Chair’s Address AGM 2025

We are now into the seventh year of the Rochester Riverside development. Phases 1,2 and 3 are (mostly) complete. Phase 7 is well underway with a few residents moved in and work will commence on Phases 4,5 and 6 (once Furrell’s Road and Doust Way are open).

The Residents’ Association was formed in May 2023 and the 13^th November 2025 will mark the third annual general meeting. The Residents’ Association has 240 members signed up to the mailing list which is fantastic and there is also the Rochester Riverside Facebook page.

This year the Residents’ Association have:

• Published four quarterly newsletters.
• Held a Christmas and Summer event.
• Amanda and Gerry have been monitoring the planning permission, providing feedback and liaising with the Council to make sure Residents’ views are taken into consideration. This is with regards to the Rochester Riverside development as well as the new development that is being done by a separate builder at Acorn Wharf.
• Been on walk rounds with the gardening contractors to clarify the work that should be undertaken.
• Pushed for the replacement of dead trees and fixing of the pavement in the area outside the Co-op.
• Met with Hyde each month to update and push for resolution on issues like the leaks in Bigg’s Apartments.
• Spoken with Icosa Water about the time it took to fix the leak earlier in Autumn.
• Liaised with the Council regarding the yellow box junction turning right from Gas House Road.

There are still challenges to face and issues to address:

• Ensuring the consistency and transparency of maintenance fees. There still seem to be errors and omissions with regards to the fee estimates and actuals that are provided.
• Ensuring that fees for regular maintenance are planned and a suitable sinking fund is created. This particularly relates to the blocks of flats.
• Parking on the development.
• Theft and post especially for flats.
• Information provided upfront and liaising with residents before work is undertaken (e.g. the dredging of the overflow near Furrell’s Park).

There has been a lot of feedback regarding the maintenance and grounds work company. Groundworks have now been replaced with Pinnacle from October 2025 under the tender process and we do owe it to them to see what they can do. John Healy Contracts Manager with Pinnacle Group Grounds Maintenance team will be doing a walkaround on the 21^st November 2025. Many of the staff from Groundscapes transferred over to Pinnacle following the transition and some have already left as the role under new management proved to be too much work!

We also welcome Mick Scarfe who is the new manager of the Affordable Housing buildings on Cory’s Road taking over from Tom Coveney and he is a welcome addition. He has really pushed to rectify the longstanding roof leak which has been a real problem for the residents of one of the Bigg’s Apartment blocks in particular.

There have been many snags, and a high proportion of residents have had to refer their property issues to the NHBC. The number of leaks has been high and it is unclear whether this is being considered when commencing new phases.

There have been some headwinds:

• The merger/acquisition of Countryside and Vistry in November 2022. This did leave a void in communication, and a lot of enquiries did go without a timely response. Alex Hodge at Vistry is very helpful but there was a long period of time when it was unclear who to contact (Countryside or Vistry) if there was an issue with your build.
• Contractors going out of business.
• The nature of the joint venture between Vistry and Hyde. Once something comes under the remit of the Hyde Estate Management Team for Rochester Riverside, we as residents become responsible for its cost (unless it’s being handed over to the Council). Hyde will want to make sure that the item in question, be it grounds, the crane, the parks etc. are done to plan. This can take some time to work out and rectify however. Similarly with the Council, they will not want to take responsibility of the roads, until they have been finished in line with official regulations.

We are working on a handbook for the development to answer some of the common frequently asked questions. With new residents moving in over the next 5 years there will still be a lot of new people with the same questions that you have likely had regarding parking permits, who is responsible for what, how do the management charges work etc.

In 2026 we will be working on updating the website. Mark from the committee is also liaising with the Rochester Riverside school regarding the use of the building for the community (e.g. Brownies/Scouts etc.) which could be a commercial opportunity for them and help to provide resources for the families and staff.

This is however an association for Residents’ and we will be gathering your ideas about what we can achieve and set some goals for 2026 (forms to be handed out at the AGM and distributed electronically following the meeting).

Everyone on the Residents’ Association committee is a volunteer and are offering their time and knowledge for the benefit of all Residents. I’m so grateful for their help and also grateful for former members of the committee, the wonderful work they have done and the foundations they have laid. We are all building a great community here and I look forward helping this progress in future.

Best Regards

Fiona Price – Former Secretary and acting Chairperson (until a vote is held at the AGM!)

Rochester Riverside Residents’ Association