Saturday 24 April 2021

Beech St. - Works in the tunnel

If you wondered what all that digging and drilling noise was all about ...

From the BEO:
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Beech Street Zero Emission Scheme – central reservation works update

Following feedback from residents we are improving access into properties located on Beech Street. Gaps in the central reservation have been made to allow vehicles to approach from the west (Aldersgate Street), making right hand turns into:
  • Shakespeare and Defoe House car park
  • Lauderdale Place
This will improve access for residents and their guests, delivery drivers and taxis. We are also notifying SatNav companies and Google Maps of the changes to the road layout.

For questions regarding the project email beech.street@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Moving in or out? Don't prop doors

From the BEO:
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Propping Doors Open and Moving in and Out

Please be aware that propping doors open is a security risk and an inconvenience to other residents.

When planning your move to or out of the Barbican Estate it is advisable to contact the Car Park Attendant or Lobby Porter who can give advice on the following essential details:
  • Parking for your removal van
  • If the van cannot be accommodated in the car park you can apply for special dispensation to park in the street. See contact list (Parking Dispensation).
  • Height restrictions in car parks
  • The times of day during which you can arrange for removals is usually between 8am and sunset.
For further information please check the website here in the Resident Information Pack.

Saturday 17 April 2021

Feedback regarding the Yellow Shed


The City are seeking comments on the idea of removing The Yellow Shed. The City do this from time to time just to get our hopes up.

If you'd like to give your feedback just email info@barbicanprojects.co.uk (and copy the house group at ben.jonson.hg@gmail.com while you're at it).

Here is what I sent in:
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The Yellow Shed (aka "exhibition hall walkway")

While the Yellow Shed is very occasionally used as a walkway between the centre and the exhibition halls it is more often used as a shed, and indeed it is being used as a shed right now as I type. I can understand why it gets used as a shed; it sits there unused almost all of the time, so why not use it to "temporarily" stash building materials, or chairs and tables, or even waste?

Aesthetically the Yellow Shed clashes with the surrounding Barbican structures, not least because it is bright yellow but also because of the relatively cheap materials used in it's construction. It was not a part of the original Barbican design or build. Just as the removal of the awful (60's?) shed-like frontage of Kings Cross station vastly improved the look of that area, so the removal of the Yellow Shed would improve the Barbican highwalk.

Some people seem to feel that the Yellow Shed adds value as a windbreak. I doubt this, but if a windbreak is needed there surely a planted area with shrubs and trees would do a better job and look so much better and be in keeping with the rest of the estate.

The City has used the Yellow Shed as a bargaining chip in the planning process many times over the years I have been living in the Barbican.  Each time it was dangled as a carrot; oh (said the City), if residents will only approve this project (Victors seats / the film school / etc) then the Yellow Shed *could* be removed as part of the project. And yet somehow the Yellow Shed remains ... why throw away a perfectly good bargaining chip (and handy shed for those building supplies etc.)?

As you may have guessed, I am very much in favour of the removal of the awful Yellow Shed. The sooner the better.

Having said that, I would put fixing the drains ahead of any other highwalk works. 

We have seen on the western part of the highwalk (Beech Gardens) that just slapping down a new membrane and some new surface works (tiles, beds etc.) is wasted if the basics have not been addressed first. The new tiles are being spoiled by lime leaching and there are numerous long-lived puddles (lakes) on the highwalk which hang around long after rain ... and these lakes typically have a guilty looking drain grating right in the middle which sits above one of the many blocked drains.

Maintenance of the drains has been poor over the years, though the individuals on the ground really do the best they can given the budgets and the tools available to them. The appalling systemic lack of maintenance has led to the current problems. So, before any new shiny bling projects, before even demolishing the awful Yellow Shed, there should be a concerted effort, a "project" perhaps, to FIX THE DRAINS.

Thursday 15 April 2021

Seeking Volunteers for the RCC Asset Management Working Party

Here is notice distributed by the Ben Jonson House Group for the Asset Management sub-committee of the RCC (Residents Consultative Committee).

The RCC is looking for volunteers to join the Asset Management Working Party.

Read the notice for details ...

Click to read the whole notice


Wednesday 14 April 2021

A letter from the new house group chair

At the recent house group AGM a new committee was elected, and the committee has elected a new chair.
   
Here is a message sent by the new chair to all members of the house group:
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Dear Members,

I hope you are well, and feel secure and cared for, in your homes in Ben Jonson House. At the House Group's recent committee meeting, the role of Chair was entrusted to me, and I hope to serve you well.

We are living in unusual times. The Barbican Estate has just passed its 50th milestone. Those of us who have lived here for many years have known the best of times, as the City thrived as a financial hub and the Arts Centre grew into a world renowned centre for excellence.

But times they are a-changing!

We needn't fear; we can embrace it, with all the vigour of our predecessors, as they watched our brutalist building rise from the rubble of a ruinous war.

To stand proud for the next 50 years, our great edifice and environment needs care and attention. The Asset Management Working Party strives to do this, as it oversees Major Projects. For example, recent testing of the concrete shows it to be fit for purpose for many years ahead. That's good news, because climate change is having a dramatic effect on so much, all over the world.

Nobody thought of recycling in the '60s; everybody is thinking of it now. As residents, we can't think of everything at once, but our Garchey system takes cartons and tins, glass and potato skins, mixes them all into a gooey dough in a soggy pit, before being sucked out and deposited - heaven knows where. One thing is sure, traces of our detritus are getting into the rivers and oceans and not doing the fish
any favours. Is the Garchey the recyclers friend? Food for thought.

The Barbican Estate Weekly Bulletin is a great source of information for what's going on around the Estate. This week there are a few messages from the Projects Hub, relating to the Podium and Exhibition Halls. The project will impact on us, as Phase One did. I hope you will engage with the Project Team as soon as possible, so that it has the chance to take your views into account from the beginning.

info@barbicanprojects.co.uk

Among many residents throughout the Estate, opinion has strongly been expressed, that the covered walkway to the Exhibition Halls is not an asset, and would enhance the Podium if it were removed. Do you have a view? Please let the Project Team know on info@barbicanprojects.co.uk or the House Group on ben.jonson.hg@gmail.com

Below you will find the names of the Committee Members and their roles. They are all dedicated to safeguarding our English Heritage site, and making it a safe and enjoyable place to live. To introduce ourselves, and meet as many of you as possible, a social event is being planned for sometime in the summer, pandemic permitting. I look forward to seeing you all on that occasion.

Kind regards,
Chair Ben Jonson House Group Committee
ben.jonson.hg@gmail.com

Friday 9 April 2021

6th May - London Elects Booklet

 The Greater London Returning Officer has produced a booklet for the 6th May election of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.  See http://londonelects.org.uk.

Click to read the whole booklet


Monday 5 April 2021

Dedicated Ward Police Officers

From the City:
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Dedicated Ward Officers - Barbican




I, Insp. Joe Easterbrook would like to introduce Police Constables Christine Phillips and Mark Murphy as the Dedicated Ward Officers for Barbican Cluster. Barbican Cluster is made up of Aldersgate, Bassishaw, Cripplegate, Coleman Street and part of Farringdon Within ward.

As Dedicated Ward Officers we are responsible for the area, leading on the policing response and management of crime and disorder and being the main point of contact for visitors, residents and businesses. We will also provide a consistent approach to long-term problems.

In addition to patrolling the area engaging with residents and businesses, once it is safe to do so we will conduct panel meetings and surgeries around the cluster and attend residential and business meetings organised by other organisations.

I would remind you that crimes and other incidents of concern should continue to be reported to 999 in an emergency, 101 if not an emergency and can also be reported online, not through Dedicated Ward Officers.



New Prohibition Signs - coming soon

From the BEO
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Prohibition Signs on the Estate

They'll look like this

The Barbican Estate Security Committee and the Corporation's Project Team have collaborated to revise the design of the prohibition signs across the estate. The new signs' development has taken into account present day activities.

The new signs will be sited in the main 'problem areas' of the estate (as defined by residents), where skateboarding, parkour, cycling and other forms of anti-social incidents have occurred. They will be in addition to the existing byelaw signs, wherever possible.

The design of the signs are visually in-keeping with the new Legible London signage across the estate.

Presently, the signs are still awaiting final listed building approval, and they will be installed once all is completed.

Saturday 3 April 2021

School Pergola - retrospective planning permission sought

Once again the Golden Lane Campus is running into planning issues.  This time the school have added structures to eastern play areas, including a pergola.  They did this without bothering with the planning process and have now applied for retrospective planning permission as explained in a letter from Islington council:

Click to read the whole letter

Any comments must be in by 2021-05-02.  See P2021/0328/FUL on the Islington planning web site.

One would expect that a retrospective application would have a higher bar to reach for approval (to discourage people from deliberately asking for forgiveness rather than permission in advance) so it unfortunate that the school did not do the right thing in the first place.  Let's hope that the amenity for the children (and indeed local residents) is not compromised by this mistake.