Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Campaign to Abolish Hunts Grove Management Company

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The following frequently asked questions cover some of the intricacies and history related to the establishment of Hunts Grove Management Company. If you should have any further questions that would be useful to share with other residents, please contact us and we will post the answer here.

NOTE: The FAQ and responses below are provided for information only and should not be considered as advice from Hunts Grove Parish Council. Please consult your independent legal and/or financial advisor for guidance.

1. What happens if the Parish Council is unsuccessful in its campaign to abolish the management company?

There are a number of issues with the current arrangements that would be solved by abolishing the management company and having the Parish Council take over. In the event that the Parish Council campaign is unsuccessful, these issues will still need to be addressed somehow. A summary of these issues is listed below, along with other steps the Parish Council may take following further councillor debate and put to a vote at a future Parish Council meeting:

  • Councillors would remain concerned that management company residents would still suffer "double-taxation" by being liable to paying management company fees and council tax. This would not be an issue that went away and thought would need to go into potential solutions;
  • The Parish Council is likely to adopt Phase 1 parks and open spaces during 2022 and takeover maintenance locally within the council tax budget. This step would lead to all Hunts Grove residents paying to maintain Phase 1, whilst Phase 1 residents would not be contributing to the maintenance of the rest of the village. Councillors are not comfortable with this scenario. A potential solution, in this case, is to divide Phase 1 into a separate ward within Hunts Grove as this provides the possibility to charge different rates of council tax (i.e. Phase 1 would pay a higher council tax (parish precept element) and residents in management company areas would pay a discounted rate). This is messy and would divide the village, creating an "us and them" situation that would not be good for the community we are trying to build. Remember - the Parish vision is to treat all residents equally and for all residents to contribute equally to the maintenance of the village. This is the basis of our campaign;
  • If the Parish is unsuccessful in its campaign, then only Phase 2 - 5 would be paying into the management company that is administering and maintaining amenities such as allotments, sports pitches, and community building. How would Phase 1 residents (as non-management company) be treated? Would they be lower on the waiting list for allotments? Would they have to pay extra fees to use sports pitches or have a party at the community building?  This would need to be worked out, and again it creates an "us and them" situation that we strongly wish to avoid;
  • Planning permission for the final 750 homes that will be "Hunts Grove Extension" has not yet been applied for. We expect this to go to planning during 2022, maybe 2023. The Parish Council (subject to a vote) will insist that open spaces and facilities for that part of the village are handed over as a traditional Parish Section-106 adoption from the start;

As a council, whichever way we look at the issues above, plus the serious concerns we have over the Estate Rentcharges and the profit/admin costs of £164K leaving the community each year, the answer brings us back to one solution:

The public open spaces and community facilities should be managed and maintained locally, by residents elected by the community, and by a not-for-profit organisation that delivers high-quality and lowest costs to residents. Further, the land and buildings should be held locally by a trusted organisation that will be around for the long-term and protect them for perpetuity for the community. As the first tier of local government, closest to residents and operated on a strictly not-for-profit basis by volunteers, we strongly believe the Parish Council is the organisation to fulfill that role.

2. Why did Crest Nicholson establish a management company at Hunts Grove?

Short answer: Likely encouraged by Stroud District Council, however, the change in strategy also delivered benefits to the developer and landowner.

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The original planning permission and Section-106 agreement signed in 2008 envisaged the complete development open spaces and amenities to be handed over fully to Stroud District Council to manage and maintain. Over the following years, local authorities nationwide became less enthusiastic in taking on responsibilities and liabilities due to budgetary pressures. It is understood when the opportunity arose of the proposed Section-73 planning renegotiation (see below) in 2015, Stroud District Council encouraged Crest Nicholson to look at alternative maintenance arrangements.

In 2015, Crest Nicholson and Colethrop Farm Ltd applied to Stroud District Council planning department for a Section-73 planning variation. Essentially they were claiming that the development was no longer viable (profitable) based on expected sales revenues and the costs associated with complying with the 2008 planning permission. The Section-73 variation is a mechanism for the developer to go back to the planning authority to renegotiate the costs/liabilities on matters such as highways & infrastructure costs, affordable housing, education contributions, open spaces, and community facilities. The District Council permitted the Section-73 variation in September 2017.

