For the benefit of all residents on the estate who may be unaware of the company's background. and function, the following brief information may prove helpful.
Local authority planning consent for the development of Gardenwood was granted subject to certain conditions being met, the primary one of which was that the development would be of an open plan nature. The developers were required to designate certain areas of land as 'amenity' areas and to cultivate these for development as natural park or woodland. The developers were also required to establish a separate company whose function it would be to maintain and control such amenity areas on completion of the estate.
This company, G.W. Resident Co. Ltd., was formed by A.J. Wait & Co. Ltd., in 1967, its directorate being members of their board. The areas were sub--contracted by Wait for turfing and tree planting and the company was formally handed over to a new board of directors who had to be residents of the estate and elected by the shareholders (owners of property on the estate) at the first annual general meeting of the company in March 1971.
A detailed explanation of the company, its functions, obligations and legal commitments, can be found in the Articles of Association section of the website. For the sake of expediency however, the following salient points are outlined:
1) Each purchaser of a new house on the estate was contractually obliged to purchase ten £1 shares in G.W. Resident Co. Ltd., under a contract clause separate to that of actual house purchase.
2) Resultant from the sale of all houses, a share capital of £4,000 was raised by A.J. Wait & Co. Ltd. and handed over to the new board of the company in 1971.
3) Any subsequent sale of properties from one occupier to another would necessitate the sale of ten £1 shares from the former to the new owner, in a similar manner to 1) above, with a share transfer certificate being issued to the new occupier by the company's secretary or solicitors acting on its behalf.
4) It would be the responsibility of the new board of directors to manage the affairs of the company on a non-profit basis, with a view to ensuring that its amenity areas were maintained and developed to the satisfaction, both of the directorate and the shareholders.
5) It would be the responsibility of the board to budget annually for amenity area maintenance and improvement.
6) It would be the responsibility of the board then to collect from each shareholder, the maintenance charge, to enable the company to carry out its agreed programme. These charges are made in arrears so that in December the invoice charge is made for that current year. Those paying by standing order pay on the 1st of July. All persons selling their homes and moving are reminded to cancel the standing order.
7) Any modification to housing to be approved by the board of directors
This, in essence, is the background of the company. Each and every one of us has entered into a contractual obligation on house purchase and we are legally committed to this obligation.
You have the assurance of your directors that they will do everything in their power to ensure that the annual maintenance charges are kept to as reasonable a figure as possible. We are only too aware of what current inflationary trends mean to our pockets and it will never be our intention to spend money indiscriminately.