Islington Wharf

Clare Johnson (CJ)

James Needham (JN) Chair

Katherine Harrison (KH)

Sana Khan (SK)

Paul Kelly (PK)

Tim Gardner (TG)

Jonathan Isaacs (JI)

Tracey Langford (TL)

Anand Patel (AP) Revolution

Susan Swientozielskyj (SS)

 

JN noted that he had done a few sweeps of the of the road leading up to the car park and had found 2 screws, both had been right at the sides. It was agreed its unlikely residents could claim on this retrospectively given lack of evidence but should be aware of the issue and get in contact with Revolution, Eric Wright and the committee if another incident occurs, taking pictures, and collecting any item causing damage. LC not aware of any action from Revolution, but Anand has been speaking with Eric Write and the caretaker has been instructed to do daily checks in the car park. PK stated Eric Wright need to also be doing daily checks. Action – Revolution

5b) Complete installation of the motorbike rail Anand Patel

KH raised the point that this had been dragging on for a long time. LC said she had this setup at the time but had to cancel it due to IF not getting back to her in time with the names of people so the area could be cleared prior to installation. LC is looking to set another date. LC advised to leave a notice leading up to the next install. Also speak to IF to cover all bases. Action – Revolution

Amendment – IF stated this is not true, He had told Linda he would tell the motorbike owners and they could get in touch with Revolution if there was an issue. But was not able to pass over their emails without their expressed permission.

This is not true, I told Linda I would tell the motorbike owners and they could get in touch with Revolution if there was a issue. But I wasn’t going to pass over their emails without their expressed permission.

5f) Brand of more effective Moth Traps Sue S

LC states that she is still awaiting contact from SS on better brand of traps.

Amendment – Sue emailed the Moth Trap information to Revolution on 24th August. It went to Laura Walker to forward on to Anand. SS to flag this up at the meeting at the review of actions.

5h) Roller shutter signs in place? Anand Patel

In place and complete.

5i) New bank signatories in place? Tracey Langford

Agreed at last meeting this would be JN and TL. Awaiting update from TL on this being complete. Action – TL

5l) Date for Community BBQ James N/Ian F

Due to availability of committee members to run with this in August, was postponed till a later date. Maybe look at a pre xmas gathering. To discuss with IF. Action – Committee

10a) Information Sheet for Residents with ideas on how to reduce their plastic footprint Sue S

KH brought up that the sheet has been circulated, everyone agreed it was a good and worthwhile project. JN suggested as well as getting something up on the screen, can Revolution send it to all residents. LC agreed that Revolution would be able to do so. Committee to also put something together for the bin rooms to encourage residents to do so. LC also stated the Lee has arranged for the council to come round and do a door to door knock to explain more about recycling. LC has not got a date yet, but will share as soon as its arranged in full.

KH raised in speaking to the Caretaker that he was still concerned we didn’t have enough bins. We need at least 12 (2 more). JN awaiting some additional information on the building from Anand to challenge the council for more bins, based on number of x bedroom apartments and bias based on waste allocation of house vs apartment. KH also stated some bins can not be put out due to pick up times, which are before the caretaker starts. Thus those in active use are not being emptied. Action – JN

JN also stated the green bin (clothes recycle) has a lot of bags on the floor, may be full and need emptying. Can revolution check and arrange- Action Revolution

Revolution awaiting instruction from the committee on this. Committee waiting for wet weather after unusually dry summer. This will give a better indication of impact to the Rockwool product. Action – Committee

b) Food recycling and bin cleaning Anand Patel

No update from Revolution on concerns raised from them on the last meeting. JN reiterated the need for this possibly to be an opt in, with the bin located in a self contain area away from the bin room to prevent cross contamination (which we would then need to pay for disposal). If we do move forward with this we need to

·       Gauge interest from Residents (to warrant cost and effort of moving forward)

·       Get more information from the council on the bin, size, collection frequency, list of acceptable and non acceptable items etc.

·       Place for the bin to be placed

·       Cost for installation of fob access

LC to get back to us on costs of Fob, mag lock etc Action – LC

SK raised its seems a lot of extra work, and extra effort. So it’s important we gauge interest. Action – Committee

Discussion moved onto possibly having composting bins in the Garden. Revolution have no objection to this. JN raised possible concern that between 200 apartments we could easily produce more than we use. Then what would we do with the excess? Could this be sold, or would we end up having to pay for disposal. More consideration needed before moving forward with this option. Action – Committee

c) Garden revamp update Sam Niruben

Sam and Ian not present to give update. – Action Ian and Sam

PK to dig out the original drawings and share – Action PK

d) Water leak in main office Anand Patel

LC stated this was all sorted now, the leak had been found. Awaiting update from Revolution on costs, who is liable and time frame for repairs. Action – Revolution

e) Councillor Engagement Katherine Harrison

KH gave a history of this to new members of the committee. Committee discussed what we wanted to happen next. KH to reach out and ask if the Councillors can setup a meeting with LOR to discuss the situation and put pressure on.

f) Lift update Anand Patel

LC still awaiting feedback from Otis on list of parts and costs. JN asked for this to be chased again as we cannot be left without a lift in service again for that period of time. We need to improve our options and remediation times in this area. Action – Revolution

 

 

