I’d like to update you about options for caretaking at Ashworth Mansions. We are considering a number of options and would like your views.

As you know, the estate has always benefited from a live-in caretaker. The most recent incumbent, Daron Tyas, resigned from his position on 1st May 2013. Since then, we’ve had only a part time temporary agency caretaker from 8am to 1pm each day who has been undertaking general sweeping, checking drains, collecting rubbish, issuing fobs and other general duties as and when required.

There are three main options now.

  • Employ a live in caretaker as before (8-4 weekdays, 8 -12 Saturday) – cost £58K pa
  • Employ a non-live in caretaker with extended hours (7-5 weekdays, 8 – 12 Saturday) to also include cleaning the common parts which is currently done by a contract cleaning company – cost £29K pa
  • Enhance the service to include a staffed estate office from 7am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4 pm on a Saturday. This office would be near the boiler room and available to residents for parcels and key management – cost £67K pa

Other combinations of staffing and hours are possible but, for simplicity, I wanted to give you a sense of the costs of various options. In addition, it would probably cost £20-£30K to build an estate office. This could be funded from accumulated ground rents in Ashworth Mansions Ltd and would not be a service charge item.

Please drop me a line with your views or complete a short survey at http://svy.mk/1d7NKqw. Alternatively, you can link to it from the News page of our website. We hope to reach a consensus and move ahead with recruitment in the New Year.

Longer term, we are considering the merits of employing a full time estate manager (as at Lauderdale Mansions) which, in principle, would be more economic than relying on external surveyors. A decision on this is not required until we finish the 4th phase of the refurbishment and has minor relevance to our decision on caretaking

Yours faithfully

Geoffrey Barraclough

Chair, Ashworth Mansions Ltd

editor@ashworthmansions.com