Projections light up St Giles' - 13th - 16th November

The BEO sent the following on behalf of the Barbican Centre:

Projections on façade of St Giles' Cripplegate
 On the evenings of 13^th -16^th November 2013, as part of the Barbican's production of Benjamin Britten's opera Curlew River in St Giles' Cripplegate, calm and evocative images will be projected onto the facade of the Church from 6.00pm until 10.00pm. This performance forms part of the 'Barbican Britten' series, celebrating Britten's centenary.  
 The projector will be installed on the Garden Room balcony from 4.30pm each day and removed between 10.00pm and 10.30pm.  The images themselves will be unobtrusive and will be mapped exactly onto the façade of St Giles' Cripplegate, to ensure that there won't be any light bleed onto the surrounding buildings.   If there is an event taking place in the Garden Room during these times the balcony doors will remain closed to ensure there is no noise disturbance from the Garden Room. The technicians installing the equipment are aware of the residential nature of the area and have been briefed to keep noise to an absolute minimum. Curlew River will be one of the highlights of Barbican Britten, and more information about the production and Barbican Britten can be found on the Barbican website, http://www.barbican.org.uk/britten. We very much hope that you'll be able to join us for some of these events and that you will enjoy the projections.

Chestnut on Thomas More Lawn gets the chop

One of the old chestnut trees on Thomas More Lawn is to be chopped down, we told by the BEO.  No indication of the reason.

From the BEO:

Please be aware that on Monday 4^th and Tuesday 5^th November one of the horse chestnuts on Thomas More Lawn will be felled. This is on the advice of our colleague from Open Spaces. Working hours will be 10am to 4pm and remnants of the tree will be used within the gardens.

If you have any further queries, please do contact your House Officer

Barbican. The movie.

Roots ...

2011 Census Results

I saw a link to this on Barbican Talk discussion forum and thought it was quite interesting.  Click on the image for the results of the 2011 census in the City of London:

How many residents live where?

Beech Gardens Meetings - Wed. 23rd Oct. at 12.30 and 18.30

From the BEO:

Dear Residents Please be aware the next meetings regarding the Beech Gardens project will be held on:-Wednesday 23^rd October at 12.30 and 6.30
 The meetings will be held in the Residents' Meeting Room at the Barbican Estate Office. Both Karen Tarbox and Christopher Bate from the Property Services department will be in attendance. Additionally there will be representatives from VolkerLaser Ltd, the main contractor.

Highwalk plinths; many missing tiles

Tiles have dropped off the highwalk plinths for years.  It seems that the technology did not exist to stick them on permanently, but nonetheless someone would come along and stick them back on when they fell off.  But of late when the tiles fall of they are just stacked beside the plinth, leaving the sides of the plinths naked and ugly.

The plinth:  Some day my tiles will come ...

Water tanks being replaced

There are many water tanks on the roof of Ben Jonson House.  These provide all non-drinking water in flats (Drinking water comes direct from the mains to the kitchen tap).

Here is what the old tanks look like after being dismantled and removed.

Out with the old

The new tanks are made from plastic or fibreglass.   The BEO tells us that the tanks need to be replaced for health reasons.

Lord Mayor's Show: Sat. 9th November

The Lord Mayor's show will be on Saturday 9th November this year.   There is a page of information for residents here.

Resurfacing Aldersgate Street Junction from 19 October

From the BEO: 

The Barbican Estate Office have been informed of highway resurfacing works beginning on Saturday 19 October at the Aldersgate Street Junction (at its intersection with Long Lane, Beech Street and the north/southbound carriageways of Aldersgate Street).

The road will be closed to all vehicular traffic with local diversions in place, and will take place on the following times:

Saturday 19 October 8am to 4pm (northbound carriageway) Saturday 26 October 8am to 4pm (back-up weekend for northbound carriageway) Saturday 30 November 8am to 4pm (southbound carriageway) Saturday 7 December 8am to 4pm (back-up weekend for southbound carriageway)
The following link takes you to the City of London traffic management website which has more details:

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/transport-and-streets/roads-highways-and-pavements/Pages/Streetworks.aspx

The charter of the BEO

I asked the BEO for their founding document and charter.  I wanted to see what goals the BEO was established to meet.  The BEO sent me their SLA (which you can see here) and a  "mission statement" which follows:

The aim of the Barbican Estate Office is to maintain the Barbican Estate as a prestigious residential district within the City of London through effective management and efficient service delivery.  