The management company strategy was introduced as part of the Section-73 variation, as well as many other changes which we have surmised below for reference. Shifting the maintenance liabilities to a management company meant that the District Council could avoid the long-term costs of maintenance, reducing the stress on their budgets. Therefore, rather than handing over the freehold (i.e. ownership) to public open spaces and community facilities to the local authority, the freehold would be retained by the landowner, and instead a 125-year lease would be handed to a private management company that would be funded by annual service charge payments from residents. 

PDF copies of the original Section-106 agreement from 2008, plus Section-73 variation approved in 2017 and a strategy document from Crest detailing the management company strategy is available on the Documents & Downloads page.

> Benefit to the District Council

The long-term maintenance would be self-sustainable via a management company and not a burden on Council finances.

> Benefit to Developer

Crest Nicholson appointed themselves as directors of the management company with so-called "golden shares" for as long as they wanted them, meaning only they control the management company. Residents automatically receive "B Shares" as members, and the liability to pay service charges, however have no power until such time as Crest Nicholson hand back their golden shares. This is expected to be when Hunts Grove is complete, around 2035, however, there is no legal limit to their control and exit strategy. Crest has explained that the management company model ensures "that the developer can ensure that the village is maintained at the highest level of quality" whilst they have a vested interest in attracting new homebuyers, and if the local authority is in control of maintenance, it will not be good enough and is not steerable by Crest. This argument is rendered invalid based on the realities of village maintenance over 2020 and 2021 - it was totally neglected, and caused a lot of anger and upset amongst residents.

> Benefit to Landowner

Colethrop Farm Ltd get to retain ownership of all of the public open spaces, parks, community buildings, sports pitches, school, etc, and retain full control.  Colethrop Farm Ltd has explained that they feared District Council ownership of the public realm as District, Borough, and County Councils have a history of selling land for development when times are tough or there is a specific housing need. By retaining ownership and only leasing the public realm, it means they retain control to ensure it remains as intended. In recent discussions, Colethrop Farm Ltd has stated that they have no such concerns if it was the Parish Council responsible as they are run by local residents themselves and naturally wish to protect open spaces and facilities in their community.

> Note: What else changed with the Section-73 planning variation approved in September 2017?

  • The masterplan was changed considerably;
  • The main spine road through the development was diverted from Hunts Grove Drive to a new route called Harrier Way;
  • The school was relocated and reorientated;
  • The original plans included a community building and a separate sports pavilion. The sports pavilion was canceled;
  • Delivery of the long-delayed Hunts Grove A38 junction was delayed even more;
  • Affordable housing was cut or delayed until later in the development (this is now unlikely to be delivered);
  • Timescales for delivery of public open spaces and amenities were further delayed;
  • The neighbourhood centre (shops etc) was relocated from the centre of the development to a site beside the A38

3. Who gave permission for the Management Company?

Stroud District Council approved the management company strategy as part of Crest Nicholson's Section-73 planning variation approved in September 2017.

4. Why didn’t Stroud District Council force Crest Nicholson to facilitate adoption?

The initiative to switch from local authority adoption to a management company model may have come from the District Council themselves around 2014-15. As outlined in Question 2, there are definite benefits for all parties to the legal agreements, but there was no preference towards adoption at that time coming from the District Council (or the Parish Councils representing Hunts Grove at that time, Hardwicke Parish Council, and Haresfield Parish Council).

Even where councils would like to adopt, they cannot force the developer to do anything other than have a mechanism for maintenance in place. The District Council as the planning authority must be satisfied that any scheme is sustainable for the long term. Management companies are widespread and are considered a safe way of providing long-term maintenance as the financing via Estate Rentcharges in the residents' property deeds is very hard to challenge.

In fact, once a buyer has purchased their property, the management company has all rights to charge any level of fee and it cannot be challenged by the homeowner. If the homeowner fails to pay, the management company can block a future home sale or even take over the property (right of entry).

Current Council Policy on Management of Open Spaces: Stroud District Council has no specific policy (verified with the council in November 2021) with regards to having a management company or adoption by the District or Parish Council. The terms and strategies will be assessed on their merits during any planning application.

5. When did the Management Company come in to force?

The Hunts Grove Management Company Limited was incorporated as a limited company on September 21st, 2010, and remained as a dormant company. Here is the Companies House listing.

Stroud District Council approved the management company strategy in September 2017. Crest Nicholson (as the controller of the management company) awarded a five-year managing agents contract to Preim Limited and service charge fees were invoiced from 2018 even though the managing agent provides no services on site.

6. Residents must pay hundreds of pounds per year in service charges - were residents consulted before the Management Company was approved?

Short answer: Technically yes, however residents themselves were not actively engaged at the time, so practically no.

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Crest Nicholson liaised with many stakeholders regarding the introduction of the Section-73 and management company arrangements. This would have included the District Council, County Council, Ward Councillors, and Parish Councils responsible for Hunts Grove at the time.

The technical "yes" is due to the fact that the Section-73 variation planning application is a process that is held in public, with all documents available for comment via the planning department or online planning portal. Had residents known about it, or been seeking information, they could have been involved. The Parish Councils at the time could have taken a more active role in engaging with Hunts Grove residents, however, it is unclear what steps they took to raise awareness.

The practical "no" is due to the fact that the developer did not make residents aware of the planning application directly and held no public consultations targeted towards raising awareness directly with residents. Planning is one of those areas where you will not necessarily find out what is happening unless you are actively and routinely checking new planning applications. At that point in time, Hardwicke Parish Council and Haresfield Parish Council had no councillors from Hunts Grove and were not actively engaging with Hunts Grove residents either.

(Historical note: Current Parish Chairman, Mark Ryder, discovered the Section-73 application by chance in the final stages. On seeing the implications for residents, it led to the formation of the Hunts Grove Residents Association (HGRA) and a communication campaign to make sure residents knew what was going on. This further led to the Phase 1 management company legal challenge where it was determined that existing buyers planning conditions could not be changed retrospectively). From that point, Hardwicke Parish Council also gained three councillors from Hunts Grove!

7. Who is Preim Limited?

Preim Limited is a managing agent appointed by Hunts Grove Management Company (controlled by Crest Nicholson) to administer the finance and administration of estate maintenance services at Hunts Grove. Preim has not commenced any maintenance services on-site at this point (January 2022).

Preim is based in Peterborough and specialises in the management of residential estates and garden villages across England and Wales.

The Parish Council would like to make clear that it has absolutely no concerns about Preim Limited as an organisation or the quality of services it provides. There are a lot of poor-performing managing agents across the country that have given the sector a bad name and caused thousands of residents to be angry and dissatisfied with their management company, however, Preim Limited is not such a company. Hunts Grove Parish Council has a problem with the management strategy established by Crest Nicholson, not the managing agent Preim.

As part of our discussions and research, the Parish Council is in contact with many other Crest developments around the country where Preim Limited is appointed as the managing agent and already providing services. Areas that Preim maintain are generally done to a high standard and residents are satisfied. All Crest developments we have encountered have substantial maintenance issues, however, these are areas still supposedly maintained by Crest and not handed over to Preim.

In December 2021, Preim invited Hunts Grove councillors on a field trip to Tadpole Garden Village, a Crest Nicholson development near Swindon where Preim Limited is acting as managing agent. Preim is doing an excellent job from everything we have seen.

8. What happens if an owner defaults on the service charge?

The Rentcharge deed provides for interest to be paid on late payments, and for the cost of any legal action for recovery to be paid by a late payer.

Preim has a standard process for collecting debts, starting with reminders. If a debt remains unpaid, it may be referred to third-party debt collection agencies, and proceedings for debt recovery may be made through the County Courts.

The ultimate remedy for the management company, as the owner of the Rentcharge, would be to “re-enter” (repossess) the property concerned.

9. Do all properties pay the same service charge?

All properties (with the exception of Phase 1 owners) pay the same service charge for estate services.

Leasehold maisonettes and flat owners additionally pay a buildings cost, which may vary depending upon the property. This covers the additional building management responsibilities, including insurances, inspections, common areas cleaning, etc.

Update January 20th, 2022: As a result of discussions with residents, the Parish Council is researching how the service charge is collected where residents may be privately renting, housing association rent/shared ownership, etc. Today we have written to Preim Ltd, Sovereign Housing Association, Sanctuary Housing Association, and Gloucester City Homes. This is to understand the collection procedure. It is assumed that Housing Associations and private landlords are collecting the fees on behalf of the management company. The Parish Council will feedback here as soon as we can confirm this information.

