Estates Update

Dear Residents,

There have been many hours spent over the last month, working with both Bellway and DJC Property Management, in producing a Remedial Works Plan that can be robustly monitored to ensure that all of the estates & landscaping issues are resolved in line with expectations.

As many of the remedial works are nearing completion, we will hold a number of ‘handover’ meetings with both Bellway & DJC, the first of which is to take place on 22nd November.

Areas that have been flagged as complete will be inspected by senior Bellway executives and members of the Community Group. For areas that are not yet managed by DJC, and on the basis there are no outstanding issues to resolve, sign off will trigger the process of handing over the land to DJC for on-going management. For areas that are already managed by DJC, sign off will confirm that the land is fit for purpose for on-going management by DJC in line with the budget that has been set.

There have unfortunately been some unforeseen issues with connection of a number of lamp posts and we are awaiting a further update, although most of Fairway Drive should now be connected. Remedial landscaping works around Niblick Green have also been delayed as Bellway is awaiting confirmation from Highways as to whether the tarmac path (leading to the boundary with Countryside) needs to be completely pulled up and re-laid.

You may also have noticed a number of blue dots and markings on the roads across the development. This is as a result of an extensive highways snagging programme currently underway so wherever you see these, it means remedial work will be required. The snagging process is being undertaken to a far more detailed level than even we flagged and currently circa 40% of the development has been checked. Once the final highways snagging report has been completed, we will have a better idea of where and when works will be taking place however all of it is planned for completion by mid-December.

We are in constant contact with both Bellway & DJC and further updates will be posted in relation to progress. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to use the Contact Form on the website and as always if you have any specific concerns in relation to estate management, you can log them here.

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

Notification of Works

Dear Residents,

Please see below a letter from Bellway in relation to some minor works across the development which will require access to electricity wall meter cupboards on the outside of properties.

“In accordance with our approval process with Chelmsford City Council we have been asked to undertake an audit check of our completed properties. Whilst this is taking place our electrical meter installer will be implementing an additional requirement from the Council to install a seal to the bottom of the electricity wall meter cupboard.

Works to be undertaken over the course of the next few weeks will only take a few minutes and we hope this will not cause you any inconvenience.”

The full letter can be viewed and/or downloaded as a pdf file:

If you do have any questions, we ask that you forward them using the contact form via this website with your name, plot number and e-mail address as this will ensure that everything can be collated and sent to Bellway in an managed way.

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

Lamp Post Works

Dear Residents,

There will be works starting imminently to connect a number of lamp posts across the development. This will be undertaken in stages so as to minimise disruption and the site team will do their best make residents aware of works taking place near to them. For now the diagram below indicates planned works over the next couple of days:

If you have any concerns, ensure you continue to log them so that we can raise if necessary with Bellway.

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

Estates Update

Dear Residents,

You will have noticed significant estates works being undertaken around the development recently and we met with Bellway again on Tuesday 9th October to discuss progress. Whilst there is a generic over-arching plan, we expressed concern at the lack of a detailed schedule of works and as such a decision was taken to use our issues/snagging list as the basis for managing and monitoring the ongoing remedial work. The list has been turned into a Project Plan which will include detailed tangible actions, estimated completion dates and reasons for slippage where appropriate.

We have requested that the Project Plan is reviewed and fully updated by close of play Friday 19th October however it is important to note however that some remedial work will be undertaken at specific times to ensure the best possible outcome. For example, new and replacement trees will be planted during November.

You will have also noticed that a number of new Street Name Signs have been installed during the last week which are now council ‘approved’ and this should assist with visitors, delivery drivers and emergency services being able to find their way around. We are however aware that some of the signage on Aqua Verde is still not consistent with that on Eagle Rise and this has been raised.

Whilst the new Street Name Signs have all been installed in line with the conveyance plan, 35 of them were on private land and in many cases no warning was given to residents, either in advance or when works began. Bellway have confirmed that under no circumstances are ground workers to enter or carry out works on private property in the future without the owner’s prior written consent.

Bellway have advised that connection of lamp posts will take longer that initially planned. A number of Lamp posts are having to be re-ducted and UK Power Networks are having to adjoin the lamp posts across the site individually. Unfortunately areas of block paving across the site will have to be dug up and works will take place in sections to avoid as much disturbance to residents as possible. A more detailed plan will be provided imminently so that residents can be informed of when & where each section of work will take place.

It is also important to note that we have agreed with Bellway no remedial work can be signed off for handover without involvement of the Community Group. As residents will become responsible for all communal land once Bellway leave the site, we need to ensure that it is in a ‘fit for purpose’ state before taking ownership.

As always, if there are estates related concerns that you do not believe are being addressed, ensure you log them so we can review and if necessary add to the Project Plan.

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

Bus Service Update

As all residents will be aware we have been experiencing an unreliable and unacceptable service from First for the 51 bus and as a result Rachel has been keeping a log for the last 3 months of cancelled and delayed buses as notified by residents of the Bellway Channels Estate.

She has forwarded the ‘Bus Log’ to First with her complaint on multiple occasions, both personally and in the name of the Community Group. Unfortunately no response has been received and we are aware that other residents have also complained themselves. Bellway, who provided significant funding to ‘pump prime’ the service, has also contacted First and at the time of writing has received no response.

Our local MP, Kemi Badennoch, has been advised and we have tried to involve Bususers.org (Alternative Dispute Resolution Body) and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, who we are still to hear back from.

The Residents Community Group has however made some significant progress with a contact representing the company which undertook the original procurement of the 51 Bus Service on behalf of developers. An investigation is due to take place and the ‘Bus Log’ will be used as evidence in this process. Once this investigation has taken place and we have more information to share, we will provide a further update.

