Barbican Prohibition Signs

From the BEO:

___

Barbican Prohibition Signs

The new Barbican Prohibition Signs finally received planning consent on the 6 July and have been ordered. There are enamel, colourful measuring 300mm x 600mm approx. 1 foot high x 2 feet in width and scheduled to arrive by the end of August.

The new signs will be sited in approved locations in the main 'problem areas' of the estate where skateboarding, parkour, cycling and other forms of anti-social incidents have occurred most frequently. Wherever possible they will be sited nearby to the existing byelaw signs.

They will be erected in the agreed locations across the estate in early September.

Asbestos Remedial Works - Ben Jonson

From the BEO:

___

Asbestos Remedial Works - Ben Jonson Lift Lobbies

Asbestos remedial works are required in the following lift lobbies and staircases during the below dates – works are within EDA cupboards and residents will not be able to enter or exit the block via these lift lobbies / staircases while the works are carried out and will need to use an alternative entrance / exit for the block.

• 9 August - Staircase 61 – Landing between Podium and 02 Level
• 10 August - Staircase 62 – Landing between Podium and 02 Level
• 11 August - Staircase 63 – Landing between Podium and 02 Level
• 12 August - Staircase 64 – Main lift lobby at 02 level.

Please note, lifts will not stop on the floor where the works are being carried out on each day, no more than one area will be worked on at the one time to minimise disruption to residents. Works will be carried out between 9am and 4pm.

Eton Environmental will be carrying out the works on behalf of the Barbican Estate.

If you have any questions ahead of these works, please do not hesitate to contact the Project Manager via steven.murray@cityoflondon.gov.uk or 020 7029 3915.

VFM Support -> 4th Utility Support

VFM have been taken over by an outfit called 4th Utility.

The contact details for support have changed.  There are reports that the VFM contact numbers / email addresses are already defunct, so use the 4th Utility numbers / email addresses from now on ...

___

We have been made aware of some Barbican customers unsuccessfully trying to contact VFM to report problems.

We are happy to help with any queries you may have regarding your broadband, Freesat, Freeview or SKY TV and have set up new dedicated contact methods for Barbican residents.

Please, discard any existing contact information you have and use our new freephone 0800 102 6223 and email address barbican@4thu.co.uk

Please be aware we are currently in a transition phase and do not have full access to the network. In some cases, we are still reliant for support for issue resolutions from the previous provider. We are working towards getting full control as soon as possible, so that Barbican residents can experience an improved service.

It is our intention to maintain current pricing levels, but offer a wider range of broadband service offerings, from which customers can choose to upgrade if they so wish.

Barbican Podium Phase Two & The Drains - the city responds!

I sent an email message to the Barbican Projects Team regarding their plans to start work on tackling Beech Gardens MkII (resurfacing the eastern part of the north highwalks).  In particular I asked for an assurance that the drains would be fixed before any work starts on the big budget membrane installation project.  I also asked if they would be removing the Yellow Shed too.

I got a response, and it seems very positive, including a link to a webinar due to be held on 20th July:

___  

Thank you for getting in touch and I hope this email finds you well. This project will cover the public realm in the vicinity of Ben Jonson Place, Breton and Cromwell High Walk.

Replacing the existing waterproofing membrane is a priority as the existing membrane has deteriorated and is no longer able to protect the concrete structure or the occupied spaces beneath it from water ingress.

To confirm, improvement work will be undertaken to the existing drainage infrastructure. Remedial improvement to the drainage infrastructure is an essential part of the project as we have identified disruption to the drainage system, which can cause ponding and deterioration to the surface finishes. The sequence of the works is under careful consideration be our appointed design team

I also confirm that we are removing the yellow link building, located between Ben Jonson House and Frobisher Crescent. This is necessary to effectively undertake waterproofing and drainage work at the podium level. Its removal will provide an opportunity to improve access, legibility and circulation across the podium and to introduce additional areas of greening.

Letters are being distributed this week, informing residents that a webinar will be taking place next week (20 July) relating to the podium project.

To sign-up for the webinar, please visit our website: https://www.barbicanprojects.co.uk

Best wishes

Beech Gardens MkII ... will the drains be fixed first?

 In a recent letter the City tell us that their "Barbican Projects Team" will be launching a couple of projects.  One is to fix up the electrical gubbins in the exhibition halls, the other is to resurface the eastern part of the north highwalk; Beech Gardens Mk II.

The resurfacing of the western end of the north highwalk, around Beech Gardens, failed to prevent flooding ... because the City failed to fix the drains before starting on the project (or subsequently).  Even if the new hi-tech Beech Gardens membrane worked perfectly (which it does not) it would merely contain the surface water which does not drain away (instead it mostly evaporates), and indeed we can all observe the long lived puddles and lakes after any reasonably heavy rainfall.

Before starting any sexy new resurfacing projects the City really must fix the drains.

... and once the drains are fixed, and surface water no longer lingers, I suspect most of the 'leaks' the resurfacing works are supposed to fix will simply disappear.

The "Barbican Projects Team" can be contacted on info@barbicanprojects.co.uk.  I'll write to ask if they will commit to fixing the drains before moving on to the ( bureaucrat resume boosting) big resurfacing works.

Here is the bit of the letter regarding the resurfacing:

Click to read the whole letter

Anti-social behaviour stats across the estate

The Barbican Association (BA) recently launched their Anti-Social Behaviour Reporter website which, as the name suggests, can be used to report anti-social behaviour incidents.

The chair of the BA has published a letter showing incidents reported so far.

As reported in the BEO newsletter ...

___

Security Matters – July 2021

The Barbican Estate Security Committee and I are pleased to have been able to launch the Anti-Social Behaviour Reporter last month and we are also encouraged to see that a number of residents from various houses across the estate have already started to use this bespoke website to record ASB incidents.

Between the 19 and 30 June a total of 44 ASB incidents were reported. Totals by house and their % of the total were as follows:

• Ben Jonson 18 incidents (40.9%)
• Gilbert 7 (15.9%)
• Defoe 4 (9.1%)
• Bunyan Court 4 (9.1%)
• The Postern 3 (6.8%)
• Andrewes 3 (6.8%)
• John Trundle Court 2 (4.5%)
• Seddon 1 (2.3%)
• Breton 1 (2.3%)
• Willoughby 1 (2.3%)

In terms of the number of incidents and type of ASB activity reported, the results were as follows:

• Skateboarding 13 (29.5%)
• Rowdy Behaviour 8 (18.2%)
• Parkour 7 (15.9%)
• Cycling 7 (15.9%)
• Loud Music/ 1 noisy moped 7 (15.9%)
• Roller Skating 1 (2.3%)
• Intimidating Behaviour 1 (2.3%).

A summary report detailing the above is available to view on the Barbican Association’s website , when loaded, click on first report to view the details reported.

Going forward, please continue to use the website link shown below to record any anti- social behaviour activity you may witness across the estate. Please remember, at this stage, the Anti-Social Behaviour Reporter will purely record incidents.

If you witness an ASB incident, please use the website to record the event but if immediate action is also required then you should follow normal procedure i.e. call City of London Police on 101 (or 999 but only if urgent), Barbican Estate Office on 020 7029 3958, City Noise Team on 020 7606 3030.

Any non computer-savvy person should report ASB incidents via their Concierge (CPA or Lobby Porter), who will then feed the information to our website.

Chair, Barbican Estate security Committee