Twigworth Green Residents' Association crest Resident-led · not affiliated with Vistry, Linden Homes or Gateway

Twigworth Green belongs to us. It's time our estate was run that way.

Every household here pays a service charge for grounds maintenance, open spaces and shared facilities. This is the residents' association fighting to make sure that money is spent properly, visibly, and with residents — not a management company — holding the purse strings.

15Residents currently registered
£?What your service charge actually funds — unclear to most
1Estate. One voice, if we organise it

Like most new-build estates, Twigworth Green's roads, open spaces and shared facilities are looked after by a private management company — Gateway — paid for through your annual service charge, not the council. That only works fairly if residents can see the accounts, question the spending, and vote on who runs it. Right now, most of us can't.

Mission statement

What Twigworth Green Residents' Association is here to do

Twigworth Green Residents' Association exists to represent and support the interests of everyone living within our community, helping to ensure Twigworth Green develops into the thriving neighbourhood originally envisioned.

We work constructively with the Parish Council, local authorities, developers, the estate management company, service providers and other community organisations to encourage the timely delivery of appropriate infrastructure, facilities and services that meet the needs of current and future residents.

Through open communication, collaboration and evidence-based discussion, we provide a platform for residents to share ideas, raise concerns and play an active role in shaping the future of Twigworth Green.

Our goal is simple: to ensure residents have a strong collective voice, are kept informed, and are proud to call Twigworth Green home.

Our principles

01

Constructive

We work positively with residents, local organisations, developers and public bodies to encourage practical solutions and meaningful progress.

02

Evidence-based

We gather information, understand the facts and ensure our discussions and decisions are guided by reliable evidence.

03

Inclusive

We welcome the involvement of all residents and seek to represent the diverse views and experiences of our community.

04

Independent

We are an independent, resident-led association. While we work alongside organisations such as the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Watch where appropriate, we remain focused solely on representing the interests of Twigworth Green residents.

05

Community-focused

We are committed to strengthening our community, encouraging resident participation, and helping to create a welcoming, sustainable place for current and future generations.

What we're focused on right now

Our current priorities

Three things the committee is organising around today — not a wishlist for someday.

1 Hold to account

Holding Developers and Estate Management to Account

  • Delivery of the promised primary school.
  • Estate management standards.
  • Monitoring commitments made to residents.
  • Working constructively with all relevant organisations.
2 Collective voice

Representing Residents

  • Acting as the collective voice of residents.
  • Gathering views through surveys and meetings.
  • Keeping residents informed.
  • Liaising with councils, developers and service providers.
3 Build together

Building Our Community

  • Encouraging residents to get involved.
  • Welcoming volunteers.
  • Organising community events and initiatives.
  • Supporting projects that improve Twigworth Green.
Why this campaign exists

The same story on every new estate

None of this is unique to Twigworth Green — it's the standard pattern on management-company estates across the country. That's exactly why organising early matters.

Issue 01

Charges go up. Detail doesn't come with them.

Annual demands arrive with a total and little else — no line-by-line breakdown of what's spent on grounds maintenance, insurance, management fees or the open spaces and play areas the development was built around.

Issue 02

Snagging and upkeep left unresolved

Verges, play areas and communal planting maintained inconsistently, reported issues that sit for months, and no clear, public record of what's been fixed, deferred, or ignored.

Issue 03

No resident oversight of the budget

Decisions about how the charge is spent are made without a resident-elected committee scrutinising them first — so there's no one formally checking value for money on our behalf.

Follow the money

What your service charge should cover — and what we actually need answers on

This is a working template. As residents come forward with their invoices and correspondence, we'll fill this in with real figures and publish it openly — not bury it in a PDF nobody reads.

Service Charge — Open Items Register

Twigworth Green · maintained by the residents' association
Under review
Budget lineWhat it's meant to fundStatus
Grounds & landscaping Verges, communal planting, open space upkeep Breakdown requested
Play areas & sports pitches Inspection, repair and safety upkeep of play equipment and pitches No public inspection record
Management company fee Administration of the service charge itself % of total not disclosed
Buildings & public liability insurance Cover for communal land and structures Policy not shared with residents
Reserve / sinking fund Future repairs so costs don't spike in one year Balance unknown
This register will be updated as the committee obtains the actual accounts and section 22 information. Have a copy of your service charge demand or accounts? It's the single most useful thing you can send us.

Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (s.21–22), leaseholders can formally request a summary of service charge costs and inspect the supporting accounts. A resident committee can request this collectively and follow up where a management company doesn't respond — one voice asking is easy to ignore; an elected committee is harder to.

How we get there

The plan, step by step

Nothing on this list needs Gateway's permission. It just needs enough of us in the room.

Step 1

Get residents signed up

Build a list of households willing to either join the committee or simply back it, so any approach to Gateway clearly speaks for the estate, not one household.

Step 2

Hold a founding meeting

Set a date, meet in person (a resident's home, the local centre, or outdoors on the green), and formally elect the committee roles above.

Step 3

Request the full accounts

Write formally to Gateway requesting a breakdown of the service charge, the reserve fund balance, and evidence of works carried out — collectively, in writing, with a response deadline.

Step 4

Publish what we find

Whatever comes back — or doesn't — gets published here in plain English, so every household can see exactly where things stand.

Step 5

Push for a Right to Manage

Where legislation allows it, look seriously at whether residents can take on management of the estate directly, so decisions and budgets sit with the people who actually live here.

Questions residents ask

Before you sign up

Is this affiliated with Vistry, Linden Homes or Gateway?

No. This is an independent, resident-led group, not associated with Vistry Group, Linden Homes or Gateway. Bovis Homes (part of Vistry Group) built Twigworth Green; day-to-day management of communal areas and the service charge is handled by Gateway, the estate's appointed management company — that's the body this campaign is aimed at.

Will this cost me anything?

No. Joining the committee or signing up to support it is free. The point of the campaign is scrutiny of money you're already paying, not asking for more.

What if I only want to keep an eye on things, not join the committee?

That's exactly what "register to vote - no active role" is for. Numbers matter even if you never attend a meeting — every signed-up household strengthens any letter or request the committee sends.

Can we actually change who manages the estate?

In some circumstances, leaseholders have a statutory Right to Manage, and residents can also request formal accounts under the Landlord and Tenant Act. Exactly what applies here depends on Twigworth Green's specific legal set-up — one of the committee's first jobs is getting proper advice on that, rather than guessing.

I don't have time to be on the committee. What can I still do?

Sign up as a supporter, send us any paperwork you've got from Gateway, and pass this on to neighbours. Numbers are the campaign's leverage.