SpamCo's definition of the charge categories, listed here that are within the annual fee invoice.

This is followed by a drop down segment for each individual Category. Each segment has more details on each category.

The  comparison between the 2024  and 2025 invoices is shown here

                                     2024   2025

Gardening                    5,000  16,920

Drainage Repairs         1,000       750

External Maintenance               2,500

Waste Management                  5,000

H&S Risk Assessments   575        575    

SUD Maint. Servicing   1,200       800

D&O Insurance               200        200

Public Liability Insrnc.    451        451

Communal Electricity   1,050     1,050

Reserve fund -                 200       500

Accountancy Fees –         382        382

Bank Charges                  120        120

Company Stat Accounts  675        675

Management Fees         7,452    7,452

Sundries.                         621        621

SPAMco quote Jan 2025 "Whilst we understand that this increase would be a shock to all residents, this is not a mistake. Going forward we are confident that the charges will not increase this significantly. We are now aware of the additional land, bins etc, so the costs relating to this budget will not change"

Three sets of charge types that required questioning

RED these are the increases. Reason why for each should logically different 

No Change -Why, They should change, as things can't be that accurate each year. e,g Bank Charges, Assessments...

Blue,  why,  How? Can these approaches be used across any others?

Gardening: 2024 invoice £5,000 ; 2025 invoice  £16,920

infoWEB comments in greeni

– this is the costs for keeping the ground on the management area maintained. You are responsible for the grounds within your own demise. Following a recent increase from the current grounds team, we entered into a tender process and the current provider was offering less service for more money. We have given notice to the current provider, and Airways Facilities will take over the contract from February 2025.
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The specification of works required by the grounds team is:

(colour coded by infoWEB as being so much alike it is an expanded list to make more of basic works)

External Maintenance – We have this in the budget should we require any maintenance on the estate, for example if a fence needs repairing, or streetlights (where in unadoptable land) etc. As per the terms of your transfer you contribute towards the maintenance of the site. Where there is no or little cost against this, it will be reflected in the year end accounts. Each year the budget is reviewed by the property manager, who takes into account previous expenditure and current works required on a development.

This was identified elsewhere as Repairs

Many outstanding repairs are required that existed bor Handover sept 2023. This have been reported to Crest ans SPAMco. Currently negotiating an agreed list with Crest Customer Services ad SPAMco.

These must not be added to annual fees until after fixing the problems. The question is still open regarding Estate warrenty. This rolls into S38 regulations ie Highways quaility standards that should protect this segment for a number of years before costs are passed onto Redidents

• Waste Management – To ensure waste bins/foul bins on the open spaces are emptied on a regular basis under the request of the local authority. This was not brought to our attention when the original tender was issued. The local authority have since requested the installation of these bins to be maintained by the Resident Management Company.

Repeated post from Garden segment above for clarification in SEgment Context

* On site there are waste bins that are part of the management land, when we tendered for the site, this was not brought to our attention. We have had to arrange for these bins to be employed since handover as the local authorities have requested that these be part of the obligations of the Resident Management Company.(total confusing views that could well be incorrect) (This must be questioned more thoroughly,infoWeb understanding with Parish Council BINS are not part of Planning approval further investigations under way) ( Further the bins are in the Conveyancing zone map, BUT, the Handover Maps -Sept 2024 they are excluded-obligation of Resident Management Company apply if they remain just inside the estate immediately adjacent to the public zone-why here?, when fully handed over) If the council does not The bins are emptied 25 times a year to ensure they are maintained, and this is reviewed throughout the year. We understand that £200 a visit seems high to empty but there are few companies local to the area that provide such a waste collections contract. This was the best quote that we that we could obtain. (Latest meeting with SPAMco and Residents (5) is to mark them as 'do not use' allowing to drop from invoice- awaiting- so watch this space?!? ) Any company that carries out this type of work, requires a licence to do so, to ensure that the rubbish/waste is disposed of correctly ( Note: Litter Picking in Garden Contract List - what is the difference to Picking to emptying this zone). It will include the cleaning of the bins, disinfecting and replacement bags. We will continue to monitor this throughout the year and if we can reduce costs by reducing visits then we will take this course of action. Please note that the Local Authority do not collect this rubbish only household waste. (But what if relocated just a few mtrs onto proposed adopted Council Land- most users will be public, not residents-so future looks like residents pay for emtying public litter bins)

At present we are unable to remove the bins as they are part of the developments S38 obligations ( S28 is to do with Highways regulation ie quality of roads and paving - BINS ? no, especially not near highway standard paths- further study required to validate obcurations) . If they are removed prior to the obligations being met and signed off, then the service charge would be liable to replace them. When the S38 obligations have been met and the freehold land is transferred to Resident Directors, we would be happy to take instruction from the Directors to remove those bins if they wish. In The meantime, we have had a couple of developments that have petitioned the council and been successful in obtaining the service of the council which has led to the removal of the bins and replaced with councils’ bins that they are responsible for. Unfortunately, this is something that we cannot do on behalf of the residents as we are not council taxpayers and have no relationship with them, but we will fully support that action if that is what the residents which to do (validation with Council representative should be done by as many 'volunteer ' residents, infoWEB will also check with local Parish council). 

