Spring Clean Success!
The annual Grange Manor Spring Clean took place last Saturday, 14th April. Unlike previous years, we were fortunate to have fine weather, and a large number of residents came out to give their support and lend a hand. Gloves and sacks were distributed amongst residents, and more than 20 sacks of rubbish and gravel left over from the winter cold snap were collected. These were removed by Waterford City Council first thing on Monday morning.
Many thanks to Waterford City Council for their cooperation. Also, thanks to those who came out in their numbers to give a hand. It was great to see the event gathering momentum with many families turning up and getting kids involved too. If you didn’t have the opportunity to come along, April is Spring cleaning month, so you can further the good work by keeping your garden and the area around your house tidy and rubbish-free. Many hands indeed make light work.
Annual Maintenance Collection 2011
It's that time of year again and volunteers from the residents' association will soon be knocking on your door to ask for a contribution to the maintenance fund for the estate. The estate is looking very good at the moment and is being very well cared for by the contractor hired to cut the grass. Your contribution to the maintenance fund is essential to help keep the estate looking this way. Without it, we would not be able to hire a contractor to cut the grass and we would be living in a jungle.
We are very lucky, living in Grange Manor, to have so many houses in the estate. This means that we can keep the annual contribution very low, less than a Euro a week per house to keep the estate looking pristine all year round. Our recommended contribution is much lower than that requested in many other estates throughout Waterford City. However, we can only do this if everyone contributes to the fund.
If you are renting your home then don't forget to ask for a receipt from the person collecting the money so that you can give it to your landlord and get a refund. Alternatively, please have your landlord's contact details to hand so that they can be contacted to arrange contribution to the fund.
Everyone on the residents' committee is a volunteer, who gives their time for no reward, so please be aware that they have no personal gain from collecting money. It's all in the interest of keeping our estate looking good. If you want to send a cheque or contact us about the contribution then please e-mail info@grangemanor.org to make arrangements.
Icy Conditions
Winter has hit hard in Grange Manor this week. The hill of Rocwood Drive is causing much trouble for residents getting in and out of the estate and it would be advisable if people could avoid any unnecessary trips via car. The parking situation on Rocwood Drive and Rocwood Walk on Sunday night was somewhat understandable but also quite careless. While people no doubt wish to avoid coming back up the hill in the morning, some residents abandoned cars, partially blocking driveways, and Rocwood Walk had cars parked at either side of its entry - making it rather difficult to gain access should the emergency services have been called to a house in the area. The residents' association would urge people to exercise due caution when choosing a parking space and to remember that people live at the front of the estate too - maneuvering in and out of frozen driveways, with cars parked close either side, is a recipe for an accident.
While the footpaths seem relatively safe there are reports of some very icy areas, mostly in the hilly regions of the estate (Rocwood Drive, Magenta). With the conditions set to continue, according to the forecast, we hope that all residents will stay safe and accident free. Hopefully the council spreader will be around soon to give the estate a helping hand.
The great community spirit can also be seen with residents helping to push each other up the hill. Some people with better grip are driving to the top and walking back to help others less fortunate with traction. Other residents have been chipping away, with shovels, at the ice near speedbumps, to help give the cars that little extra grip going over the bump. If everyone continues to help each other like this, we'll beat these harsh conditions without any trouble! 
Neighbourhood Watch
It has recently been brought to the attention of the Residents' Association that a house in Grange Manor was broken into and a car stolen from the property. This is a terribly traumatic event for anyone to suffer and is very unsettling to say the least.
This is just a note to encourage all residents to be on the lookout for anything suspicious and to double check home security, lock doors and windows when leaving your home. Sadly it doesn't make for comfortable living but this is the world that we are faced with.
If you see anyone acting suspiciously or anything that just doesn't look right then it's better to be safe than sorry. The local Gardaí can be contacted on 051-305300 and we would encourage residents to keep and eye out for each other so that any events like this can be avoided in the future.
Annual Maintenance Collection 2010
It's that time of year again and volunteers from the residents' association will soon be knocking on your door to ask for a contribution to the maintenance fund for the estate. The estate is looking very good at the moment and is being very well cared for by the contractor hired to cut the grass. Your contribution to the maintenance fund is essential to help keep the estate looking this way. Without it, we would not be able to hire a contractor to cut the grass and we would be living in a jungle.
We are very lucky, living in Grange Manor, to have so many houses in the estate. This means that we can keep the annual contribution very low, less than a Euro a week per house to keep the estate looking pristine all year round. Our recommended contribution is much lower than that requested in many other estates throughout Waterford City. However, we can only do this if everyone contributes to the fund.
