Hi everyone, Spring is finally here (well almost) and the residents association are delighted to announce that Dimitar and his team who currently look after Newtown Hill are taking over the maintenance of our estate! As you can clearly see the trees in the estate (there are over 100) badly need pruning and this work will commence imminently. The green areas are still very wet but grass cutting will commence when it practical to do so! It’s pretty much the same situation for the front (You will recall that we mentioned before Christmas that John Colfer will be looking after this). In the meantime can I ask you to mention this to your neighbours or share this page with any other residents that you are friends with on Facebook! The committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who have contributed their sub and for anyone who has not paid their sub yet of €100 can you please get this into the residents committee as quickly as possible!
Dear resident,
Just a quick update following on from the Residents Association AGM which was held on Friday the 29th September in Croke’s pub.
Firstly we would like to thank those who turned up on the night and it was great to see an increase in attendees. The feedback and contribution was hugely significant and we would like to welcome Steven Clancy and Brian Kelly to the committee.
So on to the main points of the night:
Everybody was in agreement that the entrance to the estate was an eyesore and was not in keeping with the scenic area we are lucky to reside in.
One of the attendees on the night was able to help in reducing the cost of transport of topsoil to our estate. This topsoil provided by McDonald’s will go along way in assisting with the landscaping of the entrance.
It was agreed to ask two other suppliers to tender for the landscaping to the entrance as the current landscaper cannot commit currently to a timescale.
The committee members outlined the reason for the increase of the maintenance fee! The current yearly fee of €2,500 caters for 25 cuts per year, edging of footpaths once a year, weed spraying and removal of grass.
This charge is due to increase this year and we also need to factor in the additional costs of the additional work required for landscaping such as tree pruning, perimeter hedging etc.
The current maintenance fee barely covers the existing work and this is also supplemented by the council grant which is not guaranteed. Last years the council grant was €500. This year the grant is €450 and next year it could be even less. Without the additional increase, we cannot cover the estate’s insurance costs, carry out any upgrade & enhancements around the estate such as the entrance, flower beds, trees, hedging etc.
The suggestion of different payment options such as monthly direct debit was suggested by one of the attendees. For this year’s payment we cannot provide this facility but we will investigate the possibility for future years. One of the issues is the cost incurred through banking charges and this is one of the main reasons we choose to use the credit union for banking in the first place.
Having spoken on all of the issues a vote was taken and attendees voted for the increase to €100 to cover the 18 month period to December 2018 and €100 per the calendar year from January 2019 onwards.
It was mentioned that we all choose to live in a particularly beautiful area of Tramore and it’s up to all residents to decide whether they also want to live in a beautiful well-maintained estate. We have spent years with an entrance that looked like an abandoned and unfinished estate, flower beds overgrown and black ground matting uncovered, trees un-pruned and dying, hedging overgrown and whether we like it or not we as residents are responsible for this!
A number of safety concerns were raised by attendees at the meeting such as speed of cars travelling in the estate, cars parking on the left-hand side of entrance obscuring the view for cars exiting the estate and condition of the road outside the estate and the outer ditch.
Two attendees at the meeting who have some contact with the council put themselves forward to highlight these safety concerns with the council directly.
A number of attendees suggested installing some speed ramps around the estate to reduce speeding, however, having discussed this at committee level it was felt that signage improvement would be the way to go instead. You will have noticed some additional signs around the estate recently and we will actively engage with the council for additional improvements on your behalf.
Another attendee suggested a road safety morning some Saturday for the children in the estate. An attendee put themselves forward to contact the local Garda community liaison with regard to organising such an event. We are delighted to announce that this will take place and the committee has organised for a member of the An Garda Siochana (Garda Aine Mullins) to provide a “road safety” talk to all children of the estate this Saturday 14th October at 2.oo p.m. at the main green. Kids Hi-Viz Vests and goodies will be provided so we would encourage you to ask your kids to attend.
A number of attendees inquired about the possibility of maybe setting up a Facebook page for the estate. One of the attendees put himself forward to look into creating a Facebook page to inform residents of estate news and this is now up and running. Check out Newtown Glen Residents Association under Facebook Groups.
An attendee inquired about liaising with other resident committee’s to learn from each other. Everybody thought this was a good idea and we hope to make some contact in the future.
Crime was also discussed and a leaflet on crime prevention was circulated with the latest mailshot to residents.
Thank you for your continuing support.If you need to get in touch with the committee then please use the Contact page.
Newtown Glen Residents Association.
