Spring 2022
Dear Residents, here are the latest updates regarding the estate.
Welcome!
Welcome to everyone who has moved onto the estate recently. The Directors and Court Reps are available to help if there are any questions or issues – contact details are at the end of this newsletter. Please don’t hesitate to ask. A welcome pack should be delivered to every new resident. Let your Court Rep or one of the Directors know if you’ve not received it. In these strange times it’s important to communicate and encourage each other. We hope you find the newsletters useful.
For new residents it might be useful to point out the basic roles. Dene Park Maintenance Ltd. (DPM) manages the estate and the Directors are volunteers who employ Realty, our estate management company, to deal with the business and administration side of DPM. This leaves the Directors free to concentrate on other estate issues and focus on our community. Together with the volunteer Court Reps, we are an interface for communication. We are also friends and neighbours too, of course.
It has been a busy time despite Covid-19 which continues to affect some activities.
We are quite rightly very proud of our community. New residents comment on what a lovely place the estate is to live. The Directors acknowledge their role and duty to maintain the integrity of the estate for generations to come.
In order to reduce waste, and where agreed by individuals, we hope to provide the newsletter via email. As not everyone has access to a computer, paper copies will still be provided on request.
Hard copies of the newsletters and all other relevant documents are available for residents to look at if appropriate (recognising that some information needs to remain confidential). These are also available on the DPM website “denepark.org”.
AGM
The estate should be able to have a traditional AGM as long as Covid-19 restrictions allow – one free drink will be provided by DPM for all attendees. Scheduled date is 13 April 2022.
The Accounts for the year 2020-2021 will be sent out with the notice of the meeting as usual.
After the close of the formal business, there will be an opportunity for questions, answers and discussion.
Phase 1 Painting/UPVC Cleaning
UPVC Cleaning:
This work should be undertaken in summer 2022.
New residents may be interested to know that Pure Clean offer to clean gutters at the same time if requested by the resident. This is an extra cost payable by the resident via Realty.
Painting:
Realty have contracted P. Harrison again and the work is scheduled to commence in late April or early May 2022. DPM provide the painting specification and schedule. Realty organise and oversee the work as per the DPM Agreement.
DPM have been made aware of various issues regarding the Phase 1 Painting in 2018: the painting of the fences due to the wood, preparation and actual painting. The Directors have inspected the estate with Realty and notified house-owners in order for necessary repairs and maintenance to be carried out before the painting commences. Realty will suggest a contractor for the maintenance.
The painters have offered to maintain individual fence panels if requested: £80 per panel.
Court Paving Repairs
We have been aware for some time that the paving in all 5 Courts are in need of repair. We asked Realty to obtain 3 quotes for this work and we have contracted J M Building Maintenance Ltd. for the work.
The work will be temporary maintenance at minimal cost and will involve replacing broken slabs with like-for-like slabs if possible. We hope to recycle some of the slabs stored in Burley Court. The levelling of new slabs might not be able to match existing levels.
Landscaping and Gardening
The gardeners continue to do a great job keeping our estate looking tidy and attractive. They have a schedule of maintenance but are also available for grounds development if requested by DPM. Any requests for grounds development are welcome but the costs incurred need to be allowed for within our gardening budget. Also, any development should not conflict with the Covenant or the Estate Design Plan. A Request Form is available on the website in the Contact Us page and hard copies are available too.
Please let the Directors know of any gardening jobs that you feel might be due such as: areas that might be “unloved,” overgrown, diseased or dying. We continue to review the list of maintenance tasks; and are always glad to receive feedback from residents.
Many thanks to residents who have donated plants and time to maintaining some planted areas. DPM met with Sustainable Living in the Heatons (SLH) who provided some useful free advice about increasing the biodiversity across the estate. We intend to plant sunflowers in various clusters again but with better seeds.
Over the autumn/winter period some pruning of bushes and hedges was done. The new growth should be appearing soon and the end result will be worth it.
