Channels (Chelmsford) Management Company Ltd

Logging Queries & Issues

To assist with the handover from POD Management to Remus, and to ensure that directors are fully sighted on everything, residents are strongly encouraged to use the CCMC website as the primary method for logging queries, concerns or issues from 1st January 2021.

By logging issues via the CCMC website, information will be sent automatically to the appropriate stakeholder for action and copied to directors for information. This will provide directors with an audit trail to ensure that issues are being followed up and dealt with appropriately.

There are four categories under which queries, concerns or issues can be logged and there is a simple form to complete which will be submitted to the appropriate stakeholder for action:

In most cases it will the responsibility of the managing agent to deal with and close down issues however directors may additionally contact residents directly to confirm that issues have been resolved and that no further action is necessary.

Links to each of the forms can be found on the Estate Issues page:

Residents can of course contact the managing agent directly however directors will not have an automatic record of issues logged in this way so unless there is an urgent concern, the recommended course of action is submission via this website.

Andrew Wright
For and on behalf of CCMC Ltd Directors

Service Charge Update

Further to the update provided at last weeks residents meeting, and following further discussion with POD, credits in relation to the estate-wide service charge have now been applied to resident accounts. The total credit amounts to just under £200 per resident (pro rata as necessary) which is in line with the original instruction given to POD in July.

Information about the investigation into site-wide expenditure, as originally notified to residents in July 2020, can be found here.

If there are outstanding balances remaining on accounts after the credits are applied, this will be flagged with a request to pay the balance accordingly. As noted at the residents meeting, there are some balances that are considered so large (over 2 years) that formal debt recovery will begin should the balances not be immediately paid.

POD will be sending letters to residents week commencing 14th December confirming the credit and any balances outstanding which must be paid.

Please note that due to the impending change of managing agent and second half year service charge fee being due in January, the site-wide credits will remain on account and as such there will be no physical refund of monies at this stage.

If you have any specific questions about the site-wide credits, do not hesitate to get in touch via the Contact Form on this website.

Andrew Wright
For and on behalf of CCMC Ltd Directors

Managing Agent Update

As noted at the residents meeting on 3rd December, CCMC Ltd will be parting company with POD who acts as managing agent on behalf of the Residents Management Company.

Unfortunately POD had not been fulfilling their duties as described in the Service Specification and following meetings with the Managing Director at the beginning of September, directors began working with POD on a remedial action plan.

During October, it became apparent that the site-wide management company (who had secured POD to undertake site-wide management in January 2020) was also extremely unhappy with the level of performance, so much so that they took management ‘in-house’ and parted company with POD with effect from 9th November 2020.

As directors were not happy with either the remedial action plan or other options proposed by POD, the decision was taken to explore contingency options. POD later informed directors that due to the loss of site-wide work, they did not believe it was viable for them to continue delivering services for our RMC alone and as we did not have full assurance that POD would be able to meet their obligations anyway, there was mutual agreement to part company on 31st December 2020.

Directors have continued to explore contingency options and as a result we have secured the services of Remus. Remus are a national company with a local presence and were interviewed in 2019, narrowly losing out to POD. Remus were already therefore ‘bid compliant’ and as such directors deemed them suitable to be appointed as a ‘step-in’ provider for the remainder of the original POD contract term i.e. to 31st July 2021.

Remus will take over from POD officially on 1st January 2021 however on-boarding and mobilisation will begin imminently. Directors have agreed a list of outstanding actions that POD must progress prior to handover and these actions are being closely monitored. Once Remus has the full list of residents from POD, a welcome pack will be distributed.

If you need to raise any issues, either about the site generally or your account, please continue to do so in the normal way until advised otherwise. It is recommended that you use the Estate Issues Form on this website as directors are copied in and are logging requests to ensure nothing is missed.

If you have any specific questions about the change of managing agent, do not hesitate to get in touch via the Contact Form on this website.

