Water flooding into Ben Jonson House - Again

The very heavy rain today caused flooding into Ben Jonson House reminiscent of the great flood of July 2013, and the cause was the same too - the drains.  Staircase 62 was reported to be particularly badly hit this time.

Some good work has been done in the past to clear the drains, and estate staff leapt in to deal with the floods today, but what we really need is a proactive and ongoing maintenance programme.

I've recently taken to tweeting (heaven help me) photos with the tags #FixTheDrains #BarbicanEstate #Barbican.  If you have tweeting powers and a phone, feel free to use these tags too so we build up a record.  You can see flooding posts here in this blog by searching for 'flood' or clicking on the 'water' label (which includes water supply posts too).

See the #FixTheDrains #BarbicanEstate #Barbican tweets

Tales of Cripplegate

Tales of Cripplegate is a community history project around the Barbican and Golden Lane.  To get involved go to the web site at www.talesof cripplegate.com.

Here is A Journey in Time with Tales of Cripplegate:

Click to read the whole document

2018/19 Actual Service Charges

The BEO have sent our the annual statement of the actual service charges for the year 2018/19.  Here is an letter sent regarding an M2B type flat.  This contains details of the block costs as well as the apportionment for an M2B flat:

Click to read the full letter

Constitution and Rules

Here are the constitution and rules for the Ben Jonson House Group.  Since I last posted these in full we discovered a lost clause, which is now included here:

Constitution and Rules

1. Name

1. The name of the association is "The Ben Jonson House Group". It is affiliated to the Barbican Association which is recognised by the Corporation of London under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1988 (as amended).

2. Objectives

1. To co-operate and liaise with the Barbican Association on services charge matters generally affecting short and long term leaseholders in the Barbican Estate.
2. To represent directly to the Estate Management the views and interests of residents on matters particular to Ben Jonson House, seeking advice from appropriate sources as necessary.
3. To do such other things as may be deemed appropriate

3. Membership

1. Membership of the House Group is open to any individual who is a resident of Ben Jonson House or a Ben Jonson House leaseholder
2. The committee shall admit to membership any eligible tenant who applies in writing to the chairman to become a member and who pays such subscription as the Committee shall from time to time decide
3. It shall be an absolute condition for membership that all and any subscriptions called for by the Committee shall have been duly paid

4. Management

1. The Group shall be managed by a Committee consisting of at least five members elected at the Annual General Meeting
2. The Committee shall elect the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer at its first meeting
3. Vacancies on the Committee may be filled by Co-option by the remaining Committee members
4. Committee members shall hold office until the following Annual General Meeting at which they shall be eligible for re-election
5. The quorum of the Committee shall be three members of which one shall be either the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer
6. The Committee shall appoint one member to be its representative on the Barbican Association Grand Committee
7. The Committee shall administer the funds of the group, making collections and disbursements at its absolute discretion, and for which the Treasurer shall present accounts to the Annual General Meeting

​5. Subscriptions

1. The amount and time for payment of any initial or annual or occasional subscription to the Group shall be as the Committee shall from time to time decide

6. Meetings

1. An Annual General Meeting shall be held close to the end of March each year, on such a date as the Committee shall decide
2. Extra-ordinary General Meetings (i) may be convened by the Committee or (ii) shall be convened by the Committee within 21 days from receipt by the Secretary of a written request from at least fifteen percent of the membership and stating the purpose of the meeting
3. The quorum at any General Meeting shall be fifteen percent of members
4. Voting at all meetings shall be on the basis of one vote per flat

7. Alterations

1. These rules may be amended or the group dissolved by a resolution carried at a general meeting at which at least 21 days notice specifying the proposed resolution had been given

BA Barbican@50 Festival - 14th September

The Barbican Association are holding a festival marking Barbican@50 on Saturday 14th September from 12:00 to 18:00 at St. Giles' Church:

Click to read the whole flyer

Thank You For The Disruption - 2nd - 8th Sept

The Thank You For Having Us performance on Saturday 7th September will involve a significant amount of setting up and tearing down, much of which will centre around Exhibition Hall 2 directly beneath Ben Jonson House.

There will be lots of coming and going, including vehicles which will return to the hall at 23:00 after the performance on Saturday and start to unload.  No indication is given about when it will end.  The timings are, no doubt, for the convenience of the presenters, i.e. the City.

There will also be lots of activity in and around the hall in the week leading up to the performance, so from 2nd September but ramping up later in the week.

Loading and unloading

... and rehearsals, of course

Thank You For Having Us - 7th September

The City are presenting an outdoor performance called Thank You For Having Us on Saturday 7th September.

Click to read the whole notice

Here are some photos of the previous runs of the performance: