Residents Association Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 February 2014 Present: Apologies: Mark Blacklock, Val Hall, Gwyneth Isbister, Gerald Leach, Mary Openshaw, Graham Cutts, Michele Freedman, Lesley Pearson Jo Moody Freehold/lease extension Thank you to all leaseholders who expressed interest in this matter. We don’t have sufficient responses to pursue the purchase of the freehold so we are looking at the 90-year lease extension option. The idea is to agree a discount on the legal and surveying fees based on a group of us acting together. Mark and Val had a meeting with Crabtree Law of Finchley whose representatives explained the process and offered a discount of 10% for a group of between 21 and 30 flats with the discount increasing if more flats participate. However, they pointed out that the premium we would have to pay to is increasing in line with the recent surge in flat prices so the total cost of our fees, the fees of Triplark and the freeholder Northumberland and Durham Property Trust (a subsidiary of Grainger plc) and the premium to extend the lease is likely to be more in the range of £10,000 rather than the figure of £7,500 originally suggested. As soon as we have more detailed information and full quotes from surveyors we will let leaseholders know and arrange a special meeting to discuss how we go forward. Parking For the duration of the building works parking at NWH is going to be tight due to the presence of the Parker Bromley compound in the rear car park. There have been conflicting reports as to whether NWH residents are eligible to purchase street parking permits and Sandy kindly contacted Haringey Council to clarify the situation. The Council has confirmed that NWH falls under the Highgate Station Outer Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) and that residents are eligible to apply for permits. Proof of your address is required such as the Council Tax bill or a current utility bill in order for the Council to create a profile for you. The telephone number of the permits department is 020 8489 4568 and email address: [email protected] Rear car park fence Part of the fence dividing the Tudor Close car park from the NWH car park has come down. We have asked Haringey Council to repair this. Cherry picker Concern was expressed about the length of time the cherry picker was on site but not being used. Canonbury has written to leaseholders explaining that it can be more cost-effective to leave the equipment on site rather than returning it to the supplier and then booking it out again, while it is not possible to use it in extreme weather conditions. However, we will ask directors to keep a close eye on this expense. Signage Mary has been liaising with MET about the car park signage and suggests we revise the wording of the signs for the goods entrance (one of which is broken) to “Deliveries Entrance” to reinforce the message for supermarket deliveries. Next meeting Wednesday 19 March 8.15pm @ Flat 6-1 Email: [email protected] Website: www.northwoodhall.co.uk