Current issues

Fixing the door seems like the easiest thing to do. There would be no incentive for the kid to come into the back yard if it is not possible to get through to the front block or access to Langsett Road. There is nothing in the courtyard that he would be interested in.

Carpet gripper doesn't sound like a bad idea, certainly preferable to Colditz-style barb wire. I reckon that fixing the building door should be priority 1 and then we'd see if he stopped appearing.

If I have time I'll take a look at the door lock and will see if the missing bits might be easily replaceable. I seem to recall it just being the latch which connects the lock mechanism to the door frame that was missing from the door, but I may be wrong.

Thanks for the ongoing info folks.

C

Hi Everyone

I got sick of the communal areas looking rough so hired a cleaner to give them a spruce as a one off (only back block).

If we are pleased with the result maybe we could consider booking her on a monthly basis?! its should only be £4 per flat per month (assuming there are 8 of us as it costs £30) but should really keep on top of things.

Let me know what you think when you see the result!!

Abi

All,

Since we last collated ideas around a monthly fee I have been researching the cost of provided the initial requirements from the wish-list.

The cost of a sign will need to be excluded from the £15 per flat as we're looking at a one off cost of c£70 for a small slate sign with the house number and the house name.

Considering Abi has had a cleaner come, the £4 cleaning costs I suggest we start the £4 payment and then pay adhoc costs for other low maintenance jobs through Abi?

As you can see - the time it takes for me to coordinate the work being completed will hinder you.

Now I've set up the forum and got the ball rolling - I certainly think that between Abi and Charlie you can coordinate repairs etc through the forum. Could I suggest that if you have any maintainance work you would like doing, you email my Dad for a quote. He does handy man work and knows the development.

Finally - in regards to the sign, the design and style of the sign will need agreeing with all and a seperate payment of c£15 per flat will be required. Can a resident coordinate this?

Finally - If I'm needed for payment towards cleaning costs/sign costs please can you get in touch with me. I've sent Abi a private message with both my Dad's (for handyman work) and mine..

Many thanks
Simon

Hi All,

The stairs look much better for having been cleaned and £4 seems a small cost to pay per flat per month.

I'll repay Abi tomorrow for the current cleaning.

Hi All,

Kids are a problem again :(.

Earlier this evening had one on the intercom asking to be let in, said his mate Bobby G lived here. Told him to ring their number, he said they weren't answering, I said well maybe they aren't in, he said yes they are as I've spoke to them on phone, lol I said well ring them on phone and ask them to let you in and then the little brat gave up :).

Don't know if anyone else got called on intercom by them, but they didn't give up as about 10:15pm saw them jump over the fence and I was just beginning to think they'd stopped been a problem :(.

Anyone know if these kids are causing a problem in the front block as doubt they are just going for the change of scenery

Yes the kids are causing a problem in the front block - we came home last night to find black marker pen scibbled on the walls, luckily i managed to clean this off this morning! Also the handrail leading from the front door up the first flight of stairs has been taken off the wall - the screws are still there but the nuts have been taken(??)
Do you think Simon's Dad could look at the lock for the front block to see if it's easily fixed? - could Abi pass on the contact details?
We're not going to attempt to fix the handrail until the lock is fixed as it might just get taken off again.

Thanks

Sorry to hear Kate that the kids are causing a problem, it must be maddening. Hope the lock gets sorted.

We have temporarily fixed the lock though not sure how long it will hold for! I've put up a couple of notes for people to be gentle when closing/opening the door.

thanks

Afternoon everyone,

Sorry to be late catching up, I don't seem to be getting the email messages tell me that new messages have been posted here. Very odd.

First up, thanks to Abi for getting the cleaning sorted. It is 100% better and I am very happy to pay £4/month for cleaning the back block. I will drop some cash up to Abi later on today for this time.

Simon, I am still happy to pay the £15 for repair work and whatever is needed for the sign. I can pay you whenever is good (before or after).

Well done to Kate for fixing the door temporarily. I had a look on Thursday evening and thought it might need a completely new lock mechanism. Let's see if this helps.

On Thursday evening I heard kids riding back and forth at the back of the pub on motor scooters. Did anyone else hear this?

Have we collectively only seen the one kid clmbing over the wall? 5ft-ish with dark hair and a little cap? I nipped out to the bins on Friday evening and saw the kid sauntering through the back block from the garden to the car park. I quizzed him on what he was upto and he said he was visiting someone. He walked out of the car park. The garden door of the back block wasn't clicking closed and when I checked I saw that a few small stones had been put in the bottom of the door frame to stop it from shutting properly. I removed them and closed the door.