10. Can residents reduce payments if services appear to fall below standard?

Residents cannot make deductions from their service charge payments to compensate for what they may see as poor performance by Preim or any other contractors. If any such deductions are required, they will be made by the management company itself through the director following an investigation and any money deducted will stay in the management company bank account.

11. Can the residents change the managing agent or form their own association?

No. The managing agent Preim is under contract with the management company controlled by the Directors which is currently Crest Nicholson.

12. What is the relationship between Preim Ltd and Crest Nicholson?

Preim Ltd is a private limited company registered at Companies House and owned by its directors. It is a completely separate organisation from the management company and or Crest Nicholson.

13. Does the Parish Council have specific concerns about Preim Limited?

No. The Parish Council has conducted a great deal of research into Management Companies and Managing Agents across the UK, including Preim Limited.

With regards to Preim, we have specifically focussed on other Crest Nicholson sites similar to Hunts Grove where Preim has also been appointed as a managing agent. As a result of this work, we have got to know the residents at these sites and also got to know the representatives at Preim. In December 2021, two of our councillors also visited Tadpole Garden Village near Swindon with Preim as it is a site they have already started managing.

Hunts Grove Parish Council has no concerns whatsoever with Preim Limited. Our concerns are with the strategy, not the agent.  The village has been neglected for two years by Crest Nicholson and residents have had to pay tens of thousands of pounds in unnecessary service charge fees with nothing in return.

We strongly believe that community assets should be locally owned and managed by the community themselves and that the Parish Council as a volunteer-run body elected by the residents is the optimum (and traditional) way of doing this.

14. Who owns the Management Company?

The management company doesn’t hold land or assets at Hunts Grove. Ownership of the freehold is retained by the original landowner and the Management Company will have the right of a 125-year lease to open spaces and amenities.

As part of the planning permission for Hunts Grove, Crest Nicholson committed £1.9m as a reserve fund towards future maintenance. This originally would have been handed over to the District Council along with the land and facilities.

Since the renegotiation of the original Section-106 (2008) that was approved by Stroud District Council as part of a Section-73 planning variation in September 2017, and the introduction of the Management Company, the reserve fund will be held by the Management Company instead of the District Council.

The Management Company is 100% controlled by Crest Nicholson for as long as they choose. This is secured via a voting ‘A’ membership to the Management Company board. Property purchasers at Hunts Grove are automatically awarded a non-voting ‘B’ membership - so residents are members, however have no control.

At a time of Crest Nicholson's choosing, likely when all properties are sold at Hunts Grove, they will relinquish their ‘A’ membership shares, and control will fall to the residents at that time. This is estimated to be approximately 2035 based on current projections.

15. Tell me more about the Reserve Fund

The reserve fund is approximately £1.9m and was built into the original planning permission for Hunts Grove as a contribution based on the costs of 10 years of maintenance of the public open spaces and facilities.

Following the renegotiation by Crest Nicholson of the planning permission (known as a Section-73 variation) that was approved in September 2017, the reserve fund was destined to be paid to the Management Company instead of Stroud District Council.

Documents lodged with the planning department estimated there would be a transfer of £200,000 in March 2017, £1.18m in late 2021, and finally £400,000 in early 2028.

At the time of writing in January 2022, Crest Nicholson has not transferred any reserve funds.

The Parish Council is seeking to protect the reserve fund as part of abolishing the Management Company and has asked Crest Nicholson to refrain from transferring funds until a final strategy is agreed upon.

16. What is “Fleecehold”?

“Fleecehold” is a term coined by campaign groups representing home buyers that thought they were buying a freehold property, only to find out that there were liable by law to pay third-party management companies unlimited sums with no means to question, complain or redress.

One of the leading campaigning groups is the Home Owners Rights Network. Their website is: https://www.homeownersrights.net/

17. What are “Estate Rentcharges”?

Estate Rentcharges are remnants of feudal Britain, they have been around for centuries with little reform over the years.  Land law in Britain owes much to the feudal system that developed following the Norman Conquest. The ability to grant inferior interests in land and to take income from these – like rents – remains an important feature of the law. 

In recent years there has been a great deal of focus towards reforming the leasehold aspects of these old land laws and in fact, Scotland abolished the feudal structure in law in 2004, however, no such reforms have come to England and Wales so far. 

