BA Event: Wine tasting 2nd March

Calling all Wine Lovers!

The Barbican Association invites you to come to a wine tasting to be held at El Vino's on Bastion Highwalk. London Wall, on Monday 2nd March, starting at 7.30 p.m.

The cost of £37.50 will include a glass of Prosecco when you arrive, the wines to be tasted, a substantial buffet, and a prize for the winner of the quiz at the end of the tasting.

Please book your place by 20th February 2015.

The number of people who can be accommodated is limited, so acceptances will be treated on a "first come, first served" basis. Please reply as soon as possible to Tony Croot at 316 Bunyan Court , antony.croot @ macace.net, with your cheque made out to the Barbican Association, providing the following information:

Name
No of tickets required
Amount of cheque
Address

Phone number
Email address

Do the survey ... win some champagne?

Just in case you missed it, question 17 of the redecoration survey reads:

17. To be entered into the draw to win a bottle of champagne, donated by K & M Decorators, please leave your name and address below.

If you do just one survey this year, perhaps this is the one:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32BJ8TQ

And, for question 4, the one thing the committee would like to see happen to improve things is to do all the planning and contractor selection in the year before redecoration is to happen so work can start in the spring, and be sure to finish before the cold weather of autumn.

Corridor Lighting

At present all light in the corridors of Ben Jonson House comes from the fittings above the door to each flat.  Some of these lights (those on the south side) are LEDs and some (those on the north) are old incandescent bulbs.  The BEO will be sending out a survey shortly to ask residents if we'd like to pay to switch the north side lights to LEDs too at a short term cost but with fairly quickly realised savings (because LEDs use so much less power and need much less maintenance).

I'm told that long ago the lighting story was different, and in may ways more sophisticated:

... a few years back a small number of residents, apparently backed by the Estate Office, wanted to increase lighting in our corridors suggesting that they were too dark for people to make their way along them safely.

The Estate Office spotted some metal plates in the ceiling. They decided that as these concealed lighting sockets this meant that the full corridor lighting had never been properly completed. They proposed to stick bulbs in them to brighten things up. 

It was pointed out to the BEO that when the block was first built, these few ceiling sockets were used for night time lighting. They came on (providing just enough light to see your way, saving energy and money) when the lights above our doors went out between, say, midnight and 6.00am when most people are tucked up in bed and not roaming the corridors.

It's not clear why that arrangement was ended.

BA Event: Meet the Town Clerk, 24th Feb

The BA invites all residents to come and…

Meet the Town Clerk

Tuesday, 24 February 2014 at 7.00 pm
Main Hall, City of London School for Girls, Wood Street

Come and hear John Barradell, Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London, talk about the work of the City and answer residents' questions. Last year when he spoke to residents, he promised to report back on several issues that residents raised – in particular

1. To demonstrate that the new consultation protocol is giving residents real input into proposed changes, such as to our built environment 

1. To improve the appearance of Beech Street for residents, workers and patrons of the Arts Centre 

1. To start to develop a strategy for the substantial increase in pedestrians around the Barbican area when Crossrail trains start running in 2018 

Questions were also raised about completion of the Beech Gardens work; what the City was doing about air quality; and the successful redevelopment of the former YMCA.

The BA has therefore invited him back to report back on these issues and answer residents' questions more generally.

Come and hear him speak and follow up with wine, soft drinks and an opportunity for informal chat

2015 Aquathlon - 6th March

City of London Community Aquathlon Event

On Friday 6th March 2015, the City of London Sports Development Team, in partnership with Triathlon England, will be holding an Aquathlon comprising of swimming at Golden Lane Sport & Fitness and Running through the Barbican and Golden Lane estates between the hours of 12 and 2pm. Please see the planned route below:

The Aquathlon will be signposted, with marshals placed at road crossings and intervals throughout the route for safety purposes and to also alert pedestrians. The above diagram outlines the route in which the participants will take for the run, which will incur three laps.

Please note the maximum number of participants on this route at any time will be 5 people. We anticipate this event to cause minimal disruption to residents and the general public.

If you have any concerns regarding the designated route, or are interested in taking part, please contact lauren.harris@fusion-lifestyle.com, call 020 7250 1464, or ask for Lauren Harris at reception at Golden Lane Sport and Fitness.

Roofs

In the early part of the previous decade a project to maintain and repair roofs across the Barbican Estate was undertaken.  Costs were estimated and charged to residents, but the work came in under estimate leaving a significant pot of residents money being held by the City.  Over the last few years money has been paid back to residents block by block.  Residents of Ben Jonson House are among the last to get their money back.

Here is the latest request from the house group put to the RCC about the "Apportionment":

Questions for RCC 2nd March 2015.
Ben Jonson House Estimated Final Roof Apportionment
The Estimated Final Apportionment for the above is stated as March 2015 in the RCC documentation dated 24th November 2014.

On behalf of the BJHG House Group Committee and BJH Residents, I look forward receiving the information.
If it is anticipated that the information will not be forthcoming at the next RCC, I would point out that this issue has been outstanding since the roofing work reached practical completion in December 2003.

Before the RCC of 24th November 2014, in answer to my query as to why this question is continually postponed, the reply was as follows:

The issue is that there are a small number of contract instructions that do not have a cost against them. Whilst we know the original tender figure and the final account figure, we do not have full details of the difference. The issue is compounded by the fact that officers who worked on the project and the consultant who projected managed are no longer with us. We are in touch with the Consultants practice to try and resolve the matter. 

Could you please tell me: 

(a) if the Consultants practice has been able to supply you with the costs of the small number of contract instructions, which are needed before a decision on the final apportionment can be made?

(b) if not, what actions are being taken/can be taken to acquire full details of the difference between the original tender figure and the final account figure? 

Could you also please let me have the original tender figure and the final account figure. It is a fair assumption that the related sum has been sitting in an account for the last 10/11 years.  In view of this, it is reasonable to expect that any amount owed to the residents be repaid with interest, say 5% pa. 

I do hope that we can put this matter to rest at the next RCC meeting, otherwise the BJHG Committee feels their only course of action is to make a Formal Complaint to the Town Clerk.

RCC Representative
Ben Jonson House

External Redecorations Survey

From the BEO:

Dear residents.

Ben Jonson House, external redecorations

We refer to the above works which were recently completed. We would like to thank residents for their patience and co-operation whilst these works were carried out. In order that we may continually improve our services, we value feedback from residents.

We invite you to please use the link below to make your comments and suggestions:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32BJ8TQ

Please can we have your comments by Friday 6 February.

With regards
Barbican Estate Office
Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx

Bicycle Storage Survey

From the BEO:

Dear Residents

In 2006 we installed 100 Bicycle Lockers across the Estate for Residents. These are currently charged at £83 per annum. Due to the purchase prices of secure bicycle storage facilities, we have not been able to purchase anymore since as the payback period is too long.

Fortunately, Officers have been able to achieve a £75,000 gift from TFL to provide Bicycle storage facilities this financial year. If the demand is there, we may be able to receive further funding for next year as well.

To assist us, could you please spare a few minutes to complete the following survey by Friday 30 January.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/securebicyclestorage

If you are interested in any of the services the car parks have to offer, please use the following link for further information:

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/resident-information/Pages/Residential-Parking-on-the-Barbican-Estate.aspx


With regards
Barbican Estate Office
Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx

Film School drop-in session 12th Feb 18:30

Opportunity to view the proposals in advance of a Planning Application for alterations and refurbishment of the remainder of Exhibition Hall One for the London Film School.

Format 

We propose to convene a drop in session for residents and other interested parties from Golden Lane Campus and Cote Restaurant to attend to view the proposed plans in advance of LFS making the formal Planning Application.

The Project Architects and other consultants will be in attendance to answer any queries relating to the proposals.

There will not be a formal presentation.

Residents and other parties will be invited to record any comments or queries relating to the development in writing, if they so wish, and responses will be communicated directly to the Barbican association, the head teachers at Golden Lane Campus and the manager of Cote Brasserie.

The Planning Application 

The planning application and application for listed building consent will focus on the proposed alterations to the building, the structural and internal proposals and in particular proposals for the external facades. The planning application does not involve a change of use. 

Location and Time

Exhibition Hall One off Golden Lane 6.30pm to 8pm 12th February 2015

Beech Gardens gardens update

The latest plan for the planting of the Beech Gardens beds is out.  There are now some larger shrubs planned, but the trees people enjoyed so much are gone for good it seems.

