The following was generated using ChatGPT.
It should be noted that the response corresponds to the manual research carried out.

Research

The research is brief and commenced with putting the following phrase to it:

"The Company Secretary's role in governance of the Board & Chairman in a leasehold environment"

The following response was generated:

In a leasehold environment, the Company Secretary plays a central role in supporting effective governance for the Board and the Chairman. Their responsibilities focus on compliance, smooth board operations, and ensuring that leaseholders receive transparent and accountable management.

Key Responsibilities of the Company Secretary

• Governance and Compliance 
  Ensures the company complies with the Companies Act, leasehold legislation, and regulatory requirements:
  • Maintains statutory registers and files mandatory returns
  • Advises the Board and Chairman on governance best practice
  • Ensures decisions are made and recorded in line with the company’s articles and leases
• Supporting the Board
  • Ensures the company complies with the Companies Act, leasehold legislation, and regulatory requirements
  • Ensures directors have accurate and timely information
  • Facilitates induction and ongoing training for directors
  • Helps the Board understand its responsibilities to leaseholder
• Supporting the Chairman
  
  • Assists the Chairman in running efficient, well‑structured meetings
  • Ensures the Chairman has the information needed to guide discussions
  • Helps maintain a constructive relationship between directors
  • Supports the Chairman in ensuring decisions are followed through 
• Leaseholder and Stakeholder Communication
  
  • Ensures transparent and compliant communication with leaseholders
  • Oversees distribution of service charge budgets, accounts, and notices
  • Acts as a point of contact for managing agents, solicitors, and auditors
  • Ensures meeting outcomes and decisions are communicated appropriately
• Record Keeping and Documentation
  
  • Maintains accurate minutes of board and general meetings
  • Ensures official documents are stored securely and accessible
  • Oversees compliance with data protection rules
• Managing Risks and Issues
  
  • Keeps the Board aware of governance risks, regulatory changes, and compliance deadlines
  • Ensures processes exist to handle complaints, disputes, and breaches of lease

Why This Role Is Important in Leasehold Governance

• Leasehold boards often consist of volunteer directors, so the Company Secretary provides crucial professional governance support.
• Their work ensures accountability in managing service charges and property matters.
• They help protect the Board from legal risk by ensuring decisions follow correct process.
• They reinforce fairness and transparency for leaseholders.

Comments

First of all the reader is invited to confirm that they have read the history and correspondence etc etc as is provided on this site.

Virtually everything untoward that has happened from failing to ensure that the estate is properly insured - which has now occurred for a second time - to allowing the directors to act in breach of the Landlord & Tenant Act and cause highly flammable cladding to be erected, to selling non compliant doors to some lessees, and then attempting to cover this up by instigating what is best called a vanity project lies at the door of the Company Secretary.

Conclusions

Three successive Company Secretaries have failed dismally in their responsibilities.

J C F Property Management Ltd parted company with Kersfield Maintenance Ltd on 30th June 2022, having been appointed on 16th June 2015.

Messrs Rendall & Rittner parted company with Kersfield Maintenance Ltd on 31st March 2025.

The question is how long can the staff and management of Grace Miller tolerate being abused by the Board of Kersfield Maintenance Ltd.

Noted that all three firms were also appointed as Property Manager - the terms of such appointment although requested have as at 1st March 2026 NOT been provided.

Research

The research is brief and commenced with putting the following phrase to Google's AI:

"telecommunications act recording meetings"

The following "AI Review" was presented:

The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000, in the UK, allows businesses to record calls and meetings without explicit consent for specific purposes, such as evidence of business transactions, quality control, or regulatory compliance. However, it's crucial to inform participants about the recording and to handle the recordings securely, especially if they contain personal data.

[Relevant] Key Points

Legitimate Business Purposes:
Businesses can record calls and meetings without explicit consent if it's for legitimate business reasons like recording evidence of business transactions, ensuring quality standards, or complying with regulations.

Individual Recording:
Individuals can record conversations they are part of for personal use without needing consent from other participants.

Google also reports thus:

Under the Telecommunications Regulations 2000, companies can only record calls without telling you if the recording is used for monitoring or keeping a record of communications for: establishing the existence of facts, ascertain compliance with regulatory or self-regulatory practices or procedures.

