by John Green, Director
We believe that there may be new residents who are unaware of the history of Herbert Collins Estates Limited, and that people may have missed the last two HCERA AGM presentations on progress. Since the company was formed in October 2017, there have been regular updates in the HCERA newsletters. These are all published on the HCERA website where you can find all previous editions, and there is also a link to the company’s web pages and to the Companies House website. This website is where the Articles of Association are published. Herbert Collins Estates Limited adopted the model articles of a company limited by guarantee, but there are additional and amended provisions at the end (pages 36 to 39) specific to the company. The Companies House website also gives details of Director appointments.
New residents should get a letter of introduction to the company in their HCERA Welcome Pack and a letter of explanation was sent to all residents when the sale had been completed.
Some people have asked why we have not asked all residents for a contribution to the legal costs of acquiring the freeholds of the properties with long leases, rather than just those who pledged money at the start of the process. If we had been paying the full amount (before Julie Ozwell’s generous gift) and asking for the original sum of up to £200 each, and were facing a significant shortfall, we may well have widened the appeal for money. As it is, we calculated that £35 from each of those making the original pledge should cover our costs, and allowed for those who had moved.
The current task for the company is to raise invoices for the ground rents that are now due. This is in hand, and invoices are about to be sent to leaseholders. To give you an idea of what we have taken on, the Ethelburt Avenue (Bassett Green Estate) Conservation Area consists of 223 properties. The company owns the freehold of 118 of these and the private roads, greens and tennis courts within the Conservation Area. We are also responsible for 18 Herbert Collins designed properties in Thornhill.