Islington Wharf

 

        Islington Wharf Residents Association

 

Meeting		Thursday, 05 October 2017 @ 19:00	Medical Centre
Date of Minutes		Tuesday 7th October 2017

 

Attendees	Linda Cox (LC) – Revolution Anand Patel (AP) – Revolution Jonathan Isaacs (JI) – Chair Katherine Harrison (KH) Wayne Langford (WL) Susan Swientozielsjkyj (SS) Ian Forrister (IF)
Apologies	Paul Kelly James Needham Tracey Langford
Minutes	Susan Swientozielsjkyj
Next Meeting	Thursday, 2nd November 207

APOLOGIES:

• As above.

MINUTES LAST MEETING:

• Accepted as a true record.

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UPDATE ON MATTERS FROM MINUTES OF LAST MEETING & MATTERS DISCUSSED WITH REVOLUTION:

MAJOR REPAIRS & LATENT DEFECTS

• (A) Ongoing Issues

• Full report has been provided by Revolution and is available to members via Slack. Key findings are that the overall cost of repairs is no more than other comparable developments, and in some instances we spend less. The committee has asked for a like for like breakdown, in particular to compare the breakdown incidences of lifts and doors; KH also asked if the same could be provided for broken pipes and leaks. AP confirmed this can be done and will provide a breakdown report. ACTION: REVOLUTION

BUILDING INTERNALS

• (B) Plants:

• Inside Plants:

• There will be no change to the current provision of internal plants. SS remarked that for the first time since the planters were installed, the plant currently in situ is thriving and throwing off new shoots. This has never happened before and plants were dying at an alarming rate. There is no further action to be taken on this matter for the time being.

• Outdoor Plants:

• WL has some ideas, however advised that the contacts he had would look to charge for a consultation. The previously identified action to discuss with SS couldnt be completed as Sue away on holiday. Suggested that WL continue to pursue as a single action, and report back accordingly. ACTION: WL

CAR PARK

• (C) Motorbike parking:

• The process to charge for this has yet to be put in place. The agreed fee of £30 pcm still stands, however, Waterside Places were unaware that motorbikes were previously parking for free. They are now doing their own review of the situation which may affect the proposed monthly fee. The Committee will be updated accordingly.
• In addition, it was also flagged that it is unacceptable for residents to abuse their car parking space by parking double length vehicles in a single space, eg vehicles with trailers attached, as this would significantly encroach on the communal access space in and around the car park. This then raised further debate re: car parking spaces that have only partial space available for their vehicle due to partial use of their space for eg other household items. Revolution will monitor the situation for problems and report back accordingly. ACTION: REVOLUTION.

• (D) Lights In Car Park:

• Bulb replacement has been completed; LED lighting not yet installed; the direction of sensors has also been adjusted to improve activation time.

• (E) Short Term Rental:

• Has been dropped as there is no reasonable way to administer the process.

• (F) Sale of Spaces:

• 20 applications have been made for the 15 spaces on offer. The action to complete is ongoing. The committee noted this is a positive step forward. No further action is required.

MAINTENANCE

• (G) Lifts:

• Loose handles still need fixing; LED light strips to improve the illumination have been requested; Emergency button was activated when a postman was trapped in the lift. The response time of an hour was given, WL stated this seemed unreasonable; AP reassured the Committee that this is compliant with the Industry Standard and that if a person was unwell or panicking then other emergency services would be called.

• (H) Window Cleaning:

• Delayed in September due to the very bad weather and high winds. Will be completed in October [weather permitting].

• (I) Garage Door Breakdown:

• The repair required to fix the problem with the garage door was a two second fix, JI volunteered to show those on the committee how it was fixed in case the problem reoccurred.