See the plan document for details (click the image)

External Redecoration Complete

The external redecorations work is now complete. The whole project took ~24 weeks / ~6 months.

Many residents predicted that the works would run into the winter months and that this would mean a worse job. They have been proved right on the timing. The next few years will tell us about the impact on quality. For the next external redecorations we must ask the BEO to get the bidding and planning out of the way the year before the redecoration is due to happen so work can start in April or May.

Here is the confirmation that all work is complete from Steve Murray:

With the re-decs, yes we are all done now and Sheila will be putting the sat surveys out very soon.

We do hope for a good response as the general feeling is the project has gone very well and all are happy, this as well as the planned maintenance / roof repairs and re[placing DG windows of the access equipment to utilise this and to save costs so with all the different works to co-ordinate things have gone well indeed. Of course residents have been a big help in achieving this with making and keeping appoints etc….

Regards,

Steve Steven Murray
Property Services Team Manager
Housing Property ServicesDepartment of Community & Children's ServicesCity of London
CorporationSteven.murray@cityoflondon.gov.uk
T: 0207 029 3915
M: 07786 855 580

Noise rules for cinemas and cote

This post brings together documents which define the rules for the operation of the cinemas, many of which also apply to Cote.

From the Barbican Centre Visitor Management Plan Appendix on page 6:

11.  No refuse or bottles will be put or prepared outside the building before 08:00 or after 20:00 (Mon-Sat) and before 12:00 noon or after 18:00 (Sundays and public holidays).

12.  The delivery and collection area will be the existing loading bay area behind Exhibition Hall 1. All deliveries and collections will take place between the hours of 08:00 – 20:00 (Mon – Sat).

13.  Deliveries on Sundays and public holidays will only take place, if necessary, between 12:00 noon - 18:00.

14.  Noise from any music, or amplified sound from PA equipment, will not be audible outside the premises.

From the Cote licensing application:

• Supply of alcohol to cease at 22.30
• Premises to close at 23.00

More flooding last week

It seems the drains are still problematic.  I've told the BEO about this latest lake:

The morning of Tue 13th Jan

Lift 62 out of action Mon-Thu next week

For reference, the lifts in Ben Jonson House are numbered 61, 62, 63, 64 from west to east.

From the BEO:

Dear Resident 

Lift Notice - lift 62 

Please note that this lift will be out of service from Monday 19 January due to repair work to the lift door. The work to the lift door will take around 4 days to complete. 

During the repair work residents are advised to use the nearest adjacent lift - either lift 61 or lift 63. 

This notice will be updated when further information is available, however you are welcome to contact the Concierge on: 020 7029 3938. 

We will do everything we can to return the lift to service as quickly as possible. 

Yours sincerely
Karen Tarbox
Assistant Director Barbican & Property
Barbican Estate
Date & Time of notice:- 14 January 2015, at 11am

Our Cleaners & CPAs

I don't have photos, but here are the names of the people in the estate office team who most immediately support residents of Ben Jonson House.

Do say hello to them when you see them out and about.

House Officer
Sheila Delaney - Direct Line: 020 7029 3911

Block cleaners:
Matthew Kalejaiye-Tayo – cleaner for staircase 61/62
Istvan Farkas- cleaner for staircase 63/64.

Block car park attendants:
Victor Potticary
Israel Lawson
Paul Nixon
Austin Anele

Barbican Weather Data

Dear Residents

Barbican Weather Data

You can now get weather data for three locations on the Barbican estate.

Part of the work undertaken by the RCC's (Residents' Consultation Committee's) Underfloor Heating Working Party (UHWP) is attempting to understand how the external weather conditions impact the temperatures attained in our flats.

During the last heating season the UHWP set up temperature monitoring equipment in 20 flats around the estate. At the same time three weather stations were set up on the estate by the University of Reading to collect external weather data.
The UHWP and the University are currently trying to model the relationship between the external conditions, the heating supply and the temperature attained in each flat.
This is just part of the work that the UHWP is carrying out; you may have read in your recent service charge statement of the favourable outcome of the negotiations for a new supply tariff.

