A Margate 79-year-old who is working on the third book of an epic tale of survival in a post-World War Three society says he hopes he does not lose his Arlington House home of more than 20 years.
Ron Shaw has overcome many hurdles to get his dystopian tale in print, but didn’t think the prospect of stumping up a £40,000 ‘service charge’ to tower block head lease holder Freshwater would be one of them.
Dad-of-six, grandad and great grandad Ron is one of the residents who is expected to pay the huge sum for work to the block after the Building Safety Regulator found the 1963-built structure is posing a danger to residents and the public, with concrete cladding at risk of falling to the ground.
Representatives of Freshwater Group of Companies (FGOC), one of the biggest property firms in the world, were quizzed by councillors and residents at a TDC meeting in February over the list of issues at the All Saints Avenue building.
When asked what residents who cannot afford to pay for a possible £40,000 service fee should do, Martin Bale, company secretary of FGOC, said: “We are raising this early so that there is an opportunity for residents to seek funding in terms of bank loans, extending mortgages if they have them, taking mortgages if they don’t, making arrangements with a lender to provide the funds.
“That is one way of funding it, that’s probably the best suggestion I can give.” When pushed, Mr Bale said the final option would be “they can sell their flats”.
Ron, who started work in the coal mines aged 15 and then joined the Army at 18 serving in Borneo and Hong Kong, said: “No-one wants a big bill like this and a lot of people say that our property has been devalued by it all, so you can’t sell, you can’t get a loan but you are expected to pay £40,000.
“I love it here but at the moment I am not going to worry about it, life is hard enough without worrying about what might happen.
“I am hoping I can find the money or we will have to see what they (Freshwater) offer. They have to realise they are probably not going to get this money and they won’t want lots of empty flats and the council having to rehouse us all.
“ I don’t want to move, I have lots of memories here and have written all my books here but if you let it worry you, it will just drive you round the twist.”
Overcoming tough times
Ron overcame a number of obstacles to get his first two books of the Ring of Arrows series published, including an optical stroke that took away part of his vision in 2018, shortly after he began writing his tale.
Despite that condition, which resulted in his driving licence being revoked ending his role as a volunteer for Kent Wildlife Trust, Ron persevered and had begun his third book when covid hit.
A few weeks after publishing Part Two, just before Christmas 2020, Covid took the life of his brother, then two of his neighbours died, and he and wife Christina both caught the virus.
At this point part one, titled Margate and part two titled Canterbury were published but part three – Déjà vu- was put aside for a while.
Ron began working on it again but lost his beloved wife of nearly 50 years in January 2022 and felt unable to continue the book until recently.
He said: “I took four years off. I felt as though I had lost half of myself. But now I am at the editing stage again. That could take around six months and now there is a book four, I Am AI.
“Book three was difficult to write. In the first two books the characters were so strong but in Deja Vue they take another route, so the goodies are baddies and the baddies are goodies, there are two new characters and what happens is quite a shock!”
Ring of Arrows
Described by Ron as Thanet’s version of Game of Thrones, landmarks in the tale include Arlington House, Monkton Nature Reserve, Margate main sands and the Viking Ship overlooking Pegwell Bay.
Ron says the tale of survival follows a wedding ring after a dream on the Camino de Santiago reveals how God is a supercomputer.
The dream inadvertently causes World War Three where viral weapons kill 99.9% of the world’s population in a matter of weeks.
As the few survivors make for the countryside, a young doctor is walking through Margate when he finds a baby crying beside its dead mother. He picks the baby up and takes it with him.
Mains electricity has already come to an end, and within decades petrol and bullets run out.
As children are born, a second Iron Age emerges with ploughs and weapons beaten from the abundance of scrap metal.
Superstition and witches replace religion and priests. An old witch lives in the Monkton Chalk Pit, granting visions to anyone who dares enter her igloo of skulls.
New laws are created that brand thieves and banish them as outlaws. As outlaw numbers grow they form their own communities on the mainland side of the Stour.
Ron, who has worked everywhere from Dungeness B to being a town warden and in the 70s won the pools and blew the cash on fun, has also written his life story – Little Ronnie – and some 25 children’s books that are now enjoyed by his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
‘Poignant irony’
Ron’s son Danny said: “While my Dad has been a hobbyist creator his whole life, seeing him bring this epic vision to life at 79, completing three books, has been a point of immense pride.
“However, he is now facing the devastating prospect of being forced to sell his home due to the £40k predicted service charges.
“There is a poignant irony in a man who spent years writing about a dystopian future now facing a very difficult reality in the present.”
Find Ring of Arrows parts one and two on Amazon, available in Kindle or paperback
Freshwater could stump up all the money required and give themselves one hell of a good reputation. And I can dream.
I hope things work out for Ron Shaw.
It is disgusting asking people living there to pay out £40,000 towards the repairs they have already being paying for in their service and maintenance charges. They need good lawyers to stop this. The company should have been maintaining the building all along.
There has never been enough residents willing to challenge the Company. Always been left to just a few who have the time, skills and determination. In fact usually just one person. Maybe this enormous charge has focussed the current residents to work collectively to challenge decades of shoddy workmanship and negligence.
The building needs substantial repairs and his flat’s share is £40,000. If he can no longer afford to live in the building, he can sell up and move on. Most people in Margate choose flats in converted smaller buildings that are much cheaper to maintain. He chose to live in an ‘iconic’ high rise. The real villains here are the architects and planners who gave no thought to the affordability of long term maintenance.
All very well in theory – but how much will Mr Shaw raise from the sale of his flat ?
Will it be enough to pay off the £40,000 bill and buy somewhere else ?
Arlington flats are currently being marketed in the range of £40,000 to £60,000. So by the time solicitors fees and estate agents fees have been paid there is nothing left !
The current repairs were highlighted in 2015 and would have cost half as much. Freshwater did nothing about it then but and are now basically telling residents to either pay up or leave.
Where is TDC going to rehouse all those made homeless as a result ?
Demolish it, its probably what they want to do anyway. Owners should be compensated.
Here we go again !
Who is going to pay for the demolition and how much will it cost ?
Who is going to compensate flat owners for what should be the true value of their flats and how much will that cost ?
Please do your sums and let me know your proposals.
If it’s found to be unsafe, money simply has to be found. Or are you against the demolition of the flats the other side of Dreamland?
You sound like you know the cost already so why dont you tell me? Otherwise your disagreeing with something you dont even know yourself.