• (J) Use Of Companies Who Have SLA For On Site Attendance:

• Revolution are working on current SLA to improve the response times and to repair when a fault is reported. On-site security will be put in place if the door cannot be readily fixed. Also, JI pointed out that sometimes the door just gets stuck and there a simple mechanism to get it going again. He knows how to do it and has done it before, and put it to Committee members would they be willing to create a group of ‘first responders’ should a resident report the issue on IW Facebook? KH, IW & SS volunteered. JI will demonstrate what needs to be done.

• (K) Release of CCTV Images:

• Security audit has been done. When the recommendations, in particular re: signage, have been implemented, CCTV images of people causing damage etc can and will be used. ACTION: REVOLUTION

• (L) Main Doors:

• If broken, to be secured closed and a clear notice will be displayed advising residents to use the other door.

PHASE 3

• (M) Disruption and Dirt:

• Car park sweeper will be deployed 2-3 times per week to keep the car park as clean as possible.

• (N) Health and Safety:

• WL has spoken with Eric Wright site management who will now install mirrors to aide people driving in and out of the car park.

• (O) Lamp Post Behind Barrier Out:

• has been removed as part of the building works. WL expressed concern about this and the potential effects of poor lighting. Revolution will ask the caretaking team to do a weekly check now that winter is coming, to ensure faulty lights are repaired quickly. ACTION: REVOLUTION

REVOLUTION & OOH

• (P) Monthly report from Revolution with tickets raised:

• There had been a problem with getting it to be set last month, to be sent this coming month. ACTION: REVOLUTION

COMMUNICATION

• (Q) Electronic Noticeboards:

• These should be in action within the month, delay was due to cabling. KH pointed out that the installation was not as good as it could be with the cable being on show. Revolution were to investigate this and advise IF and KH when the screens could be updated with the slides. ACTION: REVOLUTION, KH AND IF

• (R) Access To Revolution Mailing List:

• Action is ongoing. The website developers have completed their tasks. JI is now testing. Action should be complete within the month. ACTION: JI AND REVOLUTION

GARDEN

• (S) Revamp:

• WL has discussed with a designer he knows. There will be costs to formally commission a design. Revolution will get some quotes using existing images and informed the Committee that Waterside Places will consider ideas put forward to improve the garden. ACTION: REVOLUTION AND WL

OTHER

• (T) Commercial Unit

• Process of sale still taking place but going smoothly. Will become ‘Office Space to Let’. This is very pleasing news that will hopefully have a big impact on the aesthetic of the building.

• (U) Use of Revolution OOO on Facebook if tagged into post @Revolution Property Management

• This was not possible due to OOH and others being required to have access to the Facebook page, and was another medium for Revolution to monitor. No further action on this point required.

        AOB

• (V) Towel Dispenser

• A towel dispenser had been installed in the trolley room next to the lift in Block B for people to use to mop up their spillages. A cheap bin would also be placed there to be emptied regularly. ACTION: REVOLUTION
• Revolution to send out email to all those in Block B advising them of paper towels and encouraging these to be used to mop up spillages. ACTION: REVOLUTION

MATTERS DISCUSSED IN ISOLATION

• (W) Heat Gain

• The 3D modelling has been completed. Also noted that the original Computer Aided Design [CAD] was found. There is some concern re: progress with Laing O’Rourke who are under notice at the moment, with significant losses reported.

• (X) Zurich Insurance

• WL also raised the issue about the Zurich Insurance response challenge. Time is now running out for getting action and redress on building defects that have been a problem from the very beginning of this development. To take a legal challenge will cost anything from £1000pp but Committee members are not willing to put in their own money to do this. If people wish to pursue claims for their own apartments then they will need to do this independently. No further action for this item.

• (Y) Garden

• As point S

• (Z) MP and Councillor Engagement

• Lucy has recently emailed JI for an update re: Waterside Places. Committee agree that a letter should be sent to Lucy Powell flagging concerns about Laing O’Rourke – namely, if they go bust, where does that leave us? KH agreed to write the letter on our behalf. ACTION: KR

AOB:

• Non