Garden Wood News February 2024
We have sent this email to all residents that have given us their email contact details. The information is also available on our web site.
Please note we have we have changed our official address. Our new address is: Mayo Wynn Baxter Solicitors. Office 39, East Court, Collage Lane, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3LT.
We have also changed our bank. Our previous Barclays account is now closed. If you are one of the few residents that still pay by Standing Order you will need to contact your bank and advise them of our new bank account details. No hurry for this. The next SO is not due until June 2024. We will contact you a bit nearer the time. There is no impact on those paying by Direct Debit.
All residents have now paid the 2023 maintenance charge with the exception of two. These are being actively pursued.
Do you use the Imberhorne Recycling Faculty? Many residents do use this useful local facility. At the moment it is a drop in service but that all changes on Monday 12th February. As from that date you will need to book a slot. The slot gives you a half window in which to the visit. You can book five slots a month. You can book the slots on the WSCC web site, which has more details of the scheme. If you turn up without a booking you will be turned away.
There seems to be some big potholes on the estate. Side roads seem to get overlooked (Some main roads are not much better). Good news. This week they have been coming round patching them up.
If you want to be removed from our mailing list then please contact us.
December update 12th December 2023
Please note that our solicitors, Mayo Wynne Baxter has moved. Their new address is:
Office 39, East Court, College Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 3LT. This is the new official company address.
The best way to contact us is via email. Please include your address in any email.
We have changed our bank. Payments to our old Barclays account will fail as the account is now closed. This includes Standing Order payments. This should not be a problem at the moment as the next SO payments are not due until July 2024. If you want to continue using SO payments next year you will need to advise your bank of our new account details. Direct Debit payments will not be affected. If you are late with this years payment and need our new account details please drop us an email or pay us by cheque. Remember that the 2023 maintenance charge must be paid before the 31st December to avoid the higher rate charge. Thank You.
We are updating our documents to reflect the above changes.
Garden Wood Autumn/Winter 2023/24 Estate Maintenance.
The leaves have started to drop. The grass is still growing. The ground is very wet and boggy. Our maintenance programme tries to deal with this combination of circumstances so at the moment you will see us cutting some areas, clearing leaves from some areas and keeping off the really boggy bits. Soon it will be leaf clearance only while trying to keep the estate looking reasonably tidy during the winter months. We do have a lot of trees and an awful lot of leaves. We only clear the leaves from our land. It is the responsibility of the LA to clear the roads and footpaths but clearing our land dramatically reduces the leaves in other areas.
The area between Kipling Way and the viaduct is particularly boggy in the winter.
If you notice an area you think needs attention, let us know and we will take a look.
Garden Wood is a hilly area. There are a limited number of salt bins around the estate. They should be full at the moment. We provided the bins and the LA does top them up occasionally. This salt is for road use on the hills. Not for private use. It’s handy to keep a bag of rock salt at home. A little goes a long way on paths and drives. Buy some now. It will soon disappear from the shops if it snows! Perhaps we will have a snow free winter!
Email addresses
We now have email addresses of most residents, however if you think we do not have your current email address or you have changed it recently, please can you go to the " Contact Us Page " on the website and send details to us.
Thanks
CAN YOU HELP US ?
We are trying to add any images of Gardenwood Estate to increase our Photo Gallery on the website.
Do you have any images of the following:
1/ The building of the estate
2/ The great storm damage on the estate
If you have any photos / images of these events can you please contact us
Thanking you.
DIRECT DEBIT MAINTENANCE PAYMENT As described below there is a new method of preferred payment of the yearly maintenance charge by direct debit which is arranged for Gardenwood Residents via GoCardless approved by all major banks covered by their direct debit scheme.
We have attached a direct link for you to access and apply for payment via GoCardless
https://pay.gocardless.com/AL0005H1BQJH43
If you have any query, please contact us via " Contact Us " on the website
Garden Wood Annual Maintenance Charge Increase 2023 and DD Payments
ISSUED MARCH 2023 The increased charges were agreed at last years AGM. When we discussed those increases inflation was only around 5%. Since then we have all been hit with some big bill increases and an inflation figure of around 10% but we are hopeful that this increase will see us through for a while. Your Directors try to keep our costs as low as possible yet still maintain the estate to a reasonable standard. Our costs are much lower that most estate maintenance companies because we, the residents, own the company. The Directors are all residents and receive no remuneration. Our overheads are minimal.
The new annual maintenance charge is £80
If you pay by using the new DD method. (See below for details) this is reduced to £65
If you pay by any other method including Standing Order it will be £80. If you pay by Standing Order you will need to advise your bank of the new amount. Don’t forget to cancel your SO if you set up a DD payment. Payment is due on the 1st July.
£150. If you pay after the 31st of December. This reflects the relatively high cost of pursuing late payments.We would recommend that you consider setting up a DD payment. This saves you money and is cost effective for us.
GW Direct Debit ‘Go Cardless’ Payments Process
Many of our residents will be familiar with the Direct Debit system. It is often used to pay Council Tax, Utility bills and much more. We are using a recognised company called ‘Go Cardless’ to enable us to collect the annual maintenance charge using the Direct Debit system. The system is safe and secure. It is backed by all the major banks and is covered by their Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme. Your bank will have details of this scheme.
The DD process is as follows:
1/ You will need an email address to pay by DD.
2/ GW Res Co will email you an invitation to sign up for DD payments or you can email us requesting to pay by a DD.
3/ We request a DD payment with Go Cardless who will then contact you by email. You complete the Go Cardless application. You enter your bank details and confirm the set up.
4/ You and GW Res Co get confirmation emails from Go Cardless.
5/ You will get a reminder email from Go Cardless when the maintenance charge is applied to their account. This will be in early July.
You can cancel the DD at any time either via Go Cardless or with your bank.
Dates to Note
Direct Debit payments will be collected on July 1st of each year.Standing Order payments should also be paid on July 1st. Make sure you have advised your bank of the new amount I.E £80.In early December a reminder will be sent to any resident that has still not paid or who has paid the wrong amount.If the full payment is not received by the 31st of December then the higher charge of £150 will apply. This reflects the extra costs involved in collecting late payments.
Any payments not received by the end of January will be vigorously pursued. We will consider legal action to secure any outstanding payments. This is very much a last resort and we will make ever effort to avoid it.
If you have any questions about the maintenance charges or the new DD option please drop us an email.
The DirectorsG.W Res Co