Fire and Safety Issues

Dear All,

A question has arisen regarding the placement of personal items in common parts, which are outside individual owners demises. 

The formal rules dictate that nothing is allowed to be placed or stored in these areas and this is the default position which is enforced in the lobby, sauna, gym and first floor corridors.

A more pragmatic approach has historically been taken for the shared lobbies onto which the upper floor flat doors open. Some residents wish to enhance these spaces with pictures etc. Common courtesy dictates that you OK this with your immediate neighbours and we would encourage this.

These lobbies are fire exits so anything restricting egress would similarly be disallowed, As long as the immediate residents feel they are able to exit in an emergency no action will be taken and again, we would encourage a discussion with your neighbours.

Exceptions can not be made for electrical items of any type plugged into the common supply, as there is a legal requirement for them to have been PAT tested. This particularly applies to electrical items drawing a large current e.g. heaters , electric scooters / bicycles etc. which in addition are their own special fire hazard.

Fire and Health & Safety regulations mean Regatta Point Ltd have liability for these areas and there are insurance implications, so you will understand the lack of flexibility. 

If a resident feels their exit route is restricted or the annual Health and Safety Inspection deem it to be so then the Directors have no choice other than to ensure the item is removed.

We have only had one issue over the last 25 years so hopefully sensible discussion will prevail. 

On behalf of the directors RP Ltd 

Entryphone Replacement

Change of date – now Tuesday 4th instead of Monday 3rd

On Tuesday 4th March our entryphone is being replaced by a more modern system.  The current one is 26 years old and will shortly become obsolete as it relies on copper phone lines to work, which are being phased out.  The new system will offer new features not available on the old one, particularly if you use it with a smart phone.

– No works will be required in your flat.- Your key fob will continue to work as before.
– You can register up to three telephone numbers per flat to operate the system. These can be landlines or mobiles.
– On mobiles you can optionally install the IPGuard App, available on the Google Play and Apple App Stores. This will give you a video connection to the front door so that you can see and speak to whoever is calling and let them in.  It will also enable you to use your mobile to let yourself in through the front door if you don’t have your key fob with you.

Please complete the form that has been placed in your mailbox and return it to the caretaker to have your telephone(s) registered on the system. 

New Caretaker

We welcome our new Caretaker today – Paul Lewis – and look forward to working with him in the care of our community and building.

He will be taking over full duties once he has found his feet.

Meeting with HML

Following our conversation at the Christmas residents meeting, the directors have now had a meeting with HML about the poor performance generally of departments and in particular the performance of the current Property Manager.

A plan has now been agreed to address this. In due course we will be getting a new senior and experienced Property Manager who will provide a more responsive interface for residents and directors.

The issues with the other areas of HML will also be addressed. Once a new manager is in place (potentially in up to 4 weeks) then we will review overall performance after 3 months to make sure it has improved. They understand the consequence of the performance not improving.

New Caretaker – PAUL LEWIS

We are pleased to announce that our new permanent caretaker, Paul Lewis, will be joining us next week, on Monday 24th February.

Paul is very experienced having worked in a range of similar posts including residential buildings, health facilities and Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club. In the course of that he has received training in Health & Safety, Customer Services and Manual Handling to name but a few.

Please join us in making him welcome, and remember that he is new to the building and will take a little while to get to know it.

Paul Secker will also be here on Monday 24th to assist in handing over, and we would like to thank him for his sterling work for us over the past couple of months.