Author: Andy Martin

Minutes of Part 2 of the Committee meeting held at 12 00 on Tuesday 20^th February 2024 via Microsoft Teams

Present 
Committee members: 
Andy Martin (AM) Chairman 
Colin Rayson (CR) 
Peter Barnes (PB)
John Dalglish (JD) Apologies

Crown Golf and St Mellion Management: 
Paul Stephens (PS) Crown Golf Director
Robbie Smith (RS) Finance Director 
Nick Lawson(NL) Resort Director
Kirstine Hitchcock (KH) Operations Manager 
Stephanie Latham (SL) Time Share administrator
Thierry Delsol (TD) Crown Golf Director – Apologies

Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 9^th January were agreed and approved.

Purpose of This Meeting.
To introduce Nick Lawson as the new Resort Director. (N L)
To update the Committee on the progress with the consolidation of the Time Share lodges, and discusswhat still needs to be completed. (S L) Had sent out the latest occupancy grid for everybody to look at prior to this meeting.
St Mellion to confirm the fee increase for the 2024/2025 year.
Prepare for the Annual Meeting which will be held on Friday 22^nd March 2024  11am at St Mellion.

Introductions
Nick Lawson (N L) introduced himself to the committee. Following travelling the world, playing tennis, Nick said that he then moved into the hospitality industry where he has been ever since. Working for large hotels in London, and also for companies like Virgin Active. He has been the Resort Director for Woodbury Park Hotel and Golf Club near Exeter for the last four years and lives in the Exeter area.

Update on the Fee increase for 2024/2025.
(S L) The RPI figure to be used for the 2024/2025 fee increase  is 4.90%, this is the RPI figure for January 2024. The invoices will be ready to be sent out soon from St Mellion and are for the year starting 1^st April 2024, the invoices are due to be paid within 14 days of the 1^st April. 

(P S) At the last committee meeting held in January we agreed to defer the 10 year review as not all of the information needed has been available to make the decision. The 10 year review will therefore now be delayed for 1 year to take effect from April 2025. We will need to send this information to all Time Owners when sending out the invoices.

(S L) and (R S) there was a discussion on the practicality of sending the Fee invoice and the note explaining the deferral of the 10 year review at the same time. (S L) and (R S) will work together to check and confirm that the system will be able to deal with sending these two pieces of information together at the same time.
Action – (S L) and (R S) to make sure that the Time Owners have the Fee invoice and the information about deferred 10 year review at the same time.

Update on debtors, occupancy grid and non-movers.

(K H) At this time we still have six debtors, it was seven but we have been able to agree with one owner that St Mellion will take their lodge back. (K H) and (S L) are working hard together to resolve this outstanding situation.
(P S) We are not keen on taking legal action at this time to chase debtors and if we are unable to contact the owners or they do not communicate with us then we can just take back their lodge. If we got to this position after trying everything within our power we would not expect any problems from the debtor but if they then did  respond we could deal with it if it happens.

(S L) With the consolidation process we have three non-movers 
(A M) L35 will be sorted by the end of the week.
(K H) There are 10 existing Time Owners lodgeswith only 126 owners, so lots of vacant weeks. The plan with the consolidation process was to reduce the number of lodges to make the remaining Time Owners lodges after consolidation more viable. 
Lodge 6 has only 5 weeks occupied and all of these owners are considering their options and we should be able to vacate this lodge next year.
Lodge 8 has only 4 Time Owner weeks on the chart, 1 week is a debtor, 2 weeks are owned by somebody who did not sign the original Deed of Variation.
Lodge 9 has no Time Owners.
Lodge 35 has only 3 weeks of Time Owners, week 8 considering options, week 10 is shown as occupied and week 39 is a debtor.
The occupancy chart also shows that lodge 17,week32, and lodge 18, week 24 are allocated to Time Owners even though these lodges are owned by the hotel.

(S L) I can’t make any decisions about the owner in lodge 8 who did not sign the original Deed of Variation and has indicated that they want to remain in their lodge.

(A M) Last year when we started this consolidation process we were trying to reduce the number of lodges to 6 

(R S) I think that we can go down to 7 lodges but we will still need to look at the figures and the implications for the Time Owners and also St Mellion.