 

a) Dealing with the gap Anand Patel

Anand has had 2 meetings already around this and another coming up in 2 weeks. Nothing to feed back at this point. JN asks to ensure we get an update on this at the next meeting. Action Revolution

b) Car park security fencing update Anand Patel

PK states he sent proposal quite some time ago, but nothing finally agreed or presented to the committee to ensure it fits in both astatically and is secure and robust. JN asks LC to ensure we get feedback on this for the next meeting. Action – Revolution

c) Car park cleaning Anand Patel

JN stated that residents thought the general cleanliness of the car park was very poor. LC understands this but states Eric Wright are not offering to do anything more than they have already done, which is have someone do a limited sweep of the area. LC says Anand is still pursuing this and has obtained quotes for cleaning to be carried out, but it is not clear if Eric Wright will pay for this. LC says the development (IW) could pay for this themselves out of the service charge to get it complete. (A dry clean quote circa £800 has been quoted, committee believes at least a wet clean is needed, Quoted at £1600 for a deep clean). KH raised the point that it was believed by the committee this was agreed by Eric Write (as part of the considerate builders scheme) that this would be undertaken. LC agrees she believes was also the case but cannot get commitment from Eric Wright. JN states this has taken way to long already, the car park should have been cleaned multiple times already, and residents are footing the cost caused by the building work in the form of extra car washes and dirt being tracked into communal areas and the home. JN instructs Revolution to speak with Waterside Places as the developer, they are responsible for leaving use with temporary fencing, and the builder. PK suggests following up with the considerate construction scheme, as they do take these things seriously. JN tells LC that if they will not resolve the matter amicably and quickly we will look at more disruptive means, e.g. blocking access to the building site and disrupting work with any means we have available to us. We have had this on the Agenda for a while, we need a response on this matter and Revolution next week. Action – Revolution

 

The view from the committee is that in Mike Paytons last response to the committee, while not ideal was frank and to the point. We are now awaiting LOR to reply to Waterside places based on what they have put forward. It was initially thought by the committee we could set a time scale on this in the form of a legal process (CPR-6B), however Mike Payton has stated this is not applicable in this case, and it may take longer than 3 months. Committee to discuss the response from Mike further, and JN/KH to reply in due course covering this topic and those relating to Air Cooling units, and noise. Action – JN/KH

PK asks if anyone on the committee has tried the new Air Cooer units. Nobody has but JN has agreed with AP to have one setup up by the contractor (properly) and test. JN to feed back on results, however we are now past the hottest period of weather so may be hard to assess properly. The reason for this is Mike Payton states they have taken expert advice based on our requirements, and these are what were suggested. He believes only a small number of people have complained about the units, and in those cases it was not able to confirm they had been setup properly. Action – JN

 

Committee state that the email received from Revolution about how to deal with the heat. Eg. Not to cook, ensure central heating was switched off etc. was not very well received and very condescending. LC states while her name was on this email, it was forwarded from Waterside Places, and Revolution had been left to deal with the backlash. JN stated it was unfair for Waterside Places to make the comment, blinds should be closed (to block out the sun/heat gain) however in JNs case (and many others) this is not possible due to the water ingress issue which Waterside Places will not fix independently to other issues despite having a fix. CJ asks for clarity on who actually sent the letter, this is again confirmed while Revolution sent the email, it was under instruction from Waterside Places.

On further investigation the Safety Days are currently only open to Schools. PK suggested getting in contact with the local fire station (by Win Yip) as these may be more accommodating and are much closer should we be able to arrange a site visit. Action – PK/JN

b) Update on refunds from Braemar Estates James Needham

PK states this seems to be an issue every year. Asks if it’s worth Revolution working with them to pass on information at this time of year via the mailing list. Not Revolutions responsibility, but would be useful. Action – Revolution

 

JN stated the response from Braemar was they had already issued some refunds but anyone else who believed they were still owed one should get in contact with them directly. JN to send something out over Facebook and the mailing list, as a final prompt. Action – JN

 

c) Noise from Retail Unit Building Work

Noted that construction noise in the retail unit is extremely loud. Can be heard clearly on the 13^th floor and above. Complaints from Floor 3 and 5, that it is unbearable. Work starts at 8am and continues all day. Not considerate construction, and disappointing that nothing was communicated to the residents prior to work going ahead. LC to contact the company for further information on construction and disruption and provide update to committee and residents. Action – Revolution

d) Fly Situation Bin Room

JN stated that he has spoken to Revolution about the fly situation and advised them that the fly zapper was now not working and the flys were basically using it as a nest. Revolution have arranged for rent-a-kill to come out and repair the existing one and install some additional ones.

JN asked what was being done in the short term to improve security with the bike store, while a wider security review was being carried out between the committee and Revolution. LC suggested the door could be reversed to open outward, and a small form handle being put in place to stop people kicking the door in or getting leverage to pull it open with force. JN stated he was very disappointed after the last security upgrade where a number of cameras were upgraded to HD to provide usable images to follow up with after incidents, the back end hardware had not been upgraded in line to provide this. We need to put a process in place that when work is carried out to review did we achieve our end goal. In this case this had not happened, and we need to ensure it doesn’t happen again and ensure we get good return on investment. Action – Revolution

JN raised issue with builders having access through our communal areas, and holding keys without agreement. LC states this was an oversight due to the correct keys not being available when the builders turned up on site, but still needing access to carry out work. This should now be rectified.

Manchester Bee in the City

b) JN asked if the Committee would support the idea of buying one of the Bees when the go up for Auction. The Bee would be placed in the development, everyone agreed it would be to big for the entrance but the garden might be a good choice as part of the revamp. This would be a way of having a featured piece, a bit of local history and support the charity. The bees are expected to go for between £3000/5000 and the funds could be raised in part from the garden revamp budget and donations from residents and local business. Overall a positive response from all in attendance. JN to put out a Facebook post to gauge residents thoughts, and approach revolution, waterside places, and other local business and partners to raise funds. Action – JN