On Saturday I went out at about 2pm and saw the same kid on a motorscooter and second kid arrive in the carpark (no license plates on either one). I challenged them on what they were doing in the car park and the second kid said he lived in the building. I asked where and he said he lived in one of the flats in the front block. They left the car park heading towards the SYHA flats.

I also came back on Saturday night at about midnight to find 'S6' scrawled on the car park door in dark blue marker pen. It was still wet ink and I was able to rub it off. I couldn't see anyone around at the time but checked the garden and car park doors were closed. The garden door had again been stopped from closing with pebbles. We need to keep an eye out for this.

I'm guessing that the kid climbs over the fence when the car park door isn't open or the back block garden door isn't open (key needed from garden side). It looks like they are stopping the back block garden door from closing to allow the kid to get back out.

I'm not quite sure where we go from here really. If the second kid really did live in the building then there is a semi-legitimate reason for him to be come to the building. He seems to be calling people to get access when his friend should certainly be letting him in and out of the building.

I don't like the kid hanging around and presume it is him (or both of them) that are responsible for the damage. The kid is their guest and they should be responsible. I don't know the people in that particular flat, has anyone else met them?

On Saturday they seemed to be stashing their scooters around the corner behind the clapperboard fence in the car park when I saw them. If the scooters do not have number plates then they should not be used on the road and could be reported to the police. I'd be surprised if they were over 16 anyway.

I'm not quite sure where we go from here? Any suggestions? If the kid is visiting people in the building does that change things? Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading all this!

Hi all,

Yes the communal areas look alot better now, thanks Abi for sorting that, I will try and drop £4 round later tonight. Also happy to pay £4 per month going forward, I think the auction for the leeshold is taking place at the end of this month so hopefully this will get sold and the new owner will sort out a management company again. So we may not have to sort this out for too long, fingers crossed anyway.

I also think we need a sign for the car park as soon as possible so I am happy to contribute to that and any other routine maintenance that is required. Please let me know when you require payment and for how much.

Charlie - re the kids n scooters, I saw them on saturday afternoon driving in the car park and on cuthbert bank road. Interesting to note that when the police were round the other Saturday (about 3 weeks ago), they were after the occupents of flat 5! They did not say why they wanted to speak with them but there were 4 officers. Not sure what we can do if one of them genually lives there, just make sure that if we see any doors open, close them as soon as possible.

I guess we will just have to keep an eye on it.

Cheers, Steve.

Hi All,

I agree with Steve that making sure doors are closed is a good idea.

Basically don't need to make Primrose House into a Fort Knox, but ensuring basic security measures and maybe improving current security will prevent the kids from been a problem again.

I still think maybe something on the fence maybe an idea, as while not on ground floor don't like the idea of an intruder wandering around say in the middle of the night and either getting into one of the blocks or one of the ground floor flats.

Off hand another idea which is also cheap is perhaps having a few nails along the top embedded in the wood, which would be quite nasty to climb over or grab, but not fatally so like proper metal spikes and a piece of rag wouldn't protect hands like how carpet gripper could be got past. Would also be very easy to do, just buy a few nails and hammer them in :).

Hi everyone!

I haven't actually seen the kids around over the last week or so. Someone has very kindly fixed the front block garden door so that it locks now. I only noticed when I went to measure the door up for the replacement bit that I was trying to find. So thank you to whoever it was, I am sure that this will help make the place a bit more secure and also remove the motivation for the kid to climb over the fence.

So the doors are fine for the moment I believe. We just need to be vigilant and make sure that doors lock behind us.

I did see the broken bannister in the front block. It looks like the nuts were removed from the wall fittings. The special fixing bolts used seem to have fallen inside the wall cavity so some new fixings are likely to be needed. However I have passed through the front block this week and seen that the bannister has disappeared. I don't know where it has gone? Anyone?

Now that the door has been fixed I guess the kid won't be climbing over as much if he can't get into the building or pass though to Langsett Road. It might settle down a bit now. If we were going to use some sort of deterrant I think the anti-climb paint is probably the best option. It would be messy to get over the fence and difficult for anyone to remove. We have to be very careful not to do anything that could injure anyone (even though they are trespassing!) as I guess we would be liable? A £7.50 tin of paint should do it. A good coating on the top and outside of the fence should make climbing it a less positive thing for people. Warning stickers are legally required when using the stuff from what I can see online. These stickers only cost a few pounds though.

I am happy to collect cash for the work to be carried out. Simon, could you check that the quotation price of £15 is still correct for the work involved. Now that the door has been fixed (thanks again!) that is one thing that is no longer needed. Perhaps we could review the list of work to be done and we'll take it from there?