(A M) When we reviewed the need for consolidation last year the committee worked out that potentially the allocation of 6 lodges would potentially be the best option. 

(P S) We will need to check all of the financial information so that we all know what the implications are for the Time Owners and also St Mellion. 

(C R) At a meeting last year the committee were presented with financial figures showing the implications if the number of Time Owners weeks were reduced to 5 and also 7. The figures for 5 lodges showed that the remaining Time Owners lodges would be financially viable  but if we retained 7 lodges we would lose money and therefore not be financially viable. As a committee we had already agreed to aim for 6 lodges and so at that meeting we requested that the financial person produced the figures for retaining 6 lodges.    

Action – (R S) Review all of the financial information and implications around the consolidation down to 6 lodges.

(K H) Said that they had achieved a good result,getting the consolidation process to where it is nowwhich was now much clearer. (S L) agreed that a lot of work had gone into contacting Time owners and consolidating as many weeks as possible.

(A M) Stated that bringing all of the informationabout Time Share up to date was a good job well done.

Materials required for the Annual Meeting and who will attend.

(A M) The meeting on the 22^nd March is an Annual Meeting and not a AGM, It has always been an Annual Meeting and several retired committee members have always been very insistent that it is called an Annual Meeting. 

(S L) When we send out the notification about the Annual Meeting we need to confirm the members of the committee, Chair, Secretary and members of the committee.

(A M) Please can we ensure that the IT is working properly as we had some problems last year. (K H)yes we will ensure that everything is working correctly and also have microphones available. Also our IT person will be available if we do have any problems.

(S L) We have a new claim form for Committee members to claim their travel expenses, I will send everybody a copy.

(A M) I will be chairing the meeting, please can you tell us who will be coming to represent St Mellion?

(P S) Thierry Delsol Crown Golf Director, Nick Lawson St Mellion Resort Director, KirstineHitchcock Operations Manager St Mellion and Stephanie Latham Time Share Administrator will be there for St Mellion.

(A M) Do we have any up to date information on how many owners have signed the Deed of Variation (DOV) as this is an area that over the years that there has never been any clear information on. (K H) We have 126 owners and 73 have signed the Deed of Variation. (C R) Based on those figures it would appear that there are 53 owners who have not signed the Deed of Variation. In the past I was always told that by me not signing the Deed of Variation I was in the minority but it would appear that is not the case based on these figures.
(S L) Explained the Deed of Variation exit strategy available for owners at this time and said that is an£250 exit fee.

Date of Next Meeting which will be the Annual Meeting.  
The Annual Meeting will be held at St Mellion on Friday 22^nd March 2024. 
St Mellion will be sending information and invitations to all of the Time Owners so that they will be able to join the meeting using Microsoft Teams.

Colin Rayson (Committee  Member)

32^nd Annual Meeting: St Mellion Estate, Friday 22^nd March 2024 at 11.00am. Attendance either in person or via Microsoft Teams (link below)

This is your link

Meeting ID: 333 123 033 185
Passcode: E7X8hZ

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Opening Comments – Andy Martin, Chairman

2. Apologies for Absence

3. Minutes of the 31^st Annual Meeting

4. Matters Arising

5. Chairman’s Report – Andy Martin, Chairman

6. Statutory Accounts of SMPM Ltd

7. St Mellion Management Report to also Include the Occupancy Grid and 10 Year Financial Review 2024/2025 – Nick Lawson, Resort Director and Thierry Delsol, Director

8. Election of Committee

9. Questions and Answers -Please see Note 1 below.

10. Any Other Business

11. Closing Remarks

Note 1

Please notify the Secretary, John Dalglish, if you wish to:

❖ Participate in the meeting either via Teams or in person.

❖ Send Questions for the Meeting.

❖ Stand for Election.

❖ Send Apologies for Absence.