If you are renting your home then don't forget to ask for a receipt from the person collecting the money so that you can give it to your landlord and get a refund. Alternatively, please have your landlord's contact details to hand so that they can be contacted to arrange contribution to the fund.
Everyone on the residents' committee is a volunteer, who gives their time for no reward, so please be aware that they have no personal gain from collecting money. It's all in the interest of keeping our estate looking good.
Spring Clean Success
Despite the bad weather on Saturday, a number of residents turned up to help out with the Spring Clean. Many refuse sacks were filled with rubbish that had been scattered around the estate. An alarming number of bottles, once containing alcoholic beverages, were also collected. In addition to the rubbish collection, residents also pruned some trees and removed two large broken trees on the green at Rocwood Mews that were obstructing grass cutting and causing the area to look little below par. However, with no less than a 6-man effort with multiple saws, an ill-fated garden spade, 3 levering poles, and lots of sweat, the dead tree stumps were removed and the area has now been restored to former glory.
A huge thanks to everyone who showed up, to help out. We did ourselves, and the estate, very proud. Also a big thanks to An Taisce who supplied the refuse sacks and the gloves to help with the clean-up. Here's hoping that we can keep the estate looking so well for the months ahead.
Magenta Grove – Monday 19th April
Just a quick note to say that the Magenta Grove access road will commence usage on Monday April 19th in accordance with the agreements reached between the residents and the council/architect/developer of the Grange Heights development. Both the City Council and the architect of the build are very keen to maintain an open channel with the residents during this period of development and to nip any potential problems in the bud. Please ensure that you communicate any concerns that you may have to the residents' committee and we can liaise with the architect/council on your behalf to ensure that everything is okay.
Magenta Grove Update
Over the past weeks, both the residents' committee and some residents of Magenta Grove, have been in talks with Waterford City Council and the architect of the development at Grange Heights regarding the temporary road development across the green area at Magenta Grove.
Over a series of meetings where fears of the residents of the estate were conveyed and the resultant problems caused by this development outlined, a deal has been brokered whereby the best outcome is sought for all concerned.
It was outlined at the meetings that the residents of Grange Manor had no desire to delay the development at Grange Heights, nor did they hold any responsibility to the applicants of the development nor the architect of the development.
The following set of agreements has been reached:
1) A set of rules, ensuring strict adherence to health and safety considerations, strict times for trucks to enter the estate, and liaisons with the residents regarding on-going works has been agreed with the council and the representative of the developer.
2) The re-instatement of the green area is set to commence in the week of the 9th July 2010. The residents have been given assurances that this will be done to a high standard and should there be concern or substandard work done, the council have assured a proper reinstatement of the green area will be performed.
3) The licence granted to the developer provides for regular street sweeping to take place, to ensure the cleanliness of the estate roads.
4) A protective fence will be erected, blocking off the temporary roadway, secured so as to prevent toppling and unauthorised access to the site.
5) The proposed fencing will close off the top section of the green completely and the grass beyond will be maintained by the contractor.
6) An agreement was reached that good quality materials would be used to reinstate the green area after the road has served its purpose.
7) An agreement was reached that the current drainage problem, as a result of the road, will be corrected A.S.A.P. after construction is allowed to recommence.
8 ) An agreement was reached that the council will never grant a licence again for such disruption of the green areas in Grange Manor, barring any essential maintenance that would otherwise cause significant disruption to residents, e.g. broken pipes, etc.
9) An agreement was reached that upon reinstatement of the green the council will make a compensatory contribution to the green area, helping to provide some extra trees to restore its beauty and also to help return it to its properly maintained state.
10) An apology for the disruption will be issued to the residents, for not consulting them prior to granting of the licence.
The residents' committee is providing this information to the residents so that as many people as possible are aware of what has happened and that proper representation was made, to ensure that the residents of the estate were acknowledged for their suffering and that a best possible outcome could be achieved for all parties. The residents' committee has to respond to the council by Thursday 15th April 2010, accepting the proposals. If you have a strict objection/concern regarding any of the proposals then please e-mail us on residents_at_grangemanor_dot_org and let us know by Wednesday night, April 14th so that we have time to put them to the council.
2009 and Things to do
2009 is well under way and with Spring fast approaching we all need to make sure that we get on top of the estate management issues. The most pressing matter to tackle is that of keeping the shared grassy areas of the estate cut and not to let them get out of hand. We have been lucky so far with the weather being cold and little growth in the grass. However, the weather is getting warmer now and we need to put in place, a contract with a landscaper to cut the grass on a regular basis. As such members of the resident's committee will soon be doing a door to door collection to gather funds for this important task. We ask all residents to be understanding and that maintenance of the estate is a shared problem that we will all tackle together. If everyone agrees to help out then the cost per home will be very small indeed. Let's keep our estate looking at its best!