Confidential Information

30th March 2020

Fire Risk Assessment

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29th March 2020

Plot 12 East Quayside

As expected, full planning application for 292 apartments, up to 15 storeys high, has gone in for the waste land at the east end of St Anns Quay. The developer is Robertsons – the same people that built St Anns (including the plumbing systems)

Property reference on Newcastle planning portal 2020/0506/01/DET to comment

https://portal.newcastle.gov.uk/planning/index.html

As with previous schemes it is our view that the scale of the development is not appropriate in scale or materials and will have a detrimental impact on life here at St Anns Quay. In conjunction with our neighbours at High Quays we have engaged a planning specialist to assist us. If you haven’t received your letter from the planning department you can
downloa d it here.

13^th November 2019

Dear Leaseholder,

Re. Urgent Updates to Fire Policy at St Ann’s Quay

I am writing in regard to the recent testing that CBRE have carried out on the cladding at St Ann’s Quay. Our building is approximately 25% clad in Aluminum Composite Material, (ACM). In simple terms, there are several types of ACM cladding which are composed of different composite materials and associated combustibility risks. In the case of Grenfell, this was the highest risk material. Whilst it has been confirmed that the ACM at St Ann’s Quay is not as high risk, CBRE still have further investigations to carry out.

The results of these tests have been shared with the Fire Service who have carried out a thorough inspection of the building in the past few days. Whilst we wait for a decision from CBRE about how they propose to deal with the cladding, we are in a current status of ‘interim mitigation measures’. In light of this and with the Fire Services’ guidance, we have decided to make some urgent changes;

We are changing the ‘stay put’ policy to a ‘full evacuation policy’ with immediate effect. If the fire alarm sounds, please vacate your apartment as quickly as possible using the staircases.

Fire Assembly Point – this remains unchanged and is outside of Barclays on St Ann’s Street opposite the concierge office. We will provide a register to complete whilst you wait in this area.

Weekly fire alarm test – we will continue to test the alarm at 12pm each Saturday. The alarm will sound for 20-30 seconds and this is the only time you do not need to evacuate the building.

We are no longer able to allow BBQ’s or gas bottles on any terraces or balconies regardless of the surface they sit on. Any flammable materials must be removed with immediate effect from the vicinity of the outer cladding.

Please check all fire door strips and seals are in tact within your apartment and front door – if you require help with this, please contact the concierges John or Les. If you identify any issues with seals particularly around your front door, please inform us immediately.

Please carry out a test on your internal smoke detector, (the apartment specific detector is fitted in addition to the building fire alarm).

Please ensure that you keep the communal areas clear at all times including rubbish bags, furniture, plants, etc… Please do not alter or attach anything to the walls of the communal corridors as you may risk the integrity of fire retardant boards.

If you are renting your apartment, it is essential that we have the details for your tenants using the following form https://stannsquaymanagement.co.uk/index.php/owner-information/

It is also essential that you inform your tenants of the above information.

I have also included a form that we would appreciate you returning asap.

Please be assured that the situation is being carefully managed by ourselves, the Fire Service and CBRE, so there is absolutely no need to be overly concerned. We are taking a sensible and pragmatic approach whilst we understand the longer-term solution proposed by CBRE.

As ever, please accept my thanks in advance for your help and if you have any questions or queries at all, please do not hesitate to get in contact using directors@stannsquaymanagement.co.uk or through the concierge team.

Yours sincerely

Louise Richley

Chair

Water Ingress Around Windows/Doors

Prepared by Paul Bate – 28th June 2019

The issue of water ingress around windows and doors which affects various areas of the building dependent upon weather conditions has been ongoing for some time.

Robertson’s (the builder) revisited numerous times during the initial warranty period to carry out various repairs, non-of which have been fully effective. As the ingress was intermittent over the last few years the directors approach was to repair internal damage in the communal areas, whilst many leaseholders undertook repairs in their own apartments.

Earlier this year the directors together with a leaseholder whose apartment was badly affected commissioned a report from the manufacturer of the windows who confirmed that the actual windows themselves were not at fault and that poor installation was an issue and that it was also possible that the cladding was allowing water ingress in certain areas.

As the costs of rectifying these issues are potentially huge we are, as stated at the AGM, investigating the issue so that a balanced decision on the way forward can be made, the investigations are on-going at present.

Whilst it is not ideal that continued water ingress during heavy rain continues, the cost of rectifying any further internal damage is small compared to the likely cost of resolving the issue as a whole, it is prudent therefore to live with this situation at the moment.

Further updates will be posted here.

Zurich Claim Update

Prepared by Louise Richley – 25th June 2019

Following the AGM on 21st May 2019, I have continued to gather copies of insurance certificates with accompanying schedules from leaseholders. To date, 9 complete sets of documents have been received and sent to Brethertons solicitors, (effectively 10% of the building). Other than the obvious flat/plot number differences, the substance of the documents have been totally consistent. Many leaseholders have been in contact to say that they are struggling to locate their certificate or they were not issued with a separate schedule.

