Prices Lodge Site Visit Report 14 July 2016

Sarah Wareham from First Port was accompanied by a Resident Association committee member, John Saunders, for the site visit 14 July. This was Sarah’s last site visit, she will be taking a break from the company. Details of her replacement, Hannah, will be provided shortly.

Update from Previous Visit:

Flooding in the back garden 21 Coglan – The Gardeners have already responded to a request from Sarah and will be commissioned to improve the drainage on the other side of the boundary wall, not a priority at the moment.

Remove all trees and saplings less than 20 years old – The residents committee meeting agreed with the line taken by both First port and the Tree Surgeon that this is not in the ecological or aesthetic interests of the estate and would probably not be permitted by FBC.

Corroded galvanised straps on hitching rail fence opposite odd number William Price at the top of the estate have been replaced.

Fence panel damaged at boundary and garage of No 1 WPG repaired by a good neighbour is still sound, no further action at the moment. When the time comes to replace will look to replace with a more sturdy panel with vertical lathes.

Fire damage to boundary hedge with Harrison Rd. The insurance company has been informed and will cover the costs of a basic tree survey of neighbouring trees to ensure that the fire has not compromised safety.

Overhanging branch, possibly diseased, in the back garden of 31 WPG. Branch inspected and considered not a threat, Tree survey last year provided a clean bill of health for all Corsican Pines bordering this part of the estate. Overhanging branch removed by good neighbours.

Piles of dead timber on the estate side of the boundary with No 19 Harrison Rd. Sarah has checked and our gardeners were not responsible. However, whilst they cannot be sighted from the estate they will have to cleared up, costs should fall to No 19 as they appear to be the responsible party for the fly tipping on our land.

There were 2 other observations during the site visit:

No 16 Coglan has overhanging growth from the public spaces at the back of the garage, Gardeners will be tasked to action.

The growing season has hit with a vengeance, lots of overgrown areas on the estate and the boundary hedges with properties are a cause for concern. Some trimming has been undertaken but it all looks pretty untidy. This perhaps emphasises the requirement to dramatically attack the width of these boundary hedges to claw back some open space and enable more effective height management. A ROM cost to accomplish this task has been provided by the Gardeners, but what is now required is a more detailed quote. This will be provided in time for discussion at the AGM in late September. Although funded from the reserve at the end of the day the residents fund the reserve, possibly a significant cost of the order £20 per household.