‘Shambolic’ scenes at Beacon owners meeting

CHAOTIC scenes saw Beacon South Quarter homeowners being turned away from a “shambolic” meeting about the development, due to the enormous turn-out.
The venue for the AGM could not accommodate the large gathering and the management company has agreed to reconvene the AGM at a bigger venue in a month’s time.
A room with a capacity of approximately 180 people was booked for the meeting – at which an attendance of more than double that figure been expected.
More than 200 apartment owners turned up hoping to vote down a request from management that they pay more than €10m for remedial works on their apartments.
However, the meeting was called off before it even began over health and safety fears due to overcrowding.
Beacon resident Aoife Culleton said that the meeting was “absolute chaos”. Speaking to The Gazette, she said: “I’m hoping it was a case that they’re just inept at organising a meeting and that it wasn’t actually a calculated thing.
“I don’t see how they didn’t think they’d need a room big enough to hold everybody. It was crazy.”
Aoife said that the room was “sweltering” with people crammed in, while many others were outside queuing to get in the Clayton Hotel in Leopardstown where the meeting was being held.
The meeting was then called off by the hotel on health and safety grounds.
Aoife says that the directors or Mazar’s (receivers of the complex) had come to the conclusion in the past few days that the homeowners didn’t have sufficient information, and so wouldn’t be voting on the resolutions that night.
Of this outlook, Aoife said: “That was galling – it caused quite a bit of uproar. People had travelled and given up their time to attend the meeting, and the management didn’t even have the decency or manners to send us out an email to say it.”
The fire safety reports will now be made available for the homeowners to view ahead of the next meeting, which Aoife said she and her neighbours are pleased about.
Another positive outcome from the situation came from landlord Ires Reit, who own about 25% of the apartments, are no longer going to vote in favour of all homeowners collectively paying €9.1 million for remedial works.
Aoife said: “They said they had changed their mind and wanted to act in everyone’s best interest.”
Deputy Catherine Martin (GP) said that homeowners at the Beacon South Quarter development feel their voices are not being heard.
She said: “The homeowners are not being treated with the respect they deserve at this very difficult time. The management company should serve the owners – all the owners – equally.
“There is a moral prerogative and a political imperative to defend and vindicate the many homeowners in the eye of this storm and resolve this issue.”