Whilst it is unfortunate that the arrangement with POD was not successful, directors believe action was taken at the earliest opportunity and in the best interests of residents to ensure continuity of service delivery and best value. There will be no overall increase in service charge as a result of the move to Remus and we will keep residents updated in relation to the handover.

Andrew Wright
For and on behalf of CCMC Ltd Directors

Residents Meeting Tonight!

Dear Residents of Eagle Rise & Aqua Verde,

Please find below joining details for our residents meeting that is scheduled for 7.30pm this evening.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81126141392?pwd=R2xSbW5UQkJJTFgyYTJwaytqNkY2dz09
Meeting ID: 811 2614 1392
Passcode: 877567

We will conduct the meeting in line with the rules at https://ccmc-ltd.uk/virtual-meetings/ and there will be a chance for residents to raise questions in the meeting where appropriate.

Directors look forward to seeing you all this evening 👍

Site-Wide Update

There have been some key updates that will impact on the way site-wide matters will be managed and Channels Management Company Ltd (the entity that owns and is responsible for maintenance of the wider Channels estate) has provided a briefing for all residents of Channels.

CMC Ltd Briefing: November 2020

The briefing covers how site management will be coordinated moving forward and outlines key updates in relation to the areas of communal land that will be made available to residents both in the short and longer term.

The briefing makes reference to the “Channels Residents Association” in relation to organising events on the Village Green. For clarity this is the Channels Residents Community Group and the best way to contact the committee is via their website at www.channels.community/contact/.

Notice of Residents Meeting

Dear Eagle Rise & Aqua Verde Residents,

Directors of the Residents Management Company will be holding a virtual residents meeting via the Zoom video conferencing facility on Thursday 3rd December at 7.30pm (joining details to follow).

The meeting date has changed from that originally scheduled for 18th November. This is due to unforeseen circumstances in relation to the current COVID & lockdown situation and it is important that all directors, including those who joined in September, can be present to meet with residents.

As with the meeting held in July, this is a ‘town hall’ style residents meeting and not a formal General Meeting of the management company and as such all residents are welcome to attend.

To assist in efficient running of the meeting, you can submit a question in advance. Where possible, questions received will addressed prior to the open forum and can be submitted via www.ccmc-ltd.uk/ask

Please ensure that all questions are posted via the link above no later than midday on Wednesday 25th November.

Directors gratefully request that if you wish to attend the residents meeting, and prior to submitting advance questions, you look at the key information made available on this website.

Please observe the rules that will be followed for conducting online meetings which can be found here. The meeting will be recorded, there is an expectation of good behaviour and directors reserve the right to exclude any person who acts in an abusive manner or disrupts the meeting.

Directors would appreciate all residents signing up to follow CCMC-Ltd so that whenever an update is added, you can be notified immediately by e-mail: www.ccmc-ltd.uk/follow/

The directors look forward to meeting residents of Eagle Rise & Aqua Verde again on Thursday 3rd December.

Noise Nuisance

There have been some requests about how to deal with noise on the estate albeit either construction traffic or works and social such as loud music/parties/behaviour at unsociable hours.

If you witness any form of anti-social behaviour, Essex police encourages people to report it online to them in the first instance.

You can also report anti-social behaviour and specifically noise nuisance via the Chelmsford City Council website.

More information and advice about how report a range of issues can be found on the Community Group Website.

Estate Roads Update

As residents will be aware from previous updates, both CCMC Ltd Directors and the Community Group have been in regular contact with Chelmsford City Council (via planning officers and councillors) about the estate roads remedial work, maintenance issues and safety concerns, some of which are parking related as evidenced by the recent incident where emergency vehicles could not navigate to their destination.

The update below, as at 17th September, has been received from the City Council following ongoing discussion between planning officers, Bellway & Essex Highways:

The remedial works (weed removal, repair of broken paving etc) to be undertaken to the Phase 1 and 2 roads are being left for now so that they can be undertaken alongside the implementation of the traffic calming scheme for both phases.

Bellway had a further meeting with Essex Highways last week and they are due to issue the engineers report and the traffic calming scheme next week. I have previously advised that all of the matters you and other residents raised regarding traffic speeds, parking issues, additional yellow lines, were discussed at the meeting between Bellway and Essex Highways so they were fully aware of the issues when drawing up the scheme. I have also indicated that you will have the opportunity to comment on the scheme, but understandably Bellway do not want to be sharing a scheme with you and other residents, before they know that the highway authority can lend its support.

The works to the RDR are agreed and as such Bellway will recommence on site at the end of next week; these works will, I understand, complete the crossing, bus gate and the connection with the Beaulieu section of the RDR.

Bellway will be looking to keep you informed of their progress going forward.

Whilst the above does not provide any specifics, it does at least demonstrate that concerns have been considered and the perceived delay in progressing some matters is due to plans being re-worked.

As soon as we have a further update it will be communicated and especially prior to any local enforcement measures being implemented in relation to parking.

On behalf of the Directors
Channels (Chelmsford) Management Company Ltd

Managing Agent Review Meeting

CCMC Ltd directors (Andrew Wright, Tom Butler, Chloe Tron) met with POD Management representatives (David Goldberg, Andrew Froy & Charlotte Perrott) on 26th August to conduct a formal review of performance for the first Contract Year. POD Management commenced services as managing agent for CCMC Ltd on 1st August 2019.

Both POD representatives & CCMC Ltd Directors gave an honest assessment of how successful or otherwise they thought the first year had been and whilst POD noted that generally things had gone well, this was not a view entirely shared by CCMC Ltd directors.

CCMC Ltd advised that whilst directors were willing and expected to be actively involved in management of the development, there was too much groundwork being undertaken which they felt POD should be progressing.

As POD generally visit the site on a monthly basis, CCMC Ltd did not believe that POD had a full grasp of all issues that required attention and as such it is often left to directors to pick up and flag them. In addition, directors do not always have assurance that once an issue is flagged that it is always dealt with appropriately or in a timely manner and this often leads to significant director input by way of chasing and checking up that issues are being progressed.

David Goldberg (POD Managing Director) felt that the issues raised required further internal discussion and suggested that a follow up meeting should take place within two weeks at which POD could provide full responses. As such it was agreed that the agenda item “Working Together in Year 2” would be discussed at the follow up meeting. POD also undertook to offer clarity at that meeting in relation to site-wide governance including formalising links between the phase specific residents management companies and the over-arching site-wide management company.

Whilst it was recognised that the development is in a much better position than it was a year ago, CCMC Ltd directors want to see a far more pro-active, organised and responsive service including a significant improvement in communication and engagement with residents.

Informal telephone catch up sessions are held with POD on a regular basis however it is likely that formal review meetings, which include POD senior executives, will take place more often moving forward.

Post Meeting Update:
In relation to the site-wide credits that will be returned to residents, POD will have a statement for release imminently which will outline the process and confirm timescales.

Andrew Wright, Director
Channels (Chelmsford) Management Company Ltd

Communal Area Benches & Bins

Following lengthy negotiation with Bellway, we have now secured funding for six benches, 3 litter bins and an additional dog waste bin for the central communal area between Eagle Rise & Aqua Verde. These were all on original plans however Bellway had, for reasons unknown, missed installing them before leaving site.

The seats have armrests and are made from environmentally friendly recycled materials, require minimum maintenance (they are weather resistant and will never need painting) and have a vandal-resistant robust design. The litter bins are a slim and compact outdoor version that will include a cigarette stubber plate and the dog waste bin will replicate the others found across the development.

In order to expedite the process, Bellway will transfer funds to the RMC (via POD Management) meaning we can progress with the ordering and installation so that we will not have to wait for Bellway to schedule in the work with their contractor. The funds cover the cost of the benches & bins plus installation by Channels Estates (Ground Maintenance Contractor).

Demand for outdoor ‘street furniture’ of this kind is high however everything should be fully installed and ready for use by the end of September at latest. 🙂

Andrew Wright, Director
Channels (Chelmsford) Management Company Ltd