By email to John Dalglish, Secretary, SMTOA

Email Address: jcd99@hotmail.co.uk

Closing date for all of the above Friday 15^th March 2024

Minutes of Part 2 of the Committee meeting held at 1100 on Tuesday 9 January 2024, via Zoom

Present

Committee members:

Andy Martin (AM) Chairman

John Dalglish (JD) Secretary

Colin Rayson (CR)

Peter Barnes (PB)

Crown Golf and St Mellion Management:

Paul Stephens (PS)

Thierry Delsol (TD)

Robbie Smith (RS) Finance Director

Matthew Pressman (MP) Resort Director

Kirstine Hitchcock (KH) Operations Manager

Stephanie Latham (SL) Time Share administrator 

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The last meeting had been held on 27 June 2023. The minutes had been approved by email after the meeting. Actions 1 and 3 from the meeting had been overtaken by events and would be addressed at this meeting.

Purpose of This Meeting

An agenda had been sent out by PS prior to the meeting, along with copies of the Crown Golf group structure, draft statutory accounts for the year ending 31 March 2023, management accounts for the period ending November 2023 and the latest version of the time share occupancy grid.

The committee would review the documents and for clarification of any data, where required. Principal aims of the meeting were to discuss the consolidation process and strategy for time share owners, who do not wish to move lodge or week, also to agree the way forward for the delayed 10-year Review.

After some initial IT glitches, the meeting convened with all participants at 1115. 

Introductions

The Time Share committee members briefly introduced themselves, explaining their links to St Mellion as time share owners. 

• AM – chairman, owner for 28 years along with family members.

• JD – secretary to the committee, owner for 7 years but has relinquished membership from end of March 2024.

• CR – owner for 36 years, with intention to pass on lodge ownership to family members.

• PB – retired GP, owner for 20 years.

AM explained that the committee numbers had declined recently from 6 to 4, coincidental with the large reduction in time share members. The committee constitution states that there should be 6 members but 4 is now considered appropriate, with a minimum of 3 in attendance for quorum purposes.

The new Crown Golf personnel introduced themselves.

• TD – has worked in golf and leisure industry for 30 years. Set up a company with PS called Aravis Leisure, which is an advisory and management company, specialising in the Wellness and Golf industry.

• PS – has worked with TD for many years. See above.

• RS – having worked on the accounts at Crown Golf for many years, took over as Finance Director after predecessor Andrew Merritt left in September 2023. Intention is now for St Mellion finances to be fully integrated into the company structure.

• MP, KH and SL are all known to the committee. SL was welcomed back from her recent period of maternity leave.

• MP is due to leave post at the end of January 2024. A recruitment process is ongoing.

Corporate Structure

PS added some flesh to the outline corporate structure provided to the committee before the meeting (see email with att.). The Bennelong Foundation comprises 3 parts, of which Broadbat Pty Ltd is the key player as far as St Mellion is concerned. Broadbat owns all of Crown Golf Ltd, consisting of all 9 golf clubs in the UK owned by Crown Golf. Within the structure the property company grants a lease to the operating company to run the business. In the case of St Mellion an additional entity is St Mellion Property Management Ltd.

TD and PS are both directors of Crown Golf, together with Chris Marshall, who is a Non-Executive Director. TD makes regular visits to St Mellion, usually monthly. TD explained that there will be times when he and PS will need to consult Jeff Chapman in Australia on certain decision making. Jeff Chapman is one of 6 members of the foundation board and is the dominant personality in the board room. The long term aim of the foundation is to realise its assets and distribute them to charity.

St Mellion is the top-ranking golf course within the Crown Golf portfolio. The owners and directors appreciate it has been through a turbulent time since Covid-19 and it is still not profitable. There are more positive signs recently but it is costly to run, e.g. the site uses more energy than the rest of the golf clubs put together.

Accounts

RS stated his intention to file the accounts within a week, as they are already late. In response to a couple of questions, RS clarified that the item described as Other Debtors on P6 under 2023 related to VAT and Corporation Tax due and pre-payment of business rates. On P7 the discrepancy between the amounts accrued under the heading of Turnover in relation to Time share buyout income is explained by virtue of the fact that 2023 was a break year in the scheme, where owners had the option to surrender their leases at no or minimal cost.

Finally, RS confirmed that the heading of wages in the statutory accounts is synonymous with the heading of salaries in the P&L presentation.

It was agreed that the statutory accounts and up to date P&L for current year should be sent to time share owners in February along with the calling notice for the next Annual Meeting.

