BA AGM - 2026-04-09 @ 18:30

Notice of the Barbican Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on the evening of Thursday 9th April 2026 at 18:30.

From the BA:
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Notice is hereby given of:
THE BARBICAN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026

When: Thursday 9 April 2026, 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Where: City of London School for Girls, St. Giles' Terrace, London EC2Y 8BB
AGENDA

1. Spike - Barbican App

2. Update on the BA's work during the year

3. Members' issues

4. Treasurer's report

5. Election of: Treasurer, Honorary auditor, and Nine General Council members

6. Any other business

Folowed by wine and soft drinks.

The BA General Council is the main decision-making body of the Association; it consists of nine members and the honorary treasurer, elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), along with representatives of affiliated house groups. The General Council meets quarterly. At the AGM existing council members stand down; if there are more than nine candidates for election, a secret ballot is held at the meeting, and the results are declared at the meeting.

Both the honorary treasurer and auditor (the latter is not a member of the General Council) are elected at the AGM. Other officers are appointed by the members of the General Council at its first meeting following the AGM, which will be held on Thursday 16th April.

Please send details of any issues you would like discussed at the AGM to Dr David Preston (secretary@barbicanassociation.co.uk).

Written nominations for the elected positions must be submitted to Dr David Preston, 91 Breton House EC2Y 8PQ (secretary@barbicanassociation.co.uk) no later than Tuesday 07 April 2026. Candidates must be proposed and seconded, and the candidate must indicate that he or she is willing to stand. The Elected Member application form can be found on the BA website at the link below.

Notification of representatives of affiliated house groups should reach the honorary secretary by Tuesday 07 April 2026.

Please bring your membership card to help speed admittance. Admission is to paid-up members only. Membership is available on the door (£5).

Neighbourhood Area & Forum

In a message from the City we are told about a ...

Click to read the whole letter

The idea of neighbourhood planning is explained in this video:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvAHhrKNVt0

In essence neighbourhood planning seems to be a mechanism whereby residents can in some way influence planning decisions.  Potentially powerful stuff.

See the "Proposed Barbican and Golden Lane Neighbourhood Forum and Area " to find out more and give feedback.

See also the letter sent to the City applying to create the area and forum:

Click to read the whole letter

1st Dec Heating Webinar docs

 In the 2022-12-16 newsletter the BEO gave a link to the notes and slides shown at the 2022-12-01 webinar about the underfloor heating:

Click to read the whole document

BA Summer Party this Saturday 3rd Sept.

From the BA:

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Barbican Association Summer Party After a long lock-down and a parched summer, the Barbican Association welcomes residents of the Barbican and Golden Lane to an afternoon of family fun, before we all go back to school. 2 - 4pm on Saturday 3rd September in Thomas More Gardens. Find more details on the Barbican Summer Party website.

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 ...

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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

Barbican Association AGM: 22nd Apr @ 19:30

From the Barbican Association:

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A date for your diary

We plan to hold the 2021 AGM of the Barbican Association on Thursday 22nd April at 7.30pm. It will be a virtual, Zoom meeting.

The official notice of the AGM, supporting papers and the Zoom invite will follow.

Can I also draw you attention to an important petition that has just been launched and encourage your participation:

The Barbican Association is one of the sponsors of a major petition that has just been launched to seek reform of the planning process in the City.

This is a subject that has caused a lot of discontent within the Barbican in the past and is likely to continue to do so in the future, particularly in view of several major applications in the pipeline.

The petition will be formally presented to the Court of Common Council at its meeting in April. A high number of signatures may turn the dial on this subject which potentially affects us all.

Please could you find the time to sign this petition and identify yourself as a Barbican resident in the 'reason for signing' section at the bottom.

Please share the petition with friends and neighbours.

Chair, Barbican Association

BA AGM on Zoom - 4th Nov

From the BA

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Reminder: Notice of the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Barbican Associaion

Wednesday 4 November


Please click here (or see text below) to find the notice of the 2020 AGM - on 4 November at 7pm, on Zoom

Jane Smith
Chair, Barbican Association
chairBA@btinternet.com

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Notice of BA AGM 4 November 2020 

Dear Barbican Association member Please find this Notice of the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Barbican Association Date: 4 November 2020 Time: 7pm Venue: Zoom call 

The invitation to the meeting on Zoom will be sent nearer the time of the meeting to members of the BA on the email we have for you. 

If you are aware of other members who do not receive this email please ask them to contact the membership secretary Jim Davies 101 Mountjoy House membership@barbicanassociation.co.uk and provide a contact email.  Applications to join should also be sent to membership@barbicanassociation.co.uk 

If you are aware of members who do not have access to a device (computer, tablet or smartphone) and would like to attend the AGM please contact the membership secretary to discuss options. 

Agenda 

• Update on the BA’s work during the year 
• Questions from Members 
• Treasurer’s report 
• Election of: Treasurer, 9 General Council members, honorary auditor 
• Motions to amend the constitution 
• Any other business 

Please send details of any issues you would like discussed at the AGM to Jane Smith by 28 October (chairBA@btinternet.com). 

The main decision-making body of the Association is the BA General Council, which consists of nine members and the honorary treasurer, elected at the AGM, along with representatives of affiliated house groups.  At the AGM existing council members stand down, and if there are more than nine candidates for election, a ballot is held at the meeting and the results declared. Both the honorary treasurer and auditor are elected at the AGM. Other officers are appointed by the members of the general council at its first meeting following the AGM. 

Nominations for election to one of the 9 elected positions on the BA General Council should be sent to the honorary secretary Christopher Makin, 21 Speed House (chairspeedhouse@outlook.com), no later than 2 November. The nomination must contain all the following information: -Name and Barbican address, email address and phone number of the candidate and a declaration that they are a member of the BA, signed -Name and Barbican address, and email address of a proposer and seconder and a declaration that they are members of the BA, signed Emailed nominations without signatures will be accepted but they must be sent by the candidate and copied to the proposer and seconder. Notification of representatives of affiliated house groups should reach the honorary secretary by 2 November. 

Climate Action Strategy - survey

Here is a poster circulated by the BA for the City of London Climate Action Strategy.  On the web site the City are asking for feedback through a survey.  You can contact the Climate Action team at climateaction@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

Click to enlarge

Running Track on the Highwalk?

The honorary secretary of the Barbican Association sent out the following note about plans to have a marked running track on the highwalk.

The paint will be this colour

But, before handing out cool projects to City officers to manage and roll-out (like Victors seats) perhaps we should get the maintenance of the highwalks sorted out?  Fixing the drains would be a good start.  When the boring old maintenance is properly under control we can then look at the list of cool ideas like the running track (which will come with a maintenance plan too, right?).

Here is the note:

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Dear BAGC Members 

Please forward this email to your residents so they can comment on the proposal to open a 1.5km running track on the Barbican highwalk without the need for a planning application as, I am advised by the Common Councillor behind the proposal, the creation of the track would be part of the broader plan to refurbish the high walk.

You can see the proposal here -

https://squaremiletrack.com/?fbclid=IwAR15LeepdYVJMTrz08zPwi_-jK_bPA29LY5QCgjmXanS5q_YnaTN1qucZd8

Maps are top left, click there to see a Barbican specific map that shows the route around the highwalk.

There is also a link, below the main image, to comment on the proposal.

Best regards
Christopher
Hon Sec BAGC

BA comment on abandoned Girls' School Expansion Plan

The BEO forwarded the following message from the Barbican Association

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Statement from the Barbican Association about the Girls’ School Expansion Plans

The BA issued the following statement in response to the City of London School for Girls announcing that it has decided not to take its expansion plan forward in its current form.

“The Barbican Association welcomes the decision by the governors of the City of London School for Girls to drop the current plans for the school’s expansion. The proposed development, the length of a football pitch, would have represented an extraordinarily large intrusion into the unique, grade II* listed landscape of the Barbican Estate and the governors appear to have recognised that it was unlikely to be granted planning permission or listed building consent in the face of determined opposition by residents and others who care about the estate and its architecture.

“We note that the school’s statement says “the need for an expansion remains”. The school has already expanded several times on its present site and we do not believe it can expand any further within the Barbican Estate without doing irreparable damage to its environment.

The school has clearly outgrown its present location and while we would be very happy to see the existing school remaining as part of the Barbican community, we believe that any further expansion must necessarily take place in an alternative location.​We believe there are opportunities for expansion very close to the estate.

In the event that any changes within the estate are proposed, we hope to see the school and the City working with residents and their representatives in a more open and collaborative way.”

Please click here for the link to the Barbican Association website.

