Saturday 23 November 2019

Golden Lane - Denizen heating works

The Denizen block of flats will be provided with a combined heat and power (CHP) feed.  The feed will travel through the Ben Jonson House car park from the western end and connect up with a trench running up Golden Lane to the Denizen block. The trench is currently being (noisily) cut and the pipes laid.   When the trenching works reached Brackley St. access was largely maintained using metal plates over the trench which allowed Taylor Wimpey to keep moving vehicles to their Denizen site; nice for them.  Now the trench has reached the exit ramp from the Ben Jonson House car park access is completely blocked.  No metal plates which would allow us to keep using the exit ramp over weekend and evenings, oh no, instead we get several layers of fencing just to make sure the exit ramp can't be used.

No attempt to minimise the impact for residents
It is true that residents can use the entrance ramp for both getting in and getting out of the car park, but this diminishes safety in and around the car park and is of course inconvenient for residents and the CPAs.  But note that Taylor Wimpey could have accessed their Denizen site via Fann St. ... but it was altogether more convenient for them to use the metal plates to retain access when possible.  Clearly inconvenience counts less for residents.  Thanks City (who licensed the work).  Thanks Taylor Wimpey (a considerate contractor?).

Here is a notice from the BEO which appeared in the 2019-11-22 Estatewide News Bulletin.  Note the email address at the end which is for a bloke who had nothing to do with the licensing or decision making and is probably just there to take/deflect the heat from those who are inconvenienced.

From the BEO:
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Citigen Works in Ben Jonson Car Park

Citigen’s works on Golden Lane are progressing well, and should be cleared by the second week of December. The next phase of works are due to start week commencing 25/11/19 and will take place within the Ben Jonson House basement car park. They will be installing a short length of new heating pipework to serve the Denizen development in Golden Lane, these works are expected to last around nine weeks. To facilitate the works it will be necessary to relocate one of the lockers to a new position and form two new holes in a wall.

Every effort will be made to avoid inconvenience and disturbance to residents. The works are being carried out under the terms of a licence issued by the City of London which includes strict conditions for working hours, noise, deliveries, etc. In the event of a complaint about these works or for further information please contact Graham Humphreys at graham.humphreys@eonenergy.com.

Friday 1 November 2019

A Meeting with Prior Western School

Here are some notes from a meeting between house group members and representatives of the Prior Western School which occupies a large part of the Golden Lane Campus.
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We met with Helen from the Governors board, and the new head teacher Fiona McCorquerdale.

Key points:

The new lighting on the playground

This was installed over half term, and 8 lights have been installed, rather than the approved 4 in the planning application. Fiona is querying this with the planning and installation teams and will come back to us on the outcome.

There have been no complaints from residents so far regarding the new lighting.

The lighting is on a timer, currently set to 6.15 to 8pm. There is an over-ride switch and the school intend that they pitch should only be lit when it is in use. So a sensor may be installed for this purpose.

Resurfacing of the pitch and noise reduction
The pitch and parts of the wall facing the lower Cloudsley School have been covered with AstroTurf, and this has meant a 25% reduction in the noise levels. This is complemented by the sound reducing walls and the installation of larger goals so that the rattling sounds from the goal posts is much reduced. The school are looking to raise the height of the ivy walls in places and any new walls that are to be installed will probably be higher than these ones we currently see.

Improvement Plans for the school
Fiona and the school board are looking to replace the existing play equipment with something more in tune with the children's needs. Previous plans have been rejected by parents committees as they were too plastic based, and the plans overall were disjointed. New submissions have been requested from several companies - with the requirement of being Eco friendly, and having an overall theme for the whole school area. These will be shown to the residents committee when they are received and reviewed by the school board. The new plans are to include a whole new planting scheme for the school with increased levels of greenery to be put in place.

Use of the School building
The school are looking at increasing the community use of their building - they are aware of the lack of local amenities for groups wishing to have a space to meet, often with a need for space for movement - dance, exercise etc. They are keen to open the school to the local community here in the Barbican area.
They are currently putting together a 'lettings policy statement' to ensure that the use of the building is sensitive to the school and the local residents. Part of the letting policy will cover the use of the floodlit pitch - the times to be used, and by whom. They will be sharing the draft of this policy with the residents groups as soon as they have it written, and are willing to attend house committee meetings to discuss in detail.

Termly meetings with the school are to be put in the diary - to be attended by Ben Jonson, Breton and any other house that may develop an interest in the school's activities. Next meeting to be in January 2020.