Lodge Occupancy Grid

AM: Projected loss for current year is about £21k. At last meeting we had agreed that retention of 7 lodges was not viable, 5 would be too tight to accommodate majority wishes and 6 should be feasible – subject to a financial examination. This has not been confirmed, however, by management. MP acknowledged that the business was aiming for 6 lodges as a solution and that is the working assumption for KH. AM added that we want to be on a stable footing with the consolidation process complete for next year and handing surplus lodges back to the hotel. There are 9 identified non-movers.

After some discussion regarding viability of asking people (again) to move lodges to enable principle of 6 lodges to be realised, the meeting recognised, as affirmed by MP and KH, that we are left with 9 non-movers, despite numerous attempts to persuade owners to accept alternatives without disadvantage to themselves. The peak summer weeks are the main stumbling block, especially Weeks 30-33. 

CR gave the meeting some background to the reason why he had not signed the Deed of Variation set up in 2018. There was some distrust of the then Crown Golf management team handling the issue, also there was no discernible benefit to CR and family. CR would be willing to reconsider in the future, depending on the conditions – too many negatives at the time. 

AM considers there could be deals to be made with owners. TD accepts it will take something to unlock the current impasse, some compromise. So far St Mellion have tried persuasion with owners but not made any “offers”. AM urged everyone to think about this before our next meeting.

On the subject of non-responders, KH will ask SL to contact them by telephone, once she is back up to speed.

On the subject of debtors, AM expressed the view that non-payers should hand back their leases. MP said that St Mellion, on legal advice, cannot simply kick out debtors. They would have to be taken to court.TD suggested that they use the small claims process, supported by PS, whose experience in such instances is that people do not usually respond and the judge invariably rules in favour of the plaintiff. In his view we should press ahead with this initiative. All agreed with CR that we should not ignore these debts and should seek to recover the monies, or leases.

KH explained that the previous Finance Director had a full list of offenders, which he had sent to the company’s solicitor. KH has access to this list and can re-send if required. PS confirmed that St Mellion would initiate this process via their solicitor.

10-year Review

JD read out the relevant paragraph from the last minutes for the benefit of the meeting. Bottom line is that the review is inextricably linked to the issue of consolidation, as it will impact on the scheme’s finances.

There was much discussion about the future viability of the scheme and what a new 10-year review should aim to achieve. The following key points emerged:-

• Numbers have declined in past few years from over 900 to the accepted “hard core” current total of 124; last year was an exit year, which saw numbers reduce from 258 to 124; this figure should remain set (KH)

• It is not yet clear what number is palatable to ensure the scheme remains viable in the future (MP and others)

• The last 10-year review was not implemented in full, viz. refurbishment programme (AM); of necessity, recent history has been more about maintenance than improvements, for which there has been no spare funds (RS and MP)

• Owners expect to pay an annual fee increase linked to RPI but including a programme of scheduled improvements (CR)

• Under the Deed of Variation, 5-year break options were introduced, when members could exit the scheme for a fee of 3 x the annual maintenance fee of their lodge (JD)

• A number of debts were historically written off and a significant portion of the revenue from initial sales under the Deed of Variation scheme, expected to be allocated to the St Mellion Time Share Owners’ account, were not accrued to the account – a substantial sum – exacerbating the shortfall of funds available for a refurbishment programme (Secretary’s note)

TD agreed that the scheme need to be made more viable but considered a solution by the end of March this year unlikely. A good compromise would be to set an RPI-linked increase for next year and create a plan for the following 10 years. In effect, deferring the 10-year Review by one year (RS). This would give time to work out a refurbishment budget for the lodges.

AM thought this to be a good compromise and suggested asking owners for suggestions for future improvements. KH reminded the meeting that invoices need to be sent by mid-March, as owners should have 21 days’ notice to pay their fees (SL). Payment needs to be made by owners before first lot of owners arrive in April to take up their weeks (KH). CR agreed that this move made sense.

Action: TD and PS to put the proposal to board members in Australia, to defer the 10-review by one year and issue invoices for 2024-25 with a fee increase predicated on the annual RPI figure as per the time share lease. Subject to green light, St Mellion will communicate decision to owners.

Date of Next Meeting and Annual Meeting

The date of the next meeting will be 20 February 2024 at 1100.

