Residents living in one of our managed communities pay an annual charge for the estate and stewardship service that we provide.
These charges vary depending on where you live, and you can find details about how and when to pay charges on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
The annual charge helps to pay for the delivery of our estates and stewardship service, which works to ensure your community retains its look and character in line with the principles of our Design Guides, which have been shaped by residents.
It also contributes to the management and maintenance of public and shared spaces, likes parks and open spaces.
Services that the charge you pay contributes to, include:
- Our grounds maintenance service
- Management and maintenance of public open spaces and shared spaces, under our ownership
- The Estates and Stewardship team and the services that they provide
- Management and maintenance of the IRS (Integrated Reception System) system, where applicable
- Management and maintenance of the SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) in Lawley and Lightmoor Villages
- The ‘Wear and Tear Funds (funds set aside for the replacement of items in the future) in Lawley and Lightmoor Villages
- Legal and administration fees
- Insurance.
You can read details below about the specific areas that we manage and the charges paid.
Birmingham Estate Scheme of Management
If you are buying, or have bought a home, on the Bournville estate it is important that you know if it lies within the boundaries of our Scheme of Management. You can see if it does by looking at our Bournville Scheme of Management map.
The Bournville Estate Scheme of Management was first introduced under Section 19 of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and is designed to help retain the original characteristics of individual homes, the area and the amenities in it.
Residents, whether homeowners, shared owners or tenants, have responsibilities as laid out in the Design Guide and your transfer deed (called aTP1) or tenancy agreement.
In addition to the above there are other areas, outside the Bournville Estate Scheme of Management, where we provide a management service. These areas include Bournville Park and Meadow Rise, where we provide the following services in return for an annual charge:
- Grass and hedge cutting
- Shrub bed maintenance and chemical weed control
- Maintenance of grit bins, street lighting and furniture.
If you would like more information about the Bournville Estate Scheme of Management or areas outside of this, please contact us.
Lawley Village, Telford
The developers of Lawley Village appointed us to manage much of the public open space, preserve the character of the area and encourage a strong community spirit.
Each resident moving into Lawley Village pays an annual community charge, which delivers the estate and stewardship service.
Any unspent funds are either credited to residents or invested in the Village. The community charge does not go towards the construction of the Village, nor is it spent on areas outside of our responsibility.
The community charge is a flat rate and is the same for each property. All householders (owner occupiers, shared owners and tenants) pay the same amount.
The level of the charge is reviewed annually and set by the resident representatives and Trustees on the Lawley Management Committee (LMC).
Some of the items paid for through the community charge are:
- Maintenance of open space, under our ownership
- Running and repair costs of the lighting, under our ownership
- Community events
- Community support structure
- Community communications and literature
- The Wear and Tear Fund (funds set aside for the replacement of items in the future)
- Insurance
- Enforcement of restrictive covenants
- Staffing and office running costs.
Lightmoor Village, Telford
Lightmoor Village is a joint venture development between us and Homes England (HE). When completed (approximately 2025), it will feature over 1,000 homes, including homes for affordable rent that we will manage.
Since the start of the development, we and Homes England continue to work closely together with various developers to deliver housebuilding.
Once complete, Lightmoor will be an entire village and community and already has a number of retail units, a community centre, school, parks and open spaces, and community facilities.
We provide the estate and stewardship service to all residents in Lightmoor Village, which is partially funded through the annual stewardship charge paid by all residents.
Some of the services that we provide in Lightmoor, include:
- Litter-picking
- Grass cutting and strimming
- Hedge pruning
- Weed and moss control
- Leaf blowing and clearance
- Re-filling grit bins
- Emptying waste bins under our ownership.
Estate and stewardship services include:
- Inspections of the estate
- Support and advice on making alterations to your home
- Action on breaches to covenants
- Community development and involvement activities
- A Wear and Tear Fund (funds set aside for the replacement of items in the future).