Note: Our AGM will take place upstairs in Crokes Pub on Friday 29th at 7:00 p.m. we look forward to seeing you there!
Dear Resident,
Just a quick update on the estate maintenance.
The front entrance was cleared of the briars and reaction from all residents is very positive. Entering and exiting the estate is now far safer for walkers, cyclists and motorists and the area is much brighter. The council cutting back the outside ditch has also helped to increase the visibility of traffic approaching from the right.
Initially, it was envisaged that the entrance would be landscaped over July but on the advice of the landscaper, it was recommended to allow the area settle and apply weed killer to the weeds and roots once they re-grew. You will have noticed that the weed killer has now been applied and we will be commencing landscaping during autumn.
McDonald’s have agreed to supply topsoil for both areas and our landscaper will be responsible for transporting this and landscaping the area.
Another issue that you will have noticed is cars parking on the left at the entrance which is obscuring the view also so we will discuss this with the roads division of the Council to see what they can come up with.
To coincide with the commencement of work at the entrance we will hopefully plan on getting the estate cleaned up before Christmas – details to follow.
Current maintenance contract and subs
At present due to the fact that we only have a sub of €50 per house per annum we are on the lowest service package provided by the landscaper. This provides for 25 cuts per year (which are monitored) and collection of grass where necessary. In addition, the landscaper edges the kerbs once a year and does some spraying.
You will note that hedgerows are not cut, flowerbeds are not maintained and trees are not pruned or replaced – this is quite simply down to cost. Our landscaper is more than capable of providing a higher standard and service BUT it comes at a price and there is no doubt that trees etc. will need to be kept in check going forward.
As a result, we are planning to increase the fee and the new fee will be set at €100 but this will cover residents from 1st July 2017 until the 31st December 2018.
While €100 might seem like a large increase, divided over the 18 months this only comes to €66 per calendar year (€5.55 per month / €1.38 per week) which represents very good value for money. Our intention will be to move to €100 per annum (subject to a vote at the AGM) with effect from 01st January 2019 and to bring our financial year in line with the calendar year. Your €100 sub in addition to our current surplus will assist with the entrance and the estate improvements as outlined.
We would really appreciate if you could give your €100 maintenance fee asap to any of the people listed on the collector’s list and please supply your Name, House Number and email address. To cut our costs we will use your email address (where possible) for all future communications and estate updates. Without your continued financial support the estate cannot be maintained and upgraded.
Residents Committee
At present we have 5 Committee Members who have served on the committee since 2015. Aside from some support from residents we really could do with some more committee members. We, like you, are residents in the estate but we would like to see more inclusivity so we would welcome more help.
Collection Fees and Transparency
We have worked to ensure the best possible value for money on your behalf. We have liaised with the council and we have a yearly grant of €450 in place from them. Your subs are paid into the Residents Account in Tramore Credit Union to keep fees down and the Accounts (prepared by a qualified chartered accountant – our Treasurer Ray Hurley). Detailed accounts are fully available to all sub paying members on request and a consolidated income, expenditure and balance sheet is enclosed with this circular.
Feedback
If you have any feedback – good or bad please ensure that you let us know at newtownglenresidents@gmail.com. From our perspective, there is nothing worse than hearing feedback 3rd hand without entitling us (your fellow residents) with a right to a reply. It is not fair to the Committee who are working on their own time on your behalf. Better still get involved we would welcome your support.
Other initiatives
We have been approached about setting up a Community Alert Scheme – something of this nature will be discussed at our AGM.
Thank you
We have made two residents collections since the formation of the association and we are delighted to say that almost 90% of houses in the estate pay this sub which is fantastic. We would appreciate if you could get your sub to our usual collectors by the 30th September, please. We do not want to be sending reminders in the run up to Christmas.
Thanking you in advance for your support and payment.
Newtown Glen Residents Association
PS Please drop your €100 contribution (including, name, house number and e-mail address) to any of the following:
Kevin Murphy, 3 NTG,
Dave O’Donoghue, 58 NTG,
Donal Hickson, 11 NTG,
Alan Dooly, 59 NTG,
Ray Hurley, 32 NTG,
Paul Brett, 66 NTG,
Bruce Wardrop, 46 NTG,
Derek Nolan, 68 NTG,
John Breen, 48 NTG,
Noel Kelly, 78 NTG,
Noel Hassett, 51 NTG,
Shane Crowley, 79 NTG,
Dear Resident,
Thanks to everyone yesterday (including all of the children) for getting up early and joining in the “Big Clean Up”. We were delighted with the turnout (approximately 30 people) and the estate looks really great!
