Dear Leaseholders / Residents ,

As you are aware the Board have been working with Nuffield our neighbours following the recent cliff slippage.

The Board have been engaged with the Council and Environment Agency.

We secured an immediate inspection by the council on Thursday 2nd July.

This inspection however was only to confirm the immediate risk to residents and the public had been addressed. The council confirmed the closure of the gate to Nuffield site and in front of casemates was the appropriate action to secure residents and public protection.

The issues of wider cliff stability however is still being addressed The council and environment agency have however each stated it is the other organisations responsibility.

The council have also stated they believe it is either the Environment Agency or the leaseholders of City Quay.

The Board are clear and have maintained the position that whilst the 999 year lease for City Quay is clear that we are responsible for the Casemates and their maintenance we are not responsible for the cliff face.

We are therefore now exploring our legal options and have gone out for quotes for a survey report of the cliff stability to inform next steps.

We are clear we should not as leaseholders be expected to pay for and have responsibility for maintaining a cliff that is holding up a public highway above as well as housing.

This is likely to be a complex process as we fight to get the local authority or environment agency to meet their obligations. We will keep you posted.

We are also looking to address the fly tipping issues onto the cliff from the public highway above. We have been clear of the health and safety risk this poses to residents and the public alike. We had planning consent for increasing the railing height refused . We have therefore sought a meeting with the Mayor of Liverpool after a poor response over many months from council officials. We will again keep you posted on this.

We this afternoon had a perfect example of the effect of fly tipping when the weight of rubbish forced a tree on the cliff to collapse. This 3 ton tree was left hanging perilously. The board engaged with the council and health and safety executive for 2 hours before finally securing emergency removal of the tree for the safety of residents. This has saved leaseholders a significant amount of money but was not easy.

In the meantime please observe the signage and other safety netting in place and stay clear of the casemates.

The Board of Directors is pleased to be able to provide an update on the continuing schedule of re-decoration and re-carpeting of all communal areas within blocks. The new colour scheme and carpeting modernises the look and feel of the blocks and is a significant improvement which will add to both the value and attractiveness of City Quay apartments.

The schedule was drawn up with the following criteria;

• Immediate Health and Safety Issues 
• Significant visual damage caused by external seal failure
• 5 years since last painted (the order being those painted longest time ago first)

All external communal window seals with issues have now been replaced. A monitoring regime is now in place for other communal window seals.

The following Blocks have already been re-painted and re-carpeted prior to lockdown.

• CQ6 – The block facing the lake at top end with white centre. All floors, wings have been re-painted and re-carpeted.
• 1 – 8, 42 – 49, 82 – 89, 104 -115, 348 – 355, 134 – 139.

In planning the future schedule, we have continued to apply the criteria set out above. We have had to plan the schedule considering funds available, other priorities for funds and the time for re-painting as set out in the leases being every 5 years. We appreciate leaseholders may want their blocks prioritised but by following the above criteria and the time set out in the lease we are ensuring a fair process. Where funds allow, we will pull forward dates where possible but, in the order, set out below.

For those future dates set out below with just months not specific dates we will be confirming 4 weeks in advance to leaseholders/residents the specific dates that month that the work will be undertaken. Re-carpeting of all blocks will take place 48 hours after painting completes.

The suppliers will be following guidance issued by Her Majesty’s Government during Coronavirus. For those residents with health issues or worries please do contact the Board and we will happily discuss any concerns via board@cityquay.com

The below is the schedule for all other blocks;

BLOCK                   DATE START     DATE FINISH