With regards to freehold land, an Estate Rentcharge is a legal means of securing a liability towards another owner or entity, i.e. the liability to pay service charges to a management company. The balance of power is completely with the Estate Rentcharge owner, not the freeholder, therefore if you fail to pay the service charges or are in dispute with the Rentcharge owner, they legally have the right to block the sale of your property or even a "right of entry" to repossess or sublet your property entirely.

The Government has been promising reform of the laws surrounding what is known as "freeholders on private estates" for some time now. Progress in parliament has been slow due to the dominance of the Brexit negotiations and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic. The Parish Council has asked for support from Siobhan Baillie MP to raise this in parliament and question where the Government is with delivering reforms that re-balance power between freeholders and rentcharge owners. See our page here, and the documents linked at the end, for how those discussions are progressing.

The following two links provide more guidance from Government:

18. I wasn’t told about the management company when I purchased my home

Unfortunately, we understand this has been an issue at Hunts Grove. It is a common problem across the country that developers sales staff minimise any mention of Estate Charges, they are glossed over, the commonest pitch is “a small annual charge for grass cutting / gardening”, if mentioned at all.

Conveyancers do not commonly point out the implications or consequences of having an uncapped and unregulated charge with no means of redress.

This is a failure in the system. Developers should be held accountable under the property misrepresentation or misdescriptions legislation, however, they are not. Also, as many buyers take (or are forced to take) conveyancers appointed by the developer, there is a substantial conflict of interest.

The government has been promising action to bring in legislation to provide protections for “freeholders on private estates”. See this link > https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/freeholders-estate-and-service-charges/

Plus, see this response from Government following our request to Siobhan Baillie MP >

19. I don’t understand the different phases of Hunts Grove - do you have a guide?

We do! Take a look here.

20. What is “Hunts Grove Extension”?

The original Hunts Grove village comprises planning permission for up to 1,750 homes within an area north of Haresfield Lane, bounded by the A38 to the west, M5 to the east, and Waterwells Business Park to the north.

Hunts Grove Extension is currently land allocated for up to 750 homes that would be situated south of Haresfield Lane, bounded by the A38 to the west and M5 to the east. This area does not currently have planning permission (as of 2022), however is allocated in the local plan. The Parish understands that Crest Nicholson may apply for planning permission during 2022 or possibly 2023.

21. What is the “Farmhouse Triangle”?

The “Farmhouse Triangle” is an area of land retained by the original landowner of Hunts Grove, Colethrop Farm Ltd. The Parish Council also refers to this area as Phase 5. The land includes and surrounds the old farmhouse on what was Haresfield Lane near the motorway. As of January 2022, there is already permission for 128 homes on this land under permission S.20/0087/REM (click to view the planning application), however, a new application is expected shortly for a revised scheme that will relocate part of the allotments and increase the housing numbers.

22. I’m a Phase 1 resident and not paying the management company service charges - will I be worse off if the Parish Council takes over village maintenance?

In the long term, it is unlikely to have much difference in the council tax charged to Phase 1 residents. Currently, the Parish Council is not responsible for any maintenance whatsoever and therefore the Parish budget (and precept charged to residents) is at a relatively low level of £29.42 for a Band D property.

The Parish Council is expecting to adopt maintenance responsibilities for Phase 1 during 2022 and will need to increase its budget to cover its increased responsibilities.

If the Parish campaign to abolish the management company is successful, then the Parish budget will increase substantially over the coming years to cover the maintenance responsibilities, however, all residents will pay the same amount, be contributing equally to the maintenance of the whole village and service charges would stop entirely to the management company.

Therefore, it could be said that if the Parish campaign is successful, Phase 1 residents would end up paying more. However, that is not the end of the story >

If the Parish campaign to abolish the management company is unsuccessful, there will be pressure to address the unfairness created by management company residents having to pay council tax and management company fees, therefore essentially Phase 2-5 residents will be heavily subsidising the maintenance costs of Phase 1 areas. In this case, the Parish Council may choose to implement two wards within Hunts Grove, charging a Parish precept relative to the costs of maintaining Phase 1 to Phase 1 Ward, and offering a discounted Parish precept to Phase 2-5 residents.

The Parish Council does not wish to go this route, however, it is important to us that residents are treated fairly.