Action: St Mellion to issue invitation to all for Zoom  meeting.

The date of the next Annual Meeting will be Friday 22 March 2024, to be held at St Mellion. Detail for the meeting will be agreed at the meeting on 20 February. AM asked that the technology be enabled so that members can join the Annual Meeting via video conferencing means.

John Dalglish )Secretary)

Dear Timeshare Owners,

We hope that this communication finds you all well.

Since the annual meeting at the end of March this year and the intentions subsequently made clear by owners regarding future occupancy after the break year option, your committee and St Mellion management have been discussing ways to ensure the viability of the timeshare scheme at St Mellion.

As you know timeshare ownership has steadily declined over the last few years. To give you some context in 2021 there were 370 owners, dropping to 258 owners in 2022. In 2023 there is a break year option, with many Owners’ opting to surrender their lodges, the number of remaining Timeshare Owners stands at 131 from the 1st April 2024.

After updating the committee, workable solutions were discussed to ensure the longevity of timeshare. After analyzing the occupancy grid for 2024/2025 It is not feasible to maintain 10 lodges divided by 131 owners.

The committee proposed the following timeshare owned lodges are retained as part of the consolidation process, 1 through 5 and 7, these lodges have the highest occupancy throughout the year. Lodges 6,8,9 and 35 to be returned to the hotel. It has been agreed that owners currently occupying Lodges 9 and 35 will continue to pay their annual maintenance fee based on a 1-bed lodge.

With consolidation agreed as the only viable option. Your support is invaluable at this crucial time. All of us have worked incredibly hard to limit the impact, maximizing the benefits for all. This will mean a handful of timeshare owners will need to change weeks, but everyone will be in a similar or larger lodge at no extra cost.

For those owners affected by the proposed changes a representative from St Mellion will contact them directly to discuss options available to them.

Please find attached St Mellion Property Management Lodge Consolidation Forecast up to 2026, the projected outlook is based on retaining 5, 6 and 7 Lodges. The occupancy grid is a visual representation of remaining timeshare owners and current placements. 

Yours sincerely, 

Matt Pressman Resort Director 

Andy Martin Chairman of SMTOA

Minutes of Part 2 of the Committee meeting held at 1000 on Tuesday 27 June 2023, via Microsoft Teams

Present

Committee members:

Andy Martin (AM) Chairman

John Dalglish (JD) Secretary

Colin Rayson (CR)

Peter Barnes (PB)

St Mellion Management:

Matthew Pressman (MP) Resort Director

Kirstine Hitchcock (KH) Operations Manager

Andrew Merritt (AMe) Finance Director, Crown Golf

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The previous committee meeting had been held on 17 February 2023; the minutes had been approved out of committee, prior to the Annual Meeting, held at St Mellion on 24 March 2023. 

Purpose of This Meeting

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss proposals for consolidation of lodges, following the 5-year Exit Option deadline at the end of April, also to discuss a way forward for carrying out the required 10-year Review.

Consolidation Proposals

KH had provided the committee with an updated occupancy grid, detailing owners’ intentions. The key figures to note were 66 confirmed as staying, 64 leaving in 2022, 25 leaving in 2023, 13 debtors and 87 No Replies. A number of No Reply owners have changed that status to staying, which means that there are currently approx. 120 owners confirmed as staying (Kirstine – could you please confirm current exact number please).

AM kicked off the session by explaining that the committee had done some analysis of the data and proposed retaining 6 lodges, 1-5 and 7, handing back 6, 8 ,9 and 35 to the hotel. Would that be viable? AMe reported that his recent analysis showed that 5 lodges was the viable number and showed a chart on screen, detailing that analysis. He undertook to assess the viability of a scheme comprising 6 lodges. AM commented that the committee considered 5 lodges would be a bit of a stretch. AMe added that another factor in determining affordability would be the price set for the initial maintenance fee following the 10-year Review. In response to a question about the cost of electricity to the scheme, AMe explained that electricity has to be used throughout the year, even in vacant lodges.

10-year Review

This is inextricably linked to the issue of consolidation, as it will impact on the scheme’s finances. It was agreed that the review should be completed by October, before the absolute deadline of December, also that it would be handled jointly between the Time Share committee and St Mellion. 

