Managing a £250k repair scheme for a communal water tower

Project History

A Water Tower at a 160 unit development, needed extensive refurbishment works, with the repairs scheme quoted at £250,000. Most owners in the development didn’t know they had to pay a share of the repairs for this Tower, at £545 per owner.

The task for Newton and the committee was to get 160 owners to agree to the payment to ensure the tower would be maintained for a generation to come.

Most factors would insist the money was paid in full, in advance, into a separate account, before instructing the works. Newton realised this was likely to delay works indefinitely, significantly affecting owners selling power in the interim.

The Result

Newton rearranged our billing process ensuring owners would only be billed each quarter for 8 months with 1/6th instalments.

This was a resounding success and a predictable way for the project to start on time, balancing all the factors involved, giving consideration to owners affordability, but ensuring the works went ahead timeously. We received 80% of payments and Newton underwrote the remaining balance of £50,000 to help the owners get it instructed promptly.

Newton would then recoup the £50,000 when solicitors released retentions held for the tower being completed or any owners that insisted on paying it all in one go on completion.

The result, is a development that will be safe for a future generation, clarity for the sales market at the development and avoiding a higher financial hit for the owners.