The Village Association’s focus this year is to replenish the financial reserves and to plan for the next round of maintenance and repair work needed in 2022. There are therefore no big works planned for this year, although this doesn’t mean that we won’t undertake critical, or safety work required. For the work in 2022 we will be using the report by local Chartered Surveyors, Fairclough & Dyer who we engaged in 2019/2020 to identify the future maintenance and repair work required. If residents or any of the businesses have views on areas requiring attention, then they can get in touch via office@thevillageassociation.org

One of the legal requirements we have is to undertake a tree survey every 3 years and as our last one was in 2018, we will be undertaking this later this year, using a local firm to survey our 320+ trees and highlight the urgent work required and that which can be done over the next 6 to 18 months.

We are also looking to restart our resident surgeries once the Covid restrictions allow. We aim to hold one in March and another in August each year in addition to the AGM in October/November. This year we are planning on holding the first surgery on the 22 May, subject to the lockdown restrictions easing as planned on May 17. Keep an eye out for more information via our Facebook group and website over the coming weeks.

There are a dozen businesses with premises within The Village, ranging from Accountants to the Vets, all of whom are members of The Village Association and who contribute significantly to the service charge and therefore the upkeep of The Village. These businesses are represented within The Village Association Board by two business directors, Simon Nunn and Gary Leatherby who are owners of two of the businesses. This year will see us reach out and engage more with the businesses to ensure that their views and concerns are represented fully.

The final area of focus will be the continued development of our relationships with organisations who we work closely with or those whose work has a direct impact on residents and businesses across The Village. Our Wardens support the Police wherever they can, and we will be continuing to engage with them and local action groups on the issues of anti-social behaviour. Over the past 18 months our relationship with the Social Housing organisations present at The Village have lapsed a little so we will be reaching out to re-establish these and also restarting our visits to Hazelvine, once the Covid restrictions lift.