The Barbican Estate Office and its services to residents  

All services to residents are delivered through a dedicated management organisation, the Barbican Estate Office (BEO), which has a dual role - as client for the commissioning of services and as first point of contact for residents for the services it provides and for customer care. The Barbican Residential Committee (BRC) is the Committee of the City of London Corporation that determines policy on the Barbican Estate. The Residents' Consultation Committee (RCC) with representatives from both the City of London (CoL) and the residents is the main formal channel of communication between the landlord and residents. Residents of the Barbican Estate who are represented are either long lessees or tenants who rent their property from the CoL on a short term basis. 

The BEO is a division of the Community & Children's Services Department of the CoL. It is assisted in the delivery of services by the Technical Services Division (TSD), the Department of Open Spaces and by other departments of the CoL with whom internal service level agreements (SLAs) apply.  Services are delivered by directly employed staff and by specialist contractors employed in conformity with the CoL's procurement regulations. The services are covered by SLAs and are charged for in accordance with statute and terms set out in the lease for each property. 

 The five service areas are:
§  Customer Care, Supervision and Management
§  Estate Management
§  Property Maintenance
§  Major Works
§  Open Spaces

Victor's Seats - a delay

An update from Steve Presland on the new seats and officers plans for the highwalks:

I am afraid I am writing to you to let you know that the report I had promised to Streets and Walkways Committee on the 14^th October will not now be going until the November Committee. Please accept my apologies for this delay which has been occasioned as a consequence of a shortage in available staff resources.  

...

I appreciate that this matter has taken some time to resolve but as I explained previously I want this report to fully convey to members the strength of feeling of residents and users to ensure they are well placed to make a final decision. Analysis of the free text responses is therefore important and  has taken a deal longer to collate and analyse than had been expected.

More rain & blocked drains

A rainy Sunday brings more blocked drains beneath Ben Jonson House.  After earlier floods I was told that there is a drain clearance programme and asked for details, but as yet have not received them (I asked on 4th Aug).

Here is a puddle caused by a blocked drain as seen underneath Ben Jonson House (by stairwell 63) this morning:

Health Care in the City: 6pm 20 November in St Giles's

From the Barbican Association

We are hosting another event for all residents – this time on Future Directions for Public Health and Social Care in the City. Please see the attached flyer
It will take place at 6pm 20 November in St Giles' Cripplegate Church.
Four City officers, led by Ade Adetosoye, director of community and children's services, and Dr Sohail Bhatti, director of public health, will give a presentation and panel discussion. This will be followed by questions and drinks with an opportunity for an informal chat.

Become a house group member

Your house group needs you.  If you have not already done so, please download the membership letter and complete & return the slip.

Here is what the letter says:

The Ben Jonson House Group

The Ben Jonson House Group is the recognised tenants association for long leaseholders and residents of Ben Jonson House.

Why is the house group important to you?

The City are required, by the Landlord and Tenant act 1988 (amended),  to grant certain privileges to legitimate tenants associations.  This means residents can be heard better and get to hear more about what is happening too.

We let you know what we hear about by posting notices on the building notice boards, but also via an online newsletter/journal:  http://bjhg-blog.blogspot.co.uk/

Why are you important to the house group?

To be recognised as a tenants association the house group needs to show that at least  50% of long leaseholders are members, but long leaseholder or not we need you to be a member so we can be truly representative.  Also we need members to come along to general meetings (such as the AGM).

In addition to joining the house group as a member we would like to encourage people to help out with the house group, perhaps by joining the committee or just helping with something which is important to you.

Without your support the house group simply can’t exist as a working tenants association.

How to join

Just complete and return the slip below.  There is currently no membership fee.  Please return your slip by handing it to the Car Park Attendant (CPA) in the Ben Jonson / Breton car park, or to the Barbican Estate Office (BEO).  If you are living away from your flat you can post your slip to:

Ben Jonson House Group

℅ Barbican Estate Office

3 Lauderdale Place

Barbican

London

EC2Y 8EN

---

Ben Jonson House Group Membership for flat Number  __________

 

Are you a long leaseholder (i.e. do you ‘own’ rather than rent your flat)?        Yes   /   No

All 18+ residents and long leaseholders may be members.  If you have a different contact address than your flat or if there are lots of people in the flat please note the details on the reverse of the slip.

Member Name Email Address

_______________________________ _________________________________

_______________________________ _________________________________

The Seats: When will we know the survey results?

We had understood that, at last, the results of the survey about Victor's seats and associated plantings was going to be made available and presented at the October Streets and Walkways committee meeting.

But the agenda for the 14th Oct meeting of the committee (taken from the committee web site) does not mention the seating, so once again it would seem we're left in the dark.

St. Alphage: Application to vary planning permission

The london Wall Place developers are applying to vary the planning conditions for the buildings going up on the St. Aplhage site.  Here is the notice.