The DPM strategy for the estate is long term with a view to encouraging fresh growth and wild life as well as maintaining the original appearance with minimal maintenance:
- Shrubs and bushes are maintained as part of the winter schedule.
- DPM have purchased and planted the following:
English bluebell bulbs, wild daffodil bulbs and wild garlic bulbs.
- Trees are part of the winter project and thorns are kept under control.
Trees
Tree surveys are carried out every 2 years and Realty contracted Cheshire Woodlands who conducted a Tree Survey on 17 November 2021. The estate tree policy and tree surveys are available on the website. There are hard copies available to borrow too.
Unfortunately storm Eunice caused the silver birch in Dene Court to fall. We contacted Realty and they arranged for an emergency tree surgeon to clear the tree within 2 hours of our call.
Plans to clean up the area and get advice on appropriate replacement are in hand. When we have some ideas about our options we will be discussing plans with residents.
Platinum Jubilee
As our estate has a history of street parties, it has been suggested that residents might be interested in organising some form of celebration. Any possible location would need to be considerate of resident privacy.
Please contact your Court Rep if you would like to be involved.
Estate Security
The estate WhatsApp group is better for communicating security issues. If you want to join, contact Phil Mason ([email protected]).
Communal Areas
We are so fortunate in having communal areas and play areas for residents to enjoy.
Please note that any equipment, chairs, tables etc. must be removed from play areas after use. Temporary gates must not be used to block access to play areas.
Play areas (not the communal areas) should not be used to exercise dogs or to store bins. DPM are duty bound to adhere to ROSPA regulations regarding children’s play areas. The play areas can be found in Dene Court, Deneway Close and Deneway Mews.
Communal areas are a shared space and residents are requested to be attentive to the privacy of others when close to houses. Please ask children to play on the play areas provided for them.
Bins should be kept on your property as per Council regulations and not on communal areas.
Parking
As some residents have had their access blocked, please continue to park with care and consideration. This is especially important with many residents being at home during the day. Also, please take your bins in after they have been emptied as this releases more space.
Dene Park Estate Website
The website is “denepark.org” and includes the newsletters as well as much and varied information about the estate. Please send any ideas for articles/inclusions to the administrator Tony Picot (email at the end of the newsletter).
Hard copies of newsletters etc. will still be available for distribution, as we realise not everyone on the estate uses a computer.
Court Representatives
Court Representatives are still required for Dene Court and Elizabeth Court. Please contact a Director if you are willing to take on this useful but not too onerous role.
Contacts
Gill Heyworth (Director)
7, Elizabeth Court
André Pakes (Director)
12 Dene Court
07792440507
Tony Picot (Director)
9, Dene Court
Phil Speak (Director)
10 Deneway Close
0161 432 2130
Teresa Tyrrell (Director)
4 Deneway Close
Sarah Britton (Court Rep)
7 Burley Court
Ev Speak (Court Rep)
10 Deneway Close
0161 432 2130
Linda Stone (Court Rep)
12 Deneway Mews
0161 442 0977
Realty Rep: Siobhan Waldron
0161 442 0977
Covid-19
As long as the Covid-19 virus continues to affect us, please continue to enjoy the communal and play areas of the estate safely and considerately.
WhatsApp Group: The WhatsApp groupwas set up to help and support residents during Covid lockdowns. It’s provided some fantastic support and generated lots of ideas and discussion, as well as general information.
If you have any questions about anything that’s happening on the estate, about DPM or any part of its activities, please contact your Court Rep or one of the Directors to be sure you get the most up to date and accurate information.
If you want to join the WhatsApp group, just send your mobile number to the administrator Phil Mason ([email protected]) and he will add you to the group.
Website: www.denepark.org
Facebook: Search for “Dene Park” and request to join.
Thanks:
Special thanks also go to Phil Mason who provides print services for DPM Ltd.
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