Scandinavian Pain looks like this

I found a photo of the Scandinavian Pain neon art piece which will shortly be appearing on the Barbican:

Just like this

... and this

Bernard Morgan House meetings 12th & 14th May

Taylor Wimpey, via their communications firm Westbourne, invite residents to see the latest plans for Bernard Morgan House.

We have not seen any new details since the last public meeting which revealed a very large building indeed.

The meetings will be in Bernard Morgan House:

Thursday 12th May, 17:00 - 20:00
Saturday 14th May, 10:00 - 16:00

Click to read the whole invitation

12m Pink Neon "Scandinavian Pain"

From the Barbican Arts Centre:

____

For the Barbican's Ragnar Kjartansson exhibition this Summer, our Gallery Team are working with the artist to install a piece of artwork above Silk Street which will display throughout the duration of the exhibition. This will be a temporary artwork entitled Scandinavian Pain (2006), installed on the walkway above the parapet of the Directors' offices at Silk Street.

At the moment, it looks like planning permission will be required to install the artwork so Katrina and Leila will submit a planning application this week. Here are some brief points and more detail can be found in the attached documents (which include mock-ups of the installation):

· 12 metre-long neon sign in soft pink reading 'Scandinavian Pain'
· The sign would be up for a maximum of 58 days (10 July – 6 September 2016)
· The installation work will be carried out between 9am and 6pm
· Proposed to have the neon sign on every day from 10am to 9.30pm

We are conscious that this may affect residents (namely in Cromwell and Speed) so we are going to send Jane Smith some information to circulate to the House Group Chairs. Katrina and Leila will also attend the next Quarterly meeting on the 16th May to report on the plans further.

Blake Tower News

Here is the April construction update for Blake Tower:

Click to read

Power for the Common Parts

The City is negotiating for the supply of gas and electricity to the common parts of the estate.  This includes underfloor heating.  The City will enter into agreements dispensing with "consultation provisions".

If you have any "observations" you need to send them in by 26th May.  See the letter for details.

Click to read the whole letter

Planning: Valid Objections

For reference, here is a list of valid reasons for objecting to a planning application.  This document was produced by the London borough of Richmond upon Thames.  I have not be able to find a similar document on the City of London web site.

Click to read the document

A Chronology of the Roofs, dated Jan 2001

From the archive here is a view of the history of the roof works on the Barbican Estate from construction through to 2001 when the big roofs project was about to start.

An interesting read, e.g. in 1995 "... the BRC acknowledged the existence of structural defects ...".

Click to read the document

Building Insurance Renewal

The City is seeking to renew the building insurance for the Barbican and other City of London Estates.  If you have any view on the renewal process you need to let the BEO know by the 20th of May.

Click to read the letter

24th March Block Inspection Report

Here is the March block inspection report:

Click to read the whole report

BMH April Update

There is an April update on the BMH site re a structural survey starting on 11 April:

http://www.bmhconsultation.co.uk/#welcome/community-benefits.

Screen grab of the update.  Click to enlarge.

Bike Racks Removed

Almost exactly a year ago fire safety officers told us that the bike racks immediately to the north of the spiral ramp (at the eastern (Waitrose) end of Ben Jonson House) could be a hazard in the event of an evacuation of Ben Jonson House and we asked that they be removed.

And now, a couple of years after they appeared, and after some nudging of City Officials in the Arts Centre, they are gone:

Gone

Car Park & Baggage Store Charges 2016/17

The car parking charges which will apply from 24th June 2016 have been published:

Click to read the whole letter

BA AGM 28th Apr 19:30

The 2016 Barbican Association AGM will be held at 19:30 on the Thursday 28th April at the City of London School for Girls:

Click to read the notice and agenda

City-wide Residents' Meetings - Monday 23 May 2016

The annual City-wide residents meeting is on the 23rd May this year.  You should have received a card like this with an RSVP on the back:

Prudential RideLondon Jul 30th & 31st

This is advance notice that on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July, as part of a weekend of Prudential RideLondon cycling events, certain roads in east, central and southwest London and Surrey will be closed to traffic.

There will be bridge and road closures from early morning each day. Road users are advised to plan journeys well in advance. Many bus routes will be on diversion or will stop short of their normal destination. Tube stations along the route may get busy at certain times. More information will be on our website closer to the time.

For the most up to date information, please visit tfl.gov.uk/ridelondon

RCC Working Parties - volunteers needed!

From the BEO:
____

Dear Resident,

We are seeking volunteers who would be willing to join some of the Residents' Consultation Committee's (RCC) Working Parties. At their Annual General Meeting in February, the RCC reviewed all of the Working Parties and identified a number of vacancies.

The RCC is keen to hear from any resident that feels they have the time and interest to join either of these two Working Parties:

Leaseholder Service Charge Working Party - this Working Party will comprise 8 resident representatives and relevant officers from the Barbican Estate Office. The RCC will nominate 2 members and we are looking for 5 more volunteers. The objective of the Working Party will be to monitor and provide input into the management of the resident service charge account, which will include budgeting, planning, forecasting and cost control. One aim of the Working Party will be to make recommendations on how to ensure financial decisions achieve a balanced outcome in ensuring services are well provided and the estate continues to be well maintained, while looking for opportunities to achieve these at the best price for residents. 

There is already an established working party which provides a similar role in relation to the Service Level Agreement and service delivery, and this has been highly successful in maintaining good quality in the services provided to residents, and in bringing forward suggestions for improvements, many of which BEO officers have been able to implement. The aim of this new working party is to achieve the same ongoing input at a detailed level into the financial management of the Barbican Residential Estate, which is not always possible in the context of a full RCC meeting where finance is one of many agenda items discussed. 

Asset Maintenance Working Party - this Working Party comprises 8 resident representatives and relevant officers from the Barbican Estate Office. There are already 5 serving members and we are looking for 3 more. This Working Party has just been re-launched and will have an oversight of and provide comment on the Asset Maintenance of the Barbican Estate. The objective of the Working Party will be to maintain the Estate in a very good condition, to avoid unplanned costly major repairs and to plan future financial commitments both for the landlord and residents with a view to saving money in the long term. A copy of the Terms of Reference is enclosed.

The Working Parties are likely to meet four times a year but there may be additional meetings in the first year. Residents are normally appointed to working parties for a period of three years. Meetings are likely to take place in the early evening at 6.30pm at the Barbican Estate Office and members must be able to attend the majority of the meetings. 

We anticipate there will be more applicants than we will be able to accommodate on the Working Parties. In order to help us to form a group that brings a diverse spread of interest and experience in the subject, if you wish to apply, please send us a short supporting statement. This should ideally be around 200 words, in which you set out what is your interest in joining the Working Party, what you think you can bring to this Working Party, and any relevant experience. The Leaseholder Service Charge Working Party is not expecting everyone to have a qualification in accounting, but is important that all members are comfortable in examining financial statements and budgets. Please send your application to: Julie.Mayer@cityoflondon.gov.uk by Monday 18 April 2016. We will inform all interested parties of the outcome of their application.