Golden Lane Estate Residents Association Minutes of meeting held in the Sir Ralph Perring Centre on 8 October 2013 Acting Chairman: Peter Luckham Secretary: Alison MacDonald Present : 21 residents Apologies: Bill Clifford. David Kriekmeier Watson. Dan Elson, Carl Locsin, Steve Stevenson AGENDA 1. Peter Luckham (PL) opened the meeting as acting Chairman in the absence of Bill Clifford. 2. Lynn Strother (Healthwatch City of London) Lynn gave a summary of the role of HealthWatch in the City of London as follows: Healthwatch is now funded by local authorities since April 2013 replacing old Links. Aims to be the consumers voice in all aspects of health and social care from cradle to grave. Healthwatch want to hear views of individual residents and what they would like to see improved which can be fed back to the Health & Welllbeing Board. An information pack with applications forms and surveys for residents to complete was available In return for joining residents will receive newsletters and feedback Healthwatch will be working closely with Barts Hospital Trust as last time inspected came under high risk strategy. The next review is in November 2013. email address: healthwatchcityoflondon@ageuklondon.org.uk 3. Christine Phillips ( Ward Constable, Barbican Police Office) Christine apologised for not having been able to attend the last few residents meetings but added that Golden Lane residents are encouraged to attend the Community Partnership meetings. Christine gave an update on the current burglaries which have taken place on the estate: Recent 3 break ins have been during the day and in ground floor properties Residents of ground floor properties should by now have received a leaflet on keeping their property safe from break ins. Those currently committing the burglaries appear to be opportunists and only interested in taking items and not in confrontation. There is an increase in theft of iphones in the area. Although this is still a very safe place to live, residents are advised to:
Keep things like mobile phones, ipads, laptops and Apple items in particular out of view Shout out if they hear a burglar trying to enter or already in their property and call the police on 999. Let the police know if they see any one suspicious Keep iphones out of sight when walking on the estate and surrounding area. A resident asked if there was the possibility of more CCTV cameras being fitted. Christine said any proposal could be considered but when this had been suggested in the past, some residents had been opposed to the cameras being fitted for privacy reasons. If residents have any queries re security cameras or see anything suspicious they should call the local police phone number 0207 601 2222 (available 24 hours). A resident raised the issue of scooters, cycles being parked & used on pavements. There is currently no legislation against this but cyclists can be issued with a ticket for going through red traffic lights. 4. Laurence Jones (Golden Lane Estate Resident Services Manager) Laurence said that he was pleased to be attending the meeting. He had now been in post for 100 days. He said that he is in the estate office most days and can be contacted by telephone or by email. There is a new member of staff working part time in the Estate office. Her name is Shahima Khanom who will be looking after most of the customer services side of things and working alongside Ian and Barrie. She will also continue to work on the GL good neighbour scheme. Shahima will be in the estate office on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday each week. Laurence also added that there is a new first year apprentice called David Donaghy. Note: The generic email address for the estate office is as follows: Goldenlane@cityoflondon.gov.uk 5. Minutes of last meeting One amendment : Rachel Sambells (guest at meeting on 13 August 2013) job title to be amended to Pest Control Manager 6. Matters arising Golden Lane Improvement budget There was insufficient time to discuss this in detail. PL clarified that the money available must be used to the benefit of the whole estate and it has been confirmed that the unspent money from 2012 13 has been rolled over and is available to spend in 2013 14. There is approximately 10,700 available to spend. Lee Millam asked if the list of possible uses put forward last year would be carried forward. PL confirmed that there would be a new list and that residents should put forward their suggestions.
Parking charges on the Estate Laurence J confirmed that the new procedures were being worked on and will be issued shortly. One item that still needs to be agreed is weekend permits and whether there should be a flat fee for the whole weekend. The issue previously raised on the charge for loading and unloading vehicles is still outstanding. Sir Ralph Perring Centre Ralph Perring Club concerns regarding furniture retention and care there is another meeting this week to discuss. Charges for room hire PL confirmed that we have been informed that currently the use of the room was only free for GLERA and the RP club. Bob Jacks had confirmed that he was under instruction to maximise the money from the Centre. Groups run by residents wishing to use the room get a preferential rate of 15 per hour. Karen Johnson suggested that this be brought up when the next meeting is held with Fusion and the City of London. Pest Control It was suggested at the last meeting that Bob Jacks and the Recycling team be asked to provide fully sealed food recycling bins in future to help prevent mice infestation. Action: The Committee will follow up on this (Peter Luckham will contact Bob Jacks) Follow up to Residents Workshop There was insufficient time to discuss this so will be taken forward to the next meeting. 7. Chairman s report Major Works and Improvements Karen Tarbox (CoL), in response to a request from the GLERA Chairman, for up to date information regarding the requirement of the City to produce a 30 year business plan, replied to say that a draft plan is in place and will go out for consultation in October and the final plan will be in place in January 2014. Reminder of Apple Day to be held on Saturday 19 October 2013 8. Secretary s report Update on Great Arthur House recladding Alison MacDonald confirmed that a short list has now been drawn up of those contractors that will be invited to tender for the works. It is hoped to hold the interviews in November. Tendering contractors will be given the opportunity to visit the estate and Great Arthur House specifically.
It is hoped to set up of a Residents Liaison Group of 4 to 5 residents. The role would be as resident contact point and flag up resident concerns about the project which may not have been picked up by the contractors own procedures. A flyer will be sent out to GAH residents shortly asking for volunteers to join the liaison group. 9. Treasurers report Current account @ 5258.98 Nottingham Building Society @ 20,559.75 Joan Flannery, treasurer is pursuing money which should have been received following recent filming on the estate. She will contact Bob Jacks. 10. Estate Matters Cycle racks The cycle racks have now been installed in Great Arthur House basement. The racks in Crescent House and Cuthbert Harrowing House are expected to be installed this week There is no charge for using the racks. It should be noted that cycles should be chained and are left at the owner s risk. Repairs PL confirmed that the GLERA Committee have suggested that when repairs are carried out that the request is not just for the repair but also to make good. An example was the notice board in Great Arthur House. It was added that it was important that work done by Linbrooks was checked on completion. Action: Laurence Jones will pass this request on to the person responsible for repair planning. Estate Walkabouts The next Walkabouts will be on 9 January 2014, 3 April 2014 and 3 July 2014. Laurence explained that these usually took place in the afternoon (2pm) but he would be willing for the July walkabout to take place in the evening if this was better for residents not available during the day. Items identified on the walkabout for repair and progress will be put on notice boards. Karen Johnson asked if quarterly was sufficient for the walkabouts. Laurence said that in his experience he had found this to be sufficient as anything less meant that there had not necessarily been time to complete the repairs previously identified. Cluttering of hallways and communal areas Laurence Jones confirmed that he is aware of this and is being investigated by the Estate staff. Store cupboards
A resident asked Laurence to look in to a problem she has with damp/ condensation in her store cupboard following other works that had been carried out in the block. She also said that she was not sure if this was reported and if written on a piece of paper whether it would be followed up. General repairs identified Door entry on Bowater, Stanley Cohen, Cuthbert Harrowing and Crescent House not working Hatfield House tree removal should have happened Logging concerns / comments and reporting repairs Laurence said that he would be happy to reinstate the comments book in the Estate Office but needed to ensure that residents understood that the book was for estate concern and not for making specific and embarrassing comments about other residents. The book could be used for reporting repairs related to communal areas. Residents should use the repair line number to report repairs required to their own property. Karen Johnson suggested that a form be used for comments which could be completed by hand or electronically with a 7 day response. Residents should note the Estate Office general email address as follows: Laurence said that he hopes in future to have a fully computerised system in the office but that the change takes time. Action: Laurence Jones to feed back to GLERA with a proposal on how the above would work best for residents. Service Level Agreement A resident made a comment that the Barbican Estate appeared to be better maintained than Golden Lane and asked if the Golden Lane SLA was based on that of the Barbican. It was explained that the service charges in the Barbican were much higher than Golden Lane but the Barbican SLA had been used as a comparison when completing the one for Golden Lane. PL said that when the latest SLA was being worked on, residents were asked for feedback but none was received. The SLA is reviewed every two years so there will be another opportunity for residents to request changes to services or improved service levels. Action: GLERA Committee to work with Laurence on re-instating the quarterly monitoring reporting of Estate services. Listed Building Management Guidelines Working Party Karen Tarbox is still looking for volunteers, and she can contacted by email at the usual CoL address. 11. Any other business
Karen Johnson raised the issue of the noise coming from the Sports Centre, particularly at the weekend and that this was disruptive for residents. Action: Karen to liaise with others to document common concerns and suggestions for changes. These to be brought back to a future meeting for review and to request the support of the Association. Action: David Graves, our elected Alderman has offered to chair a meeting of interested parties. Karen will follow this up with David Graves. 12. Date of next meeting : 10 December 2013. Alison MacDonald Secretary GLERA October 2013