12th Feb Meeting - Beech St Zero Emissions

The following is from the chair of the house group, along with the observation that "We also need to be aware that this proposal is closely connected with the development of Beech Street as part of the Culture Mile which will have a different kind of impact on us, positive I hope."
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Meeting for City residents
Beech Street: Proposals for a Zero Emissions Street

Come along and hear from the City Transportation Team what is planned for Beech Street, why, and how it will affect nearby residents

12 February 7pm, Main Hall, City of London School for Girls

Entrance on St. Giles' Terrace (off corner of Wood Street and Fore Street), Barbican, London EC2Y 8BB

Presentation from the City of London Transportation Team:

• Leah Coburn, Group Manager for Major Projects, City Transportation
• Kristian Turner, Project Manager

... Followed by your comments and questions

(The Transportation Team is also running question and answer sessions on 18, 24, 27 February in Exhibition Hall 1, Golden Lane, at 12-2pm and 6-8pm)

Organised by the Barbican Association www.barbicanassociation.com

Noisy tube in the news

On the BBC:

Click to go to the article

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

Barbican Tea Dance - Sun 22nd September

Click to enlarge

Girls School plans - update

The BA working group responding to the application to expand the girls school within the estate have made a video presenting their views.  The chair of the working group writes:

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Last Thursday we had a very successful residents meeting in St Giles Cripplegate church - with over 200 residents in attendance from across the Estate. Firstly a very big thank you to everyone who attended.

Below I refer to a few important things

The first is a reminder of the website.

https://www.clsgexpansion.com

Please check this out regularly as its always being updated. This is where you will find 2 key things - a link to the simple 2-minute resident survey which we would really like you to complete in response to the school's own survey…. and also a link to the online petition we are running. The petition we are aiming to make global - to attract support from lovers of Brutalist architecture across the world

The second item is document called SOS Barbican - A Call to Action - which clearly outlines exactly what we would like you as residents to do, to help the campaign. Our lobbying focus right now should be upon Catherine McGuiness. We are asking you to write to our common councillors not because they are supporting this scheme and we need to convince them….but because they need evidence of our opposition to support their lobbying work 

Click to read the document

The third is a document that outlines the points we would make, as the Barbican Association Working Group, in letters to City officials and councillors. We were very reluctant to produce such a document (hence it was not distributed at the public meeting) as we wanted to avoid the group being too prescriptive in guiding fellow residents.  However, so many residents asked for this after the meeting that we felt we had to produce something. We would encourage residents to use this as a reminder only - and to please write what feels important to them in their own words. 

Click to read the document

Andy Hawkins on behalf of the co-Chairs of the BA Working Group

Barbican Association AGM - 24th Apr 19:30 @ Girls School

Barbican Association AGM
Wednesday 24 April 2019

This will take place at 7.30pm, Main Hall, City of London School for Girls, St Giles’s Terrace.
Please click here for the agenda

For information about membership, contact the Membership Secretary, Jim Davies, 101 Mountjoy House, roger@rogerh.com

For information about the meeting, contact Jane Smith, chairBA@btinternet.com

Antennae atop the Barbican - application withdrawn

The City has sent out a notice of the withdrawal of the application to install transmitter masts on top of the highest point of the conservatory, the theatre fly tower.

Click to read the whole letter

House Group Objects to the Antennae

BJHG Objection to the proposed antennae atop the arts centre from the chair of the house group:
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Although I have already submitted an individual objection, this objection is on behalf of the Ben Jonson House Group, of which I am Chair. We object strongly to the proposal for the following reasons:

1. The listed status of the Barbican buildings and Grade 2* listing of the Barbican estate exist to protect them from damaging changes. Residents are subject to very strict controls about permitted alterations both internally and externally. To use a widely acclaimed icon of mid-century architecture as a support for technical equipment is totally at odds with the listing intentions. It would also set a very dangerous precedent regarding any future proposals.
2. The fact that the masts will project 3.4 metres above the roofline means that they will be visible across the estate from apartments at the same height or higher. They will be detrimental to the outlook of residents.
3. The potential threat to health must not be understated. The lack of conclusive proof that such installations are a health threat should be balanced against the lack of conclusive proof that they are not. In the USA the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends 457 metre setback for wireless infrastructure near schools. The FCC felt there was a strong case for “prudent avoidance” because the development of wireless technology was outpacing research on the health impacts. This applies particularly to 5G. In this case not only are the Golden Lane Campus and the City of London School for Girls closer than recommended, but there are apartments, occupied day and night, as close as 30 metres away.
4. The proximity of residential buildings is not referred to in the application, but Ben Jonson House and 5 other Barbican blocks of flats are all located within about 100 metres of the installation. This equates to several hundred flats and large numbers of residents.
5. No recognisable public consultation was held prior to submitting this application, in spite of its likely impact.

Notice of Barbican Association AGM 2019

From the Barbican Association

See the Ben Jonson House calendar for scheduled events.

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Notice of Barbican Association AGM
Wednesday 24 April 2019

This will take place at 7.30pm, Main Hall, City of London School for Girls, St Giles’s Terrace.
Please click here for the agenda

For information about membership, contact the Membership Secretary.

For information about the meeting, contact Jane Smith,chairBA@btinternet.com