Hello from the Board of Directors at City Quay.

Welcome to our first official newsletter, so that we can all be aware of recent and future developments. To start we would like to introduce the Board, as from the last Residents Meeting some people expressed the desire to know us!

• Gianfranco Boccuzzi resident/owner since 2010, working in hospitality management.
• Audrey McCurley resident/owner since 2014, and former fashion/retail owner
• Jane Hayworth owner since 2016, working as a chiropodist.
• Brian Riley resident/owner since 2017, working as a commercial electrician
• Mike Riley resident/owner since 2014 working in IT/software development
• Brian Roche owner since 2006 working in cyber security

Since this board took over we have managed various aspects of City Quay, and in particular the maintenance of the site. We have four people working on the up-keep of the site including the gardeners and these are: Ken, James, John and Timothy.

Independently from the board we liaise with the Residents Group headed by Eileen Bishop.

Fire/Health/Safety

From our communication on the website and notice boards, you will be aware that since May our focus has shifted to fire, health and safety. First we would like to thank the vast majority of the residents for the understanding and cooperation on this subject.

An independent Health and Safety advisor together with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have established some major failures in our site. Little to no records of historical compliance existed so we are effectively starting from scratch. We have been instructed to address the following immediately.

• Compartmentation of all communal cupboards
• Electrical installation condition: remedy issues highlighted in report
• Emergency Lighting testing, remedy and certification
• Fire Alarms tested and certified
• Immediate removal (or disconnection) of all communal heaters

Work on this front is proceeding well, we have extra people working on the compartmentation and they are completing two entrances per day. All electrical work is undergoing as well and the first most visible result will be the change of all stairs cases illumination to new emergency LED lights.

Lake/Fountains

It was evident that the lake was at the heart of residents concerns as this is the centrepiece of the development making City Quay unique.

The original fountains have been reactivated, we also purchased four extra fountains that have now  been activated. By mid-July we will have also enhanced the fountains with LED lights.

The lake was in a very poor state, the previous ecosystem was destroyed so we had a dead pond taken over by algae. We have since managed to begin reinstating the ecosystem with new fish. A significant number have come via our rehoming page on Facebook.

The Parks and Gardens department at Liverpool City Council have agreed to collaborate with us and donate water plants. You can see them in the water at the two ends of the lakes with bloomed flowers. The fountains do also play an important role as these help to aerate the water.

We are now working on Lake wildlife preservation and if you have any economical ideas about this subject please get in contact with us.

We are also working with the Environment Agency in regards of water supply to the lake to obtain an increase to our water abstraction licence that fits our requirements and resolves the stagnated water problem that we have.

Security

In the last couple of month we have also experienced issues with the site security. Our CCTV has never really been fit for purpose: the footage is not usable as the cameras are of not a high enough resolution and also we don’t have enough coverage of the site as we would like.

Although we do understand and share the concerns of people that have pointed this out to us, we had to make some decisions and place this subject on the back burner as we complete the unexpected Fire/Health and Safety requirements. With this in mind we are still working to upgrade to the system. We have site-wide vision for integrated security that includes CCTV, communal gate access and intercom systems. This is in the planning stages and we are evaluating possible solutions and we hope to have some more news in the near future.

As this is a busy site with people always coming and going, it is common sense and show civil responsibility to be alert to any suspicious activity and support the community. In the meantime the board will be fully collaborating with the public forces and we will at their disposal for any support they may require.

Casemates

Casemate users were given notices of evictions and the last remaining on site will be gone soon. We have decided to terminate all rentals as the casemate were been abused and damaged, some of them are been opened and you will see that these are full of rubbish that we will have to dispose at our cost as these is been collected for years and no responsible party can be highlighted.

Gardens

The landscape aesthetic of City Quay is very important to us all. You may have noticed the round-a-bout has been made into a feature, and the aquatic planting in the lake so far proving to be a success. We are also introducing a few contemporary sections with Topiary Balls and Cordylines and decorative Cotswold Stone chippings to give contrasting colour to slightly duller areas.

Tim and Ken have been working very hard over the last few months, cutting grass, trimming shrubs/bushes, planting, and weed pulling.

Due to this long hot summer, the heat has taken it’s toll on the grass and plants, which are not as green as everyone would like. When the high temperatures subside and the rain comes, everything should start returning to normal.

Decorating

Balcony frames painting: most of these were been painted in 2016 and 2017, however some were left out of the original plan so we are looking at the logistics to incorporate this work to be completed after the mandatory engagements. We foresee this to be possible between the end of summer an year end.

And Finally

We would like to remind you that the AGM is been moved to the 10th of September. We hope to see you in high numbers at this meeting as we will discuss in details on the up keeping of the site and you will have the chance to ask all the question in an open forum.

If you have not done so, please register to our website www.cityquay.com. Here, you can raise maintenance tickets that are responded directly by the maintenance team. There is also a forum where you can participate  in the conversation with other residents, owners, and the Board.

Thank you for reading.