We want your views! Our priorities for Hilltop Park
Parts of Hilltop Park have flooded three times in 18 months. The hoggin path keeps washing away, key information supporting residents’ rentcharges remains outstanding, and important decisions about the estate’s future are approaching.
Bloor has told us that residents could have greater control of the Management Company by summer 2027. We want Hilltop Park to be ready.
Our priorities are to secure lasting repairs, hold those currently responsible to account, improve transparency and prepare residents for a meaningful say in what happens next. We also want residents to tell us what we have missed.
Stop the flooding and repair the hill
Residents shouldn’t have to accept repeated flooding whenever there is sustained heavy rain.
We want the responsible parties to establish what is causing the flooding no matter how limited, agree who must put it right and deliver a lasting solution. Once the drainage problem has been addressed, the damaged ground at the top of the hill must be properly repaired.
Clearing up after each incident and waiting for the next one isn’t a solution.
Replace the path that keeps washing away
The hoggin path has repeatedly deteriorated and washed away. Continuing to replace it with the same material, without addressing why it fails, isn’t durable or good value.
We believe the drainage and path must be considered together. The path should be replaced with a surface suitable for the location and capable of coping with the conditions.
Resolving these problems may require Bloor, FirstPort, the Management Company and other parties to work together. We will keep pressing for clear responsibility, a credible plan and action.
Hold FirstPort to account
Residents pay an annual rentcharge for the management and maintenance of Hilltop Park. They should be able to see what work is planned, what has been completed and how their money has been spent.
We have requested rentcharge budgets, invoices, contracts, cost allocations and evidence supporting the charges residents receive. Important information and answers remain outstanding.
This isn’t about opposing every charge. It is about ensuring that charges are properly explained, supported by evidence and connected to work completed to an appropriate standard.
Make rentcharges easier to understand
The legal, financial and company arrangements behind Hilltop Park’s rentcharges are difficult to navigate, yet they affect hundreds of households and substantial sums of residents’ money.
We want to explain how those arrangements are supposed to work, identify where evidence is missing and publish clear updates residents can understand.
Better transparency should strengthen scrutiny, help residents judge whether they are receiving value for money and lead to better decisions about the estate.
Prepare for greater resident control by summer 2027
Hilltop Park homeowners are members of the estate’s Management Company, but residents do not yet have the influence over it that we believe they should.
Bloor has told us that it envisages residents having greater control “this time next year”, which we understand to mean summer 2027.
This wasn’t presented as a firm commitment, and the timetable remains in Bloor’s control. Bloor has not yet explained precisely what “greater control” will involve, when resident directors could be appointed or what must happen first.
Nevertheless, summer 2027 is now a useful public benchmark. We will ask Bloor to confirm the timetable, explain the steps required and keep residents informed. If that expectation changes or the date slips, residents deserve to know why.
Hilltop Park also needs to be ready. That means identifying and supporting potential resident directors, understanding the Management Company’s finances and responsibilities, and ensuring residents can make informed choices when greater influence becomes possible.
Decide what comes next
Greater resident control should mean more than appointing directors while everything else continues unchanged.
Residents will need to consider what service they expect, how the estate should be managed and who is best placed to do it. FirstPort could remain, another managing agent could be appointed, or residents might eventually choose a different model.
No decision has been made. Any change would require careful examination of the costs, responsibilities and risks. But Hilltop Park’s future shouldn’t be decided through inertia.
Residents should be able to compare the options and make an informed choice.
What should we focus on?
Our current priorities are:
- stopping the flooding and repairing the top of the hill;
- replacing the failing hoggin path with a lasting solution;
- securing proper transparency over rentcharges and estate expenditure;
- holding FirstPort and other responsible parties to account;
- preparing for resident directors and greater influence by summer 2027; and
- understanding the options for Hilltop Park after developer control.
Now we want to hear from you.
Which issue matters most to you? What have we missed? Is there another problem or opportunity the Residents’ Association should pursue?
Join the discussion on our Facebook page. Volunteer your time to tackle an issue you're passionate about. We can’t tackle everything at once, but residents’ experiences should help shape where we put our time and effort.