Following on from our 24th February update News item, it can now be confirmed that the Council's pest control team duly monitored the flat wherein the original cockroach sighting occured, along with each of those flats immediately adjacent.

As expected, after several weeks of monitoring no further evidence of cockroach activity was found in any of the flats monitored, which happily obviates the need for extensive fumigation and ensuing inconvenience to residents.

(Not to mention a saving of £2,400 that Rentokil had wanted to charge for such work.)

It is known that Mainstay was requested several weeks ago to write to all Core 3 & 4 residents informing them that the "all clear" had been given, but - inevitably true to form - they have yet to carry out that instruction...

We are pleased to now be able to report that - after more than five weeks of procrastination on Mainstay's part - they have finally entered into dialogue with R H Seel & Co., our chosen replacement. As a result, transfer arrangements are finally progressing.

Given their inexcusable delay, it was inevitable that the requested April 1st completion date for the transfer of management functions was not likely to be met. However, all sides have now agreed that May 1st is fully achievable and Mainstay is, we understand, now communicating with Seel & Co. accordingly.

The Residents' Management Company board has requested Seel & Co. to write an informatory update letter to all leaseholders just as soon as they are in receipt of the name and address details that Mainstay will be shortly be providing them with...

You might like to know that a copy of the audited 2008/09 service charge statements has today been appended to the Info/ServiceCharges page.

Regular readers will already know that Mainstay invariably fails to produce such accounts in a timely manner, even though they are required to do so contractually, legislatively and by the rules of their very own professional trade organisation.!

(That being ARMA, which Mainstay's Managing Director himself chaired for four years.)

Although these latest financial statements will themselves represent Mainstay's last "official" involvement in the preparation of our annual accounts, leaseholders should be aware that the residents' management company directors will be actively challenging some of the most recent entries and it is likely that further future action may well follow.

More on this soon...

As part of the ongoing preparations toward the imminent transfer of management functions from Mainstay to Seel Co., the registered office of Landmark Place (Management) Limited has now been officially changed from Whittington Hall to Landmark Place itself.

Anyone wishing to serve or send "official" documentation to the company should as of now use that address, the full details of which are given in our Info/Addresses page.

Any "routine" matters - such as service charge payments or queries and insurance claims - should continue to be addressed to Mainstay in Worcester until such time as alternative details are provided to all leaseholders...

It is with some great sadness that we have to announce the sudden and untimely death of Dr Denis D'Auria, a long standing resident of Landmark Place and who will principally be known to most of you through his involvement as both a founder member of the one-time Leaseholders' Management Committee and more latterly as a Director of our very own residents' management company.

Despite the inevitable professional demands heaped on Denis as being an acknowledged leading expert in toxicology, it was to his immense credit that he would still invariably find the time to participate fully in any ongoing Landmark Place matters and for which we all owe him our sincerest gratitude.

He will be greatly missed.