Woodilee Residents Association are appealing for NEW members. Our Annual General Meeting is due to be held in late September and we are now inviting nominations for committee positions.
Working together to achieve our common goals is more important than ever and we want more of our residents to get involved with the Association to help build an even better community in Woodilee. We need people to volunteer their time and skills to help make that happen.
As a group of volunteers, the WRA act in the best interest of our community, working together on behalf of the 860+ households and residents living in Woodilee and influencing decisions in the best interests of the whole estate. Without the WRA we (the residents) will lose our ability to take direct action on, and influence the outcome of, the issues of most concern across our community. The right to instruct work on behalf of residents will then fall to the discretion of our factor, without the need for a vote, up to a value of £5000. A percentage of homeowners then need to lodge their objections to overturn any decisions taken. Works of a higher value would be presented to all homeowners to review and then a percentage of homeowners would need to vote in favour before any works could be actioned. Due to the number of returns required this would result in the need for additional management, administration, and time to allow for the process to be implemented and would impact resolution timescales considerably. It is therefore imperative that we have new members join the committee who can take an active role in the Association’s business to prevent the RA from folding and ensure the issues we raise are managed appropriately. The current committee have seen a drastic reduction in members in recent months, due to changes in peoples’ working and personal commitments, and others moving out of the area. We also recognise the need to increase our committee membership to ensure all areas of Woodilee are fairly represented and to improve communications and maximise the efficiency of the group. Whilst the RA represents Woodilee residents, regrettably this does not include those residing in the Oxgangs area of Woodilee, located in the Cala 2 Phase, due to them having a separate Deed of Conditions and therefore not being eligible to hold a committee position or vote on any RA matters. However, all residents are welcome and encouraged to highlight issues and attend meetings.
There is a lot to be managed across the estate and working with factors, community councils, our local council, fellow residents, and contractors to address the issues raised is the only way to see improvements take shape. We need to build relations and take actions to effect results. There are no promises all issues will, or can, be fixed, but if we all work together, we can make Woodilee an even better place to live!
About the Village
The Woodilee estate covers an impressive 73 hectares, extending from the railway line at the southern boundary, up to Woodilee Road to the west, running north alongside the Old Aisle cemetery and the Oxgangs residential area then extending to Fauldhead to the east. The site consists of substantial woodland areas, forming part of the Oxgang Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), with a section of the Bothlin Burn running through the estate from south to north before joining the River Luggie. We have three play areas, a woodland trim trail, a basketball court, a MUGA (Multi Use Games Arena, the ‘courts’ or ‘pitches’), a Bridle Path running along the southern boundary, a network of pathways and several staircases. There are also large areas of common grounds throughout the development as well as a considerable number of factored areas within each developer phase. Every homeowner within Woodilee shares ownership of all these common grounds, from the woodlands to the bridle path, and from the parks to the open grass areas.
As a result of both the size and scale of our estate, Woodilee has a range of complex management needs that are not typical of the type of property factoring seen in most modern housing developments, where communal grounds generally consist of amenity grass areas, shrub beds, and a limited selection of play equipment.
The extensive communal grounds, including the developer phase areas, are currently maintained through a factoring service provided by RMG Scotland and our site representative is Melissa Syme. The contract for the majority of grounds maintenance is currently held by Root One West, who have one to two teams on site at least once per week throughout the year, to implement a schedule of regular works managed on a rotational basis across the entire site. The general ground maintenance tasks include, but are not limited to, grass cutting, pathway border and fence back strimming, shrub control and bed maintenance, weed management, emptying of non-municipal bins, litter picking, redistribution of fallen leaves to woodland ground layer, and replacement of wood chippings in play parks. Root One West also undertake repair, remedial and other ad hoc grounds maintenance requirements as requested, such as the repair and reinstatement of common grounds to original finish where resident, vehicle tyre, or utility services damage has occurred. Additional contractors are brought in for specialist tasks as and when required, following consultation with qualified personnel and an appropriate tendering process.
About the Association
The Woodilee Residents Association committee act collectively to represent the residents of our community on matters of local significance, to ensure the common grounds are responsibly managed, and to promote the interests and well-being of people living in Woodilee. All committee roles are now open for election, and the WRA are seeking three office bearers in the positions of Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. No less than three members must be appointed to form the basis of the committee with additional positions available as appropriate. The Association have previously appointed additional positions of Vice-Chair, Events Co-ordinator, Community Liaison (to represent the WRA at local community council meetings in Lenzie and Waterside), and IT Support (looking after the website, emails and social media channels), along with a number of Ordinary Members (who oversee the activities of the committee ) and Phase Representatives (named contacts who represent and liaise with the residents of each specific phase, e.g. Charles Church, Springfield, Miller, Cala etc, to report issues to the committee). Only one individual from each qualifying household may take a position on the committee, and all previous committee members may put themselves forward for re-election.
All residents may nominate individuals or volunteer themselves for any such committee positions, provided the nominees are homeowners currently living in Woodilee. Nominations for office bearing positions (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) will require a seconder, who must also be a current homeowner living in Woodilee and not of the same household as the nominee.
If you are interested in helping achieve more for our community by taking a role in the committee please email a note of your interest, specifying the office bearer position or committee role you wish to be considered for, including your name, address and contact number, to contact@woodilee.org.uk. Nominations for office bearer positions should also include a note of the Seconder’s name and address. All nominations must be submitted no later than SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2020.
AGM
A notice of the AGM will be issued by RMG Scotland, who manage the administration of this meeting on our behalf as part of their management duties. Nominations will be collated and shared ahead of the AGM. Residents will be invited to attend the meeting in person/online (as current guidance permits) or to return a proxy vote in their absence (one per household). The AGM will include a report from the outgoing Chair, a report from Melissa Syme of RMG Scotland, and the committee elections. All contested positions will go to a vote where a majority decision will be upheld. Residents who wish to raise an item for consideration by the newly elected committee at their subsequent meetings can do so by submitting an appropriately completed Motion Submission Form, available on the WRA web site.
Further information:
DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
The officers of the Association have a duty to further the aims of the Association, the purpose of which is to implement the terms of the Deed of Conditions and preserve the amenity of the development.
The Chair shall guide the meetings and interactions of the Association and its committee. If the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair, or in the event of there being no VC another Committee member, will take over.
The Treasurer shall review and assess the Woodilee accounts held by the estate factor, requesting details of income and expenditure, and management fees paid and outstanding (debt). The Treasurer will also report on the accounts as required by the committee, at General Meetings. The accounts should be available for inspection by any member of the Association.
The Secretary is responsible for arranging meetings and giving the relevant notice to members. The Secretary shall ensure that a proper record is kept of all meetings of the Association and its committee in the form of minutes and make them available as required by the committee. A register of members’ names and addresses will also be kept by the Secretary.
A member appointed to represent the Association in discussions or communication with any other body (including the media) shall act on the instructions of the committee and shall report back to the following committee meeting or General Meeting, whichever is the sooner. No member of the Association will speak on behalf of the Association without the prior approval of the committee or members.
MEETINGS
An Annual General Meeting is called once per year, at which time elections of new Association Committee members takes place. The AGM is open to all members and to all those eligible for membership. General Meetings of the Association are held on a quarterly basis (at least three per year) and are open to all committee members. At each General Meeting, the Committee report on the progress of all activities relevant to the Woodilee estate and consideration given for new matters raised. The estate factor is also invited to provide a progress report to update the committee on their management of resident issues and the maintenance of common grounds. Decisions taken at the General Meetings are binding on the committee and reached by a majority vote of the members present. The Committee may call additional meetings of its appointed members as required throughout the year.