AMe advised that he had been in contact with the debt collectors, who would be sending letters to the outstanding 13 debtors. The leases need to be returned to St Mellion before the affected lodge weeks can be marketed again. Again, short term leases were discussed as an attractive option, something the committee has suggested before.

MP asked about the funding of refurbishments, if there was no money left over. AM replied that we should build this into the scheme, adding 10% as contingency. CR believed this sort of contingency had been applied before.

AM stated that we need a general communication to all owners with our agreed consolidation proposals, to seek their agreement. We should outline the scenario and stress the need for flexibility to ensure the long-term future and viability of Time Share at St Mellion. MP considers that this communication would be best received coming from the committee; in his experience St Mellion management have had issues in corresponding with owners. AM responded that we should do something jointly, since the St Mellion team represent the resort and management, whilst the committee is an advisory body only.Everyone agreed that the message to owners should be positive, noting that the outcome of the 10-year Review could have a negative impact financially.

CR emphasised that any owners being asked to move their week(s) should be offered an alternative within a similar time frame. On the face of it, this should be feasible, from an initial look at the figures. CR added that we should involve lodge owners early and the sooner we start the process, the better. Also, once we know which owners are directly affected, we should follow up the email with direct contact. Nor should we give owners too long a time to respond to the consolidation email. It was agreed that owners should be asked to respond by the end of August.

As a footnote to the meeting, MP informed the meeting that Greg Thomas, CEO, had left Crown Golf. He was the link to the Australian owner. No identity yet as to his replacement.

Actions Agreed:

1. St Mellion management to draft an email outlining the proposed consolidation plan, seeking cooperation from owners where required for a change of lodge and/or weeks. Text to be agreed with committee in order to be issued by end of July, with responses from owners required by the end of August.

2. JD to produce a summary of the committee’s review of the occupancy data, highlighting areas of conflict, e.g. where the number of future weeks exceeds the number of lodges available. By end of June.  Secretary’s Note: see email of 29 June from JD. Action complete.

3. St Mellion to propose dates for carrying out the 10-year Review. By end of July.

St Mellion Time Share Owners’ Association

Minutes of the 31^st Annual Meeting held at St Mellion resort at 1100 on Friday 24 March 2023, also via Microsoft Teams

Present

Committee members:

Andy Martin (AM) Chairman

John Dalglish (JD) Secretary

Joyce Bloom (JB)

Colin Rayson (CR)

Sarah Yardley (SY)

St Mellion Management:

Matthew Pressman (MP) Resort Director

Kirstine Hitchcock (KH) Operations Manager

Andrew Merritt (AMe) Finance Director, Crown Golf – attending via MS Teams

Time Owners Attending in Person:

Jenny Martin

Louise Dalglish

Lynn Rayson

Roger Bloom

Tony Laurillard

Rob Blake

Peter Barnes

Bobbie Yardley

Roger Edwards

Venus Ortega

Mr and Mrs A Beer

Time Owners Attending via MS Teams:

Michael Luntley

John Pounsford – unable to connect

Apologies for Absence:

Alan Dick

Alan Mace

John Jones

Pat and Mike Heritage

Ian and Paula Wheeler

John Boardman 

Agenda Items 1 – 3

The Chairman opened the meeting, welcoming all those able to attend either in person or ‘virtually’. The full list of attendees and apologies for absence are recorded in the minutes.

Agenda Item 4 – Matter Arising

There were 2 outstanding items from last year’s Annual Meeting, concerning Leases and Debtors, both falling to the Resort Director. The issue around leases and any changes that should be made to them following any changes of ownership (note: the original leases were specific to lodges and relevant weeks) has been something of a minefield for St Mellion, according to MP, who added that it is St Mellion’s responsibility to resolve and it is still in progress.

As for debtors, the action has in effect been overtaken by events, since St Mellion have now hired the services of a debt collection agency on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis to recover bad debts.

The minutes were then signed by the Chairman.

Agenda Item 5 – Chairman’s Report

AM presented his report to the meeting and a copy is attached to the draft minutes.

