Northampton residents celebrate step forward in campaign over so-called 'Timken Tax'

Homeowners on a Northampton estate are celebrating after taking a step towards ending what they call "a second council tax" from a private company.

For the past three years, residents from Timken Way, Duston, have been campaigning against the extra bills they pay for the upkeep of shared spaces like green verges and courtyards.

Dubbed by them as "The Timken Tax", it has seen homeowners pay up to £400 in annual fees to management companies, and face legal issues if they don't comply.

Now, for the first time since the estate's launch, Timken Way's residents have secured four seats on property-management company Chamonix's company board.

The transfer was set out in homeowners' contracts more than five years ago, but has only now allowed residents to take over from the company's directors.

Sandie Maitland, chair of Duston Labour and who helped campaign , said: "When I became a parish councillor the first thing I wanted to do was explore the injustice of such management companies.

"Nobody should have to pay council tax to the local council and a further 'Timken Tax' to a management company to do the work that a local council normally does.”

Timken Way’s green spaces and the many shared courtyards between houses are maintained by two different management companies, one of which is Chamonix. Invoices seen by the Chronicle & Echo have shown how homeowners have been paying annual fees of more than £400.

The announcement was made during an "owner’s meeting" via Zoom on February 2, in which it was agreed a number of residents could be elected to the company board of Chamonix. The four residents elected to the board were Malcolm Clancy, Sophia Moore, Helene Sutton and Dmytry Orlov.

Dymitri Orlov said: “This just goes to show the power of community organising. The initial legwork was done by Duston Labour who organised community meetings so that residents could share information. The issue was then taken forward by the community so that now, two years later, we, the local owners, can finally have a say in how the upkeep of our estate is carried out.”

The change comes after Chamonix was itself acquired by the FirstPort Group in 2020.

A spokesperson for the development's property management company said: "A resident management company (RMC) was set up by the original developer of Taveners Fields. An RMC is an important way for residents of a development to have more say in how their home environment is managed. We are pleased to confirm that in a recent owners meeting several residents have now been elected to take over the spaces on their Resident Management Company.

"We are sorry to hear of any unhappiness relating to the property management service we provide at Timken Way, and we work hard to make sure customers' concerns are addressed."