Additional Guidance:

For comparison, it may be helpful to note that the precept that Parishes charge across Stroud District varies widely depending on their responsibilities. In 2021/22 the lowest charge is Hillesley & Tresham, with a charge of £15.07 Parish precept per year. The highest charge per Band D dwelling is Dursley, with a charge of £207.22 Parish precept per year.

See Question 1 at the top of the page for more content on this.

23. Why don’t Phase 1 homeowners pay Management Company service charges?

Phase 1 homeowners - that is homes constructed by Crest Nicholson and David Wilson Homes between 2011 and 2015 - were constructed under a different planning permission and Section-106 agreement concerning public open spaces and amenities.

There was an attempt by Crest Nicholson to include Phase 1 in the management company in 2017, however, a legal challenge by residents resulted in confirmation that planning permission liabilities cannot be altered retrospectively without the permission of all 342 homeowners. Even if permission was secured from all Phase 1 owners, the process would have failed as the necessary Estate Rentcharges in property deeds to secure the arrangement varied massively between properties, and in some cases, the required text wasn't included in deeds at all.

More details here > Phase 1

24. What will be managed or maintained by the Management Company?

Under the current arrangements the following will be managed and/or maintained by the Management Company:

  • Allotments
  • Community Building
  • Sports Pitches
  • Public Open Spaces (Phase 2-5 only)
  • Play Parks (Phase 2-5 only)

The Parish Council is looking to take over all management company responsibilities except the building management of blocks of flats.

25. What about the new homes on Marconi Drive? Are they Hunts Grove?

Only one-third of the homes on Marconi Drive are within Hunts Grove Parish. This is due to the fact that the boundary between Quedgeley (Gloucester City) and Hunts Grove (Stroud District) passes through the site.

Homes on the Marconi Drive development are not part of the Hunts Grove Management Company arrangements. The development is managed by a housing association.

26. Who will be responsible for the roads?

All streets and some paths will ultimately be adopted by Gloucestershire Highways. This includes most highway verges, trees in verges, and street lighting.

As of January 2022, all roads are still the responsibility of the developers. The main infrastructure roads are Crest Nicholson's responsibility and streets that are internal to each different development, i.e. Crest Nicholson, David Wilson Homes, Bellway, and Bovis are the responsibility of that developer.

Handover / adoption for all of Phase 1 and a large part of Phase 2 is scheduled for 2022, however these timelines are often delayed.

27. Is the management company responsible for the wastewater pumping station?

No. The pumping station will be adopted by Severn Trent Water.

28. Will my deeds have to be changed?

This may be a matter of choice and the Parish Council has instructed a firm of solicitors to provide advice on this question. We understand that the liability within property deeds relates to the Estate Rentcharge and text referring to Hunts Grove Management Company Limited.

At this point, we are aware of three potential approaches to clarifying the deeds (note that this is a layman's understanding and may change/be updated when the Parish Council receive legal advice):

  1. At time of sale/purchase: during conveyancing for the sale/purchase of a property, the solicitor/conveyancer will seek to clarify the terms of any Estate Rentcharge or reference to management company. At this point, an authorised agent (*) may issue the solicitor a waiver confirming that there is no ongoing liability as the management company has been abolished or the property isn't liable. This would normally satisfy the conveyancing process, allowing the sale/purchase to proceed, or;
  2. At time of sale/purchase: during conveyancing for the sale/purchase of a property, the solicitor/conveyancer will seek to clarify the terms of any Estate Rentcharge or reference to management company. At this point, an authorised agent (*) may issue a "deed of release" that will effectively remove the Estate Rentcharge from the deeds with the Land Registry. Future buyers would not have the Estate Rentcharge on the deeds, or;
  3. At the time the management company is abolished: an authorised agent (*) issues a "deed of release" to all homeowners. The homeowner can then apply to the Land Registry to remove the Estate Rentcharge;

Point 1 or 2 seems to be the most reasonable approach as any issue with the deeds is addressed at the time it becomes an issue, i.e., during a sale. As long as there is an efficient and long-term sustainable process in issuing waivers or releases, then it can be handled as part of the sales process.

(*) Authorised Agent: This will be any entity that can speak on behalf of the Estate Rentcharge owner, i.e. Hunts Grove Management Company. For example, if the management company is still live, it could be the managing agent (as is the case right now for Phase 1 homeowners). If the management company is to be dissolved, then prior to closure it could appoint a solicitors firm to respond to long-term waivers or releases, or it could potentially be the Parish Council itself.