Following the chasing of Brethertons earlier this week, Counsel has been thoroughly consulted and have reviewed the supplied documents. They have identified an urgent deadline for issuing the claim form by 8th July 2019, (i.e. the 7 year anniversary of Storey’s sending SAQML the structural report and highlighting the substantive problem).

They have raised the following key issues with regard to proceeding further;

1. Limitation – Counsel believes that Zurich will argue that issues were arising as early as 2003 which means the date of limitation has passed. Our secondary argument is;

a. Robertsons attended site to make good for many years so there was no need to raise a claim initially. Even so, this work was instructed by Storey’s on behalf of the Freeholder and not by SAQML directly.

b. SAQML were only provided with an official structural report regarding the seriousness of the pipework issues on 8th July 2013.

c. Following this date, SAQML organised the claim to be coordinated and filed on behalf of all leaseholders and this was accepted as a group action within the claim period by Zurich.

d. Following this date, there has been significant legal action and two separate Loss Adjustor visits and reports submitted to Zurich.

2. Parties taking action – Counsel has confirmed that SAQML cannot act on behalf of the leaseholders and this will be a claim by 91 individual Lessees. With regard to changes in ownership, the policy has been drafted to include successors in title, so this does not represent a problem. Given the urgent nature of the deadline and the support from leaseholders at all AGM’s, the Directors have decided to include all leaseholders as individual parties to the claim. If any leaseholders would like to be removed, they have the right at any time.

3. Policy excess – Counsel is concerned that there is an excess per policy which may be around £500 per apartment. However, this has not been identified in any of the documentation, nor ever referred to by Zurich when they did communicate previously. It would be for Zurich to provide this evidence. The Directors accept this is a risk.

4. Valuation of works to be undertaken – Counsel would like a more definitive guide for the amount being claimed for. This represents significant challenges as many of the walls in the building would need to be opened up. Other pipes are encased in concrete preventing effective inspection. Counsel has advised that this point does not require clarification until a later stage. The Directors acknowledge this.

Urgent Steps Taken Today

In light of the seriousness of the impending deadline, the Directors have agreed and actioned the following today;

1. That the claim letter is to be issued before 8th July 2019.
2. That this will require a £10,000 up front payment to file the claim with the Court. This has been paid to Brethertons today.
3. That a list of all current leaseholders with names, apartment numbers and correspondence addresses has been provided to Brethertons to list in the claim.
4. That all Zurich policies already submitted have been supplied to Brethertons for inclusion in the claim.

Summary

The Directors accept that Zurich will likely make an application to strike out the claim based on the limitation argument. Given the strong secondary arguments set out above, the strong support at the latest AGM and the fact that Zurich have ignored all correspondence, the Directors believe this is a risk worth taking to force a response from Zurich. Counsel have also advised a 65% chance of success at Court which has also been factored into these Director decisions.

The Directors will continue to keep leaseholders updated, particularly in light of the discussion at the AGM regarding the balance between legal fees and the likely settlement amount. If a settlement figure is forthcoming, the Directors will organise a shareholder meeting to discuss this.

We appreciate the continued support of leaseholders at St Ann’s Quay in this matter and are happy to continue acting as the conduit for the leaseholder claims.

Building insurance certificate can be downloaded here

Roof survey reports

At the 2019 AGM there was much discussion about the recent roof works. Links to survey reports can be found below

Initial report – July 2018

2nd phase report

3rd phase report

Manufacturer Guarantee

Contact details

Our Concierge service is the first point of contact for any minor routine queries during normal working hours and he can be reached by phone or email –

concierge@stannsquaymanagement.co.uk

07840 050574‬

For general queries please e-mail – admin@stannsquaymanagement.co.uk

Directors can be contacted by e-mail only – directors@stannsquaymanagement.co.uk

Billing and debt collection services are provided by Kingston Property Services working on SAQML’s behalf.

You can contact Kingston with billing queries between 9 am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday on 0844 800 3 800 (select option 3) or by email.

All other queries should be directed to contact@stannsquaymanagement.co.uk

Building Issues

If you are a resident leaseholder and wish to report any building issues or defects, or just to raise any general queries please complete an online report. If you are renting you will need to first contact your landlord or his/her letting agent.

Minutes of Director & Shareholder Meetings

This material is confidential. Note that a number of monthly meetings do not constitute “official” board meetings because of the sometimes minor / operational nature of proceedings and notes will not be available here. Similarly, meetings with suppliers and partners such as CBRE are not usually posted here.

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Directors meeting 19th January 2020

Directors meeting 19th November 2019

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Directors meeting 1st August 2019

AGM 2019 – slides

AGM 2019 – minutes

Directors Meeting 26th February 2019

Directors Meeting 10th December 2018

Meeting between CBRE and SAQML, 9th November 2018.