Unilateral EDF smart meter appointments

EDF pestering about smart meters has reached a new level.  They now unilaterally declare that an appointment has been made and say they will be coming to switch the meter on a date which pleases them:

Oh, no I won't - click to read the whole letter

I called their 0800 404 9083 number to check that they really were thinking of doing what the letter appears to say, and yup, if you don't cancel they will swing by and change the meter.

I checked and was told that the meters they would be imposing would still be the older SMETS 1 meters.

... so I cancelled their appointment and asked them to note that there should be no more pestering at least until the SMETS 2 meters are available.  I was told that this would be in about a year from now.  Let's see.

Girls School: Prep school in Ex Hall 2?

Representatives from Mountjoy House, Thomas More House, Gilbert House, and the BA met Alan Bubbear, the bursar of the Girls school this morning at a semi regular catch ups - details below.

If you have any comments on the ideas put forward by the school you can comment on this post or say something on Barbican Talk.
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Alan Bubbear told us that the school was currently looking into the feasibility of:

1. building a preparatory school. The options are:
a) Exhibition Hall 2 [with which the school is in competition with the Cultural Mile]
b) Thomas More carpark
c) a building away from the estate - the London College of Fashion on Golden Lane

2. building a new dining room below Mountjoy - one plan would encapsulate the large stairs and the columns; another would not enclose these.

We told him that there would be strong opposition to the use of Thomas More car park (listed building; loss of accessible car park spaces for Seddon, Thomas More, and Mountjoy residents; access, noise, etc issues; collide with possible Centre for Music), and concerns about a dining room (access for deliveries, plant noise, smells, noise).

It seemed to us an increasingly desperate search by the school for whatever remaining bits of space there might be on the estate.

However, he wants to meet us again in a more formal meeting in early November to understand the issues more before the school has to put in its paper to Policy and Resources.

BMH: New Demolition Method Statement

Taylor Wimpey have prepared a new demolition method statement (plus supporting documents) after the last one was withdrawn because it contained a number of significant factual errors.  At the time of writing this is not on the City of London portal, but will be 'soon'.

Here are the documents:

• The Demolition Method Statement
• A Demolition Noise Prediction Report
• A Logistics and Traffic Management Plan

BMH: Legal fight fund top-up appeal

Open Golden Lane report that the City have brushed aside the legal challenge to the approval of planning permission for Taylor Wimpey to knock down Bernard Morgan House and build "The Denizen".

This means that if we are going to pursue this matter we must now take it to the courts, and this will need more money.  If you would like to support this, you can make a donation on the Save Golden Lane page on the Crowd Justice site:

Click to visit the page

BMH: OGL Banner Protest

Open Golden Lane have launched a banner protest against the Taylor Wimpey plans for Bernard Morgan House.  The banners face Bernard Morgan House over Fann St.  Also, see Spectres of Modernism: Artists Against Overdevelopment for the story of the artists who produced the banners.

(... and reported in the Guardian too)

Fire Safety Reminder

From the BEO:
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Fire Safety Reminder:

It has been noted on recent inspections that items are creeping back out into lobbies, corridors, fire stairs and balconies. Please ensure all these areas are kept completely clear. Anything found in the communal areas will be removed.

New Parking Payments System - RingGo

From the BEO:
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RingGo Ticketless Temporary Parking

From the 1st November 2017 parking on the Barbican Estate will become ticketless. After the initial 5 hour free period of parking, residents and visitors must pay for parking using the cashless payment system RingGo. This can be done by a phone call, text message, online or by using the RingGo app. The move to cashless payment for temporary parking follows the decision taken by the Barbican Residential Committee. Details including car park codes can be found on Barbican Estate Website by clicking on this link

https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/barbican-estate/Pages/barbican-estate-parking.aspx

Click to visit Ring Go

Cripplegate Ward Meeting Oct 25th

A talk by Sir Nicholas Kenyon Managing Director, Barbican Arts Centre ‘The Cultural Mile: What is Next?’ Followed by informal discussions on what your elected members have been doing and for you to tell them your issues.

Wednesday October 25th 7.00pm Frobisher Rooms 1 & 2, Barbican Arts Centre.

Click to enlarge

Highways Fault Reporting

The City have an online form for reporting highway faults, which includes:

• Potholes
• Carriageway/pavement damage
• Loose broken paving and kerbs
• Damaged covers (fire hydrant, subway pipe, vent and utility)
• Street lighting faults
• Lifebelt damaged/missing
• Street furniture defects (bollards, signs, benches etc.)

Click to visit the site

BMH: Taylor Wimpey demolition plan withdrawn

The Taylor Wimpey demolition plan for Bernard Morgan House was found to be full of errors.  The Open Golden Lane group found that it was simply "not fit for purpose", and now Taylor Wimpey now have accepted this.

From the Breton House Chair:
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It seems that Taylor Wimpey's Demolition Method Statement is being withdrawn and it will be submitting a revised one.