Google also suggests the following web site: https://dma-law.co.uk/is-it-illegal-to-record-conversations/

This web site reports as follows:

Introduction

We have all thought about it at some point, whether it’s for proof of what was said during an argument or to just record a meeting or conversation, but is recording conversations actually legal?

When it comes to discreetly recording conversations, calls or even filming someone, the law in the UK varies between individuals and businesses and it’s important to understand the distinctions before you attempt it.

Nowadays, the range of technology at our disposal means it is easy to record conversations without the other participant’s knowledge – but does that mean it’s ethical, and can it be admitted as evidence in court?

Is it illegal to record a conversation in secret?

Recording a conversation in secret is not a criminal offense and is not prohibited. As long as the recording is for personal use you don’t need to obtain consent or let the other person know.

Things change if the matter is addressed with a claim for damages or if the recordings have been shared without the consent of the participants. Even worse, if the recording is sold to third parties or released in public without the consent of the participants then this could be considered a criminal offense. [Definitely not the case here].

Journalists often record conversations in secret that they then publish without facing any legal problems. That is because they make sure to either obtain consent or argue that the recordings are in the public’s interest.

Can a private recording be submitted as evidence in court?

A private recording can be submitted as evidence, but with some conditions:

• A recording may be relied on in evidence if the court gives permission
• An application for permission should be made on form C2
• The recording should be made available to other parties before any hearing to consider its admissibility.

Comments

• Is an AGM a "business transaction" ? The answer is YES - see the Companies Act.
• The obvious: NO explicit consent required - whether the recording is by a business or an individual.
• Is there a specific reason ? YES. It is that the minutes of meetings in previous years under the same chairman have not reflected what was said at the meetings. This raises the requirement for an independent and personal recording.
• It may be in the public interest, but it is very definitely in the lessees' interests: it must be possible to establish the truth [later of the minutes].
• It is NOT unlawful [unlike erecting cladding with neither planning permission nor lessees permission under the Landlord & Tenant Act under the same Chairman].

Conclusions

• The lessee who might have been intending to record the proceedings on his mobile phone:
  • Had every right to do so - in private as well.
  • Had very good reason so to do - previous minutes being unreliable.
• The Chairman acted unlawfully and indeed unreasonably in:
  • Attempting to access a lessee's mobile phone,
  • Causing the Annual General Meeting to be abandoned.
• The Company Secretary failed to prevent the Chairman acting unlawfully.

Description of parts.

Updated 24th November 2025 [*'d].
Updated 7th February 2026 - corrected summary error on garages [small impact], added note of sensitivity for whole estate calculation.

There are seven elements to the buildings to be considered which are as follows:

1. Roof
2. Water Tanks *
3. Front Wall
4. Rear Wall
5. Southern End Wall
6. Northern End Wall
7. Garages *

The calculation of flammable and non flammable areas of each is described below.

Data from Reports

Taken from FRC External Wall Survey Report, Page 23:

Item 8.1.4: The maximum height of the buildings is estimated to be approximately 10.1m, with a habitable top story level calculated to be approximately 7.4m to the slab level of the uppermost floor.

Thus the floor height is 2.7m [soffit to soffit].

Taken from Wandsworth Council:

Specific Planning Permission for a roof using Mastic Asphalt was granted by Wandsworth Council as follows:
59/14350/B 21-50 GARDEN ROYAL Kersfield Road London SW15 3HE
Details of roofing materials to Blocks "B" and "C" pursuant to planning permission dated 15/12/59.
FINAL DECISION Details - Granted.

Noted that Google AI states:

Mastic Asphalt is not flammable and is considered fire-resistant. Its high mineral content makes it virtually incombustible. Mastic asphalt is often used in applications where fire safety is a critical concern, like flat roofs, due to its ability to resist flame spread and penetration.

Noted also that repairs may have been carried out using Bitumen which is flammable. DHP's estimates included for Bitumen as an alternative.

Water Tanks.

Measurements from Photographs

Taken from an RGTR Photo - for first floor: [picture measurements in cm] window height: 4.3 cm, tiles height: 2.5 tiles, bay width 9.0cm.
Width of concrete frame column is 0.8 cm.

Thus 6.8 cm equates to 2.7 m. Thus the indicated window height is 1.7 m, and the indicated cladding or tile height is 1 m.
And the indicated bay width is 3.6 m, indicated clear [windows] width is 3.3 m, with the frame being 0.3 m wide.

Taken from an RGTR photo - for rear small bay: [picture measurements in cm] small bay 4.5 cm, full bay 7.7 cm
This indicates that the smaller bay is 2.1 m wide, and 1.8 m window width.

Taken from a Google Maps Aerial View, the building measures [picture measurements in cm] 4.1 cm depth and 12.2 cm width. The scale indicating 5m measures 2 cm. The indicated overall building size is 30.5 m wide and 10.3 m deep.

Taken from Google Maps Street View, a window [picture measurements in cm] 2.5 cm high and 2.3 cm wide.
The door is assessed at being 1.8 cm wide by 4.4 cm high.
The scale is 4.5 cm beteeen floors of 2.7 m.
The indicated size of a window is 1.5 m by 1.4 m viz 2.1 sq m.
The indicated size of the door is 1 m by 2.6 m viz 2.6 sq m.

Taken from Google Maps Street View, a window [picture measurements in cm] , the front door bay has cladding to each side of the door measuing 2.5 cm wide by 5.5 cm deep. The scale is 9.5 cm beteeen floors of 2.7 m.
This indicates two panels of 0.6 m by 1.6 m viz 1.9 sq m in total.

Assessment of Areas

Roof

There are 12 roof lights, and 3 water tanks. The indicated size of the roof lights is 0.7 m by 0.7 m viz 0.5 sq m, i.e. 6 sq m in total. The indicated size of the water tanks is 2 cm by 0.6 m viz 5 m by 1.5 m viz 7.5 sq m, i.e. 22.5 sq m in total.

The indicated overall size of the roof is 314 sq m, with non flammable areas of 28.5 sq m leaving 285.5 sq m of possible flammable area - depending upon the resurfacing material used. Bitumen is flammable.

Google Maps Aerial View indicates that three bays 3.6 m wide by 10.3 m deep have been re-roofed. The bays are the most southern ones and the penultimate on to the north. These cover an area of 111 sq m.

* In 2025 a further bay was re-roofed bringing the flammable are to 148 sq m.

Rear Wall

There are 7 full bays, 3 to the south of, and 4 to the north of one smaller bay accommodating the stairwell.

There is no cladding to the rear.

The wall area is calculated as 4 stories by 7 bays of 3.3 m, and 3 bays [excludes ground floor] of 1.8 m 92.4 sq m plus 5.4 sq m totalling 97.8 sq m.

Front Wall

Similar to the rear wall, there are differences which are as follows:

• Ground Floor: 4 front doors assumed at 0.8 m width. These also have higher walls of 1.5m compared to 1 m
  All 7 bays have cladding not tiles or bare prior to 2017. The smaller bay is the front door has cladding below the wiindows.
• First Floor: 4 bays with cladding, and the smaller bay.
• Second Floor: 5 bays with cladding along the protected fire routes, and 7 front doors of which 2 are not in a counted wall.
• Third Floor: All bays are tiled.

The rebate for the second floor access has been ignored.

• Ground floor: All  bays are clad.
  3 bays 3.3 m wide 1 m deep. 4 bays with doors 2.5 m wide by 1.5 m deep. Total for 7 bays cladding 24.9 sq m
  The total including the smaller bay is thus 26.8 sq m.
• First Floor.
  4 bays cladding [3.3 wide by 1m deep], 3 bays tiles [3.3 wide by 1m deep], smaller bay clad - 1.8 m.
  The total area is 24.9 sq m, of which 15.0 sq m is cladding
• Second Floor:
  Cladding: 5 bays with doors 2.5 m wide by 1.5 m deep indicates 18.8 sq m.
  3 tiled bays including the smaller bay
  Total wall area of 27.2 sq m.
• Third Floor: No cladding. 7 bays at 3.3 m plus 1.8 m smaller bay gives

Northern End Wall

Taken from Google Maps Street View: the wall is brick, and four stories tall. There are four windows, and one door.

No cladding. Area assessed at width 10.3 m and height of 10.1 m viz 105 sq m less 4 windows and door indicates 94 sq m.

Southern End Wall

Taken from Google Maps Street View: the wall is brick, and four stories tall. There are three windows,

No cladding. Area assessed at width 10.3 m and height of 10.1 m viz 105 sq m less 3 windows. indicates 98.7 sq m.

Garages [*]

There are effectively 5 blocks, with each garage generally 2.5m wide by 2.5m high and 5m deep. Wall and roof areas are as follows:

• 1-9. Rear Wall: 56m2, End Walls: 25m2, Roof: 113m2.
• 10-20. Rear Wall: 68m2, End Walls: 25m2, Roof: 138m2.
• 21-25. Rear Wall: 31m2, End Walls: 25m2, Roof: 63m2
• 26-30. Rear Wall: 31m2, End Walls: 13m2, Roof: 63m2
• 30-31. Rear Wall: 10m2, Roof: 10m2
• 31-36. Rear Wall: 37m2, End Walls: 13m2, Roof: 76m2

Total all garages: Flammable Roof: 463m2, Walls: 344m2

Total for Block B [12 of 36 30 garages]: Flammable Roof: 154m2 185m2, Walls: 115m2 138m2

Assessment of Percentage Flammability for Block B

Part	Flammable	Total
Roof		314
Water Tanks [*]	23	23
Re-Roofed [* [2025]]	148
Rear Wall	0	98
Front Wall - Ground	26.8	26.8
Front Wall - First	15.0	24.9
Front Wall - Second	18.8	27.2
Front Wall - Third	0	24.9
Northern End Wall	0	94
Southern End Wall	0	98.7
Garages [* error fixed]	154	300
Totals [error fixed]	385.6	1,031.5

 
The percentage clad is thus assessed at about 25%. However, if the roofing repairs have been done using bitumen, then the percentage rises to nearly 40%. [error has no impact to nearest 5%].

CAVEAT: The calculations need to be carried out by an independent Chartered Engineer, Chartered Building Surveyor or Chartered Quantity Surveyor.

Note on calculation sensitivity for whole estate. Block B is the smallest block. Hence the effect of the end walls on the flammable assessment is greatest in reducing the flammable ratio. Thus the assessment for the whole estate is to increase the flammable percentage - but not by much.

Description of risk

Taken from FRC External Wall Survey Report, page 70:

Comment classed as "Negative"

External Wall Type 2 (Sandwich Panels) Ground floor (<2m)

At this height, the likelihood of a fire originating externally (e.g. involving a parked vehicle or waste skip started either accidentally or deliberately) igniting the cladding is highly likely.

 

The following markups [viz comments] have been made.

Page 1: Marked up by Eur Ing Richard Townsend-Rose MA CEng MICE on 19th May 2025
Page 4: Remove Cheong as Director
Page 5: Car Parking, First Bullet: Except of course for Charalambous' boyfriend's van ! £70,000 dues in £50 charges since 2000.
Page 5: CCTV: NOT in the lease nor the law GDPR Regulations do not cover doorbells or CCTV Front Doors belong to the lessees as do the windows.
Page 6: Doors knobs etc: Original doors are FD30 compliant. Only those supplied by Charalambous as agent for Sun Trade Windows are not compliant
Page 6: Business's: Charalambous uses her flat as a business premises for interior design. Planning permission is required
Page 7: Entry Phone: The door entry phone system was not approved by lessees under the Landlord & Tenant Act
Page 8: Insurance: It is probable that the declaration made is false . . . less than 10% of the walls and roof must be non-flammable. [Have asked Grace Miller to calculate %. Walls and Roof only - no doors or windows] [Do NOT Forget end walls, water tanks, and stairway]
Page 9: Refurbishment: If the scope of refurbishment requires planning permission, then a Licence to Alter is required. Routine Repair & Renewal does NOT.
Noted that several ground floor lessees purchased "garden doors" via Charalambous which explicitly require planning permission, which was NOT obtained.
Page 10: Window [Cleaning] The lease says monthly, so Charalambous has arranged it on a quarterly basis
Page 12: Fire: The Board of KML have ignored and continue to ignore the instruction by London Fire Brigade to make safe the protected fire routes which Charalambous, Daffy, Taul and Lawrence made dangerous by erecting cladding in 2017 without planning permission let alone consent of the lessees under the landlord & Tenant Act
Page 13: Alterations: See note on page 9
Page 14: Costs of Licence: This is not in the lease and so is unlawful. [Comes in the category "I can so I will"]
Page 17: CCTV: See previous note on page 5.