The eState
The Courtlands Estate is spread out over 10 acres. There are 11 residential buildings plus 6 lodges. There is a 3-storey car park and garages at both ends of the estate. Approximately half the buildings were built in the 1930s and the other half in the 1960s. The Estate borders on Richmond Park and offers easy access to the Park and a variation of walks with coffee stops and restaurants and wild deer roaming freely.
The Richmond town centre is a 10-15 minutes walk. The Richmond Station offers both underground and overground trains in various directions as well as a good bus service linking up Kew Gardens; Putney; Kingston etc. A large Sainsbury shop and North Sheen railway station are about a 10 minute walk down Manor Road. The Estate is in close proximity to both nursery and Primary school (e.g. Marshgate, Sheen Mount, Holy Trinity); and Secondary schools (e.g. Christ School).
The Estate is managed by Courtlands Estate (Richmond) Ltd, a private company that owns the freehold of the Estate. A Board of ten Directors is appointed by the shareholders (in accordance with the company’s Articles of Association) to manage the estate on their behalf.
The Estate has an on-site office which is open from 8 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday and employs two caretakers as well as full-time gardeners who maintain the estate, the lawns, and the lake area.
Limited parking is available on the Estate and residents are provided with Parking Permits. The heating is from communal boiler rooms and is turned on at the beginning of April and turned off at the beginning of October, in line with the Lease regulations.
Parking and Garages
Parking on Courtlands Estate circular road is open parking and available to residents on a first-come basis. Resident Parking permits are issued annually and obtained from the Estate Office around December/January of each year.
Each resident is also annually issued with 2 Visitor Parking permits that give visitors access to parking on the Estate Monday to Sunday from 8am to 06h30 pm.
An independent parking company (CPM) monitor the parking and any transgressions may be liable to fines.
In addition to the above, there is an overflow carpark off Queens Road and 3 sets of garages. One is at the Queens Road-side of the Estate, one at the Kings Gate side of the Estate and a multi-storey car park situated on the Estate.
The lease for these garages stipulates that garages are purely for the housing of a motor vehicle and not for storage of goods.
Only leaseholders may own a garage and only Estate residents may rent garages.
Any contractors visiting flats to carry out work will need a Contractors Parking Permit. These can by arranged with the Estate Office and collected by either the resident or contractor.
All parking permits need to be clearly displayed on the dashboard or windscreen of the motor vehicle.
Courtlands Estate has Parking Rules which are shared with each new leaseholder and tenant upon their arrival at the Estate when they move in an visit the Estate Office to collect their Welcome Pack.
Heating
Courtlands Estate has 4 boiler rooms supplying communal heating and hot water. In terms of the lease, the heating is switched off on 1st May and turned back on 1st October each year.
The 1930’s blocks (Arundel House, Buckingham House, Marlborough House, Kent House, Norfolk House and Runnymede House) all receive their hot water from the communal boiler rooms. The 1960’s blocks (Osborne House, Gloucester House, Carisbrooke House, York House, Sandringham House) all have their own individual immersion boilers in their flats.
The Estate has a maintenance contract with a company who maintains the boiler rooms and all the heating supply equipment to the various buildings.
Most of the heating repairs take place during the summer months when the heating has been turned off. This is due to the fact that, no ‘drain down’ from any boiler room is necessary in order to carry out repair work on various valves or radiators in the individual flats.
Leaseholders are requested to contact the Estate Office regarding any repairs to heating systems eg radiators as they can be referred to the heating maintenance company and heating repairs can be quoted and carried out with the least disruption to the other flats on the Estate.
Recycling
The Estate Office supports food recycling and there are Food Recycling bins at each side of the Estate, with the recycling bins.
Residents have to provide their own food recycling bags and bins. However, they can contact the Office who can check if there is any stock left that was supplied by Richmond Council when the recycling was initiated.
The paper and glass recycling bins are at the Sheen Road garages and Queens Road overflow carpark. There are also additional public recycling bins outside of Courtlands Estate on Queens Road.
Residents are requested to please break up boxes and fold them flat. This considerate behaviour will allow more residents to be able to use the recycling bins which are emptied by the Council once a week. Residents are asked to please read the signs on the various bins and only place items in those bins as per the designated signs. If the incorrect recycling is placed in bins then these bins will not be emptied by the Council until such time as the recycling is sorted out by the Estate.
Refuse bins are provided in bin stores in each of the 1960’s blocks. These bins are only for refuse and not for recycling. These bins are emptied once a week by the Council. Flats in the 1930’s buildings are each provided with a refuse bin outside their back door. The cleaners removed ONE black refuse bag from outside the kitchen door on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am and a fresh bag is given to the resident. Any additional refuse bags are for the resident to remove.
The paddock area is in the centre of the Estate. Unfortunately, the acoustics here are similar to an arena and sound carries and can be disturbing to the residents in flats bordering this grassy area and resident using this area are requested to be mindful of the noise factor. There is a Wollemi tree in the paddock. This tree dates back to plants in the dinosaur times.