Agenda item

The questions asked my members, in advance of the meeting, had been emailed and tabled :

Q.When are we going to see the results of the consultation over the horrid chairs and tables by St. Giles and on the Ben Jonson Highwalk?

     A.This was scheduled to go to Streets and Walkways Committee on 18 November. Unfortunately this report was not presented and will not be heard until January 2014.

Q.Page 66 – Proposed Tenant – London Film School – Can we please have it written into the lease terms that the public / visitors will not be allowed on to the premises after 23.00 so as to preserve the amenity of the residences nearby (and above); and if not, why not?

     A.The BEO will pass on this request to the Barbican Centre.

Q.We understand that there is a Beech Gardens Project Board and that John Trundle, Bryer and Bunyan will be represented thereon. The LTHG Committee have asked me to enquire – Could officers also find space for a Lauderdale Tower rep, given that we overlook the space and have a principal exit at podium-level into the area?

A.After review, the BEO will be extending an invitation to join the Board, to a rep from both Lauderdale Tower and Defoe House.

Q.The question of tiling on the podium comes up repeatedly but I really would like to know when the dislodged tiles from the plinths on Ben Jonson High Walk are to be put back?  It doesn't appear to be a case of waiting for replacements as the tiles are on the ground beside the plinths, so what is the delay? This simple maintenance job has been outstanding for years so could we have the matter dealt with as soon as possible.

A.The repair of the plinths forms part of the Streetscene project which covered Ben Jonson Highwalk and St Giles’ Terrace. However funding for this repair will only be available if the Streets and Walkways Committee take the decision to retain the current benches. If there aren’t the funds to carry out this work as part of Streetscene, then the BEO will add these to our tiling priorities list.

Q. Control of Vehicular Entry to and Parking on St Giles Terrace.

On Saturday 2 November two trucks, one carrying a small crane, and a very large pantechnicon entered St Giles Terrace. One vehicle had considerable difficulty in exiting through the available exit space at about 10.30pm that evening.  It collided with the right hand bollard of the Terrace traffic barrier, knocked it onto the ground and breaking up the surrounding tiles. The noise was heard in nearby flats and at least a part of the collision was witnessed. This was a vivid reminder of the continuing need for better control and supervision of the vehicles entering the Terrace, in particular the very large and very heavy ones. Although there is a good recognition that access to the Terrace for service vehicles is necessary and has been agreed subject to certain conditions, there remains a query as to whether this access should permit all day parking. There is also a query as to whether there should be a limit on weight, size and the number of such large, heavy vehicles being on the Terrace at any one time.

Residents in houses overlooking the Terrace appreciate that a number of initiatives have been set in motion by CoL personnel during 2013 to put a system into place to attend to this matter. The solution has not yet been found though we welcome the recent swift repair of the barrier and the patching of the broken tile work.

At the RCC Meeting of 28^th January 2013 the Gilbert House representative expressed concern (BOUG item 16. Appendix 3, page 23) about the level of apparently unauthorised parking on St Giles Terrace. This expression of concern was followed by an onsite meeting with CoL Officers in early March and a BOUG Meeting later in March when it was reported that this matter was thoroughly discussed. A plan for better control of traffic entering the Terrace was implemented and for a while and had some success when the barrier was closed. However the system fell away. A different plan involving the BEO Officer more directly was drawn up in the Summer but that too fell away, possibly because of the large number of service and construction vehicles entering the CLSG construction site.

The CoL officers in charge of the Terrace are asked for feedback about proposed action to ensure that the St Giles Terrace traffic barrier is properly used and that a regular system is set up for the sustained control and supervision of vehicles, particularly very large and heavy ones, entering the Terrace.

In March 2013 there was the suggestion that the long term solution might be reconsideration of an electronic traffic barrier. May we know if this idea or other options are still under consideration?

In March 2013 there was the suggestion that the long term solution might be reconsideration of an electronic traffic barrier. May we know if this idea or other options are still under consideration?

A.With regards to the damage to the bollard and tiling that has recently occurred, a temporary repair was promptly carried out and the BEO is liaising with City Surveyors and the School as to when the best time to complete the permanent tiling repair will be. The repair is expected to take 2 days to complete. This will be paid for by the contractors.

This accident happened despite banksmen being present and the BEO does expect that all relevant bodies (be it the School, the Church or indeed residents) take responsibility for their deliveries and their contractors. The BEO does not have the resources to “police” St Giles’ Terrace. However, working alongside the City’s Surveyors and Highways departments, the BEO is aiming to improve the management of vehicular access to the estate,  which will include a review of the type and weight of vehicles that are suitable, particularly those to the podium areas. The BEO will also raise this matter at the next Barbican Operation Users Group Meeting to be held on 28 November.

Regarding the barrier, this has been looked at previously and the BEO will ask that it be reviewed at the next Barbican Operation Users Group Meeting.

Q.Gilbert House Residents welcome the fact that the drains on St Giles Terrace have been reviewed and would welcome learning of the findings of the review. There are photos of the extensive pooling around two of the drains taken on 28th October and again on 3rd November when the pooling was still present.

A.The review referred to in the SLA appendices is that Estate Office staff were monitoring the drains on St Giles every time there was rain for a period on months to note if they blocked. The drains on St Giles Terrace are cleaned as part of the state-wide drain programme. At this time, following torrential rain and the storms of the previous weekend, there were a number of blocked drains across the estate. These were dealt with by our contractors. Property Services will be using the information on frequency of drain unblocking to help determine if the frequency of the cyclical work should be increased.

Q. p80 : It is difficult to tell from the meeting notes whether the references to "Working Party & Advisory Group" are to one group or two separate groups.  Could this be clarified please?  e.g. The second line of item 3 refers to 'group', implying one group, but the reference to 'Advisory Group' a few lines further down implies that it is separate from the Working Party.

The Working Party and the Advisory Group are 2 separate groups. The Advisory Group sits behind the Working Party, is able to view all minutes and papers and is able to discuss and offer advice to the Working Party. The Advisory Group is formed of residents and Tim Macer is the conduit between the 2 groups.

Q. p81 item 5 : It would be helpful to know the terms of reference that the working party is working to, please.

The Terms of Reference were agreed at the meeting held on the 21.11.13. These will be tabled at the RCC.

Q. p82 item 9 : Are minutes available yet from the meetings on 29th October and 18th November (probably too soon for the latter), or can we have an update at the RCC meeting?  I looked on the "Working Parties & minutes" webpage, but the working party is not yet listed there.

The minutes will be available once agreed at the next meeting. Therefore minutes for the meeting of 29.10.13 are now available as they were agreed at the meeting held on 20.11.13. 29.10.13 minutes will be tabled at RCC. Minutes will be uploaded to Barbican Website week commencing Monday 25 November.

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate

Q. I would like to know why the new roof we recently paid for which was white and is now greeny dirty white was not painted or cleaned during the external decoration contract.

This has not previously been included as part of the external redecoration programme.  However future redecoration condition surveys are to include roof areas and will be included as part of the project where necessary.

Q. I would also like to see on our service bills the elements of the extra cost of the decorations separated from the normal service charge “not as it is” just one figure that is larger than usual. As we can’t tell if the contract price has any extras or deductions from the quoted contract price we agreed too.

The invoice cannot be broken down. The schedule and letter (estimates June – actuals September) shows a clear break down. Redecorations come under Major Works, Redecorations.

Q. The Beech Gardens project has run on for so long now every time a start date is given it is later changed, I would like to let you know that Bunyan court residents as many other residents in the area are very un-happy with the progress and the moving of the goal post as to when this will be finished.

          Noted.

Q. YMCA – We are now aware of the 1^st meeting for residents to attend on the proposals of the YMCA, we would like to ensure that the locally affected resident’s voice is heard and reviewed by the RCC in setting up a working party (done through the BA) and I would like to propose David Murray the chairman of Bunyan House Group to Chair this group.

          This will be passed to the Barbican Association

Q. City of London sign’s falling to the pavement. What is the city doing about their signage on buildings to ensure the public are not going to be killed by signs falling from buildings? (Shakespeare pub 27-10-2013)

          The response to this question involves several departments. We will compile our answer and forward on to the Committee as soon as we have it.

Q. Renters – short term 6 to 12 months. As residents we all know when someone new moves into our block from the noise and lack of understanding any rules of living in the Barbican i.e. banging the sliding doors, putting rubbish out at weekends, drilling walls at all hours, putting furniture together on the balcony, hanging washing out and partying on the balcony.  Our experience. We all know the car park attendants know who is moving in and moving out; can this be fed back to the estate office and house group for us and you to drop a welcome letter pointing out the Barbican rules; also you are missing out on the fee from the long term lease holder registering them? This is also a security issue with short term renters who have key access up to our front doors and we don’t know who they are.

This is feedback to the BEO. Where the BEO knows of a new resident, a welcome pack is sent out. This information can’t be passed on to House Groups unfortunately.

Q. Baggage Store Waiting List. Since the 08 March 2011 I have been on a waiting list for a baggage store in Bunyan Court Car Park as a swap for the one I have in JTC, because they are bigger, I already have a store room in Bunyan Court Car Park but on its own its not bigger enough. I understand from an officer “because you are waiting for a swap, other residents who do not already have a store will automatically be prioritised over you on the waiting list”. As there is always a waiting list for stores, I guess I will never get a store room in Bunyan Court car park. I would suggest that when the store came up in Bunyan Court car park, I could have moved my stuff from JTC to the new store and made available the JTC for the waiting list = this would make everyone happy.

The BEO is prioritising the many swop requests for baggage stores over the next few months. In this particular instance the resident already has a store in Bunyan Car Park and this would be an additional store in Bunyan Car Park even though it is a swop. There are currently 3 residents waiting for a store in Bunyan Car Park who have no other store on the estate.

Q. Progress of Sales and Lettings.  Why is Frobisher Crescent excluded from the report (see page 26)

The flats in Frobisher Crescent were sold by United House and not the City of London therefore we don’t have that information to publicise.

Q. Update Report, Appendix 2 Frobisher Crescent.  Please explain the last sentence:  'In relation to the fire compartmentation, UHL are arranging access to undertake a CCTV inspection'.  What does this refer to? Page s 84 and 85

This relates to a potential issue that not all services penetrations were adequately fire-stopped. UHL are adamant that this is not the case and had building control inspections and sign off to support this. However they agreed to undertake a cctv survey to the area in question to confirm.