November 16, 2022

Director Update

The latest update from the directors of the Hicking Building RTM Company

Hicking Building Update – November 2022

Dear Leaseholders and Tenants,

Here is an update on the work we have been doing in the last few months.

EWS1 and remedial works

As you will know from our previous updates, we have been able to secure EWS1 certificates on all blocks with a minimum A3 rating. The works which were identified as mandatory to obtain a certificate with a better EWS1 rating have now been completed and we are arranging for a reassessment to take place. We hope to receive a new EWS1 certificate shortly. In the meantime, we are also pursuing suggested remedial works with a small number of other affected owners to address further areas for improvement.

Maintenance

We now have a full-time cleaner (Ali) for the building. We have personally noticed how the general level of cleanliness has improved, including the car park. This ensures cost-efficiency compared with contracting an external company and has freed up Jay’s time to focus on necessary maintenance. This has recently included installing additional CCTV cameras in the car park to improve security and oversight of who has access to the building.

A thorough programme of carpet cleaning has been completed throughout all communal areas. All entrance lobbies and lower ground lift lobbies have also been re-painted and a further programme of décor maintenance continues. The improvement in décor and cleanliness has significantly improved the appearance of the communal areas already.

New website

We are developing a website which we hope will become a hub for maintenance issues and building information. It already offers news and a means by which leaseholders can keep abreast of new information. You can also use it to log maintenance issues (in addition to the existing hotline and email address) and configure your car park access. Please do take a look at the site which we hope will evolve in the coming months with additional features and information: https://www.hickingbuilding.co.uk

Investigation into previous conduct and service charge funds

Since our last correspondence the previous managing agent, Stoneyard (NTTM) Ltd, has entered liquidation. The good news here is that creditors were able to see that independent administrators were appointed to investigate the affairs of the company and conduct of its directors. We hope that this will enable greater disclosure of documentation and historical records.

The RTM Company have also successfully instigated a claim at Nottingham County Court against Stoneyard and related parties in an attempt to require them to surrender the documentation they hold on trust for the RTM. The hope is that this will shed further light on where our funds are.

Building management

The RTM Company is continuing to self-manage the building with support from New Estates Management. We intend to launch a formal process in 2023 to determine the future management of the building—in consultation with all leaseholders.

Blue Property Management appear to have accepted our termination.

Maintenance hotline

The contact number for building maintenance issues and emergencies (from service charge queries to leaks and maintenance issues) remains:

0115 704 4949

For non-urgent issues or to send photos etc. you can email the team at: management@hickingbuilding.co.uk

Meter readings

For meter readings only, the Hickingmeterreadings@gmail.com address continues to work.

Service charge payments

As previously advised, any future service charge payments should be made to the details on your latest invoice.

Looking Forward

We are still working to tackle many issues, such as all the bills Stoneyard had left unpaid, including significant electricity bills! We are happy to report that we now have open dialogue with many of these companies in an attempt to manage the situation. Generally, the state of our finances, whilst tight, should enable us to reach the end of the year.

Thank you for your continued understanding whilst we pursue our target of returning the Hicking Building to the condition and responsive management style it so well deserves.

If you are not already a member of the Leaseholders Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/440289294340259 we would urge you to join in the conversation.

The new board of directors of The Hicking Building RTM Company Ltd
Nigel Brunskill, Julian Mills, Marco Pino, Christopher Sharp, David Thomas

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By Management Team • February 29, 2024

Since acquring the management responsibilities we have had to attend to a significant number of lift breakdowns. Some of these breakdowns are due to the age of the lifts along with general wear and tear. However, the majority of breakdowns have been caused by the transporting of large items such as furniture. We do not want to prevent reisdents from using the lifts to transport large items as doing so using just the stairs is dangerous and inconvenient. Therefore, we would like to share our plans on improving the lifts to make them more robust. All blocks apart from Block 4 have two lifts. We have ensured that there is at least one lift in operation in each block and will continue with this approach while dealing with upgrades and repairs as a way of minimising disruption and inconvenience. Condition Survey Due to the age of the lifts we commissioned a condition report on each lift in August 2022. The results of these reports was that the lifts were generally in a good condition. Minor repairs were identified to several lifts which were commissioned immediately. Long Term Improvements The doors to the lifts are controlled by a series of cogs and rubber belts. These are easily disturbed if the lift doors receive an impact or are propped open for a significant period of time. This will cause the doors to become misaligned resulting in the lift shutting down. We have sourced a method of replacing this mechanism with a more robust system made from metal cogs and chains which we hope will aleviate this problem and make the lift doors more robust. This is a bespoke solution with parts being manufactured specifically for this. We are trialling this on one lift initially to establish its effectiveness. Providing this is successful we will look to roll out to one lift per block this year and the remaining next year. We will undertake these upgrades when a lift is in need of repair. The lift being trialled is the lift in Block 2 which is currently out of service due to a broken door mechanism. It is anticipated to be installed within the next 3-4 weeks. CCTV In addition to the above improvements we will be installing CCTV in the lift lobby areas so that we can establish the cause of a failure when there is a breakdown. Any instances of mis-use or malicious damage will be dealt with appropriately.

Window Cleaning

September 28, 2023

We have arranged for all the external windows at the Hicking Building to be cleaned. This work will take place between 14 th and 17 th October. The windows will be cleaned by reach and wash pole system. Windows to balconies that cannot be reached using this system will be cleaned by hand subject to access. Our contractor will attempt to gain access on the 17 th October to any flat on either the 4 th or 5 th floor. If your flat is on the 4 th or 5 th floor please arrange for someone to be home on the 17 th to provide access. As we understand it, the majority of the windows to the building have not been cleaned for an extremely long time and suffer from a significant build up of dirt. Our contractor has advised that it may take several visits to remove this build up in some cases. It is our intention to have the windows cleaned on regular basis and therefore appreciate your patience if the build of dirt is not removed entirely on this visit. Please can you make sure that windows remain closed during the course of the work. Windows left open may not be cleaned to prevent water ingress into the flat.

Communal Area Lighting

August 7, 2023

The project to replace the communal area lighting has begun today. This project will replace all the communal area ceiling lights with modern LED motion sensored lights with the aim to improve the lighting across the blocks and reduce the overall energy consumption. This will also resolve the historical issue of insufficient emergency lighting. The electricians will be onsite for several weeks while this project is completed. There may be some minor inconvenience to residents while the work is completed. The electricians will try and keep any disruption to a minimum and make sure each corridor is clear at the end of each day. Work will be completed to areas in order depending on their level of lighting so that the worst areas are addressed first. We apologise for any inconvenience.

EWS1 - Revised Certificate Issue

By Management Team • January 23, 2023

The EWS1 certificates have been reissued following the completion of the remedial work. These can be downloaed from here .

Lower Level Car Park

By Management Team • October 28, 2022

The access control to the lower level car park has changed. The old 'cliker fobs' will no longer work and access is granted by registration on the GSM (mobile interface). This is part of the ongoing improvement to the building and its services. Users of the lower car park must be registered on the system. Once registered a user can access by calling the telephone number associated with the gate. This will be provided to a user upon successful registration. Users can register for the car park by clicking here . More details on the car parking policy can be found here . The roller shutter is currently in the open position. The shutter will closed at 5pm on Friday the 4th November. Users must be resgistered by this time to gain entry to the car park. The method of exiting the car park has also changed. The roller shutter will now open automatically once a vehicle is apporximately two meters from the roller shutter. There is also a push button located next to the roller shutter. Please review the Frequently Asked Questions page or review the Car Parking Policy for futher information. If you questions are not answered there please contact the Management Team.

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THE HICKING BUILDING

The Hicking Building

Director Update

The latest update from the directors of the Hicking Building RTM Company

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