There can be no doubt that it is a big improvement and it was great to see the co-operation and the send of community spirit! Thanks to James White for the donation of the Hi-Vis adult and childrens vests from Tramore Garda Station – we have a decent stock of them now and if anyone would like one for walking etc. please get in touch via the contact page.
A special thanks has to go to Bob Cowman of Oxigen who donated a whopping 10 bins for the day. We needed them all and we managed to fill two very large industrial size wheelie bins and 8 brown bins so we really did clear a lot of debris and weeds!
Hopefully too people will be a bit happier with the entrance to the estate…(well done to Committee Member Kevin Murphy and the rest of the gang for getting stuck in early). We have plenty more to do in the future and and we will get in touch now with the County Council about line painting at the entrance etc.
Finally once again thank you all for your contributions and for making such a big effort. It is appreciated!
Newtown Glen Residents Association
Dear Resident,
Happy Friday/last weekend in June to ONE and ALL !!!
Firstly Thank You !! for your contribution of €50 towards the upkeep of the estate from June 2015 until June 2016.
As promised in the most recent flyer, there is an Estate “Clean-Up Morning” taking place this Saturday 27th June from 10am to 1.30pm.
Please take note of the following details regarding same…
- Our new landscaper, Liam Murphy completed his first grass-cut last weekend. However, as the Estate has fallen into such shabby appearance over the last number of months, it will take a considerable number of weeks before the place is even close to the standard we would all like to see. The objective was simply to get the 1st cut done and over the next while you will see gradual improvements in the upkeep of the grass, edging etc. Liam will also spray the kerbs post the clean up to eliminate weeds.
- The Residents Association also got in touch with the County Council and on Thursday 25th a County Council Road sweeping truck came into the estate to do a clean-up. It wasn’t perfect by all means but it was something at least and we hope to tap into the Council a little bit more going forward. If nothing else, it should make our job a little bit easier this Saturday.
- A Residents “All-hands-on-deck Clean-up Morning” will likely be required at least once a year. Our first such “Clean-up” effort this Saturday morning is particularly important because we need to get common areas up to a manageable standard i.e. it is our responsibility to get the place to a standard which the landscaper can then maintain going forward.
- There will be no planting of shrubs of any kind (probably for a long time to come) because (a) we have insufficient funds and (b) there are too many weeds etc. which need to be removed.
- Saturday’s effort will focus on (a) removing weeds from between kerbside and road, (b) removing weeds from between paths and adjacent walls, (c) removing weeds from common area “flower-beds” (d) sweeping roads and (e) any other general tidying-up that time/manpower will allow.
- Main concentration of effort will be from the entrance to the Estate all the way through to the two central “flower-beds” at the central T-junction.
- Outside of the main artery we will likely split into smaller groups and tackle our own street rows.
- Please BRING all and any of the following tools/equipment: gloves, spades, shovels, hoes, sweeping brushes (preferably hard bristle), wheel-barrows (might be no harm to label your equipment with your own name/initials).
- Please DO NOT BRING: any type of hedge clippers or strimmer/electrical/petrol powered equipment. We have standard public liability insurance in place but naturally we need to minimise the possibility of any accidents.
- Please ensure that tools are not left lying around and please be observant and keep an eye on children during the clean-up.
- All going to plan we should be wrapped up between 12 p.m. & 1 p.m.
- With regard to the flowerbeds within the estate some residents have mentioned that they be improved and some have mentioned that we simply convert them to grass. A decision hasn’t been made on that yet so in order to keep things nice and simple we will just weed them for the moment and look at alternatives going forward.
- With regard to the entrance itself having looked at it there can be no doubt that any improvement to this will be a large piece of work so again for the moment we will leave same as is with perhaps a trim to the top of the brambles on the left hand side as one enters the estate to improve visibility to residents entering and leaving the estate especially those residents who exit at the front row.
- Please remind/mention this e-mail to your neighbour (a) because we do not have an e-mail address for a number of households and (b) in case they have not had a chance to check their e-mail.
Many Thanks to everyone…Hope to see as many of you as possible out and chipping-in to make our Estate looking a little better.
Parting thought…“Rome wasn’t built in a Day” BUT “Many hands make light work”… See You all on the middle green (near the T-junction) at 10am Saturday
Newtown Glen Residents Association
Newtown Glen, Tramore 