The University are not charging us for any of this work.
It seemed like a good idea to share the external weather data and you can now see yesterday's data updated daily here;

http://www.citybeast.com/BarbicanWeather.html

With regards

Barbican Estate Office

Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx

Meeting for Cripplegate Residents - 12 January

Sent on behalf of the Members of the Ward of Cripplegate:

Dear Residents of the Ward of Cripplegate

If you live in the Ward of Cripplegate, you are warmly invited to attend a meeting with your elected representatives on Monday, 12 January at 6.30pm in Frobisher Conference Rooms 1 and 2 at the Arts Centre. 

The purpose of the meeting is to give you the opportunity to meet your elected representatives and to ask questions or raise issues which hopefully we will be able to help with. The format will be similar to Question Time on TV - you will decide what we discuss.

With regards

Barbican Estate Office

Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx

Silk Street - reminder of resurfacing

From the BEO:

Dear residents,

Further to the last e-bulletin sent before Christmas, this is a reminder that there will be resurfacing the carriageway in Silk Street from next Monday 12 January, until Friday 16 January. This work requires the road to be closed to through traffic, although access to the majority of facilities will be maintained.

The resurfacing will take place in two phases. The first phase, which is due to be completed by Tuesday 13 January, will involve the closure of the exit from the Barbican Centre car parks. During this time, the entrance to the car parks will operate two-way, using 'Stop and Go' boards, and access to the car parks will be from Milton Street only.

The second phase, scheduled from Tuesday 13 January, will require the closure of the entrance to the Speed House car park. Those residents who are directly affected have been notified of alternative access arrangements during the closure, which have been agreed in liaison with the Barbican Estate Office. During this phase, access to the Barbican Centre car parks will be from Beech Street only.

Pedestrian access will be unaffected during these works.

If you have specific construction enquiries please contact Chris Jackman, JB Riney Public Relations Officer, on 07720 092 479, or email Chris.Jackman@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

For other general queries about the scheme, please contact us on the project email address, silkstreet@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

With regards,

Barbican Estate Office

Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx

Give and Take Day Sat 10th Jan

Spotted on Barbican Talk:

Give and Take Day Saturday 10th January 2015 

Have an early spring clean and recycle items you no longer need.  

When: Saturday 10th January 10.00 - 15.00 

Where: St Giles Cripplegate Church, Fore Street 

Give: Bring your unwanted items to the Church between 10.00 and 12.00. The Recycling Team will accept any unwanted item in a good reusable condition - furniture, toys, clothes, books, computers and other small electrical items.  

Take: Take items for FREE!  City Residents will be given priority access at 1pm before opening to the public at 2pm. Please bring proof of address with you. Previous Give and Take Days have seen pianos, rare books and fine furniture donated and rehomed!  

Any items which are not taken by the end of the day will be taken to the next Give and Take Day (date TBC), donated to charity or disposed of appropriately.  

Recycle your used cooking oil - please bring used cooking oil to St Giles Cripplegate Church in a secure, closed container (e.g. plastic bottle etc.), low energy bulbs and batteries. 

Plus, the Public Health team will be offering free blood pressure checks on the day for all over 18’s and giving away information via leaflets and brochures on the day. They will also be providing information regarding the location of their drop in sessions for Free NHS Health Checks, in the City of London. 

The Recycling team have also said there will be free bulky waste collection for Barbican residents on the day. Collection can be booked by calling the contact centre at 020 606 3110.

Police Community Meeting: Thu 8th Jan 18:00

The City of London police hold regular community meetings, where residents can go along and hear what the police have been doing and also let the police know what they think is important.

Details of the next meeting:

Community Partnership Meeting - Golden Lane/Barbican Estateship Meeting.

The next meeting will be:

Thursday 8^th January 2015
1800 hours
Tudor Rose Court, 35 Fann Street

Christine Phillips Residential Community EngagementBarbican Police Office 0207 601 2456 07736 952395

Quiz Night

Message sent on behalf of the Barbican Association.

Calling all Quizzers!

A reminder that there are still vacancies for the Quiz to be held at the Artillery Arms, Bunhill Row, on Monday 19th January - meet in the bar at 7 p.m. for a prompt start at 7.30. A substantial buffet will be provided at half-time.   If you'd like to come, please contact Tony Croot on 020 7638 5215, antony.croot@macace.net, with details of your name, address, e-mail and phone no, and a cheque in favour of the Barbican Association, or cash, for £12 per person to cover the cost.

Barbican Estate Office

Link to website http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/housing-and-council-tax/barbican-estate/Pages/default.aspx