE MACQUARIE QUAY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Your Quay Matters - October update
Posted 30th Oct 2024
Welcome again to ’Your Quay Matters’. In the inaugural edition we said we would update on the myriad of Estate matters we have been working on since the new Board was formed. But firstly, it was encouraging to meet a sprinkling of leaseholders who attended the informal drinks gathering at The Yacht Club on Tuesday, October 22nd. We hope this will be the first of more meetings/seminars we hope to put together over the coming months. Any ideas on how we might bring Leaseholders together will be gratefully accepted.
COMMUNAL FIRE DOORS
A previous Board had commissioned an extensive Fire Door Inspection Survey, which catalogued all remedial works necessary to bring all existing doors, glazing and frames fully compliant to rigorous fire safety standards. The new Board has appointed RTJ Fire Safety Management to conduct these Works, starting on Monday, November 11th. The Board has stipulated minimum disruption to residents while these essential works are undertaken. It is envisaged that contractors will be on site for some 25 days.
The Board has asked the contractor to prepare a short presentation regarding possible shortfalls and remedial options to Leaseholders own front doors. Watch this space for further details.
SLY TIPPING
Directors recently found the Merope bin store filled with an astonishing clear out of a mattress, wardrobe, desk and chair. The culprits were quickly identified by neighbours and the dumping exercise was found on CCTV. Thankfully, the culprits needed little encouragement to remove all the objects from our site. We would remind everybody of the effectiveness of our CCTV surveillance.
A correction since stating last month that under our ’Disposal of White Goods’ heading, we could take away all unwanted ’white goods’, this cannot include Fridges, nor mattresses, which would entail respective costs to VQMC of £60 and £30. Boilers, dishwashers, ovens, washing machines can all be taken. If you want to avail yourself of this service contact the Directors for direct access to the company store room.
BIN STORES
In our last Newsletter, we stated the intention of putting a code lock on the bin store that serves Orion and Carina. After consulting residents further, some vulnerable people were concerned about forgetting or confusing numbers and being left with rubbish at the entrance to the store, or in their homes. We listened and decided to display enforcement notices on the front door. See above and please report any misuse of our bin stores to Sensible, or via the email at the bottom of this Newsletter.
BALCONY VIEWS
A previous Board of Directors created a specification for the replacement of wooden balcony decking with a particular aluminium system - which was appraised for performance and appropriate integration with the integrity of the building. Whilst that Board nominated an associated contractor, it was made clear to Leaseholders that they could use alternative contractors complying to the basic specifications.
The current Board has conducted an extensive market survey, to find alternative contractors available to our shareholders using exactly the same Alideck Ultraboard materials, system and installation expertise. ISW UK are offering the firm price of £2,185 plus VAT for a standard 1.6 x 3.3m balcony. This price also includes a Qualicoat powder coated surface finish, to give added long term protection against sea salts. It is, of course, an individual choice of who you should use. NS Engineering are now quoting an ’economical’ starting price for their balcony installation of £2,000 inc VAT. You can make your own comparison by getting quotations from:
ISW UK
Peter Woods
0333 066 7831
info@iswuk.com
NS ENGINEERING
Noel Saunders
info@nsengineeringservices.co.uk
WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED
The estate has an expert insurance broker here as a Leaseholder. Thomas Whippy has given the new Board invaluable advice and extremely competive rates for recent renewals on Terrorist cover, Engineering Cover and Management Liability. Unfortunately, the critical Buildings Insurance Cover was placed by the Managing Agent before this Board came into office. At a premium this year of £48,000 it is an expenditure we will be looking at very closely over the coming months.
Why do we need Terrorist Insurance we hear you saying! And, over the last 4 years, the Directors of VQMC decided not to protect the Estate from any potential consequences of terrorism. The new Board had a contrary viewpoint and decided to reinstate, what it saw as, essential cover for our estate. Just consider the consequences if, for example, a lone wolf, or small cell were identified to be planning some assault from a property here - and the whole estate and surrounding roads had to be closed down with people and workers evacuated! This Board felt it better to be safe than sorry. We hope you all agree, but we would welcome any comments.
NO PUSSIES GALORE!
The Board’s policy concerning the keeping of cats by Leaseholders will now be subject to licensing application. We will allow only one cat per Leaseholder resident, which will not be allowed to use the outdoor spaces of the estate nor interior communal areas of any of our buildings. A Licence is not available for renting tenants. If you have or, are thinking of having a cat, please apply to the Directors for a free Licence.
GOING DOWN THE DRAIN
The soil pipes and main drains of this estate haven’t been blasted clean, over many years - possibly since the Estate was built. There have been a few recent reports of backing up toilet/shower smell seepages across the estate and it may well be that undercroft red pipe leakages are being caused by pressure on clogged joints. So, we brought in a specialist company to put a camera down the drains supporting the buildings at the West end of the estate. The results gave us a sharp intake of breath. Something will have to be done, so a carefully planned budgetary implementation is now being evaluated, starting early next year. We will keep you updated.
MESSAGE BOARD
The MacQuarie Quay apartment of long term renter, Moyna is being sold next August. She is most keen to find something else here and reaches out to any landlords who might be looking for a new tenant next year. Looking beyond MQ, Moyna cites the need for two bedrooms, a lift and to be south facing. Please email the Directors in the first instance, if you feel you might be able to offer assistance. Thank you.
SUBSCRIPTION CHOICE
We’ve taken the liberty of distributing this Newsletter again to the email addresses held by The Managing Agent for all previous communications and Notices sent to all our Leaseholders. If you would like to unsubscribe, or update an email address, please mail the Directors with your request and property number to:
vqmc@macaquariequay.com
WORKING HARD TO MAKE MACQUARIE QUAY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE