Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms, 2nd Floor, West Wing, Guildhall

Contact: Julie Mayer
tel.no.: 020 7332 1410  Email: Julie.Mayer@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Christopher Boden, Graham Packham and Deputy John Tomlinson.

 

The Chairman welcomed Matthew Bell to his first meeting of the Barbican Residential Committee.

 

Before commencing the business on the agenda, the Chairman welcomed members of the public in attendance and, in response to a question raised before the start of the meeting, advised them that there would be a report to the June meeting of the Committee in respect of garage spaces below Brandon Mews properties.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

Members' Declarations under the Code of Conduct in respect of Items on the Agenda

Minutes:

·       Deputy Joyce Nash declared a pecuniary interest in respect of Agenda item 18 (Rent Review) as by virtue of her tenancy the Barbican Estate.  Deputy Nash would therefore leave the room when this item was discussed and voted on.

 

·       Mr Randall Anderson declared a pecuniary interest in respect of Agenda item 18 (Rent Review) by virtue of his tenancy of the Barbican Estate.  Mr Anderson would therefore leave the room when this item was discussed and voted on.

 

·       Deputy David Bradshaw declared pecuniary interests in respect of items 8 (Concrete repairs) and item 10 (Lease Enforcement) by virtue of being a long leaseholder of the Barbican Estate.  Deputy Bradshaw had been granted a dispensation to speak on these matters but not to vote. 

 

·       The following Members declared pecuniary interests in respect of agenda items 8 (Concrete Repairs) and 10 (Lease Enforcement) and would therefore neither speak or vote on these items:  Mrs Barbara Newman, Mr Mark Bostock, Mr Stephen Quilter and Mrs Mary Durcan. 

 

In response to queries about dispensations generally, Members noted that whilst Town Clerks and City Solicitors were able to provide advice, Members’ declarations were their responsibility.  All requests for dispensations were considered by the Dispensations Sub Committee, of the Standards Committee and acceptance/rejection, with reasons, reported to Members promptly.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 271 KB

To approve the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 11 December 2017.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, That - the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 11 December 2017 be approved.

 

Matters arising:

 

In respect of item (5) Lease Enforcement, Members noted that if the City Corporation failed to act in the event of a breach,  they would be able to do so at a later date.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

'You Said: We Did' - Outstanding Actions pdf icon PDF 177 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received the Committee’s Outstanding Actions list.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Update report pdf icon PDF 168 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received the Director of Community and Children’s Services update report and noted that the planning application on the Barbican Stores would be heard on 9th April and the next meeting of the Car Park Charges Working Party would take place on 16th April. 

 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Service Level Agreements Quarterly Review pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a report on estate wide implementation of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the quarter October to December 2017.

The report detailed comments from the House officers and the Resident Working Party and an on-going action plan for each of the SLAs.

 

Members noted that there had been a printing error, whereby the appendices to the report had been duplicated and a line had been cut off within one of the tables, which should have read: “Annual Fire escape/balcony inspections commenced May 2017 & action plan reviewed in June.

 

Members were very pleased to note that a meeting had taken place with the Ambulance Service and the potential issue re access points had been resolved.

 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Progress of Sales and Lettings pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of sales and lettings approved by officers, under delegated authority, since the last meeting of the Committee.   Officers agreed to investigate the current number of sales in Blake Tower and report back to Members. 

 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Concrete Repairs to the Barbican Estate - Issue Report pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Report of Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Minutes:

Members considered an Issue Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of concrete repairs to the Barbican Estate.  Members noted that this report had been agreed by the Projects Sub Committee and, as it was on the regular approval track, approval at the next ‘Gateway’ of the City of London Corporation’s Projects Procedure would be delegated to the Chief Officer.

 

In response to a question, Members noted that the risk of delays to assets was considered low.  Members also suggested that they should be given more information in respect of budgetary increases of this size.  Officers advised that it had been necessary to retender ‘Lot 1’, as only 1 contractor had tendered.  ‘Lot 2’ had not been affected, as it had attracted a considerable number of tenderers.  Furthermore, the increase in access costs; ranging from abseiling to scaffolding and additional works to the car parks, had also driven up costs.  Members noted that the reasons for the increases had been set out in the previous ‘Gateway 4’ report. 

 

RESOLVED, That -  the project budget be increased to £1,294,775.22; comprising £909,295.00 for the tendered repair works; £285,480.22 for the completed concrete testing programme; £40,000 for consultancy fees and £60,000 to cover staff costs. 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Fire Safety Update pdf icon PDF 105 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which updated Members on the progress made in relation to fire safety matters since the last update reports submitted to the Committee in September and November 2017.

 

Members noted that the official death toll from the Grenfell Tower tragedy was 71. Original reports had suggested that over 100 people had died in the fire and, in subsequent reports, the figure for the number of people who died had fluctuated but was reducing. The reference to “at least 80 people” in the report was consistent with predictions at the time, when the report had been presented to the Community and Children’s Services Committee. 

 

The Assistant Director advised that Members would receive a far more detailed report, covering the retro fitting of sprinklers and fire alarms, and the outcome from the fire risk assessments, in June 2018.  In response to a question about those residents who had reinforced their own doors, at personal expense, the Assistant Director confirmed that individual circumstances would be considered.

 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Lease Enforcement pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of adopting a formal protocol for dealing with breaches of lease, specifically in respect of non-carpeted floors and animals, following the Committee’s decision in December 2017.  The Chairman commended officers for this work and, if approved today, the Protocol would be implemented immediately. 

 

In response to queries raised about examples of vexatious complaints; i.e. flooring being delivered to a property but not yet fitted, it was suggested that, whilst such a complaint might be premature, it should not automatically be deemed as vexatious.  Furthermore, should the matter be brought to the attention of the Estate Office, then they would be obliged to remind residents that, in fitting the floor, they would be in breach of the Lease.  Officers confirmed that they would continue to advise residents accordingly, but each case would be judged on outcome, and circumstances might change with a new tenant.  Members also noted that local Estate Agents had been appraised of this covenant in the Barbican Lease. 

 

RESOLVED, that – the Barbican Estate Office Protocol for dealing with breaches of lease, as set out in Appendix A, be approved, subject to replacing ‘vexatious’ with ‘potential’ complainants and the removal of bullet point 1 in respect of flooring being delivered to a property but not yet fitted.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Repairs and Maintenance to roofs/balconies following water penetration pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of repairs and maintenance to roofs/balconies following water penetration.   Members noted that, since their last report, all high-rise surveys had been completed.  The Assistant Director advised that, since it had been necessary to completely renew the roof of Mountjoy House, the leaseholders would not be re-charged for this work. 

 

In response to a query about a resident who had been very unhappy with the scaffolding on their balcony, the Assistant Director advised that he had been in touch with the resident, but this had been the only solution for the works required.  The Assistant Director was also aware of a similar issue with a resident in Cromwell Tower and would keep in regular contact with both residents.

 

Members also noted that, as the barrel roofs on Andrewes House were considerably discoloured and affected by pollution, they would be re-assessed once they had been cleaned and, for now, had been marked as ‘urgent’.  The Assistant Director advised that cleaning works would start in the Spring and remedial works completed by Autumn this year. 

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BARBICAN ESTATE RESIDENTS CONSULTATION COMMITTEE (RCC) pdf icon PDF 164 KB

To receive the draft minutes of the meeting of the RCC held on 5 March 2018.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Minutes:

The  draft minutes of the Barbican Residents’ Consultation Committee of 5th March 2018 were received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Questions on Matters Relating to the Work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Any other Business that the Chairman considers Urgent

Minutes:

There were no items.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Exclusion of the Public

MOTION – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 

Item                                             Paragraph

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that – under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items(s) on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the Local Government Act.

 

Item                                                     Para No

17                                                        3

18                                                        3

19                                                        1,2 & 3

20                                                        3

21-22                                                   3

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Non-Public Minutes

To approve the non-public minutes the meeting held on 11 December 2017.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 16.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, That - the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2017 be approved.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Draft Minutes of the Car Park Charges Working Party

To receive the draft minutes of the meeting held on 16th January 2018.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 17.

Minutes:

The draft minutes of the Car Park Charges Working Party of 16th April were received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Rent Review

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 18.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of the annual rent review for homes on the Barbican Estate let under City of London Corporation Tenancies.

 

RESOLVED, that – the following increases over 2017 rental levels be approved, effective for all tenants renewing their leases from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019:

 

Studio flats                  5.43%

1 bedroom flats           4.20%

2 bedroom flats           3.73%

3/4 bedroom flats        3.20%

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Barbican Arrears

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Urgent Retrospective Waiver (Rule 25 of the Procurement Code)

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 20.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services. 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Non-public questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

22.

Any other Business that the Chairman considers urgent and which the Committee agrees should be considered whilst the public are excluded

Minutes: