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ESTATE NEWS

We have only a handful of residents
who really challenge the patience of the
committees and HOA staff regarding
adherence to the rules; but there are
also feel good situations at, for example,
the AAC meeting. This is where the most
confrontation with people not abiding
by the rules occurs. It is through this
committee that we try and make the estate
aesthetically pleasing for all homeowners,
and protect the communal property for
use by everyone.
One owner bought an existing home and
was notified of an imminent fine for a
wall that was too high - over more than
30% of the street front of the property.
He came to see us at the AAC meeting
and we explained to him our reason for
trying to protect the streetscapes of the
estate. He replied that he had inherited
the ‘fault’- this very high and long wall.
No one ever saw it because there was a
high, dense garden in front… he offered
to have a look, together with his architect,
and at the next AAC meeting we were
shown the most beautiful plans of how programme in the common areas and golf as well as along the golf course;
this homeowner would ‘sacrifice’ his very course. I believe going ‘green’ was the best • This also includes protecting the existing
visible wall and modify it to help us create thing we did, but there are also other, more street trees and providing endemic and
pleasing streetscapes! This totally restored ‘visible’ things, including the following: indigenous trees for replanting bare
my faith in the goodness of our fellow areas, such as the corners where the
residents, which I needed after a stressful • The gate at Silver Lakes Drive was given roses were removed;
session with another resident pertaining a roof; • Floating islands;
• Some of our gardens were replanted; • One of my first tasks was to allocate
to boundary lines! Thanks for that!
• Signage on the estate was standardised; budget to lower the irrigation pipes and
We have had many projects over the years, • Corner signage was added; install less visible pop-ups. This is more
the following are just a few of them: • Roses were replanted to a focal area at expensive, but has less of an impact on
the clubhouse, where they give a show the aesthetics of the gardens. We are
As mentioned, and explained in last in full bloom for the largest part of the still busy with this project and in time
month’s Intra Muros, we developed an year; we will only have pop-up systems.
environmentally sound maintenance • Re-development and rehabilitation of
natural areas, both in the game reserve Another important project was the revamp
of the clubhouse, where the following
took place:
• A larger restaurant was added;
• Covered patios upstairs provided for
a larger members’ bar area. New plans
are in the pipeline to revamp this
entire area, together with the help of a
designer;
• Having the ProShop inside the
clubhouse made space for a small
bakery cum convenience store, as well
as a wine shop;
• The addition of the halfway house was
part of a second building phase;
• new irrigation was installed on the golf
course and the greenside bunkers were
redone at the same time.

Hopefully, we will now have a time of ‘no
building activity’ for the club and golf
course, so that it can once again become
a place of relaxation!

Building onto the clubhouse

24 INTRA MUROS APRIL 2020