Helping the family of Alexander Novoa

The house group has received a number of queries asking if they can help the recently bereaved family of Alexander Novoa.  I have set up a gofundme campaign with the aim of helping the family with immediate financial needs, for example the funeral.

https://www.gofundme.com/the-family-of-alexander-novoa-rip

Please do share the link around.  I'm sure Caludia would welcome all the help she can get.

Click to visit the funding web site

Asbestos Work Next Week

The BEO posted a notice in the lifts to advise of planned asbestos work in staircases 62 and 63 on Wednesday 31st Oct and Thursday 1st Nov.

Click to read the whole notice

Membership for the 2018 AGM

The AGM this year will be on Wednesday 12th December at 19:00 in the Lilac room (see the calendar).

Please be a member of the house group.  Here is why we are asking you to do this now:

• Anyone who owns or resides in a flat in Ben Jonson House is welcome as a member of the house group, but to be an RTA the house group must have at least 50% of all flat owners as members (i.e. we need 102 owners because there are 204 flats in Ben Jonson House).
• The qualification for being an RTA is measured when we have our AGM.  This is why we have a membership drive in the run-up to the AGM.

Click here to go to the membership system

Please see the GDPR background and GDPR policy posts for details of how the house group membership system meets the requirements of the GDPR rules.

Alexander Novoa RIP

We heard this very sad news BEO this week:
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We were all very shocked to hear that one of our team passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Alex has worked on the estate for 14 years, the last 3 years he was a cleaner in Ben Jonson House and prior to that he worked in Thomas More House.

Alex leaves behind his wife Claudia and his three young children.

They are all in our thoughts at this terribly sad time.

Alex Novoa
1973 to 2018

Is the City preventing our elected members from representing us?

Of late the City has been interpreting and applying rules which have the effect of preventing our elected members from representing their constituents.  The BA is arguing that these rules are being applied excessively, with the effect that residents of the City are being disenfranchised.

Currently, members are being prevented from speaking and/or voting in decision making meetings where they are deemed to have a pecuniary interest.  For example, if a common councillor  lives in a Barbican flat they are prevented from speaking or voting at meetings which affect the estate ... which means that our elected representatives are prevented from contributing to issues which matter greatly to the people who elected them.

Of course the City disagrees with this.  They say they are only doing what they are required to do.

Here is the most recent message from the chair of the BA to the City.  The first two were effectively "we think you are disenfranchising us" and the City saying "oh, no, we're not".

____

Subject : Re: Your email dated 24th September 2018

Dear Mr Greenbaugh

Thank you for your letter. We have read it carefully and also considered the paper put before the Standards Committee on dispensations at its meeting last week. At this stage we are responding only to your query about the practice in other local authorities.

We, of course, accept that a potential conflict exists if a councillor owns a flat in the City. We also accept that it is important to preserve public confidence in local government, but from the point of view of that part of the public that are your residents, that also means that we need to be confident that our elected councillors can adequately represent our interests - by at least speaking and sometimes voting - on matters which affect some or all of their constituents and do not relate in particular to their own DPI.

The act provides a mechanism for balancing DPIs against the need for citizens to be represented though requiring declarations but issuing a dispensation where it is "in the interests of persons living in the authority's area." Our argument is that this provision is widely used by councils throughout the UK, and we would like the City to also apply this common practice. There is plenty of evidence that local authorities grant dispensations to councillors who are tenants or leaseholders of council property and do so on a "blanket basis" for a councillor's term of office. Certainly an application has to be made, but the policy then says that it should be granted.

I refer you to a paper presented to Manchester's council in 2017 which asked the Standards committee:

"To agree that it is appropriate for any Members of the Council who are

tenants of Manchester City Council to be granted a dispensation

pursuant to section 33(2) (e) of the Localism Act to allow them to

participate and to vote on matters in relation to housing (provided that

those functions do not relate particularly to the tenancy or lease of the

Council Member concerned). Such requests should be submitted in

writing to the Monitoring Officer."

https://secure.manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/2973/standards_committee

[The Manchester Standards Committee did agree at its meeting on 15 June 2017.]

Tower Hamlets has a similar policy:

https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s128383/Dispensations%20under%20section%2033%20of%20the%20Localism%20Act%202011.pdf

As does Oxford:

http://mycouncil.oxford.gov.uk/documents/s44063/Dispensations%20-%20Localism%20Act%202011%20Section%2033%2011092018%20Standards%20Committee.pdf

So do Wakefield, Ipswich, Barnet  … and many other local authorities.

We are not asking for special treatment – only standard practice within local authorities throughout the land.

Best wishes

Chair, Barbican Association

Proposed Flood Lighting at Prior Weston School

From the chair of the house group:

(apologies for the late posting of this to the blog.  Please do contact Fred if you would like to join this petition)

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PROPOSED FLOODLIGHTING AT PRIOR WESTON SCHOOL
The residents of Ben Jonson House, Breton House and Cooper House in Whitecross are invited to support the petition below.

To support it either send your name and address to Fred Rodgers, 100 Breton House EC2Y 8PQ or email them to fredrodgers@me.com before 8 October please.

To

The Members of Planning sub Committee A London Borough of Islington
Town Hall
Upper Street
N1 2UD

Re: P2016/1803/FUL: Installation of floodlighting at Prior Weston School, Golden Lane Campus, 101 Whitecross Street, EC1Y 8JA (the Application)

We the below named who would all be affected by the approval of the Application, request that, if the same is to be approved, additional conditions are imposed to ensure that:

• Effective acoustic screening, as proposed in the planning application P approved on 28 January 2006 but waived by Building Control 05 April 2006, is installed around the MUGA to half a metre higher than the proposed floodlighting, as soon as practically possible and before installation of the floodlighting;

• The use of the floodlighting after 6.00 pm be restricted to term time and to one day per week, with no such use on Fridays; and

• Only Golden Lane Campus pupils be permitted to use the MUGA at any time.

We trust that you will both note and take proper account of our request when considering the Application.

8 October 2018
Name Address

Dirty Bridgewater Street Fire Exit

The chair of the house group has written to the BEO:
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A Ben Jonson House resident reported that the alcove on Bridgewater Street where the Fire Exit for Exhibition Hall 2 is located, is being used as an open toilet and frankly stinks.

This is particularly unpleasant for us because it is right next to one of our main residential entrance/exit doors.

I am assuming that the cleaning of this area is the Centre's responsibility, so it would be greatly appreciated if you could ensure that it is kept clean and if you can install any means of discouraging its misuse, that would be even better.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance.

Kind regards,
Chair Ben Jonson House Group