AGM 2024

Lift in Service

The Building Act 2022

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.

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.

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.

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

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