The Park Ecovillage is a private estate and as such is responsible for its own infrastructure which would otherwise be maintained by the Local Council. In other words, we are responsible for all the services which would normally be provided by the Local Council. It should be therefore borne in mind that there are some financial commitments involved in choosing to live in such a community.
- HoCo Service Charges – Maintenance and upgrading of the common infrastructure
- As a Titleholder of a plot in the Park Ecovillage you share land with all partners and park residents and you cooperate in the care of the land. The HoCo charge is essentially an additional ‘Council Tax’ established for all land users of The Park to cover the costs of maintenance and upgrading of the common infrastructure needed to support our settlement. You therefore commit to pay an equal rate based on the size of the floor area of your dwelling house or other such buildings for the cost of maintenance, repair and renewal of the common parts of the Park Ecovillage.
- Assessment of HoCo charges for residential houses
- Residential houses are assessed on the basis of usable floor area in square meters. The measurements are taken from the house plans/site visits on the basis of the internal face of external wall to external wall, neglecting all internal walls and partitions. The current (from 1st May 2018) rate is £4.70 per square meter per year. So for example the HoCo Service Charge for a 100 square meter house would be 100 x 4.70 = £470. This is usually charged on an equal monthly basis. So £39.17 a month.
- What elements of ‘infrastructure’ does the HoCo Service Charge include?
- Infrastructure of the Park includes: Roads; Water supply; Sewerage; Surface water disposal; Streetlights; Parking; General new landscaping. There are three additional elements of infrastructure which are not covered by the HoCo charges. These are: Electrical supply; Telephone; Computer Network (where available). Each of these are maintained separately: The Park Electric, a division of NFD Ltd, maintains the electrical supply and distribution network; British Telecom (Openreach) maintains the telephone network; FFIT, maintains the computer network.
- Utility Service Charges
- As a Titleholder you agree to only connect to electricity, water, drainage and other services supplied by the Titleholders’ Association and their service agents. The Utility Service Charges covers the cost for electricity, water, drainage and other services exclusive normal consumption charges. (Clause 10 of the Community Conditions)
- Payment of Service Charges
- You are responsible for the payment of the Utility and the HoCo Service Charges and you are required to pay these to the NFD on a monthly or as agreed basis. Overdue payments in excess of two months are considered to be a breach of the Housing Site Rules and you may face discontinuation of supply if non-payment continues. (Rule 16 of the Housing Site Rules)
- Annual report and projected budget
- The Titleholders’ Association is obliged to produce an annual report and a Projected Budget available to you. The annual payments are increased each year in relation to the increase in the consumer price index for the period in question.