In the early hours of Easter Monday (28 March 2016), Storm Katie hit the South Coast. Winds of over 100 mph were recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight. Unfortunately, one of the most devastating effects of the storm at Royal Clarence Yard was the partial destruction of the roof of the Malthouse Apartments. A large section of the roof ended up in the Courtyard car-park between the Malthouse, Chandlers and Salthouse apartments. Several cars were damaged. Thankfully, no-one was hurt.
As the storm continued to rage, several residents in the Malthouse found that water was leaking through their ceilings. The worst affected were the central apartments on the top floor but as the rainwater found its way through the building along common pipes, several other apartments were affected. Some residents, whose apartments had become uninhabitable, left and took refuge with relatives or in hotels.
Over the next few days the Managing Agents, HML Andertons, worked with the landlord (Berkeley Homes) and the Buildings Insurers to make the building water-tight again and to clear up the debris. They are also working with the owners of the affected apartments and the owners of the damaged cars.
By Friday 1st April, a temporary fix was applied to the roof of the Malthouse which appears to be preventing further water ingress. The debris was removed from the Courtyard car park a few days later. The internal communal electrics were tested and found to be safe.
HMLA has advised that the next steps will be to erect scaffolding around the Malthouse, with a ‘top hat’ while the roof is repaired.
HMLA intends to call a meeting of Malthouse leaseholders in April/May.
Other buildings at Royal Clarence Yard also experienced some storm damage and it appears that some apartments have lost or reduced TV coverage. All issues reported to HMLA are being dealt with as quickly as possible.
Latest information from HMLA:
8 April 2016, from Gareth Brown, HMLA Associate Director (who had visited the site during the week):
There was a report concern of water still getting in and this was being investigated and the appropriate action will be taken.
The building surveyor and Maria [Maria Bevan, HMLA Senior Property Manager] will be meeting Andy Stevens [Berkeley Homes South Construction Director] within the next week to 10 days to agree scaffolding and tendering of the replacement roof. Once the specification for the scaffolding and roof have been agreed we will write again to all leaseholders. I will also, as previously stated, call a meeting to talk through the replacement with timing etcetera. Although there will be a tin roof on the scaffolding we would still want to complete the work during the summer period.
15 April 2016, from Maria Bevan, HMLA Senior Property Manager
The surveyor is progressing with the specification for the works and scaffolding. Once the specification is completed, they will go out to tender.
I think they wanted to put the scaffolding up urgently to make the building water tight but as they have put a temporary repair in place, there isn’t the urgency to put the scaffolding up until the works are due to start.
With regards to the internal redecorations these will take a couple of weeks to commence, they will need to wait until the building is dry.
Contact Information: Reporting storm damage: Please e-mail details of the damage to Maria Bevan, Senior Property Manager, HMLA at the relevant Block issues tracker:
Malthouse, Salthouse, Chandlers Apartments & Salters Mews Houses (rcm.phasec@hmlandertons.com)
Flagstaff House & Flagstaff Green Houses (rcm.phaseb@hmlandertons.com)
Granary & Bakery (rcm.phasee@hmlandertons.com)
Galleon Place & Ledwell Court (rcm.phaseh@hmlandertons.com)
HMLA Head office: 01252 320777 HMLA Royal Clarence Yard office (Unit 12 North Meadow): 02392 586366
General Advice:
Residents affected by storm damage are advised to report this to HMLA and to their contents insurers.
Anyone hoping to make a claim is advised to keep a record (and receipts) of any out of pocket expenses directly related to the storm damage.
Residents in rented apartments should inform their landlord and/or letting agent, who will need to liaise with HMLA.
Further updates will be posted on the RCMRA Yahoo Group and on this page as we receive information from HMLA.
Residents Association: info@rcmra.co.uk
