A Dundee community is celebrating after successfully ditching factors it regards as unwanted and overpriced.
Residents of Panmurefield Village, off Arbroath Road, successfully challenged property management firm Ross & Liddell, which has now agreed to give up its maintenance of the area’s common ground.
Contractors have been instructed to stop work with immediate effect making householders there “extremely chuffed.”
David Reid (42), who lives on the new-build estate with his wife Valerie and daughter Kacey, said the victory could inspire other residents who find themselves in a similar position.
He claims the area’s 71 householders were paying a total of up to £8000 for management of the open spaces near their homes.
“We are extremely chuffed and have proven a point that we can’t be bullied,” he said. “There are lots of others going through this in Dundee so I’d say to them ‘don’t back down and keep a brave face on it and if you approach it in the right way then you can beat them’.”
Mr Reid this month won a civil case brought by the property firm after he refused to pay maintenance fees. The court found that Ross & Liddell had no contract to act as factors.
“They had said that they were going to be sending sheriff officers to force us to pay their fees,” Mr Reid said. “There are older couples in the area who were terrified and were paying it out of fear and it just shouldn’t be like that.”OppositionA new Panmurefield Residents’ Association was established, and when a majority of its members registered their opposition to the current arrangements, Ross & Liddell was forced to give up its management role.
Now, the association has awarded the management contract to Dundee Contract Services for a fraction of the former cost.
Mr Reid added, “The council will take on the contract everything that Ross and Liddell said they were doing for much, much less.
“That works out at just under £20 each per year for each house. That’s a far cry from the £80 or £120 that we were paying before.”
A spokesman for Ross & Liddell said, “Ross & Liddell no longer provide common ground maintenance services within Panmurefield Village. However we continue to take legal advice to determine our next step following the ruling on July 8.”
A spokesman for Dundee Contract Services confirmed it would be taking over management of “small common areas adjacent to properties in Panmurefield Village.”
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user SMercury98.