September 2022 Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

In this newsletter we’d like to update you on the key points from our August 2022 Board meeting. We hope it’s helpful.

Chairman (David Cope)

We have now completed our first draft of a 3-year plan for the maintenance and improvement of our Estate (click here to view). Whilst very much a work in progress, we will continue to develop the plan and share with you any major additions or changes.  The plan will be used to outline and budget our key initiatives, aiding our forecasts of our reserves and our aim is to have a fully costed version by the next AGM.

We continue to work on our GDPR compliance.  All the OWRA team have now signed confidentiality agreements, and this will be standard practice going forward for anyone joining the team.

Security and Gates (David Morris)

The process of receiving bids to provide security services (as approved at April’s AGM) has been somewhat delayed by the summer holidays, but we expect to receive these quotes by the end of September and to be able to award the contract for the works by the end of November.

We have received a legal challenge from a resident regarding the ANPR and CCTV installation, specifically the impact on established rights of way to the Estate (the delay to access) in the event that a resident decides to opt out of providing numberplate data. We are taking legal advice on our position, but it is currently our intention to continue to implement the ANPR and CCTV solution that was voted for without applying a delay to opening. Once in place, we intend to use the data to educate ourselves on the extent of the non-resident, cut-through issue and agree an appropriate solution going forward.

An independent survey of the Estate’s lighting was recently completed, concluding that the current lighting provision was inadequate. We now await a priced proposal and plan to address the issue.  We will share this with you once we have it.

Later in September you may notice work taking place on our gates and fences as they will be serviced, cleaned and painted.

Drains and Roads (Paul Vasili & Tom Grimshaw)

We are pleased to announce that Tom Grimshaw has re-joined the Board, splitting the role of managing the drains and roads with Paul Vasili. Going forward, Tom will look after our roads and Paul will oversee our drains.

In the last few months our roads have been assessed by three companies who unanimously concluded that a full resurfacing programme was not necessary for the foreseeable future and definitely not in the next 3 years.  As a result, we have decided to adopt the following approach: when remedial work is needed to the roads, the surface will be planed off and the area resurfaced speedbump to speedbump (rather than just patching up the damaged area), so effectively creating a “bitesize” approach to the resurfacing plan.

In the last few weeks both the Estate road sweep and gulley suck have taken place and we hope that you’ll notice an improvement in the condition of the roads as a result.

Planning (Graham Marr)

We are pleased to confirm that Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) rejected five telecoms mast prior approval applications locally over the summer, including the proposed Stoke Road mast next to 53 Oxshott Way.  Telecoms operator Hutchison may appeal these decisions and we will keep a watching brief.

Trees and Verges (Tiggy Walker)

As you all know, we experienced an unusually dry summer this year and not all of our newly-planted trees have survived. We believe that we have lost 4 trees at a cost to the Estate of approximately £1,200. We have looked into employing an independent company to water our new trees, but have failed to find a viable solution. We need your help to water young trees and keep our maintenance costs as low as possible.  We are also planning on planting more drought resistant trees going forward.

A walk of the Estate with our tree surgeon was completed at the end of June to help us decide on the condition of our trees and form a plan for maintenance and replanting. As a result of this walk it was recommended that six trees are felled (this can be compared with 15 trees in 2021).

Communications (Verity Peatfield)

We continue to update and improve the website – any suggestions are very welcome!

Please can we ask that all email communications with the management team are directed to our OWRA email addresses (detailed on the website), rather than our personal email addresses, for the purposes of creating a complete record and to aid GDPR compliance.

Other Local Information of Interest

We have been informed by a resident that an individual has recently been operating a scam in Hollyhedge car park. It seems that the same individual has previously conducted the same scam in Sussex and was featured in the news. Please click on the following link for details: Police investigating Sussex car park scam issue CCTV images | ITV News Meridian 

Best wishes,

The OWRA Team.