Category: <span>H3: Taylor Wimpey</span>

Dear members,

Dargavel Village Residents Association was established in March 2015 when there were relatively few properties occupied within the entire site. The committee consists of resident volunteers, all of whom have day jobs and fit this commitment into their lives. This can be a challenge with everyone leading such busy lives these days however, we have managed to maintain a core of members who regularly attend the quarterly meetings, affording us a level on continuity in our dealings with the local Police, BAE, RMG and Renfrewshire Council.

The association has not been formalised, as we have never managed to achieve the requisite ratio of members to occupied properties however, we are recognised by all of the above mentioned parties and to that end, we are able to provide a voice for the residents to help deliver and shape the development and facilities that are required to be delivered by BAE under the Planning Conditions for the entire site. These originally included a community centre, school, health centre, playing fields and village centre to name but a few however, these are reviewed and amended by BAE/Renfrewshire Council Planning Dept. throughout the lifetime of the project.

Dargavel Village is steadily growing in size and we are now at a stage where we need to review the committee membership to ensure that we have representation from all of the parcels across the development. To that end and as required within the property deeds for all of us, RMG are in the process of arranging individual Annual General Meetings for each parcel in the next few months. The format and agenda for these meetings has not yet been finalised but we are working with RMG to ensure that there is opportunity for each parcel to put forward 2 or 3 representatives, who will then go on to serve on the committee going forward. Once completed, this process will ensure that the RA committee will be able to represent the majority views of the residents and continue to work with the stakeholders to create a village that we are all proud to live in.

On another matter, there have been some posts across social media recently, highlighting concerns around the billing for both the parcels and the estate as a whole. All residents should have received information from their house builder when purchasing their property, along with information from RMG directly. There is also a fair amount of information on RMG’s website. RMG are however, aware that some residents are not clear on exactly what the charges are for and how these bills are reconciled annually therefore, they are currently looking at options on how to make these bills more transparent and will be in touch with you shortly to advise further. With regards to the forthcoming committee meetings, these are not open meetings as it would not be possible to have everyone in the room, nor do we have the time for everyone to have the chance to be heard. We would therefore request that you make contact through the website and we will take your views forward, until such times as we revise the committee membership.

Through working with BAE and RMG, we have achieved much in the 3 years we have been operating and with the next phase of the development of the association and the committee, we plan to continue to strengthen that relationship for the benefit of our community.

Kind regards

Dargavel Residents Association