Islington Wharf

Ian Forrester                  (IF)

Tim Gardner                  (TG)

Jonathan Isaacs              (JI)

Clare Johnson                (CJ)

Tracey Langford            (TL)

James Needham           (JN) Chair

Anand Patel                  (AP)  Revolution

Susan swientozielskyj    (SS)

Item 4G – Rockwool update: in line with recent discussions, the Fire Brigade were contacted but they passed the issue back to Revolution as their responsibility to action. In response, Revolution will be arranging another more in-depth inspection that will also cover more apartments around the development. The Committee asked that is done after a period of rainy weather in order to pick up any saturation from water ingress that may be occuring.

Item 5 – bin collection/recycling: JN has been in contact with Manchester City Council (MCC) to challenge their decision to reduce the number of general waste bins here at IW, full details of which are posted on Slack. In response, MCC has agreed to increase the number of bins from 10 to 12 and James is pushing for the number to increase to what IW had originally (14).

In terms of recycling, all apartments have been issued with the MCC guidance document to improve the volume and quality of our recycling effort. With regard to adding food recycling and the challenges that go with this, it was suggested that a food waste pilot is undertaken in the first instance. AP agreed to investigate the possibility of doing this. Action Revolution.

In addition, members commented about the dirty state of the bins and the high levels of blue bottle flies in the bin room especially coming from the bottle bins. It was suggested that the bins could be hosed down with water as they have a drainage hole in the bottom and there is a sluice drain in the bin room. AP will follow this up with the Caretaker. Action Revolution.

• Nails in car tyres: SS informed the Committee of two separate incidences of nails in her car tyres in the past week and that response to a call out on FB confirmed that other residents have also had the same issue recently. Having done a recent patrol of the driveway into the car park and the lower level, a nail was found by the blue recycling bins. It is therefore possible that the incidents are related to the Phase 3 development. Revolution agreed to discuss this with Eric Wright and also press them on the matter of a deep wet clean of the car park – which is long overdue. Action Revolution.
• Electronic noticeboards: updates to be sent to IF who will then send the revised/new slides to Revolution for uploading.
• Garden Revamp update: SN absent. IF will follow up with Sam. Action IF.
• AGM feedback: JN gave a brief update. Minutes from the AGM are available to all members on Slack. It was also agreed to hold the next AGM in Autumn 2019 in the hope of increasing attendance.
• Motorbike rail update: IF will agree the physical location with LC after the meeting. The installation can then go ahead.
• Moth traps: SS asked if Revolution would ask Pest Control to install a better spec and provided photographic evidence of the higher performance of the trap she installed vs the traps installed by Pest Control. SS to advise Revolution of the brand SS has purchased. Action SS/Revolution.
• Water leak in the main office: the leak appears to be coming from Apartment 79 and a plan of action has been devised by Revolution to deal with it. Action Revolution.
• Roller shutter signs: the design was signed off at the meeting. These will now be installed. Action Revolution.
• Bank account signatories: TL has the forms ready to complete but requires email address of Steve Swientozielskyj in order to complete the action. SS to send. Signatories to be JN and TL.
• Councillor engagement: Rosa Battle has asked if the committee would like her to press for a meeting with Laing O’Rourke. Members generally thought this would be a good idea. JN and Katherine Harrison to speak with Councillor Battle. Action JN/KH. At this point the AC units recently provided by Waterside Places (WP) was flagged as an issue of concern in that they are large, noisy and not fit for purpose. CJ commented that there are much better models available that do the job and cost less than those currently being provided. Revolution confirmed that 60 more units had just been ordered by WP and they will try to halt this so that a better solution can be found. Clare and Jame agreed to review. Action JN/CJ.
• Lift update: Revolution confirmed that the Lift Condition Report had been completed by Mottram Associates and that there was nothing of major concern and no change in the lifespan of the lifts. Revolution will review which parts fail most commonly so that these can be ordered and held in stock to reduce any delays in repair. They will get a menu of prices from Schindler.
• Date for the Summer BBQ: Sun 12 August or Thurs 23 August were suggested dates. IF will put a poll on Slack. SN will be asked if he would like to host at Vivid. Action JN/IF

• Dealing with the gap: AP is meeting with WP to discuss options and will update accordingly
• Car park security fencing: As a) above.
• Car park cleaning: see notes in 5a) above.

• Update on discussions with Waterside Places: WP are currently awaiting feedback from Laing O’Rourke since serving the papers to them. Committee members agreed it is reasonable to give them at least one month to respond but in the meantime best to prepare a contingency plan if it all comes to nothing! TL agreed to collate stories from residents about life living with unbearable heat and the water ingress should a media campaign be our next course of action. Action TL.

• Visit re: fire safety: two options are noted. Residents can request a visit to their apartment by the fire brigade; and/or the Committee can arrange a group event to the Fire Brigade training HQ in Bury. A minimum of 25 people is required and visits are either morning or afternoon and at the weekends. Committee members were generally interested in doing this. And for those apartments with a sprinkler system, Revolution are in the process of setting up a maintenance programme of this system. Action JN – More info/costs/dates

1. Refunds from Braemar: a number of residents have complained that they have yet to receive their refund and in addition to this, it would appear that those that have had a refund have not had the legal costs reimbursed which goe against the pledge made by Braemar to do this in their correspondence with JI. JN to put a call out on FB advising those with outstanding issues to use the afore-mentioned correspondence in their dealings with Braemar; this is available from JI. Action JN.

• Reducing our plastic footprint: following on from previous discussions about this, SS would like the Committee to continue to raise awareness of the issue (as highlighted in the BBC Blue Planet 2 series) and has volunteered to produce an information sheet on ‘simple swaps to make a difference’. The Committee is in agreement with this. Action SS.

1. SS asked if there was any mileage in pursuing energy savings with EDF following recent information from them offering savings of 20% on bills. JN had looked at this and didn’t think it offered anything in reality but in principle it may be a good time to review our energy suppliers in general given that most energy companies are offering discounted rates to those who switch. For action at a later date.