04th March 2008

Well, Christmas & New Year has come and gone and the builders have returned in full force to site. A contract has been signed with F. Verbaan Builders, who are on site, building the Garlington Town Square and related buildings. (18-month contract)

The gatehouse will be completed in the next few weeks, the installation of the security booms, cameras, hardware and software is underway. The following building contractors are currently on site, for those of you who are ready to go to tender:-

• Doug Wayt – 083 4522210 – Sinosizo Construction
• Frank Verbaan – 083 2298389 – Verbaan Builders
• George Butler – 082 4601650 – CDB Construction
• Peter Allen – 082 9223168 – Allen Family Trust
• David Gilden – 072 7467792 – RBB Construction
• France Gregory – 082 7868640 – AG Gregory Construction
• Nick Comrie – 082 3768810 – Comrie Construction
• Nigel Warr – 083 7832267 – Handswood Trust
• Newton – 082 7852141 – Willow Construction
• Lance Ridl – 082 2658699 – Ridl Construction

There are twelve houses under construction and many more plan submissions have been received. The civil contractor is also on site at the moment, rectifying defective work on the roads and we apologise for the inconvenience it may cause, on their behalf. When designing your new home, please try and include some of the following “green” aspects, namely: - Retaining rain water run-off, solar power/heating and L.P. gas appliances / geysers. You just never know what the future might hold.

From a security perspective, there have been no incidents on site at all, just two accidents – teething problems on the golf cart and the quad bike! Whilst T.P.S. (Tactical Protection Services) remains contracted, the jury is still out on whether we will be renewing their contract. The advantage that they have over others is the fact that the night guard is armed and they patrol on foot with a guard dog.

The promenade has taken shape rather nicely and the Cynodin grass has about 80% coverage. The werf walls are also nearly completed. This beautiful open space, with the best views on the Estate, is going to be fantastic for walking at leisure and a sanctuary for children to play.

The Home Owners Association is meeting at the Hilton Hotel @ 17h30 on the 4th March. The major items up for discussion are the proposed relocation of the stable block within the pastures and the exchange of land, so that buildings can be placed on all four sides of Crowe Square to enclose it, and to free up land for the maintenance yard and second guard house. We are also proposing to put the monies for the second tennis court into the H.O.A. account, until required or to be used for an alternative recreation activity. The driving range and putting green will be commencing soon, as will Stub Road leading to sites 10 & 11. There has been a delay with the supply of the individual water meters. We originally ordered the electronic type which would not require to be physically read. This order was eventually cancelled due to non performance and the new meters are now on order.

Two weeks ago there was a report from the guards of a leopard on site, when Jerry Van Rooyen, the Estate Manager, went to inspect, it was however, identified as a Serval Cat. We are equally pleased with the pair of Crowned Cranes residing on site. John Manning has prepared a bird list for Garlington and he would welcome any additional species to be added to his list, which can now be found on the website. The tree and shrub list, for your gardens, is also posted on this website. There have been a handful of re-sales in the last three months with one site fetching R1,2 million that was purchased from the Trust for R495 000.Lets hope this trend will continue despite the negative sentiment that prevails currently, because Garlington is going to be the best secure estate in the Midlands without any doubt.

Thought for the day by Hodding Carter: - “There are two things you should give your children in life, the one is roots and the other is wings”.