External maintenance is an additional cost for works required outside of the grounds contract, this could be from repairing a fence that has been damaged to making good flowers beds (please note that these are examples only) Where this cost is not used within a year this will be reflected in the year end accounts. Each year this is reviewed and is based on the requirements of the site (Repairs to prior faults before Handover date sept and faults that were caused by Crest removing flag posts - Safety trip hazards ) should be presented to Crest and not Residents- no statement of Warrentee ref estate ; NOTE ALSO PLANNING APROVAL condition stipulate all dead trees must be replaced by the Developer  within the first 5 years.- Should that liability actually be passed to the residents as they are non-voting and Crest and SpamCo run the Albany Wood managment company until TRansfer (S38 as claimed- did the planning mean some group or actually  the developer? )

Whilst we appreciate the owners’ concerns, we can assure you that we carried out the tender process as legislation requires us to.  The cost is still extremely competitive. No documents were provided to any company to influence the budget, or does SPM have any affiliation with any of these companies. We do not receive a bonus, commission or any other monetary benefit from the contractors.

The Service Charge Team

infoWEB commnents

• SUD Maintenance/Servicing - are part of a solution to stormwater and surface water to avoid downstream flooding. They often clog and would not operate as they should, therefore we must allow an amount for this to be maintained. We have reduced this cost based on the new contractors’ costs.

• D&O Insurance - The Directors and Officers insurance covers the Directors of the Resident management company. Should you ever need to attend court, or a lawsuit is made this will help cover those costs. Costs remain the same and we have a broker each year that will obtain the best quotes

• H&S Risk Assessments - In accordance with the transfer documents, we must obtain a risk assessment of the development. The purpose of this is to make us aware of potential risks within the development. This is also required to ensure the insurance is valid. Costs remain the same.

• Public Liability Insurance - The Public Liability insurance protects owners and visitors of the development. For example, if someone was to have an accident a claim can be made of the public liability Costs remain the same and we have a broker each year that will obtain the best quotes

• Communal Electricity – This relates to the street lighting, once the roads, areas are adopted by the council this will be covered within the council tax costs. Costs remain the same and we have a broker each year that will obtain the best quotes

• Reserve fund - is a fund that is set aside to cover any major works that would be required. This protects the owners so when major works are required, then they have this to fall back on, instead of covering the full cost in one go. This will be reviewed each year.

• Accountancy Fees – This is the accountancy costs for preparing and issuing the year end accounts

• Company Stat Accounts – This is the costs for filing the company accounts for Albany Wood Management Company Ltd Costs remain the same

• Bank Charges – As the accounts are classed as client accounts, it is subject to charges and interest. Any interest accrued will be allocated to the account at the yearend Costs remain the same

• Management Fees – Our costs for maintaining the development. Our costs are also broken down in the welcome pack sent. Costs remain the same

• Sundries. – An amount put in for additional items of service charge, postage, legal fees etc. Costs remain the same

Community Gardening.

Instead of contracting out, residents get involved and take care of the common areas of the Estate (Garden, laws, Trees, Plants Hedging) themselves. If we consider more than the common ground of the estae but look to the green zone meadows which will always have difficulty of dermining who does which bit, with no visible border between council adopted  and estate maintained it seems logical to attempt to adress this with an accepted recognised and regerstered community gardening group instead of the potential disagreements that will most certainly will deleveop over paths, grassed ares, trees, bins,  and so on.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE  of more strict garden zone, but more flexible and relaxed approach is discussion later.

Arundel and Elgin Communal Garden in London is managed by a residents' committee for the benefit of the homeowners and residents of the surrounding properties.

The garden is part of the Ladbroke Estate, which was historically developed with communal gardens intended for the use of local residents.

The ownership and management are thus collective, governed by by-laws and legal agreements that have been in place since the Victorian era, with specific rules and regulations managed by a garden committee.

An example can be seen on BBC program with Monty Don's British Gardens episode 4/5

This approach is not uncommon and the Royal Horticulture Society has a website on this very subject and how to set it up.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/resources/community-garden

Funding 

Because Albany Wood is a community and the Estate green space is open meadow for public use, it is certainly feesible to be accepted for funding approval to enhance and maintain the sections for public use, as it will be and not exclusive to residents. Funding is available from  many many community funding groups/Charities. Most obvious examples follow

Some support from the Government (Councils) particularly considering the Meadow zone https://mycommunity.org.uk/what-are-community-rights

Further improvements might be supported and help identify funding is via Ground Work Org https://www.groundwork.org.uk/hubs/south/projects/

Heres are some projects already comparible in the south who are funded by various organisation. The Ground Work organisation will have experience in advising and assisting getting this project established and runnning. Consider for example the Meadow zones and leveling ponds, trees and plants throughout the green zones and the common areas. Will we need to maintain anyway? There is alot of green sapce that falls in our AWMco management according to the Planning approval requirements see Boundaries.  If the council does not adopt the remianing area the AWMco will have that to manage as well.

The Nationa Lottery Community Fund

https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/thinking-of-applying-for-funding/projects-we-fund

A longer term consideration regarding Green Spaces i.e meadows if they are under utilised this might be an interesting route to consider

https://mycommunity.org.uk/what-are-community-rights