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed... Simon has started a new section of the forum for the antisocial behaviour. Please take a few minutes to have a read and make suggestions.

Thanks for your time!

Charlie

Hi Charlie - me & Damien fixed the lock last Saturday & it seems to holding well.

We have also moved the bannister into the meter cupboard on the front block as 1. it made the entrance look shabby & 2. while the lock was broken it could have potentially been stolen or used to cause damage.

We have some of the screws but i think some of these were also taken when the bannister came off the wall. These screws & bolts are quite expensive to replace from what ive seen in B&Q (approx £18 for 5).

Hi Kate,

Thanks to both you and Damien for taking care of the door. You did a good solid job. Thanks for moving the bannister too, it was a really good idea to move it out of the way.

Has anyone seen the kids around over the weekend? I have been out of town for a few days and wondered if anyone had seen him/them climbing into the garden lately?

Hi All,

Not seen the kids lately, which is a relief.

Hopefully won't have much trouble again with them, but would be nice to implement something to stop it been a problem again in future.

Hi everyone,

The kids are still about. I bumped into them as they parked in the car park on Monday evening. They were parking a dark blue oldish Astra (P reg I think) in the next space over from the Portaloo. They look pretty young to me and so I'm not sure if they are driving legally?

I then also saw them at about 8am on Tuesday morning as I went to leave the building. They were smoking weed as they got some Xbox games from the maintenance cupboard at the bottom of the stairs on the car park side. It looks like they are hiding stuff in the cupboard somewhere.

As I left this morning at 8am there was no sign of them but the car was parked in the car park again (closest space to the left hand side of the car park entrance wall).

Any thoughts about this?

Hi All

I noticed the weed smell also. The hallway is being re-painted on Friday and the carpet going back down next week so at least all should be back to normal on that front.

I have another incident to report with the kids/youths from last night. They turned up in the old greenish coloured car last night at around 10pm and played very loud music that I could hear inside my flat until around 11pm when it stopped, i could't really see how many of them there were but was at least 3 of them. After the music stopped i heard a loud bang shortly after 11pm and they were letting fireworks off in the middle of cuthbert bank road until around 11:30pm, which isn't very good when you have been on earlies all week and trying to sleep. They then went back in the car and started with the music again, although it wasn't as loud this time. I thought I heard the car leave at around 12ish although I was woken up again at 3:50am with loud shouting, it didn't last long but it was as though they were arguing with each other. When I left for work early this morning the car had gone.

I would imagine that at least one of them lives in the flats as they seem to be able to gain access into the apartment block, so I am not sure that we can do anything about that.

Has any one got any ideas? Social Services may be as I dont think they are very old but old enough to drive a car? Is there anything we can do?

Fortunately I did not see any damage that had been done so I guess that's the only positive point.

Any thoughts welcome.

Cheers,

Steve - you have the key for the meter cupboard for your side dont you? Now the carpet has been put down should be able to lock it.
We were away last week so didn't hear/see anything

Kate, I have the key for the water meter cupbards in the back block with all the stop taps in. I have tried it in the electrcity meter cupboard and it didn't work, I did think that the one key might have worked on them all but apparently not :-( Sorry.

I saw signs of the cupboard being used to store a few things again this morning as I left at about 8am. There was a small pile of CDs/DVDs in the cupboard but I didn't see the kids around.

I wonder who has the key for that cupboard? I'm not sure if I have ever seen it locked in the past. I'm not quite sure how easy it is to change the locks on the door. It probably isn't very difficult to replace the existing locks completely. Locks seem to be about £20-£30 all in all.

I have a quick side question. Do we know who actually pays for the lighting, heating and water costs for the communal areas of the building?

I think changing the locks on the electricity cupboard door sounds like a good idea and Abi has mentioned this would be a good idea as well.

Easiest thing to do would be to take out the current lock and take it to somewhere like Harold & Sons on Shalesmoor and ask for a suitable replacement.

I don't think anyone is probably paying at the moment for the communal utilities.

does anyone know what the incident was on the 10th - got that policy questionnaire under my door last night?

I called the Police earlier today and they wouldn't give me any real information. I did find out that the incident was at the Cuthbert Bank flats instead of in our building though. I don't remember hearing or seeing anything on the 10th unusual from the other flats at all.

Hi All

I was wondering exactly the same thing! Don't know of anything - so maybe it was the other flats?! But how were the notes tucked into our doors, surely they would just be in the post boxes?!

If the lock is only going to be about £20-£30 im happy to contribute to having i replaced