Agenda Item 6 – Statutory Accounts of SMPM Ltd

There was only one question regarding the accounts. Roger Edwards asked if the figure at page 13 of £41,318 (other debtors) reflected fees unpaid by some owners – AMe confirmed that this was the case.

Agenda Item 7 – St Mellion Management Report, Occupancy Grid and 10-Year Financial Review

MP outlined the challenges facing Time Share over the coming months. The 2 big questions on collectiveminds are the future of the scheme and how to make the reduced numbers work. Although Time Share is not formally part of the Resort Director’s remit, MP acknowledges a way has to be found to enable it to continue in agreement with owners, despite the decline in owner numbers over the past couple of years.

MP explained that St Mellion Estate had received an investment of £2m over the past 18 months – approx. £1.5m had been spent on improving hotel accommodation, including hotel-owned lodges, with the remaining £500k being used to improve the spa facilities. 

On the subject of the 10-Year Review, which must be completed by 31 December 2023, this year is a break year in Time Share, so future numbers for the next 5 years will become known later in the year. The new baseline will take effect from 2024.

KH introduced the topic of the Occupancy Grid (latest version was provided with documents for the Annual Meeting). This generated some discussion. JB pointed out that a challenge will be to persuade owners to move (potentially) from the more expensive weeks (weeks 22-36) to a cheaper week – in terms of original purchase price. CR suggested that re-marketing of some weeks could bring in new business, as had been discussed previously at meetings between the committee and St Mellionmanagement. Similarly, JB had proposed the idea of short-term leases of 3 or 5 years, payable with a lump sum and aiming at a specific market. MP noted these suggestions but added that this would be part of the review conversation.

Agenda Item 8 – Election of Committee

AM and CR having served on the committee for over 3 years each, were up for re-election, as per the constitution. JB proposed that they be re-elected, seconded by Jenny Martin. Both were reappointed. 

Peter Barnes has put himself forward for membership of the committee. Peter addressed the meeting to explain briefly his background. He was unanimously elected by attendees.

Agenda Item 9 – Questions and Answers from Owners

Several questions were sent to the secretary before the meeting and answered by St Mellion. Please refer to the documents issued prior to the meeting.

Future plans for Time Share at St Mellion was a question posed by several owners, both through questions submitted before and at the meeting. The Resort Director explained that Covid had severely affected planning; development costs have doubled and lodge purchase costs increased by 40%. The domestic market for holidaying in the UK has also declined recently, as more people are travelling abroad again. St Mellion have still got planning permission for the 27 lodges to be built near the existing lodges; that permission expires in May, so some cleaning up of the area around the lodges will be carried out shortly in order to protect the planning permission. The hotel cottages are doing well at peak times.

On the issue of exchange through Time Share platforms (see question from Alan Mace), KH explained that next year’s fees could not yet be determined, because they were dependent on the outcome of the pending 10-Year Review.

Rob Blake (Lodge 6 Week 2) raised a couple of issues. Firstly, Maintenance. He had noticed a few slates missing from his lodge roof, initially in 2021 and these had not been attended to. MP replied that this should not have been left unattended, there were no problems in engaging roofers to fix such an issue and the resort would see that repairs were carried out. In this context, all owners are encouraged to report any defects, or missing items, to St Mellion reception staff as soon as possible.

Secondly, Electricity Bills. Rob Blake recounted his experience before Christmas, when he received a bill for £450 for a few days’ stay. KH and MP explained that St Mellion had been out of contract for the supply of electricity at the time of Mr Blake’s stay. A refund of £320 was paid when a contract was in place and backdated. Everyone had been charged the same emergency rate during the period when the resort was out of contract. The new contract is at a competitive rate of 21 pence per Kwh. 

A related question concerned the valid functionalityof the electricity meters in the lodges. KH assured the meeting that all meters were subject to an annual electrical PAT (Portable Appliance Test). Any meter irregularities would be looked at by St Mellion. KH agreed to have the meter in Lodge 6 checked.

Action: St Mellion

Post Meeting Note

The Secretary asked the Operations Manager to compare electricity bills over the period in question. KH reviewed several owners’ bills (all of which had been subject to refunds, like Rob Blake’s in Lodge 6) and the ratio was similar – e.g. one owner incurred a bill of £900 over 2 weeks, reduced by a refund of £669; another had a bill of £370, with a refund of £264. The majority of users received bills, after refunds, of between £80 and £140 per week. Consumption will of course depend on individual usage.

