About Us
The Crescent Garden is the area bounded by Warrington Crescent, Randolph Avenue, Randolph Crescent and Clifton Gardens. The Garden is owned by Crescent Amenity Limited, who engage managing agents Westbourne Estates to manage them on a day to day basis. The Garden Committee is composed of residents, who contribute their time to undertake some of the functions of the Amenity and organise the social events throughout the year.
So what exactly is the Crescent Amenity ? This brief introduction is based on history of the area from the Paddington Waterways and Maida Vale Society (www.paddingtonwaterways.com) and is used with their kind permission.
In about 1980, the Church Commissioners decided to sell off parts of the North Paddington Estate which had belonged to the Church of England for over one hundred years. To continue to preserve the character of the area after they had sold their freeholds in the area, the Commissioners drew up complex legal arrangements based on Rent Charge Deeds. The holder of a Rent Charge can impose certain obligations on every freehold owner in the area covered by that Rent Charge. These obligations are set out in the Rent Charge Deed, and this forms a contract between the holder of the Rent Charge and any purchaser of a property in the area covered by the Rent Charge.
The Commissioners next set up twelve Companies, drew up twelve Deeds and gave a Rent Charge to each of the twelve Companies. Crescent Amenity is one of those companies, and its Rent Charge covers the properties adjoining the Crescent Garden. It is a typical Limited Liability Company but its shareholders are the freeholders of properties adjoining the Garden. Every freeholder there has one share in the Company, which is run, as normal, by a Board of Directors elected by the shareholders (i.e the freeholders) at each Annual General Meeting. It must produce Annual accounts, which are presented to the AGM.
What are the powers of the Crescent Amenity under its Rent Charge Deed? The Rent Charge Deed is available to view under the Garden Rules section of this website. But basically the Amenity Company’s main role is to preserve the character and features of the Garden and the buildings that adjoin it. Consequently, any proposal to alter the external appearance of a house must, in addition to being approved by Westminster Council, also be approved in writing by the Crescent Amenity Limited.