29 May 2007 12:00 AM:
Hi to all at Casares del Sol. I have an apartment at Majestic Hills just down the road from you all and I am just back home in Scotland after attending our first AGM 1 year after we, as a community, took over the running of our development. I have read with interest about your continuing problems with your development and would like you to know you are not alone.
I have spent much of my 25 years in business doing all forms of contract landscaping and I thought I would go up and have a look around and maybe give you my views. My experience is with works in a more temperate climate but there are certain requirements for successful landscape works, no matter where you are in the world. The first and most important principle is that you have to create an environment where the plants, including grass, which are not indigenous to the area will survive and flourish. This means covering planted areas with a minimum of 100mm, preferably more, of good quality topsoil, high in organic matter. This sadly has not been done and what is growing around your estate are plants (weeds) capable of surviving in poorer conditions. We have been trying to finish our landscape works on our estate over the last 12 months and this was an issue we resolved at an early stage.
The trees that have been planted with you, are for the moment surviving. A large number have been poorly staked resulting in them growing at various angles to the verticle. More importantly these trees will eventually die as trees have to be tied securely to allow new fibrous root to develop, which will eventually support them. The constant rocking in the wind causes a bowl to form under the root ball which fills with water and rots the roots.
The shrub borders which have been planted up are also into poor soil. The plants will take a long time to establish and are already suffering from competition from weed types which thrive in this type of environment.
I am pleased that you are soon to have your first owners meeting and take over the running of your complex. Your battle then, as it was ours, will be to persuade the developers to give you what was promised in their glossy brochures. I think I read a while ago something about 'top quality apartments nestling in sub- tropical gardens'. This can be a reality but only if the necessary materials are in place to allow the gardens to grow.
We have been fortunate at Majestic Hills to have had a very capable President supported by a committed secretarary and 'money chaser' backed up by a couple of others of us who have seen the project forward over the last year. If I had a pound for every e-mail and phone call we have received from disgruntled residents wanting to sue for this or that, I would be a very wealthy man. These people can write and complain for ever and a day but when it comes to doing something about it they will be found wanting. What you will need are a few un-selfish souls who will give of their time and energy for the greater good. I know we have all paid our money and we should get exactly what we paid for but sometimes this doesn't work out. The decision we came to, to get heavily involved has led us to be very close to getting our dream homes and so far we have not had to ask the community at large for an extra sum to finish. We felt it far more important to work with the developer through his problems and try and get as much as we could before ( I think) he went bust.
The bigger picture is we have all bought homes in an area which is rapidly developing and which we feel in a few years time will be a highly sought after area. Better to work with and finish than spend the next couple of years living in an un-finished complex and trailing everthing through the courts.
I apologise to anyone if you feel it is rude of me to comment on things at your complex. I just wanted you to have knowledge of our experiences and to say that we have been fighting for a long time but are seeing the end in site. I wish you all well in the future.
Community thread:
Landscape issues etc. from an imposter
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