£5m plan cleared for Lichfield Court
LICHFIELD COURT has been given the go-ahead for its £5m upgrade that includes replacing all the original windows and renewing the electrical cabling to more than 200 flats. Approval of the plans was given by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) on September 16th following last December's granting of planning permission for the work by Richmond Council.
A group of about 20 leaseholders in the Art Deco complex objected to the cost and scheduling of the works and took their case to the Tribunal. The LVT ruled that the works were properly costed and agreed with the proposed service charge increases. It also described concerns over parts of the ancillary work in the programme as misconceived and acknowledged that if the work was delayed the programme could face a cost increase of at least £1.3m. The work, which is being funded entirely by the leaseholders, will be spread over the next 12 months.
John Lyde, a leaseholder in Lichfield Court and chairman of the leaseholder-owned company that runs the estate, observed: "This is a major milestone in the history of this landmark building. While we know that the cost of the work will be difficult for some leaseholders to bear, the vast majority of them agree that this programme is essential for the future of such an important building. We're all looking forward to seeing the works completed and Lichfield Court becoming the best place to live in the heart of Richmond."
