Author: Andy Martin

CHAIRMAN’S NEWSLETTER – NOVEMBER 2020

Posted on by Andy Martin

We hope you are staying safe and well. 2020 has been a testing time for everyone as St Mellion is currently in its second lock down – with no golf permitted.

As there is a new management team in place at St. Mellion and we wanted to update you on how the Timeshare operation is being managed.

Howard Jones, the Managing Director of St Mellion has overall responsibility for everything that involves the St Mellion property and development. He reports directly to the Australian parent company and is not involved with the Crown Golf operation.

Iain Wylie is the new Head of Destination, responsible for all aspects of day to day operations and involved in the development of the property. He has effectively replaced Mark Webster who resigned in September.

The new Finance Manager is Hanna Garraghan, recently recruited. Your Committee is delighted that St Mellion now has full autonomy over its own finances, rather than relying on the systems and people at Crown Golf head office. She faces a huge task in bringing together the accounting and reporting of the business so that it provides regular reliable financial information.

We are pleased to let you know that Steve Moss will be able to spend most of his time on the Timeshare operation and his knowledge of the people and the history will help the new management team understand the issues.

Your Committee has been concerned that in recent months the level and timeliness of communications with St Mellion on Timeshare matters has been well below the standard experienced in the past, some of which can be attributed to the impact of COVID 19.

The planning application passed in the early part of this year is going to be radically amended and most of the changes are in line with the Committees thinking and objections to the original scheme. Obviously, the impact of the two lockdowns has driven St Mellion to concentrate on delivering those aspects of the scheme which are sustainable and cost effective.

Iain Wylie has made it clear that he does not see Timeshare as a key element to the overall St Mellion business now and expects it to continue to decline in this regard. Nevertheless St Mellion has to honour the terms of the Lease.

We have had to defer the usual Annual Meeting until the first quarter of 2021 to make sure we offer Owners the right opportunity to ask questions and hopefully, be present in person. The Statutory Accounts for the company managing the Timeshare funds are not yet available so we expect these to be ready for distribution in the New Year

We hope that you can spend Christmas as you would wish and enjoy a better 2021 than 2020.!

Andy Martin
Chairman,
St Mellion Time Owners Committee
www.smtoa.co.uk

Iain Wylie
Head of Destination,
St. Mellion
i.wylie@st-mellion.co.uk

ST MELLION TIMESHARE OWNERS COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 2020.

Posted on by Andy Martin

Dear Owner,

ANNUAL MEETING

As you are probably aware the Association holds a formal meeting annually with four prime functions.

  1. To elect a committee.
  2. To adopt the Statutory Accounts for St Mellion Property Management Limited.
  3. Present the annual reports of the Chairman and the Resort General Manager.
  4. Take questions from Owners.

This year the traditional format will not be possible because of current government restrictions on social activity. Your current Committee will meet its obligations under the terms of the lease and its Constitution as far as possible but without breaching current legislation.

To achieve this objective, we propose the following course of action.

  1. Issue this Newsletter to invite you to participate by
    a) Standing for the Committee – we will have 2 vacancies
    from this November.
    b) Voting for the new Committee
    c) Raising questions for the Committee and the Resort General Manager
    to respond to by post or e mail to me.
  2. St Mellion have a duty to provide Statutory Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020. In the past it has not always been possible for St Mellion to meet that obligation and that may be the situation this year. If it is not possible, we will request that every Owner is circulated with that information later.
  3. The Committee will hold a zoom meeting with the Resort General Manager in mid November and raise the issues outlined in the questions and comments you send to me. The Minutes of that meeting will be circulated to all Owners.

Your Committee.

The Committee works hard to represent the views of Owners to St Mellion management. Since March this has had to be by way of zoom meetings. I would encourage you to stand for the Committee, which will have 2 vacancies.  The two key criteria for being a member are  

  • A love for St Mellion and the way in which the venue and lodges are managed.
  • A willingness to challenge and feedback to St Mellion management.

The role is voluntary, but expenses are reimbursed if travel, accommodation, or associated costs are incurred for attending meetings.  There are usually 4 or 5 meetings a year, mainly held at St Mellion. It is very important that St Mellion management have the feedback and views of Owners and your Committee is an advisory body which has a long history in proposing and achieving change.                                                   

I would urge you consider standing for the Committee and submit your interest by 15th October 2020. If you would like to find out more about the role, I and all the Committee members are very willing to chat with you by e mail or phone so please register, if you have not already, on our website www.smtoa.co.uk where you can make contact.

Regards.

Andy Martin

Chairman
St Mellion Timeshare Owners Association

Update on your stay – 28th July 2020

Posted on by Andy Martin
UPDATE ON ST MELLION TIMESHARE OPERATION

Pre-Arrival.

You may or may not get the usual confirmation letter a few weeks before arrival. John Boardman, SMTOA Secretary, stayed at St Mellion Week 29 and provided the following update for owners planning to go.

Lodge Items Withdrawn
1.         Only a few tumblers, small glasses and wine glasses remain, the
            decanter etc are withdrawn.
2.         Canteen of cutlery is withdrawn.
3.         Flower vase(s) -withdrawn
4.         Limited tea towels available
5.         Limited dishcloths available.
6.         Table mats withdrawn – No tablecloths or serviettes.
7.         Drinks coasters are withdrawn.
8.         Tin foil is withdrawn.
9.         Cling film is withdraw.
10         No ice trays .
11.        No barbeques.
12.        No washing up bowls.
13.        No iron or ironing board
14.        No hairdryer
15.        No board games  

If you ask St Mellion, some of these items MAY be supplied before your arrival. Sarah Moss the housekeeper’s  phone number is 01579 352069 so she can be contacted for any requirements. Please note she does not work on Wednesdays.  

Other items
1.         There is cleaning sanitiser but no hand sanitiser.
2.         No recycling (as far as we know)
3.         No change of sheets, towels or other house cleaning DURING the
            week.
4.         No newspaper service.
We have found a very reliable paper shop in Callington, called
“PaperPhil” his contact details are 07980 296003 and his small
colourful shop is on Fore Street, on the corner leading up to the
B and M store ( formerly the Co-op).

He took our week’s vouchers on the day of arrival and has
impeccably delivered our 2 Daily Telegraphs every morning to
the Lodge – before 7.30 am at a cost of 50p per day delivery charge.
His service was very reliable.

5.         The Feedback  and Electricity Meter reading form are temporarily
            suspended.  

Resort and Golf.
1.  Masks to be worn anywhere in the main building.
2.   After the fire in the pro shop, the golf shop has been relocated to the
      room on the left of main reception. Golf check in can be done at the
      window to the left of the main reception. Buggies are available for the
      people in the same “bubble”.
3.   Tee offs are every 8 minutes and the courses are very busy.
4.    St Mellion web site has details of spa and other leisure activities
       available.
5.    Dining service and limited takeaway food are available.  

Natalie Maynard is helping run the Timeshare operation, especially “lost weeks” and arrivals. She works 3 days per week- Tuesday – Thursday, one of which, usually Wednesday, she works from home. Contact by email stmellion-timeshare@crown-golf.co.uk

Enjoy your stay

Update from St Mellion 24th June 2020

Posted on by Andy Martin

Hello Andy,

I hope you are well, and enjoying the weather again!

We will be opening timeshare for arrivals on 4th July, following the government announcement yesterday.

Would you be able to contact the owners to let them all know??  It would be much appreciated!

I will be emailing all 4th July arrivals in the next 24 hours, but want everyone aware if possible.

One point to note – we will need additional time to ensure lodges are cleansed to a high level, so I will need to put Saturday arrival / check-in to be 5pm for now.  Checkout as normal 10am.

Once I have a larger housekeeping team I may be able to bring this back to 4pm, but need to operate with safety in mind first.

Could you also ask anyone from April up to now who has not re-arranged their weeks to contact stmellion-timeshare@crown-golf.co.uk and Natalie will start to discuss with them from next week.

Many thanks for your help!

Mark  

Mark Webster
RESORT HOTEL MANAGER

 T: +44 (0) 1579 352 066

ST MELLION ESTATE
St Mellion, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6SD 

www.st-mellion.co.uk  Twitter  Facebook

 

COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER – JUNE 2020

Posted on by Andy Martin

COVID 19

Like every other business in the UK, St Mellion Estate have had to make some difficult decisions in recent weeks. The hospitality sector has been hard hit and holidays have been precluded. At the same time, Crown Golf has been going through a major reorganisation, more details of which are set out below. Mark Webster, the Hotel Manager has been working to complete these changes, and also reorganise the weeks lost to Owners because of the lock down.

However, we recognised in our video conference meeting on Thursday 11th June, that there is currently insufficient communication with Owners on a range of topics and moving forward we will continue to have monthly meeting with Mark to work to improve this, and keep our members updated.

St. Mellion Estate are following government advice very closely and hoping to reopen facilities from 4th July, as provisionally announced by the Government.  The currently fully open golf courses will be supplemented by the Pro-shop and Golf Driving Range both opening on Monday 15th June, as well as some takeaway food options.

Lost Weeks

Many of you will have had contact with St. Mellion to rearrange your spring and early summer weeks but this has not happened during early June due to the restructure of Crown Golf. St Mellion are now more able to deal with these issues and so you are encouraged to contact Mark Webster in the first instance at stmellion-hotelmanager@crown-golf.co.uk

As the lock down gets longer, finding suitable weeks for Owners in 2020 and early 2021 gets more difficult. However, if you have paid your annual maintenance charge and are not offered a suitable week before 1 April 2021, we will look into what we can do. Mark and the Committee are still working on the format and wording of this offer with the next meeting on 23rd July 2020 to finalise this.

St Mellion Reorganisation

The good news is that from 1 July 2020, St Mellion Estate becomes a standalone entity, with the management team reporting directly to Bangarra Group in Australia.  There will be no direct involvement with Crown Golf at Pine Ridge.  

Howard Jones, Managing Director, will lead the management team, with self-governance and oversight, supplemented by a new Head of Finance,  Neil McLoud.  A dedicated Timeshare Administrative Assistant, Natalie Maynard, has already been recruited, to offer much improved and timely access to key information, especially financial information.  Stephen Moss, currently on furlough, will still have involvement with Owners, however his main focus will be on hotel and lodge improvements when he returns.

You may be aware that your Committee has for many years been frustrated by a lack of transparency. The new management team are promising more co-operation, involvement and consultation with the Committee.

Property Development

Planning permission has been granted for the first phase of the Estate redevelopment.  It will not go ahead in the original format, following a comprehensive review by Managing Director, Howard Jones, and the senior management team of the Estate.

Some key changes will be:

  1. Phase 1 will involve the building of 27 new lodges (maximum)
    in the timeshare village.  Built between Lodge 10 and the disused show-home.
  2. The plan to build on land behind Lodges 1-5 have been abandoned- it was discovered that a mains sewer runs under that land!
  3. The site of the new children activity centre will move, to be near the hotel main entrance, to support existing facilities, well away from the Timeshare lodges.  There will still be some children’s facilities, such as climbing frame, etc.
  4. The tennis courts will not be developed.
  5. The hotel bedrooms are to be refurbished this year, followed by a comprehensive redevelopment of the whole hotel.
  6. The idea of a wedding barn to be built between the 9th and 18th fairways on the Kernow have been abandoned. A spa, with treatment rooms and wet experience rooms, such as hammam, laconium, aromatic steam, ice cave, etc, will be built over this winter, offering further services to the Estate.

Timeshare Owners Website www.smtoa.co.uk

All timeshare owner news will be published on this website and if you could use the contact facilities on the website to let us know of any communication issues so that we can continue the improvements.

We urge any timeshare owner to register if they have not already as going forward, we will be sending emails with updates and news.

We welcome feedback to continue to improve our Timeshare Village so please make contact so this can be raised at the regular meetings with St Mellion to ensure we have a facility we all want, for years to come.

Finally, I hope you and your families are well and keeping safe. We look forward to meeting you again at St Mellion where we can enjoy the wonderful facility we all love.

Andy                                    Mark
Andy Martin                       Mark Webster
Chairman                            Hotel Manager
SMTOA                                 St Mellion Estate
https://smtoa.co.uk/contact-us/     stmellion-hotelmanager@crown-golf.co.uk

SMTOA Planning Objection

Posted on by Andy Martin
SMTOA Planning objection – Final VersionDownload

Crown Golf have submitted Phase 1 (detailed) & Phase 2 (Outlined) planning applications which will completely change the Timeshare Owners Village.

Please put your individual comments in.
The link to the Planning application is below
Put the postcode PL12 6SD in the search and you will find the application
When registering on the Cornwall Planning website, put PL12 6SD as your postcode otherwise it will not accept your comments

Please act now as comments needed to be in by 29th January 2020 however I think they will be accepted until 14th February 2020 which is 21 days after the final planning notice was published in the Cornish Newspaper.

http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application