Separately SY has pointed out that a PAT will not determine the accuracy of a meter, which is correct. However, the above evidence suggests that the meters are consistent with each other. KH agreed also during our phone call to ask Steve Moss, on his return after Easter, to check with the electricians if anything untoward has been observed with the meters. No concerns have been raised. Any independent testing of meter accuracy would have to be arranged with the utility provider and the Office for Products and Services, a government body.

Action: St Mellion to check status of meters

Agenda Item 10 – AOB

As noted in the Chairman’s report, AM thanked Joyce Bloom for her significant contribution to the committee, having served on it for a total period of 12 years, the last 9 consecutively. A presentation was made to Joyce, who thanked everyone and expressed her fondness for St Mellion, having enjoyed 37 years of vacations at the resort in 7 time share weeks.

It was agreed that the committee should meet in early May, after future numbers of time share weeks will be known at the end of April. 

Action: Secretary

Post Meeting Note

The Operations Manager (KH) has provided the table below, which lists corresponding time share week numbers to arrival dates. There have been a few recent enquiries regarding arrival dates, so the attached information is provided for clarity.

Agenda Item 11 – Closure of Meeting

The meeting was formally closed at around 1210.

John Dalglish

Secretary

Appendix A

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT to ANNUAL MEETING

ST. MELLION TIME OWNERS COMMITTEE

Conducted face to face at St Mellion Estate and via Microsoft Teams 

Friday 24th March 2023 at 11am
                                                                                               

Last year was about getting back to the new norm following the pandemic with staycations still proving popular and working from home becoming part of the working week.

The objective of the timeshare owners Association is to represent the interests of the Owners as a whole. The Association is managed by the Committee, it makes decisions that are  appropriate and consistent with the Constitution, the Leases and its objective.

With this in mind since my last report in April 2022, the major change has been the reduction in timeshare owners from 289 to 145 timeshare weeks in the last year which means our Association has halved. Matt Pressman St Mellion’s Resort Director will go through the occupancy grid later in the meeting but we feel a further consolidation will be necessary after
the latest exit opportunity this year. Your committee has met with St Mellion management four times during the year and on each occasion our main focus has been sustainability plus continuance of Timeshares but inevitably some compromises will have to be made.

We continue to get reassurance that St Mellion wants the scheme to work and with the 10 year review due this year, that is an opportunity to set down the future vision, with a timetable, to ensure the continued viability of the scheme. More on this later from Matt

As reported last year St Mellion has invested with the newly refurbished Hotel Lodges and the recent upgrade of the swimming changing rooms. Timeshares continue to be good value and as St Mellion continues to invest in the facilities they provide an ideal place for a staycation.

The next stage, as part of the 10 year review, is to see how timeshares can be marketed to bring new owners in and make the scheme viable. I am confident this can be achieved and your committee will work closely with Matt and the management team to see this is done.

Committee Changes 

As Chairman I would like to thank all the hard work of your committee during the last 12 months and especially Joyce Bloom who is leaving at this Annual Meeting. Joyce was on the original Committee in the early 1990’s for 3 years then the whole Committee resigned ….. I am sure Joyce will let you know the story around this. Elected again in 2014 until now so she has served in total 12 years which will be the longest serving committee member. Roger, her husband served 6 years so in total the Bloom’s have served 18 years on the committee. 

There is nothing Joyce doesn’t know about St Mellion and she has been invaluable in keeping all the archive information for reference.                         

I have pleasure in presenting a small gift to Joyce in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the committee and wish her and Roger further enjoyment in the next life adventures.

Therefore, we now have a vacancy on the committee so if anyone is interested in finding out more, please speak to me or John Dalglish and we will go through what’s involved.

Finally, I can confidently say St Mellion is now stronger with the investment that has been made and the committee look forward to working with Matt and the management team during the 10 year review to make Timeshares equally as strong.


Andy Martin Chairman,
St Mellion Time Owners Committee
4 Green Farm Close Castor Peterborough Cambs PE5 7BE 

andy.martin@btinternet.com