As part of our research, we have held discussions with another council, Cranbrook Town Council, as they have been through this process of abolishing their management company already. In their case, they went with option 2 above. A firm of solicitors was appointed to issue a "deed of release" upon request.

29. Will this make my property more difficult to sell?

The changes proposed by Hunts Grove Parish Council will simplify the current arrangements for buyers and sellers.

Prospective buyers should be told by their solicitor/conveyancer that there is a management company in force. The next step would usually be an internet search to find out more about management companies and the liabilities for homeowners, and quite simply there is such bad practice across the country that management companies now have a terrible reputation.

Residents are often forced to pay inflated charges via ancient property laws with no consumer rights or redress process. There is no right to challenge even when charges rise to double or more. In some circumstances a resident could lose their freehold if they are in dispute with a management company and mortgage lenders are starting to refuse buyers that have a management company, such as Santander and Nationwide ( https://www.moneyexpert.com/news/banks-refusing-mortgages-new-builds-escalating-estate-management-fees/ )

A well-managed and maintained village is a huge plus point for home sales. Unfortunately, Crest Nicholson forced residents to pay service charges the last few years, whilst at the same time totally neglecting the village maintenance.

If the Parish Council is successful in its bid to take over maintenance, we feel sure that we will be responsive to residents' needs much better than any management company as we are directly elected by the residents and live here ourselves.

In summary, homeowners should be able to enjoy the benefit of distancing their property from the very negative press around management companies, reduce ongoing costs by abolishing the service charges, and also improve the appearance of the village by local people that care.

30. Will there be more fees when I come to buy or sell a property at Hunts Grove?

No. A solution needs to be selected for removing the Estate Rentcharge from the deeds and a future "authorised agent" may charge an administration fee for this.  However, currently, the managing agent, Preim Limited, charges fees anyway for the following (these were the fees as of 2018 and may have changed/increased since):

  • Sales Pack £150.00
  • Deed of Covenant, new share certificate, compliance certificate £162.00
  • Notice of charge £84.00
  • Notice of transfer £84.00
  • Remortgaging compliance certificate £84.00
  • Licence to assign £270.00

See Question 28 for further explanation of this.

31. My property is on Bath Road / B4008, am I in Hunts Grove? How will this impact me?

There are approximately 20 residential and business properties located along Bath Road that are part of Hunts Grove Parish. These are now automatically our oldest and original homes at Hunts Grove!

Homes on the Bath Road are not part of the Hunts Grove Management Company arrangements, and do not pay service charges, and are not liable to. As these homes are now part of Hunts Grove Parish, our job is to make all residents feel at home and integrated with the new village. 

Under the current fragmented arrangements, only the residents of Phase 2-5 will contribute and be included in Hunts Grove management company who will run the community building, sports pitches and allotments. Hunts Grove Parish Council fears that other residents (i.e. Phase 1, Bath Road, Marconi Drive) will feel like "second class citizens" if the arrangements are left as they are. Will these residents go to the back of the queue for an allotment? Will they have to pay fees to use the sports pitches and community building? Hunts Grove Parish Council wishes to avoid all these questions and build a village where every resident is treated fairly, equally, and contributes exactly the same as everyone else - a core part of our campaign.

The Parish Council is currently investigating options for all different situations residents find themselves in. Our consultation and resulting plans will identify the ways we can create a win-win for all.

32. I have a Housing Association property with Sanctuary, Sovereign, or Gloucester City Homes. How will this impact me?

The Parish Council wrote to Preim, Sanctuary, Sovereign, and Gloucester City Homes on 20 January 2022 in order to clarify the existing service charge rates, the ways they are collected and their position and response should the management company be abolished.

Critical for the Parish Council will be to be absolutely sure that any savings from abolishing the management company are immediately passed in full to housing association residents.

Further research is underway - updates will be posted here.

33. I rent my home from a private landlord. How will this impact me?

The Parish Council is considering this as part of its campaign and proposals. We understand that the managing agent relationship is with the homeowner, not the tenant, as the liability to pay is secured via the Estate Rentcharge in the owners' property deeds.

It will be essential that once the management company is abolished, the landlord passes on any savings to the tenant. This may need to be requested by the tenant once the situation is clear.

Further research is underway - updates will be posted here.

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