WATERWAYS MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Minutes of the MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING NO 99
held at 17.30 pm on Tuesday 15 November 2022
Waterways Community Room, Clearwater Place
Present: Adrian Olsen (Chair), Ann Hall, Kate Lack, Nicholas Orme, Paula Reynolds, Raquel Stremme,
Liz Wheater
In attendance: Aroul Ramadass
Minute taker: Imogen Olsen
1 Apologies for absence
1.1 Louise Robertson, Brian Shine, Hilary Sorensen, Mary Tovey.
The Chair noted the absence of any FirstPort representative – it subsequently transpired
that they had not received the agenda.
2 Approval of the minutes of meeting 98 held on 6 September 2022
2.1 The minutes were approved.
3 Matters arising from the minutes
3.1 (3.2) Nothing further had been heard regarding the transfer of the freehold from Berkeley
Homes. The lead director had reported at length at the recent AGM.
3.2 (3.3) FirstPort were not present to report on repairs to cracks in the render of apartment
blocks.
The hopper at 2-32 Elizabeth Jennings Way was still leaking and thus further damaging the
wall beneath it.
3.3 (3.4) Berkeley Homes had still not responded re the car park in Cox’s Ground. The Chair
suggested they we may not be able to resolve this matter.
4 Co-option of directors
4.1 The Chair proposed the co-option of two new directors, Brian Shine and Dr Aroul
Ramadass, and this was unanimously agreed. Dr Ramadass introduced himself and was
warmly welcomed by the committee.
5 Review of the AGM held on 1 November, including Q&A session
5.1 It was agreed that all had gone well at the AGM and also at the Q&A session which
followed. A director suggested that next time the microphone should be used during the
Q&A session as the acoustics in the hall were not ideal.
6 Sub-Committee Reports
6.1 Apartment Blocks Sub-Committee
6.1.1 The lift modernisation had been due to start at 44-60 Frenchay Road on 24 October but
unfortunately FirstPort were not present to give an update.
6.1.2 Similarly, there was no report on the redecorations for 31-39 Complins Close. A director
[PR] said that nothing had been done yet and that FirstPort should be pressed on the
matter. Another director added that the two broken lamps in a Frenchay Road car park
had still not been repaired despite several reports to FirstPort.
6.1.3 The two empty flats in 31-39 Complins Close were no longer a mystery but had simply not
yet been re-let. This item should be removed from the agenda.
6.2 Gardening Sub-Committee
6.2.1 Aquatic Solutions and OnSite had both done a very good job with the silt clearance. There
had been one slight issue with broken brickwork by one of the culverts, which was
probably caused by AS’s large Truxor machine not seeing this brickwork under the silt and
water. However, Evergreen said this should not cause any problems with the banks as they
were well held together by roots of vegetation.
6.2.2 The railings inspection had been carried out on 26 September and had established a list of
priorities for refurbishment. FirstPort were looking for a suitable contractor.
6.2.3 The new wooden bench had been installed on the Green, as a donation from the Fooks
family, and had been much admired. It was now proposed to install a second new bench
on the grass at the top of Elizabeth Jennings Way by the cricket pitch. WRACIC had
suggested using a crowd funder approach to raise the money, and it was agreed that WMC
could contribute depending on the success of the fund raising. We would wait to hear from
Wendy Stone.
6.2.4 A director reported on the recent bulb planting exercise, when five volunteers had planted
180 daffodils and 200 anemones. There is a sloping area by the wall at the end of the lake
and there was some discussion as to what to plant there, possibly wild flowers and more
bulbs.
The big rake had taken place on 25 September with eight volunteers clearing cut grass and
accumulated debris from the northern wildlife corridor stream.
6.2.5 Notes had been circulated reporting on the walk around which had taken place on 24
October.
Evergreen had now dealt with the horsetail, but no decision had yet been made on how to
treat the rather barren area on the Green next to the letterbox where the willow had
been. A director suggested that the area could be paved instead as it was being used as a
pedestrian cut-through. Evergreen would investigate what might be possible there.
There was a very lengthy discussion regarding the proposed felling of the three silver
birches by the Clearwater Place sculpture area and the actual felling of two alders by the
passage from Lark Hill to Rackham Place. The latter had been objected to by a resident
because of the loss of privacy, although a resident in the flats behind the Lark Hill alders
had complained about the blockage of light caused by them. Some directors strongly
queried the removal of the Lark Hill trees and the need to remove the Clearwater Place
silver birches. The Chair explained the felling was necessary because of the roots of these
trees which are/were tearing up the paviours there and causing trip hazards and safety
concerns. Silver birches and alders are large forest trees and these specimens are/were
only half grown; their roots will grow much larger and spread wider as the trees mature,
thus increasing the danger. Our advice has been that it is not possible to cut out big roots
without destabilising a live tree. So, the felling and planned felling are/were to solve a
current safety issue but also to prevent it becoming even worse as time goes on. The
intention in both Clearwater Place and Lark Hill is to replace the felled trees with more
appropriate varieties. It was agreed that in normal circumstances residents should be
warned in advance of such large-scale action. This time, however, the tree surgeons were
due just after the decision to fell had been made, and so Evergreen had simply added the
alders to their list of tasks. The Chair had apologised to the resident for the lack of
warning. A director wondered whether all options had been explored and suggested that
warning notices could be positioned in the area but the Chair doubted whether this would
be sufficient mitigation of the safety issues, particularly as the roots expanded.
In relation to the removed Lark Hill alders, a director [RS] stated that as a neighbourly
gesture we should heed the resident’s request to introduce some new privacy for his
property, and suggested that we should remove the established shrubs in the bed beyond
his garden and plant a new tree there. The Chair said that it was not at all acceptable to
remove these very attractive shrubs and rowan tree and that he had suggested reasonably
that the resident himself could plant something tall at the bottom of his garden. The
resident had suggested planting the leylandii tree which the Chair had rejected as entirely
unacceptable anywhere on the estate. A director said that we were not obliged to accept
any individual request or demand from residents where it is not appropriate and that our
duty is to always consider the interests of the estate.
In relation to the Clearwater Place trees, the tree survey of the estate carried out by
professional tree surgeons in January this year recommended that these trees should be
felled and replaced, because of their root spread. The Chair said that the directors had an
overriding duty to ensure safety around the estate wherever possible and that it would be
very dangerous to our position as directors to ignore known safety issues, particularly
when we had received professional advice. The Chair had already asked FirstPort to invite
our Health and Safety advisor to inspect the area and report, and it was agreed that their
conclusions would be important. FirstPort would be asked to pursue this and to ask their
legal team to advise on the legal and insurance liabilities of WMC and its individual
directors, in relation to ensuring safety on the estate, particularly after we have received
professional advice.
A director suggested that we should ask FirstPort’s environmental officer for advice, and
also that we should draw up a tree-planting programme which we should publicise widely.
Another director suggested we devise a procedure to follow in order that WMC is
protected.
The Chair stated that he would not be prepared to continue chairing the committee if safety issues were disregarded.
The bed of hebes in Clearwater Place were past their best and needed to be replaced. It
was agreed that the residents of Clearwater Place should be informed of this when they
are told about the decision on the trees.
6.2.6 A resident had asked that the use of glyphosate on the estate should be discussed at the
AGM, but his request had arrived too late to be included on the agenda. The Chair had told
him that the committee would discuss it at their next meeting. The pros and cons were
discussed and the controversy over its safety in relation to causing cancer and its impact
on the environment. The Chair said that our use was more or less limited to small scale
ground level spot weeding several times a year. For weeding it was thought there is really
no alternative for us; hand weeding would be impractical, and hot water, foam and
electrical alternatives using special machinery were thought to be expensive, awkward to
use and their technology not necessarily environmentally friendly. So, if we stop using
glyphosate then weeds would proliferate to an unacceptable level on a residential estate.
Also, in the past we have had at least one outbreak of Japanese Knotweed on the estate
and studies have shown that glyphosate applied directly into the hollow stems is the only
effective treatment. As it is still legal in the UK and the EU, it was agreed that Evergreen
should continue using glyphosate sparingly at the current low levels, and also as used
professionally to treat Japanese Knotweed. It is not used in the wildlife corridor or
anywhere near the canal.
6.3 Finance
6.3.1 FirstPort were not present to report on the state of reserve funds re lift modernisations.
7 Feedback
7.1 Nothing to report.
8 Managing agent
8.1 FirstPort not present.
9 WRACIC
9.1 The Christmas Hog Roast will be on 10 December. Volunteers are sought for Father Christmas.
10 Any other business
10.1 A director had been refused a smart meter by his supplier on the grounds that his meter cupboard contained asbestos. This was news to all other apartment owners present as some of them had had smart meters installed with no problem. The use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, so it was unlikely that Berkeley Homes had used it on the estate.
11 Dates of next meetings
11.1 2023: 10 January, 14 March (all at 17.30 in the Community Room until further notice)