Friends of Mill Rise / Meeting Dates

Friends of Mill Rise Meeting held on 14th May 2008

Apologies were received from Mr & Mrs Reynolds and Mr Vernon.

The notes from the previous meeting were discussed with the following points raised:

Repairs/Shared Ownership: The maintenance service are looking to make repairs available to shared owners.

• Meters – Building regulations have now changed and meters have to be at mid height so that they can be easily reached.
• Cooking – Only electric cooking facilities are available.
• Showers – The showers are walk in showers.
• Road Name – At the last meeting the group was asked for suggestions for the road name. A couple of themes were suggested, birds or British wildflowers.  Phoenix Rise was a suggestion.
• Service Charges – Gas and electricity charges are to be included, so the service charges will be a bit higher than discussed earlier.  Unsure if water is included – will clarify this for the next meeting.

Jayne Oakley from Staffordshire County Council spoke to the group about the selection of a care provider. She outlined the selection process and provided an information sheet. Jayne asked the group what they would like from a care provider. Any feedback can be given to Suzie, or directly to Jayne whose contact details are on the information sheet.

• Constitution – Suzie outlined the key points of the constitution which would enable the group to apply for funding for social and leisure activities. The group were in agreement with the constitution.
  Suzie then asked for volunteers for a committee. Mrs Freakley and Lorraine Bennett both volunteered and a separate meeting will be held with them before the next Friends of Meeting to see how this can be moved forward.
• Time Capsule – Knutton St Mary’s Primary School are to bury a time capsule in between the Extra Care building and the Doctors. Suzie is to visit the school in June and assist with the project. The children will be choosing items to place into the capsule. An open afternoon may be held at the school when the project is completed and the capsule buried, the Friends of Mill Rise Group could be invited.

Any other business:

Build – A steel frame has now been constructed.  The build is a little behind schedule (only 5 days).

Room layouts were issued with Imperial Measurements.

Application Process – We are currently reviewing the Application form to include Extra Care and Shared Ownership.

The application/assessment process will begin in the summer with the first multi-agency panel meetings taking place in September. Suzie and Sam will visit to complete assessment and application forms.

There are 60 apartments on 3 floors. The shared ownership apartments are spread around the complex. 
20 x 2 bed shared ownership
25 x 2 bed rented
15 x 1 bed rented

Pets are only allowed on the ground floor to residents with their own entrance and a no replacement policy will be adopted.

Kitchens – is a cooker included? This will be clarified at the next meeting.

Council Tax – This is not included in the service charges, residents will have to pay their own Council Tax. The valuation for Council Tax cannot take place until the complex is complete so interim payments may need to be made.

The apartments will be valued 3 months before completion, but we should have indicative values before that. 

The kitchen and living room are open plan in the one and two bed apartments.