Going forward it is imperative that we keep recording when a bus is cancelled or delayed by over 10 minutes at any designated stop so that we have evidence of continued failures.

We have tried to simplify this process and as such if the bus is cancelled or delayed please can you contact Rachel using the form on the Channels Residents Community Group website. Due to the number of occurrences currently being flagged, it will be far easier for her to track than via social media where posts quickly become lost in long news feeds.

www.channels.community/51-bus

As a final note, whilst we are aware just how frustrating this issue is, we do not want to jeopardise our chances of reaching a resolution and as such please be mindful that berating the bus drivers is not likely to help our cause. Please be assured that the Community Group is making progress on your behalf and we will provide updates accordingly.

Channels Residents Community Group

Little Waltham Parish

Dear Residents,

You will probably be aware that our part of the Channels development falls within the boundary of Little Waltham Parish Council. The Parish Council is keen to make sure that it communicates with all residents in the Parish including new residents moving into the Channels development.

The Parish magazine was distributed last weekend and a copy can also be viewed on the Parish Council website at this link. Everyone in the Parish should have received a copy.

The Clerk for the Parish Council (Suzanne Walker) has forwarded a schedule of Parish Council Meetings which usually take place on the first Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm in the Tufnell Hall, The Street, Little Waltham.

Residents are welcome to attend and there is an opportunity for people to speak at the start of the meeting. Residents are also welcome to raise questions and queries via the Clerk at littlewaltham@gmail.com.

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

Soil Testing

In response to some concerns raised recently in relation to contaminated soil on the development, Bellway have provided the following statement (which has also been given to the customer care team):

An undertaking was agreed with both the EHO and the NHBC at the start of this project to have a specialist consultant monitoring and signing off the suitability of the materials used on this site. The regime of monitoring was, that materials delivered to site for use in the gardens and open space were to be tested on site and validated to be fit for purpose. The validation process is stringent and needs to be in place to enable occupations and sign off.

We have incurred one issue on site within this process, where this was found to have not met the agreed criteria and as a result these areas were removed and replaced with appropriate controlled materials. We are confident that the monitoring process is working and all gardens have been checked.

The Technical Director from Bellway has stated that the above was an isolated incident, picked up as a result of the strict testing regime. The replacement soil subsequently passed all of the relevant testing criteria, as has every property on the site.

Estates Update

Dear Residents,

As ever there has been a lot of activity ongoing in the background and you should begin to see some significant changes occurring over the coming weeks in relation to estate management. A number of meetings have taken place with the onsite project manager over the last couple of weeks and a detailed plan of action is being finalised which will cover all of the issues we have raised.

I am due to meet with the project manager again on Tuesday 2nd October to confirm that there are actions assigned to every issue and updates will be posted to the website on a regular basis to keep residents up to date as to when key work will progress and in which areas.

For example there is work due to begin on Monday 1st October to extend the wooden knee rails adjacent to Plot 67 either side of the new pedestrian walkway that links to the Bridle Path, remove excess concrete around knee rail posts (to allow grass to grow) and to fix a number of other knee rail issues such as poor installation.

Community Group representatives will also be meeting Bellway executives again on Tuesday 9th October by way of follow up to a meeting held in August. This will be to flag any outstanding concerns and to agree further action where necessary.

It has taken a number of months to reach this stage however I am sure residents will agree it has been time well spent. Watch this space for updates and do continue logging concerns as they are all noted and taken into consideration as part of the work that is being undertaken. If you have any other general feedback or comments, do not hesitate to get in contact.

Andrew Wright (Chair)
Channels Residents Community Group

Estates Update

Bellway have now identified an on-site project manager to ensure that all remedial works are progressed. The project manager will also work with DJC Property Management to ensure remedial works are undertaken for the areas of the development that have already been handed over.

The Estates Committee have collated a detailed list (with photographic evidence) of all issues across the development and this has been further developed into a project plan which we will ask Bellway to populate, making clear exactly what action is to be taken for each issue. We will also use the project plan to monitor progress over the coming weeks.

An initial meeting was held with the project manager last week and we will meet again by the end of September to ensure the project plan is going to deliver against expectations.

Essex Highways have also undertaken an initial visit and have notified Bellway of a number of areas in relation to roads that require attention and we will also cross reference this to ensure everything is covered by the project plan.

Whilst residents may not yet have seen significant changes across the development, there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes and once the project plan has been agreed, we should be able to advise as to when issues will be resolved.

Of course if you come across an issue that you do not believe has been raised before, make sure you log it and if it’s not on the list, we will vary the project plan accordingly.

Andrew Wright
Chair Channels Residents Community Group

Estates Update

There has been continued progress since the last update in relation to the estates position. We are now in regular contact with Bellway senior executives in addition to DJC Property Management and Committee Members are working hard to collate a detailed snagging/issues list which we intend to use to monitor progress over the coming weeks.

Bellway have provided us with an initial Schedule of Works however the Committee has not accepted this as a sufficiently detailed plan hence the need to produce our own snagging/issues list as a basis to work from.

Residents can be assured that there is a continued commitment by the Community Group to holding Bellway to account for delivering an estate we can be proud of. It does take time and Committee members have invested many hours to date so please be patient!

Residents should have now received a letter through their doors from Bellway explaining the works planned at the corner of Fairway Drive which are due to start on 6th September. This usual access route will be closed with an alternative route available as per the image below:

A number of residents have asked whether the alternative access route could remain open after the works have been completed. Bellway do not think that this is possible as the junction to junction distance is too close and as such this will not be acceptable to either the highways or the planning team.

Andrew Wright
Chair Channels Residents Community Group

%d bloggers like this: