Category: Committee News

Minutes of Part 2 of the Committee meeting held at 11 00 on Tuesday 14th May 2024 via Microsoft Teams

Present Committee members:
Andy Martin (AM) Chairman
Colin Rayson (CR) Secretary
Peter Barnes (PB)
Martin Binns (MB)

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

There was no agenda set for this meeting.
The purpose of this meeting was to update the committee on the progress of the consolidation process of the Time Share lodges. What action has been taken and to discuss where we are and what still needs to be completed following the Annual Meeting held at St Mellion on Friday 22nd March 2024.
(S L) Had emailed out the latest occupancy grid for everyone and also provided a copy of the financial figures for the year ending 31st March 2024.
(AM) Thanked (SL) for the occupancy grid and asked are we now in a position to reduce the existing 10 lodges down to the planned 6 lodges?
(SL) The occupancy grid shows that we have two owners who have been spoken to about consolidation and are considering their options. The lodges involved are Lodge 35 week 10 and Lodge 6 week 32.
(AM) Can we chase up these two owners as it will help us to proceed with the consolidation process. Lodge 6 only has two weeks owned, as we can see one week is considering their options and the other week is a debtor. When we look at Lodge 35 which is week 10 all of the two bedroom lodges that we are proposing to retain, numbers 1 to 5 are vacant for week 10 so I would have thought that this should be an easy move for the owner. However is there a reason that they do not want to move from a one bedroom turret to a two bedroom lodge without any increase to their annual fees?

(SL) I have not been able to get hold of Lodge 35 owners. Week 32 Lodge 6 will be sorted out for next year.
(SL) ACTION
To try to relocate the owners of lodges 6 and 35 as soon as possible to be in a position to return these lodges to the hotel stock and enable the Time Owners to reduce the number of lodges to 6.
(AM) Debtors, This should be a quick process if people are not paying. (KH) Debt is a tricky one to deal with.
(AM) Surely we get to a point where if people are not paying and we can’t contact them then we write off the debt and then move the lodge week back into either Time Share ownership or back into the hotel stock.
(SL) Lodge 8 weeks 32,33 and 34 have said that they still do not want to move. (AM) Can we go from 10 to 7 Lodges now?
(KH) Not at this point but we can go down to 7 Lodges from next year.
(PS) We should not let things stand in our way and try to resolve the outstanding issues as soon as possible, so that we know exactly where we stand with the number of Time Owners lodges and potentially how many lodges will be returning to the hotel stock.
(KH) Time to contact owners.
(PS) As a priority let’s try to get the owners of lodges 6 and 35 to agree to move which will help the consolidation process and will also free up those two lodges.
(SL) I have a plan in place to free up the lodges which it is proposed, will eventually be returned to the hotel. However the owners of the three weeks in lodge 8, weeks 32,33 and 34 have both stated that they want to remain in Lodge 8. One owner who has weeks 32 and 33 and the other owner has week 34, I am still trying to sort this out but the owner of weeks 32 and 33 did not signed a Deed of Variation when the option was first available.
(AM) Will we be able to make the changes to the Time Owners lodges this year?
(KH) No not in this holiday year, it will be in the 2025/2026 holiday year at the earliest.
(AM) What deadline are you working to to try and sort out the debtors?

(KH) I have given everybody the 31st May as a deadline and then I will take it to the next stage.
(AM) Can we get any additional income from the vacant Time Owners weeks in the short term without messing up the consolidation process.
(PS) We could look at the potential to sale vacant weeks in the proposed 6 lodges which it is planned to be the retained long term as owners lodges.
(AM) We need to set processes in place to to ensure that next year we get down to 7 Lodges maximum, preferably the 6 Lodges which has been our target to make the Time Owners section of St Mellion financially viable. If we can get the information as soon as possible we can then audit how we see the financial figures going forward.
(NL) We have started a full review of the urgent work that needs to be done on the Time Owners Lodges. This includes ensuring that all of the lodges meet all relevant health and safety standards, fire safety, what preventative maintainance needs to be done and what if any capital expenditure we need to make on the lodges.
(RS) We have also started the work we need to complete for the ten year review.
(AM) This is what is needed to ensure that the Time Owners lodges are maintained to the standard that owners expect and have been used to in the past, also to ensure that the Time Owners lodges are financially viable for the future.
The St Mellion Property Management Limited (SMPML) Profit and Loss figures for the year ended 31st March 2024 do not look good and are very concerning. This is why we need to complete the consolidation process as soon as possible and also complete the ten year review.
There is still bad debt of £13,439.25 showing on the Profit and Loss account for the end of 2023/2024, this needs to be sorted.
(RS) Debt is not written off, but will be sorted out soon.
(PS) Only book net revenue, we need the budget for this year and also the year after.
(AM) Can you do it for 7 lodges and also 6 lodges. (RS) It is possible.
(PS) How much of an inconvenience is that.
(RS) It can be done but extra work.

(AM) What are your thoughts on the 10 Year review?
(NL) We need to fully understand the numbers and build up all of the base information, so will need to do a full review to fully understand the history. We also as previously stated need to complete our review of the condition of the Time Share lodges.
(AM) It would appear that some people would be prepared to contribute to upgrading the properties. Also as we have stated we need to look at marketing vacant weeks. What is the market rate.
(PS) There should be a loyalty benefit for buying extra weeks, should be a difference.
(NL) Secondary opportunity, for owners to benefit from additional weeks holidays. (SL) All weeks are full now but there are some weeks availability coming up.
(PS) Let’s get a plan sorted out to see if there is an opportunity to market the vacant weeks.
(SL) I can get an email sent out to all Time Owners with the opportunity to rent additional weeks when we have decided what we are going to offer.
(AM) Would a 10% discount to owners be a good offer. (SL) would any additional sales go SMPML/
(RS) The financial system will allow the income generated to be allocated directly to SMPML.
(PS) Could 20% discount be a better offer.
(RS) Try 10% and review and consider 20% if no take up.
(NL) Lets go to market at a 10% discount and see what happens. Lets get it out there.
(PS) Are you happy with that Andy?
(AM) We are happy with that,
ACTION (SL)
To generate an email to all owners with the offer of additional weeks and a copy of the occupancy grid.

The meeting was closed, the next meeting date to be arranged.

Colin Rayson
Secretary

Minutes of the 32nd Annual Meeting, held at St Mellion resort at 1100 on Friday 22 March 2024

Present

Owners:

Alan Mace (L2 W37) (AMa)

Richard and Julie Green (L5 W 18) (RG)

Catherine Bowness (L7 W51) (CB)

Robert Blake (L5 W36) (RB)

Lynn Rayson

Jenny Martin

Louise Dalglish

Committee Members:

Andy Martin (Chair) (AM)

Colin Rayson (CR)

Peter Barnes (PB)

John Dalglish (Secretary) (JD)

Crown Golf and St Mellion personnel:

Thierry Delsol (Crown Golf Director) (TD)

Nick Lawson (St Mellion Resort Director) (NL)

Kirstine Hitchcock (St Mellion Operations Manager) (KH)

Stephanie Latham (Time Share Administrator)(SL)

Attending via Microsoft Teams

Owners:

Martin Binns (MB)

Neil Hollister

John Pounsford

Graham Martin (GM)

Peter Lyons (L2 W27, L5 W28) (PL)

Geoff Milsted (L5 ex-L6 W35) (GM)

Peter Robdrup (L7 W33) (PR)

Crown Golf and St Mellion personnel:

Paul Stephens (Crown Golf Director) (PS)

Robbie Smith (Finance Director) (RS)

Apologies for Absence (owners)

Yvonne and Martin Meronti (L7 W14)

Tony Laurillard (L9, migrating to L5 W48)

Neil Arnott (L4 W14)

Ian Wheeler 

Michael Luntley (L4 W35)

(Has appointed the Chair as proxy, in the event of any vote)

Sue Mullen (L3 W20 & W34)

Wendy and James Hellis (L2 W14 & L5 W37)

John Jones (L17 W32)

Alan and Tess Dick (L7 W25)

Agenda Items 1- 4

The chairman welcomed everyone able to attend the 32^nd Annual Meeting of St Mellion Time Share Owners’ Association, either in person or virtually by MS Teams. A full list of those attending and who submitted apologies for absence is contained in these minutes. The minutes of the last meeting, held on 24 March 2023, were approved. There had been 2 outstanding actions. Firstly, St Mellion undertook an action to check the functionality of the electricity meters in the lodges, following some queries raised about high bills. KH confirmed this had been successfully completed. The second action had been on the secretary to arrange the next committee meeting in May that year – this was done.

Agenda Item 5 – Chairman’s Report

AM presented his annual report to the meeting, welcoming the new senior management team recently established at Crown Golf and the resort. A copy of the report is attached to these minutes at Appendix A.

As part of the committee changes, the Chairman thanked the Secretary for his work on the committee and in particular as Secretary covering the past 3 Annual Meetings. A presentation was made to JD, who thanked everyone and said how much he and his wife Louise had enjoyed their 7 years at St Mellion.

Agenda Item 6 – Statutory Accounts of SMPM Ltd

Copies of these were made available with the calling notice for the Annual Meeting. There were no questions raised with regard to either the completed accounts for 2023, or the management accounts to January 2024.

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

NL, the new resort director, introduced himself, having taken over the reins at the turn of the year. He outlined some of the challenges facing Time Share, highlighting the need for a more constructive business plan to inform the postponed 10-year review, which will now be carried out this year. NL thanked the St Mellion team, in particular SL and KH, for their work on chasing debtors and consolidating lodge numbers. NL confirmed the RPI figure of 4.9% to be used to apply the increase in the annual maintenance fee for 2024/25.

SL and KH reported that 39 weeks had been consolidated so far and debtors had been reduced from 13 to 6. This remains work in progress, with the aim of removing all bad debt by this time next year. AM asked what the process is for chasing bad debts. KH explained that nothing had happened during Covid-19, St Mellion had then tried taking a hard line using a debt collection agency, which yielded no positive results. KH took it upon herself to contact owners directly and give them the opportunity to settle their debts or end their agreements and return the leases – a number of debtors have since relinquished their leases. Hence a number of weeks are now available. 

SL added that some owners had asked to swap weeks – fine if available – and some ex-owners have asked to rent spare lodges for a week. RCI owners are often disappointed when exchanging weeks at the resort, as they expect the lodge specification to be similar to that of the holiday cottages advertised on the hotel web site. Ex-owners know what to expect. Consolidation continues, so spare weeks are not yet being advertised but could be in future – AM agreed. CB asked what the flat rate is for renting spare weeks. NL replied that this is something to be discussed and agreed with the committee and will be done as part of the business review. Maximising available spare weeks makes sense from both parties’ points of view.

AMe asked how many exchange weeks have St Mellion had? SL: we don’t know but RCI is main participant now. AMe commented that St Mellion weeks will pale by comparison with other time share operators’ accommodation. SL responded that the aim would be to modernise the lodges after consolidation, finances  permitting. 

RG queried whether St Mellion would consider selling additional weeks following consolidation and how would any such process work. AM: once we know who has paid and consolidation exercise is complete, this would all fall into the review due to start at next meeting in May. RG stated that he considers time share weeks good VFM, the lodges work for him and he would like to purchase additional weeks. He would not be interested in long-term leases of 10 or 20 years, but a 5-year term would appeal with the right marketing. TD affirmed that the business review should aim to make the scheme as viable as possible, which would include any marketing strategy. 

Noting that there is now a large number of vacant weeks, PR questioned the potential clash with St Mellion’s interests, if the time share weeks were advertised, as this could disadvantage the resort’s accommodation bookings. JD: a good point; priority would be given to current and ex-SMTOA members for such weeks, with new customers being directed to hotel cottages.

Agenda Item 8 – Election of Committee

AM explained that the constitution stipulates a total of 6 committee members (quorum requires 4), dating from the creation of the committee when there were several hundred owners. The much lower numbers indicate a membership of 4 (with a quorum of 3) would be appropriate to carry out committee work. The proposal was carried unanimously.

The secretary is standing down after this year’s annual meeting, creating a vacancy. MB has applied to join the committee and briefly introduced himself as an actuary with experience of financial administration and property management. He has been a time share user at the resort for about 25 years. He was voted in unanimously.

Two other owners have expressed an interest in joining the committee – PL and PR. PL asked if 5 members would be better than 4 on the committee, given the amount of work coming up under the 10-year review. AMexplained that the scheme is running low on funds and it would be prudent to reduce to 4 owners on the committee; he thought also that the work should be manageable. PR had applied to join the committee previously but his application this year was received after the deadline of 15 March. PL and PR were encouraged to apply next year, if still interested.

The chairman was reappointed and CR was reappointed as temporary secretary. Both votes were uncontested, with one abstention in each case. The next committee meeting will be on 14 May 2024, via MS Teams.

GM then asked what the process is for appointing new committee members, according to the constitution. JD read out the relevant sections of the constitution. The key points are:-

• An owner seeking to be elected or re-elected to the committee shall give written notice not less than 30 days prior to the relevant Annual Meeting to the secretary

• Be proposed and seconded by owners

• Declare if they have any family ties with an existing committee member

In this context PR complained that he had not had a lease for the past 5 years, had not been able to attend these meetings and that various St Mellion staff had not resolved the issue until SL had stepped in. PR expressed his gratitude for SL’s involvement in sorting out his lease. PR was again assured that there would be vacancies on the committee next year and he said that he would re-apply.

Agenda Item 9 – Questions from Owners(and Answers)

The secretary had forwarded all questions received from owners to committee members and the Crown Golf/St Mellion team prior to the meeting. These are included verbatim in the minutes – see below. Comments arising from discussion at the annual meeting are inserted after the relevant question.

Four questions from Peter Claverley, L5 W 29 and 30.

1. approach to debtors – it appears from paperwork over the years that the SMTOA has been very patient (maybe too patient ?) with owners who have not paid their fees. Once the SMTOA has made sure that the late payment is not accidental, I feel (if it’s legally possible) that we should take the properties back without delay – it’s just not fair on those owners who have paid promptly. I see this as a black and white issue.

Comment: the committee has no authority in this matter but supports the work of SL and KH in particular in chasing down such debt. PR opined that this is about chasing monies owed to the time share community and noted that no-one had yet been taken to court. This should be of concern to us. AM agreed that it is a concern but the main aim is to reacquire the leases from debtors, in order to put them back into Time Share usage.

PR raised the issue of whether the landlord is in breach of its own lease, since a range of original facilities at St Mellion resort were no longer available – e.g. tennis courts and bowling green. He would like the committee to look into this. RB subsequently clarified that the leases had been officially altered 10 or more years ago, to reflect the loss of some of the original facilities, including squash courts. The chairman thanked RB for his helpful contribution.

2. 10 year review – I see that the 10 year review has been put back till 2025 because further work needs to be done. Will the background to the delay be discussed at the March 22 meeting?

Comment: SL explained that the delay has been caused by the time taken in the consolidation process and new management coming on the scene. The 10-year review work will kick off at the May meeting with the Time Share committee.

3. building development – is this still on the agenda or has it gone away?

Comment: NL confirmed that there are no plans in the pipeline. Planning approval, however, remainsin place indefinitely.

4. occupancy grid – are we now down to our preferred 6 properties or is this issue still under discussion? If a final decision has not been made, what are the issues that need to be resolved?

Comment: NL answered that lodge numbers have reduced to 8, going down to 7 by 2025 (a lot of work has been needed to achieve this reduction). There ensued a discussion about maintenance of the lodges. PR expressed the view that there is a gulf between the time share and hotel lodges – the latter being in a better state. Is there one single maintenance schedule or 2 separate systems? KH explained that maintenance costs for time share lodges have to be borne out of the time share budget. The aim is to have fewer lodges, which would allow potentially for more funds for maintenance.

In response to the suggestion by PR that he would happy to do a bit of DIY on the lodges when staying there, such as some painting, he was encouraged by AM to check with St Mellion management during any visit what was possible. RB raised the issue of missing roof slates (which was mentioned last year); KH replied that in-house maintenance crews cannot go onto rooves – such repairs require attendance by third party contractors, which is expensive. KH and SL have to weigh up the cost of repairs vs urgency of requirement. RB was keen to stress that he enjoyed the lodge

Two questions from Peter Lyons, L2 W 27 and L5 W 28.

1. Does each lodge have its own ‘maintenance/upkeep budget’ based on the percentage of occupied weeks in that lodge as a portion of the total occupancy? E.g. if there were 3 lodges in the arrangement which had a budget of £300 one of which was occupied 40 out of 50 weeks and the other two were occupied 20 out of 50 weeks each would the budget be split as £100 to each lodge or £150 to one lodge and £75 to each of the other two lodges?

2. If lodges are being released back to the hotel and owners consolidated into the remaining lodges are their ‘contributions’ to the upkeep being also transferred into the budget for maintenance for the remaining lodges? E.g. if the owners have contributed £1000 to maintenance/upkeep in their lodge and the lodge is being returned to the hotel will this £1000 be transferred to the lodges remaining in the scheme or will the hotel keep it?
Secretary Comment: Without prejudging St Mellion’s reply to your specific queries, my understanding of the way the maintenance budget is managed is that all fees go into a communal pot, which is used to maintain however many lodges remain in the time share estate. There is no apportionment along the lines indicated in your first question.
Similarly, any annual maintenance fee paid by an owner goes into that pot to be used for lodge upkeep etc., not to the hotel. Hopefully St Mellion will clarify/confirm.

Comment: NL confirmed that the secretary’s comments above answer both questions correctly.The communal pot for maintenance will be used on a ‘priority needs’ basis across the Time Share portfolio, as KH outlined earlier. CB wished to be assured that maintenance needs would be addressed on this basis, as it would not be fair for users of a less well used lodge to have any uneven allocation of maintenance funds in respect of that lodge. PR agreed with the principle of keeping the Time Share estate on “a level playing field”.

​​​​​​​​​​​

Further question from Peter Lyons: I have one final question for the meeting based on your responses to my other questions and this is as follows:
With the revised occupancy and available budget for renovations when will we as owners be told of the revised renovation plans and will we have a chance to input into the priorities and actions to be taken?

Comment: this will form part of the 10-year business review, which will include finances (SL).PL suggested that people might be prepared to pay more into the maintenance fund, to ensure better outcomes.

A question from Ian Wheeler, who has sent his apologies for the meeting today.

Once consolidation is complete will the remaining Lodges be refurbished to  restore them to the standard of accommodation pertaining to that of a ‘Gold Crown’ resort? As we believe this would encourage existing owners to remain long term and support the promotion of new owners. 

Secretary Comment: in response to a statement I made to Ian regarding the financial position and the likelihood that any investment in the lodges would have to be found from other resources within Crown Golf, Ian has asked the following supplementary question:-

Yes, I’ve seen the financial statement and understand the financial position, so appreciate there is not funding available with only 127 weeks in the group. Maybe as part of the question it could be suggested that if Crown Golf were to fund the refurbishments then they would have the option to rent unoccupied weeks and therefore a potential ROI?

Comment: NL – a valid point, which we will take up in the 10-year review process under the business plan.

Two questions from Geoff Milsted, L5 (formerly L6) W35

Looking at the occupancy grid and despite the proposed amalgamations, there appears to be a large number of unoccupied weeks. In respect of this, has the committee considered –

1.        The possibility of selling the vacant weeks (probably not practical in the current climate) or……

2.       The possibility of annually offering vacant weeks to existing holders at a reduced weekly charge on the basis that at the moment there is currently no income in respect of these weeks and the reduced charge would at least contribute towards overall costs.

Secretary Comment: I replied to Geoff that these options had been discussed with St Mellion management in the past, along with other ideas to increase revenue for the Time Share community, but no agreement had been reached on formalising any of them.

Comment: NL – Good idea and we shall look at these options as part of the 10-year review with the aim of supporting the Time Share community. 

In response to a question from PR about tasking the committee to provide answers to such questions as raised today, AM assured that the committee does indeed provide answers to owners, via its web site, where all the committee meeting minutes are posted. AM will enable SMTOA web site access to PR.

Agenda Item 10 – AOB

NL reiterated that the purpose of the 10-year review will be to determine the consolidation position, financials, how vacant weeks can be marketed, maintenance programmes etc. All these aspects will be factored into the review of the whole business.

Agenda Item 11 – Closure of Meeting

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting, adding that he felt more positive about the future for Time Share at St Mellion than for some time. He assured owners that the committee would continue to work closely with St Mellion management on owners’ behalf. The meeting closed at 1240.

John Dalglish (Secretary)

APPENDIX A 

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT to ANNUAL MEETING 2024

2023 has been relatively quiet compared with recent years and has felt like we are back to normal so we can start to move forward once again. The major change has been a new senior management team put in place with Nick Lawson the new Resort Director, Paul Stephens Crown Golf Director, Robbie Smith Crown Golf Finance Director & Thierry Delsol Crown Golf Director. 

Kirstine Hitchcock Operations Manager is still here & Stephanie Latham Time Share administrator has returned from maternity leave and they are all here to answer your questions either 121 or in this meeting. 

To remind you, 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 March 2023, the changes have been the reduction in timeshare owners from 145 to 126 timeshare weeks which means we seemed to have bottomed out in people leaving their timeshares. Your committee has worked very hard with St Mellion to consolidate the timeshares from 10 to 6 lodges which would be Lodges 1-5 & Lodge 7. St Mellion are currently reviewing all of the financial information and implications 

around the consolidation down to 6 lodges. Everyone who has been affected has been contacted and offered alternatives with only a handful left to decide what they want to do. 

Kirstine & Stephanie will go through the occupancy grid and consolidation process later in the meeting to show the present position. 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 and we feel we are in a position to build on what we have with the aim to promote vacant timeshare weeks to increase income into the scheme. 

We continue to get reassurance that St Mellion wants the scheme to work and with this in mind the 10 yearreview has been delayed by 1 year so a plan can be put in place, that is the future vision, with a timetable, to ensure the continued viability of the scheme. That means the RPI figure to be used for the 2024/2025 fee increase is 4.90%, this is the RPI figure for January 2024. 

Committee Changes 

As Chairman I would like to thank all the hard work of your committee during the last 12 months and especially John Dalglish who is leaving at this Annual Meeting as he has exited 

the scheme. John has been on the committee for 3 years and Secretary for 2 years, he has been a welcome addition and will be sorely missed. 

I have pleasure in presenting a small gift to John in recognition of his contribution to the committee and wish him all the best in the future. 

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, it is with great optimism I look forward to the future of timeshares at St Mellion and working with the management team to ensure its continued success. 

Andy Martin Chairman, St Mellion Time Owners Committee 

4 Green Farm Close Castor Peterborough CambsPE5 7BE 

andy.martin@btinternet.com www.smtoa.co.uk

31^st Annual Meeting: St Mellion Estate, Friday 24^th March 2023 at 11.00am. Attendance either in person or via Microsoft Teams (link below)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting

Meeting ID: 341 591 918 032
Passcode: dLSWsd

AGENDA

Welcome and Opening Comments – Andy Martin, Chairman

Apologies for Absence

Minutes of the 30^th Annual Meeting

Matters Arising

Chairman’s Report – Andy Martin, Chairman

Statutory Accounts of SMPM Ltd

St Mellion Management Report to also Include the Occupancy Grid and 10 Year Financial Review 2024 – Matt Pressman, Resort Director

Election of Committee

Questions and Answers -Please see Note 1 below.

Any Other Business

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 17^th March 2023

Minutes for Part 2 of meeting held on Friday 17 February 2023 at 1000

Present
Committee Members St Mellion Representatives

Andy Martin (AM) Chairman
Matt Pressman (MP) Resort Director
John Dalglish (JD) Secretary
Richard Hazel (RH) Finance Manager
Joyce Bloom (JB)
Andrew Merritt (AMe) Finance Director for Crown Golf
Stephanie Latham (SL) Timeshare Administrator
Colin Rayson (CR)

Apologies for absence: Sarah Yardley (SY)

1. Minutes of Previous Meeting
   Approved. AM will post on owners’ web site.
   
2. RPI and the Annual Service Charge
   AM explained that the committee considered the service charge fee
   should be increased in line with RPI, as per the terms of the time share
   lease (MP had previously offered to hold the increase to around 10%, in
   line with CPI). This offer was appreciated but it was judged that
   adherence to the terms of the lease was important, to avoid setting a
   precedent. RH added that the fee must have been reset in 2014,
   following the last 10-year review, and charged with effect from 2015,
   using the RPI All Services index. Until now, the 2 indices had broadly
   tracked each other, before flipping significantly in this financial year.
   After some discussion, it was agreed to use the RPI All Items index
   for the final year of this period. JB noted that the fee increase should be
   announced with letters going out to owners with their maintenance bills
   for the forthcoming year. In response to SL query, the January 2023 RPI
   figure is the one to be used.
   
3. Preparation for the Annual Meeting in March 2023
   AM: the committee will travel down to St Mellion on Thursday 23
   March, the eve of the meeting. 5 rooms will be required for committee
   members; the meeting should take place at 1100 on 24 March 2023 and
   be available via Zoom for those who wish to attend remotely. Full joining
   instructions will be sent out to all owners by St Mellion team.

MP asked when that communication needs to be sent out to owners –
30 days prior (AM). AM added that the latest finance report/accounts
need to be sent to all members, many of whom will wish to know the
financial state of the scheme.
SL: do we have the email used as a calling notice from last year? JD
promised to look.
Post meeting note: copy sent to SL.

AM then asked JD to summarise his views, expressed in the earlier
committee meeting, as to why he was unsure about staying beyond
2023 as a time share owner. JD expressed his reservations about the
intent of St Mellion management vis-à-vis maintaining the Time Share
estate in a reasonable condition and committing to ensure that Time
Share remains an attractive and viable proposition. The numerous
changes of personnel and aborted initiatives have had a negative effect.
The uncertainty and speculation over future occupancy and any further
consolidation will likely only worsen, unless something positive is done in
the near future. There is no sign of that happening, with some aspects
of inadequate maintenance now evident in the fabric of the lodges. If
owner numbers continue to reduce, the enterprise will wither on the
vine – something JD and his wife would not wish to continue to be part
of and would likely lead them to exit the scheme reluctantly after their
stay in June this year.

MP agreed that this was fair comment but stressed that there is still
no clear plan and, until there is, all that can be done is to keep things
going. AM said that the 10-year review is an opportunity to set down the
future vision, with a timetable, to ensure the continued viability of the
scheme. RH repeated his comment from 2 meetings ago that St Mellion
wanted to make the scheme work – what do owners want and what
would that cost? Answers to these questions would help define a
strategy.

Other points to note for the annual meeting:-
 AM will present his chairman’s report at the meeting
 MP to present resort director’s report.
 Re-election for committee members – AM, CR and JD.
 Farewell to JB.

4. Conduct of the 10-year Review

JB suggested issuing a questionnaire to owners; this was done 10
years ago. Also, how about making a discounted offer on
accommodation at the hotel the night before, to encourage people to
attend, especially those who are passionate about St Mellion. An
1100 start is not feasible for many owners, who live more than 3
hours’ drive away.
The review will need to be completed by the end of 2023 and
future occupancy should be clear by the end of the summer period.
The format for the review should be decided at the annual meeting.
AM asked how much input will be required from the committee. CR
added that people will just want to know what is happening, as the
time share asset is not being maximised, reflecting what JD had
summarised earlier. The management’s intent will be essential to
future plans.

5.Occupancy Grid

It was noted that the number of time share weeks at the time of
the last review in 2014 had been 849. AM suggested that it would be a
good idea to highlight this at the annual meeting; MP agreed. AM
queried the status of the 13 debtors. RH explained that St Mellion have
engaged the services of a debt collection agency (no win, no fee basis)
on a 10% commission of amounts recovered. RH agreed to instruct
following AM’s approval. RH further explained that taking the leases
back from debtor owners had to follow a court process and would cost
c.£750 per lease.

JB proposed that St Mellion offer short term leases of either 3- or 5-
years’ duration to bring in extra income (as has been done at other time
share locations), or the obvious risk is that the business will be left with
several empty lodges for long periods. JB stressed the need for a
proactive rather than reactive approach to the issue. MP could see the
merit of this proposal but stated that he could not act until St Mellion
knows what it is left with after the exit option this year.

6. AOB and Date of Next Meeting
   
   There was no other business and the date of next meeting will be set
   after the annual meeting takes place.
   
   John Dalglish (Secretary)

Minutes for Part 2 of the meeting held on Tuesday 24 January 2023 at 1100

Present

Committee Members St Mellion Representatives

Andy Martin (AM) Chairman
Matt Pressman (MP) Resort Director
John Dalglish (JD) Secretary
Richard Hazel (RH) Finance Manager
Joyce Bloom (JB)
Stephanie Latham (SL) Timeshare Administrator
Colin Rayson (CR)
Sarah Yardley (SY)

Minutes of Previous Meeting

Approved.

Correspondence from Owners

Nil to report.

St Mellion Team Changes

MP informed the meeting that SL would be taking maternity leave in March. A selection process is under way to appoint someone to cover the period of maternity: Steph will return in due course. The replacement for SL will be managed by Kirsten Hitchcock.

Also, MP informed everyone that RH would be leaving St Mellion and returning to London in March. Negotiations are in hand with Crown Golf to appoint a successor, who will be specifically for the St Mellion accountancy position.

Energy Costs

RH : St Mellion estate has been out of contract with its energy supplier for a few months, during which electricity was being charged at the emergency rate of 74p per Kwh. This resulted in some extremely high bills for occupants of lodges during the cold weeks recently. There was a general discussion about whether owners and occupants should be compensated in some way. However, subsequent to the meeting, SL and RH advised that the new contract with Npower was in place with electricity being charged at the rate of 21p per Kwh; in addition, the company had backdated this arrangement to the beginning of September, so a refund was to be issued to owners who had paid the inflated rate.

Web Site Updates

SL is directing owners to the SMTOA.co.uk web site. AM confirmed that the site has now been updated and the minutes of this meeting will be posted when ready.

Occupancy Grid

AM explained that, if all non-replies chose to stay in the scheme, there would be 155 occupied weeks in the lodges. How would that be for consolidation purposes? Debtors should also be pursued to recover money due (MP agreed this should be tested).

AM: a strategy is needed to make the scheme viable. What about marketing empty weeks? We only need around £12k to make the scheme viable (it is currently losing about £1k per month). Furthermore, what about offering shorter leases, e.g. for 3 or 5 years with a fixed price? JB cited her knowledge of a scheme at Barnsdale, which offered 5-year leases, successfully.

MP: we do not know what consolidation will look like but suspect that the process will have to happen first.

JB: the lodges could be marketed for rental after consolidation amongst existing time share owners, i.e. separately from any marketing of new, shorter term leases. The idea would be to make the revised number of lodges work in a cost-effective manner and generate more income. MP and RH agreed that this was a good idea.

SY proposed that a business case be drafted. MP commented that this would be scenario-dependent. AM suggested that this could be set out at the next Annual Meeting and could form part of the 10-year review.

Secretary Comment: this needs implicitly a specific action to be picked up by St Mellion. Action: MP to advise.

Finances

RH explained that the figure for salaries in the P&L statement covered the administrator’s salary, plus some of reception staff and housekeeping staff. Senior management time is not recharged to this account but is covered elsewhere. RH added that an element of the management charge billed in April actually relates to the remaining 3 months of the FY (January-March2023).

Consolidation, 10-year Review and Annual Service Charge

These topics were discussed together at this stage of the meeting.

On consolidation, MP said that he found it difficult to plan for the future without knowing what the numbers were. CR pointed out that the numbers would not be known until late summer, once most owners have completed their stay. In this context RH clarified that any owners wanting to leave the scheme under the next 5-year break point had to confirm in writing to St Mellion their intentions by the end of their stay (and, of course, having paid the annual service charge for 2023-24).

RH informed the meeting that the ONS (Office for National Statistics) data used to set the annual service charge for 2023-24 is the RPI for services, which in December produced a figure of 19.6%. All agreed this would a tough increase for owners, MP noting that it could make planning difficult.

The significance of the increase for the annual service charge in 2023-24 is that the revised annual fee will become the starting point for determining the new service charge baseline under the pending 10-year review, which will be conducted in the next financial year.

RH added that we do not have to use this figure but it is the basis on which previous years’ service charge fees have been levied. AM queried when it would be decided whether to use this figure or not. RH wanted to see what the figure in January would be and all agreed that a meeting would be needed in February.

CR commented that this would have a potentially adverse impact on owners’ decision making regarding staying in the scheme. JB suggested that this be highlighted in the minutes.

Post Meeting Note: CR sent all attendees an email containing relevant extracts from 2 leases (Wimpey and American Golf) concerning the index used for calculating the annual increase in the service charge. Although the wording in the 2 leases is slightly different, they both clearly state that the figure to be used is the “General Index of Retail Prices”. The committee will discuss this with St Mellion management at our next meeting.

AOB and Date of Next Meeting

No AOB. The next meeting between the committee and St Mellion has

been set for 17 February 2023. The Annual Meeting for the St Mellion Time Share Owners’ Association will be held at St Mellion on 24 March. Details to follow.

John Dalglish (Secretary)

Minutes for Part 2 of the meeting held on Thursday 8 December 2022 at 1030

Present
Committee Members St Mellion Representatives
Andy Martin (AM) Chairman
Matt Pressman (MP) Resort Director
John Dalglish (JD) Secretary
Richard Hazel (RH) Finance Manager
Joyce Bloom (JB)
Stephanie Latham (SL) Timeshare Administrator
Colin Rayson (CR)
Sarah Yardley (SY)

1. Correspondence from Owners
   By way of setting the scene AM shared the contents of a letter
   from the owners of L7 Week 34, a 3-bed lodge, who have
   reluctantly decided to exit the scheme under Option 1 next year.
   The letter, addressed to Crown Golf/St Mellion management,
   copied to the Chairman of the Time Share Owners committee,
   cited funding issues causing a likely risk to maintenance, as well as
   the uncertain outcome of any further consolidation. The owners
   had also asked for compensation regarding the 40 years’ unused
   lease they would be surrendering; this request has received no
   response.
   
2. Information Provided by St Mellion for today’s meeting
   SL acknowledged the various comments from the committee
   concerning the errors in the occupancy grid, adding that the
   production of the grid had been a last-minute effort to get
   something out in time for today’s meeting. All agreed with AM that
   the group needed an updated grid, ideally in digital format, to
   review. In response to a query about L37, RH confirmed that it
   had in effect been handed back to St Mellion, as it was now empty
   of Time Share weeks.
   Regarding debtors, RH outlined the process undertaken with bad
   debts, which involves a court order being obtained via a judge in
   order to terminate formally the lease. He confirmed also that St
   Mellion PML pay for this process, stressing that it is not onerous,
   nor is it long and drawn-out. Formal correspondence from St
   Mellion to lease holders is often ignored, which leads to this
   process being invoked.
   
3. The Future for Time Share at St Mellion
   AM asked: what is the future of Time Share?
   MP: it’s very difficult and there have been many different
   conversations on this subject. There has been no simple answer as
   to what to do but 2023/24 will continue as before and there is no
   strong desire from management one way or the other. However,
   there is concern over dwindling numbers of owners.
   RH explained that MP, in his role as a board member, had a
   responsibility to avoid any risk of insolvency on the part of the
   business. RH added that, in his view, St Mellion PML want Time
   Share to continue, so all owners can enjoy it, but not necessarily
   to all provisions of the lease. RH reminded the group that a new
   base fee was to be set from 2024 (the 10-year Review), queried
   how successful a new consolidation exercise would be and could
   we (St Mellion) provide a service without compromising on quality?
   On the subject of the 10-year Review AM commented that a
   strategy is needed to address consolidation and flexibility in terms
   of weeks and lodges to be made available. The strategy should
   include an end goal for the Time Share element of the business.
   RH stated that we need to know how many owners want to
   remain to see if a viable solution can be found, to which AM added
   that owners need to know what the options are before deciding
   what to do. MP noted that it would likely come down to core
   numbers and flexibility over specific weeks, recognising that some
   people will wish to retain the weeks purchased. CR added that
   people’s intentions will depend on the strategy.
   RH confirmed that the committee would be involved in the
   impending 10-year review process (the independent arbitrator is
   an option, not an obligation). In response to AM’s question as to
   when the review process should start, RH suggested that should
   happen as early as possible in the new year. All agreed with MP’s
   direction that we should aim to do that.
   
4. Accounts
   After some discussion about the data provided under the heading
   of Balance Sheet and the unfamiliarity of the presentation, RH
   realised that the wrong attachment had been sent. He shared on
   screen the latest P&L accounts to 31 October 2022, showing a loss of £7,381.66.
   RH promised to send the correct attachment to all committee members after the meeting.(Secretary’s note: done)

5. Occupancy Grid
   It was acknowledged that the occupancy grid information
   prepared for this meeting was inaccurate. It had been put
   together at the last minute in an effort to ensure that the
   committee had some relevant information to discuss. All agreed
   that the committee need an up to date version, ideally in digital
   format. As CR put it: the accuracy of the grid is the crux for
   everything. St Mellion management apologised for the data as
   presented and assured the committee that this did not in any
   sense reflect an attitude of indifference to the committee and its
   role.
   Some related points were made. JD said that any owners who are
   unsure about whether to stay in the scheme beyond 2023 will
   want to know what the longer term strategy is and, in particular,
   have a degree of certainty about future consolidation plans and
   what implications they would bring to owners. AM concurred,
   noting that a lot of people are delaying a decision until they know
   what is happening. JB suggested that empty weeks could be
   offered for a fee during the quiet months. This would be just for
   Time Share owners and would not impinge on hotel lodge
   numbers. MP agreed that this was worth considering, adding that
   increases in utilities costs are at the forefront of minds these days.
   
6. AOB and Date of Next Meeting
   AM proposed that the next Annual Meeting be used to explain the
   10-rear review process to all owners. This was unanimously
   agreed and AM will decide on a date in the new year. MP added
   that communication will be key and that the owners’ web site
   would need to be kept up to date. On this last point, AM will
   change the Time Share contact details from Mark Webster to SL.
   Next Meeting will be early in 2023.

John Dalglish (Secretary)

St Mellion  Time  Owners  Association

Minutes of the 29^th Annual Meeting held on Friday 7th May 2021 By Zoom

Present

Committee Members
Andy Martin (AM) Chairman     John Boardman (JBo) Secretary
Joyce Bloom (JBl) Paul Oliphant (PO) Colin Rayson (CR)
John Dalglish (JD) (Co-Opted) Sarah Yardley (SY) (Co-Opted)

St Mellion Staff.
Hanna Garraghan, Finance Manager (HG) and
Emma Leslie, Reception Manager (EL)  

Time Owners Participating.
Robert Atkins, Dr Ian Baker, Hilary Bekir, Vernon Crittenden, Linda Dingle, John Foster,
Neil Hollister ,Enid Jenken, Michael Luntley, Graham Martin, Mary Martin, Susan Overal,
John Poundsford and Alan Welch.

Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed all participants to the Association’s first Annual Meeting to be held by Zoom and set out the guidelines for conducting the meeting.

Apologies for Absence
Michael and Virginia Wright,

Minutes of the 28^th Annual Meeting -12 November 2019
These were agreed and subsequently signed by the Secretary (Chairman of the Meeting).

Chairman’s Report

Good Afternoon.

Little did I know at the last Annual Meeting in November 2019, that the world would completely change. Zoom meetings would become the norm and lockdown a way of life.

Covid 19 challenged our way of life however with the vaccine now nearly covering 50% of the UK population there is light at the end of the tunnel with St Mellion lodges reopening from 12^th April.

Firstly, my thanks to John Boardman, our previous Chairman, for his stewardship and support as secretary for my first year as Chairman.

To remind everyone, the Committee’s principle responsibility is to represent the views of current Owners at St Mellion so it has been a very busy year with you communicating through our website www.smtoa.co.uk (Please register if you haven’t already for the latest news).

We have been very proactive on your behalf and at every committee meeting requesting resolution to the following outstanding financial issues with Crown Golf.

• Reconciliation of the Deed of Variation monies
• Access and report on fee arrears
• Justifying administration costs attributed to St Mellion Property Management Ltd

We also took the decision to double the Committee meetings during the pandemic so that Timeshare owner’s views are constantly put forward. This did prove difficult with three senior management changes during 2020 and the fight against covid.

I am pleased to say we are in a much better place for the following reasons: –

• On 1^st July 2020, St Mellion Estate separated from Crown Golf and the central control of Pine Ridge so St Mellion has complete control of its own destiny.

• The new senior management team under 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 2020.

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.

• All the timeshare owners’ leases have been transferred to St Mellion and a review of completeness and accuracy of the database was well underway. There remain c 350-400 Timeshare weeks under ownership and if you have any outstanding issues regarding your lease, please contact Iain Wylie i.wylie@st-mellion.co.uk

Impact of Latest Lockdown.

This is a difficult topic for Owners and St Mellion. Owners may have “lost” weeks or not be able to have weeks in the same season or have weeks without full restaurant/bar facilities. St Mellion only have 80 spare weeks in the Timeshare lodges.

Approx. 50 “lost” weeks from 2020 need to be resolved. St Mellion are not willing or in a position to grant refunds or other compensation. A case-by-case approach was agreed, although the Time Owners Committee members remain very concerned about the timeliness of communication from St Mellion. Iain and Hanna agreed to communicate their plan for dealing with this issue very soon.

Property Development.

The planning application Phase 1 passed in the early part of 2020 was going to be radically amended and most of the changes were in line with the Committee’s thinking and objections to the original scheme. However due to Covid, there was a complete re-think, and this approved development was shelved.

A new retirement village was proposed instead, at the entrance to St Mellion, however this was rejected by Cornwall CC on 2^nd March 2021.

Following the rejection, plans are to be revised and resubmitted to Crown Golf’s owners in Australia. Given the impact of the lock downs, it is likely that future investment will be delayed and /or scaled back.

Committee Changes

As Chairman I would like to thank all the hard work of your committee during these challenging times and especially Paul Oliphant who is leaving at the Annual Meeting after 5 years of giving valuable input and always asking the right questions.

Joyce Bloom and Colin Rayson have also been doing sterling work on your behalf and agreed to continue serving on the committee with the passion for St Mellion they both bring.

I am pleased to say that John Dalglish and Sarah Yardley are formally elected to the committee at the Annual Meeting after being co-opted during the year. JD will take over the role of secretary with John Boardman promising to stay on another year to ensure a smooth transition.

Finally, I can confidently say this has been a year like no other and I hope that we can put lockdowns behind us. I hope we can start enjoying St Mellion as we have all loved over a number of years and the new team make our stays as special as they have been in the past.

Wishing you and your families all the best and look forward to seeing you again when we can do face to face meetings.

Statutory Accounts

The Statutory Account for St Mellion Property Management Limited had been lodged with Companies House on the very last day for compliance with the legal requirements and been circulated ( in draft form ) for the meeting.  Various questions had been raised about the Accounts. HG responded that she could not answer some of the questions because

They related to accounts held by Crown Golf , were put together before her arrival last October and audited without consultation with staff at St Mellion.

HG’s responses are in Italics

Questions 1.Which part of the business has the money received from owners surrendering weeks been allocated to. St Mellion Operations, Crown Golf or St Mellion Property Management Limited. When the D of V option was agreed one third of the money generated was agreed to be allocated to St Mellion Property Management Limited. Did this happen this time?  

HG replied that funds received from these surrenders in April 2021 would be available for expenditure on the Timeshare Lodges.

2. Why were the gross sales only 42% of 2019 figures?

HG has referred this question to the Crown Golf Directors who prepared the accounts.

3. How can St Mellion Property be allowed to make a loss? Stephen Towers and Dan Fulcher were the responsible directors for the whole of the accounting year. 

HG has referred this question to the Crown Golf Directors who prepared the accounts.

4. When do St Mellion expect to have the accounts for 2020/2021 which finished at the end of March available? We have been told that St Mellion is a stand-alone business. Is that the case or does Crown Golf head office still have some control over the information required to complete the 2021 accounts. 

(All asked by Colin Rayson)

HG expects that 2002/21 Accounts will be ready for the audit that will take place in the Autumn this year, although she still has some historic figures to check from before her joining date in October 2020.

5. Why are the Statutory Accounts sent to Owners in DRAFT form as at 30 March 2021- the last day before the extended filing deadline with Companies House?

HG said that this was necessary to circulated the figures before the Accounts were formally signed off by Howard Jones and Iain Wylie.

6. Why were Administrative Expenses allowed to fall less slowly than Turnover during the 12 months before the pandemic  68% in 2019 to 89% for 2020.?

HG has referred this question to the Crown Golf Directors who prepared the accounts.

7. In prior years there have been Fixed Assets on the Balance Sheet and Depreciation charged to the Accounts. Was none of the expenditure capitalised in 2020 ?

Does this explain the loss ? What are the tax implications? Have all previous assets been written off- for example new kitchen equipment.

HG thought that all assets had been fully depreciated. No further action.

(All asked by John Boardman)

Resort General Manager’s Report

Although a report was available, it was not presented because of the resignation of Howard Jones and Iain Wylie at the end of April.

Lodge Ownership

EL reported that c70 of the 372 Lodge Owners had chosen to opt for the exit option offered last month. She also reported that c 2/3 of Owners had paid their invoices. No late payment fees have been added if Owners had not been correctly invoiced or were in discussion with EL who has a huge workload, including dealing with Owners’ “lost weeks” from the second lock down.

Election of Committee

Paul Oliphant stood down from the Committee and AM thanked him for his hard work and commended his ability to question St Mellion management on the key topics at meetings.

AM introduced JD and SY, who were formally elected to the Committee having been co-opted since the last Annual Meeting,

JD is to take over as Secretary from JBo with effect from today. Colin Rayson and Joyce Bloom will continue as members. AM again appealed for Owners to volunteer to join the Committee.

Owner’s Questions

JBo asked the following questions on behalf of Owners.

What are the mid term plans for the Timeshare business – Neil Hollister.

HG responded that the property plan and refurbishment work on the Lodges would need to be reviewed in the light of the impact of the pandemic and the departure of two of the senior management team.

JBo asked about the future of the bowling green and tennis courts, which both need money to be spent on them. The peace and quiet enjoyed Lodges 8,9 and 10 should not be impacted by any change of use- Enid Jenken and Roger Bloom.

HG acknowledged that this was an important issue and careful consideration would be given to any plans for that area. Currently funding was constrained by the impact of the pandemic.

JBo asked about bbq’s , especially as they had been withdrawn but appeared to be advertised as a facility on St Mellion’s web site for the turret lodges.

HG confirmed that bbq’s would be available upon request and that recent letters to Owners ahead of their visit did not had stated that they were not available. The decision to make them available had been made that morning. Future letters will make this system clear to Owners.

What is Steve Moss’s role now?

HG replied that Steve Moss will be involved in some of the day-to -day operations of the Lodges, but his principal role is within the St Mellion operation on facilities management.

JBO asked if the TimeOwners Monday golf competition and evening social event would be reinstated once restrictions were lifted.

HG confirmed they would be.

JBo asked on behalf of Mr Rothwell why he had not received his invoice and had not received any response to e mail or phone messages.

EL promised to investigate and respond.

Any Other Business

AM invited TimeOwners participating to ask further questions.

Michael Luntley has recently acquired a week. He has been trying to contact St Mellion to clarify his rights and responsibilities under the Lease.

EL agreed to meet with him during his week at St Mellion in June.

Vernon Crittenden asked whether the bbq’s were gas or charcoal burning.

HG thought the bbq’s were charcoal and St Mellion does sell it.

Graham Martin asked why St Mellion did not issue receipts for payment of Invoices.

HG said the accounting system did not generate them but that they would be issued on request.

JD asked for a clarification of the roles of senior management in the light of the resignations.

 HG thought that replacements were probably being recruited for the same management structure and that at least one new manager would be in place in early July.

AM thanked all the participants for their contribution and wished them and St Mellion well.

The Meeting closed at 3.20 p.m.

Minutes of the 28^th Annual Meeting held on Monday 12^th November 2019 at St Mellion

Present

John Boardman    (Chairman )  JBo.
Joyce Bloom         (Secretary )   JBl.
Andy Martin    ( AM. )   Paul Oliphant   ( PO. )   Colin Rayson ( CR .)

Ian Davies  (Resort General Manager at St Mellion ) ID.
Steve Moss  ( Time Share  Manager at St Mellion ) SM.

Plus 23 Time Owners (TO)

Apologies for Absence

Bob Cliff                                                 Mr & Mrs Voight
Dr Neil D Arnott                                     Ann Marcus & Jeremy Hawke
Derek & Pippa Lyons                             John & Susan Wolfe
John & Rosie Foster                               Bob & Linda Load
Chris & Sandra Thomas                         Rachel & George Curnow
Yvonne & Martin Meronti                     Monaliza Cadwallander
Derek Stephens                                     Neil Hollister
Andy & Julie Gray                                  John & Denise Liddke
Gavin Bashford                                      Sandy Gower
Mr & Mrs Meader                                 John Dalglish
Doug & Eryl Bamford                            Sue & Peter Barnes
Alan Dick                                               Phil & Tisha Rothwell
Paul McCarthy                                       Mary Martin
Graham Martin                                      Barbara Watts
Mr Wheeler

The Chairman welcomed those present despite the bad weather conditions.

He then introduced the Committee, Andy Martin , Colin Rayson , Joyce Bloom, Paul Oliphant and was delighted that Ian Davies the Resort General Manager was still here and had worked hard with Steve Moss to sort out the issues that had arisen over the past year

Minutes of the 27^th Annual Meeting

These were agreed and signed.

Matters Arising

Mr & Mrs  Jenkins apologies were omitted from the last years Annual Meeting.

Chairman’s Report

Good Afternoon and welcome.

The Committee’s principal responsibility is to represent the views of the Owners at St Mellion. It is an advisory body and not able to take decisions.

Your Committee has worked hard in the last 12 months, this morning’s  meeting with Crown Golf being the fifth meeting with them in that time.

However, our main focus over the last 12 months has been to help and support the implementation of the consolidation process following the departure of c 60% of Owners who exercised their exit option. This is my sixth year on the Committee and the whole exercise started before then..!

The organisation of the consolidation process has been conducted with very little (if any ) consultation with either the Committee or Management at St Mellion – it was all driven by Crown Golf Head Office.  The people who had most recent knowledge about the Owners, the site and its operations were not involved in planning the exercise. The consequences of  such short – sighted and “ ivory tower “ approach were predictably uncomfortable for many Owners and some of this could have been avoided. Ian and Steve have done their very best to accommodate all Owners’ wishes but inevitably there have been some unhappy Owners.

I need to let you know that the Committee were most upset about Crown Golf’s decision to take two previously refurbished Lodges back into Hotel ownership – AFTER the Owners had received letters confirming they would be unaffected by the consolidation process. It was also a  late decision in terms of planning the 2019/20 calendar. My letters of objection to the Chief Executive of Crown Golf and its Australian shareholder about this did not convince  them to change their minds – a position which still angers me today.

The Committee values the relationship with Ian and Steve. Historically promised financial performance reports prepared at Head Office to consider at Meetings have not turned up in time – today being a welcome exception.

After 6 years on Committee both Joyce and I are obliged to stand down from the Committee but we are both  willing to be re – elected, which is possible because  no one  else has volunteered  to join the Committee. Given that the consolidation is almost complete I feel the time is right to hand over to a new Chairman to take the work of the Committee forward.

Please continue to use the Lodge feedback forms. The Committee, through Joyce Bloom. Monitors  what happens to them and reports back to St Mellion. You should now all be getting a courtesy call to your Lodge on a Sunday evening to report an Immediate issues.

We must decide in the coming year on the future of the tennis and bowls areas There have been various proposals put forward  by Members and our preferred option ( post the Annual Meeting ) is a crazy golf area.

My thanks go to the existing Committee members for their guidance and support during the year and to John Lloyd Williams who had to retire from the Committee on health grounds.

Statutory Accounts

J Bo.  Financial information has been asked for at various times unsuccessfully. We have received the draft accounts today, unlike the last two years when they weren’t available on the day.

We have looked at them briefly, but hope you will take them away with you and send any questions you may have to me.

Resort General Manager’s Report

Outstanding Maintenance Fees

I am delighted to be able to report that at this juncture on 2019 we only have two Owners with outstanding management fees and which we are unlikely to resolve as they live abroad.

Lodge Ownership

At the last AM, I discussed the likelihood that we would experience a higher number of Owners leaving than initially envisaged, discussion was prior to the announcement to Owners of fees for 2019/20 and the advisement to some, that they had been moved as a result of the DOV process. As anticipated this has proven to be a somewhat fraught  process, many have been quite happy, as envisaged others not so .

As I advised at the last AM, we would continue to work with Owners to seek resolution and endeavour to move them where appropriate, subject to availability.

I am delighted to be able to report that many such moves have been facilitated and Steve Moss has worked tirelessly at seeking solutions to Owner’s issues and we will continue to do so.

Rentals

A number of Owners have raised the subject of rentals and which we are proposing to introduce through the new website.

Holiday Bond

We are discussing the introduction of a Holiday Bond, which will again be introduced into the forthcoming website.

Refurbishment

As discussed previously two of the Lodges occupied by Time Owners do not have the benefit of new kitchens and these are being installed this week and next .

New Charcoal BBQs have purchased for all Lodges .An issue going forward is the use of gas BBQs and the potential for health and safety .

New leather sofas  are being purchased for all Lodges.

New curtains and carpets are being purchased across various areas in Lodges.

No 18 & An Boesti

No 18 has recently been changed to accommodate more relaxed seating and which conveys a much more social environment and whilst retaining seating for Diners offers a far more convivial feel and acts as a Café Bar. The new menu has been introduced this week and part of our enhanced offering to Owners will be the ability to order fresh pizza, which they will need to collect from Reception .

An Boesti is fully operational and where breakfast is now served in conjunction with AB2 and No 18 .

The new menu is now available offering both seasonal and local produce, supported by daily specials and which are being favourably received by Owners and Guests alike .

Our new and extensive wine list is also now in place offering a much wider selection of wines .

AB was awarded the rosettes earlier in the year.

Flower Beds

As you know I was critical of the front entrance around the quad and I am pleased to report that in conjunction with Dee , a long standing member, we have now introduced multiple flower beds and which I believe once they are in full bloom will have a marked effect on the frontage and by those arriving at the hotel front entrance .

The advertising trailer by the roundabout has been relocated to the old entrance and the old flower bed has been seeded providing a fresh view of the main entrance when arriving at St Mellion .

Lodge Estate

Mike Bush and his team are well advanced in their maintenance of the Village together with the Estate drainage issues have been experienced warranting  drain repair, principally the main foul drain from Lodge 2 has had to be excavated and replaced due to excessive root growth and which going forward is likely to adversely affect other properties in the village .

Road repairs , some holes have appeared in the road surface and which are being repaired . Maintenance has made extensive repairs to the bollards and lighting around the Village . Due to recent inclement weather we have lost a number of trees. Two further trees have been removed which were impacting on Lodge roofs.

My thanks to the Committee for their support .

 SMTOA  Website

Andy Martin introduced the website and visually described how it works .  To log in, Owners will need to put in their name, email address and weeks owned . Steve Moss will verify  and you will be sent a password that you can then change if you wish to.

The site will include news of Timeshare, Committee members, built in functionality for buying Timeshare and will evolve over time with different aspects e.g   Owners will be able to sell their Timeshare or rent out their week .

The Timeshare time chart is also on there so you can pick the year and see when your week commences .

FAQ  some have been put on but if you have any questions these can be added. The site is backed up by Word Press and can be changed quickly and will be launched after this meeting so I am asking those present to join to join the private part of the site. Website address is SMTOA.co.uk

Bruce Crowhurst   L35  wk 31  How will members of the public access the site ?
A M.   They will have access on the general site.

J Bo.   Thanked Andy for his presentation and said information for the website would be in the next newsletter

Election of Committee

The Committee remains in situ as no nominations have been received and if there are no objections John Boardman and Joyce Bloom will remain for another year.

Proposed by  Tom Watts and seconded by Hilary Shortland and agreed by those present.

There is still a vacancy.

Owner’s Questions

Tim Watts  L 1  Wk  40     I was dismayed and upset when I went to the Monday meeting and found  I was the only person present , I waited 15 minutes no Staff appeared no meeting took place although all the refreshments were set out. I know Steve  is always away this week on holiday.

I D.  Thank you for raising this,  there was a plan and I will investigate what happened. Please, if there are any issues at any time let me know.

Tim Watts.  We didn’t receive any information regarding the Meeting until my wife phoned on Friday . Instead of the bowling green my wife has suggested crazy golf.

Hilary Shortland  L7   The question of the change of the Monday Meeting  .

J Bo. It was changed from Tea and scones to Drinks at 5.30  so Owners  if they wished could then stay on for dinner                     

Roger Bloom   L1 Wk 31   Regarding the alternate use of the bowling green  I bumped into David Moon who said the cost of replacing it would be astronomic and also expensive to maintain. Whatever is decided the impact on lodges 9 & 10 needs to be taken into consideration. An assessment from Owners is needed as to who would use what.

Nigel Rees  L1 Wk 9   As RCI exchanges are family oriented could the area become a play area?

Judy Shrowton  L6  Wk 49      Crazy golf could be the answer. 

Bruce Crowhurst    In Lodge 35 we have  been paying in for 7 years for refurbishment and nothing has been done. Secondly it is a relief to know that Andy has the proposal  for Owners to sell on the website .

J Bo.              Refurbishment was stopped for a period of time due to the DOV  exercise.

Judy Shrowton  20 years ago the Timeshare was an asset now it is a millstone.

J Bo.               If you signed the DOV the next option exit is 2023.

Judy Shrowton     I did not sign as we have a peak time .I think St Mellion has failed us.

J Bo.               If you haven’t signed the DOV you are locked into your lease until 2068.

Roger Bloom     Is there anything relevant in Committee discussions re the Accounts?

J Bo.  We cannot understand  how the SMPML  share of the Exit Fee amounts have been calculated. The accounts show income of £250K but this needs to be reconciled in detail by Crown.

Any Other Business

Catherine Barnes  L7  Thanked the Committee for all they have done.

S M. said that Wendy Holden from DAE was here if anyone wished to see her.

The Meeting closed at 3.30pm and refreshments were available for everyone.

Conducted via ZOOM on 7^th May 2021

Little did I know at the last Annual Meeting in November 2019, that the world would completely change. Zoom meetings would become the norm and lockdown a way of life.

Covid 19 challenged our way of life however with the vaccine now nearly covering 50% of the UK population there is light at the end of the tunnel with St Mellion lodges reopening from 12^th April.

Firstly, my thanks to John Boardman, our previous Chairman, for his stewardship and support as secretary for my first year as Chairman.

To remind everyone, the Committee’s principle responsibility is to represent the views of current Owners at St Mellion so it has been a very busy year with you communicating through our website www.smtoa.co.uk (Please register if you haven’t already for the latest news).

We have been very proactive on your behalf and at every committee meeting requesting resolution to the following outstanding financial issues with Crown Golf.

• Reconciliation of the Deed of Variation monies
• Access and report on fee arrears
• Justifying administration costs attributed to St Mellion Property Management Ltd

We also took the decision to double the Committee meetings during the pandemic so that Timeshare owner’s views are constantly put forward. This did prove difficult with three senior management changes during 2020 and the fight against covid.

I am pleased to say we are in a much better place for the following reasons: –

• On 1^st July 2020, St Mellion Estate separated from Crown Golf and the central control of Pine Ridge so St Mellion has complete control of its own destiny.

• The new senior management team under 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 2020.

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.

• All the timeshare owners’ leases have been transferred to St Mellion and a review of completeness and accuracy of the database was well underway. There remain c 350-400 Timeshare weeks under ownership and if you have any outstanding issues regarding your lease, please contact Iain Wylie i.wylie@st-mellion.co.uk

Impact of Latest Lockdown.

This is a difficult topic for Owners and St Mellion. Owners may have “lost” weeks or not be able to have weeks in the same season or have weeks without full restaurant/bar facilities. St Mellion only have 80 spare weeks in the Timeshare lodges.

Approx. 50 “lost” weeks from 2020 need to be resolved. St Mellion are not willing or in a position to grant refunds or other compensation. A case-by-case approach was agreed, although the Time Owners Committee members remain very concerned about the timeliness of communication from St Mellion. Iain and Hanna agreed to communicate their plan for dealing with this issue very soon.

Property Development.

The planning application Phase 1 passed in the early part of 2020 was going to be radically amended and most of the changes were in line with the Committee’s thinking and objections to the original scheme. However due to Covid, there was a complete re-think, and this approved development was shelved.

A new retirement village was proposed instead, at the entrance to St Mellion, however this was rejected by Cornwall CC on 2^nd March 2021.

Following the rejection, plans are to be revised and resubmitted to Crown Golf’s owners in Australia. Given the impact of the lock downs, it is likely that future investment will be delayed and /or scaled back.

Committee Changes

As Chairman I would like to thank all the hard work of your committee during these challenging times and especially Paul Oliphant who is leaving at the Annual Meeting after 5 years of giving valuable input and always asking the right questions.

Joyce Bloom and Colin Rayson have also been doing sterling work on your behalf and agreed to continue serving on the committee with the passion for St Mellion they both bring.

I am pleased to say that John Dalglish and Sarah Yardley are formally joining the committee at the Annual Meeting after being co-opted during the year. John will take over the role of secretary with John Boardman promising to stay on another year to ensure a smooth transition.

Annual Meeting

The formal notice of the Annual Meeting together with the Statutory Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020 are included in this communication. As the pandemic has meant this will be a virtual meeting on 7^th May 2021, please could you submit your questions/comments for St Mellion Senior Management to John Boardman onboardjohn@aol.com by 30^th April 2021 so we can raise these on your behalf.

Finally, I can confidently say this has been a year like no other and I hope that we can put lockdowns behind us. I hope we can start enjoying St Mellion as we have all loved over a number of years and the new team make our stays as special as they have been in the past.

Wishing you and your families all the best and look forward to seeing you again when we can do face to face meetings.

Andy Martin
Chairman,
St Mellion Time Owners Committee

4 Green Farm Close
Castor
Peterborough
Cambs
PE5 7BE

andy.martin@btinternet.com

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