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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - JUNE 2009
Members of the Jacob's Island Residents' Association (JIRA) are kept
informed on issues by way of Minutes of JIRA Committee Meetings (six
per year) and minutes of the AGM (last held 30 April 2009). You have to be a JIRA
member to see the minutes of meetings. Our preferred
method of contact is via e-mail.
This Chairman's Report is just a very brief summary of the 12-page
minutes of the 2009 AGM.
Membership of JIRA is £25 for the calendar year 2009, but you can pay
£50 for membership covering 2009, 2010 and 2011. That works out
at £16.67 per year. Owners and tenants are both welcome to
join. An application form can be downloaded from this website,
and forms are also on the desk in the concierge reception area.
It was less than five years ago that some of us will have squeezed
into the upstairs room at La Lanterna for a fairly lively JIRA AGM.
At the time I had only just joined the Residents' Association so it
was rather a baptism of fire. There were many complaints about
Peverel's lack of maintenance, but we have come a long way since then.
In the last five years about 60 non-routine maintenance or security
issues have been addressed, including:
* a 24-hour concierge
* security improvements, including colour CCTV with
more cameras
* the removal of unregistered bicycles from the
basement car park, almost exactly 2 years ago
* Fox barrier round the basement car park
* complete internal and external redecoration
* improvements to the gym
* and of course replacing the moat liner
The minutes of the 2009 AGM cover current management and maintenance
issues at Providence Tower, Springalls Wharf and Providence Square,
including:
* water ingress
* ground settlement
* damp in the gym
* problems with the entrances to Providence Square
Block A (apartments 1 to 47A)
* repairs to the Thames wall
* Right to Manage
* recovery of repair costs from Berkeley Homes
* discussion on Peverel's performance and charges
* contributions to reserve funds
For the last two years we have had a permanent painter and decorator
-- Mark O'Brien. He keeps the common parts looking fresh despite
the fact that the internal redecoration was completed four years ago.
Gardeners have proved unsatisfactory and two have come and gone.
However, we now have Andy Roberts who has only been with us a few
months but is doing an excellent job. JIRA Committee member
Steve Argles continues to devote a lot of his spare time to ensuring
the gardens, and the Estate in general, are well maintained.
Caretakers have also come and gone. We now have Tom Koko who was
recently taken on permanently following a stint on the Estate as an
agency worker. He is doing a good job.
The day concierge is John and Sandra Clatworthy, who are a mine of
information if you have queries.
For the last year we have also had a Peverel on-site Development
Manager - Angus Bearn - who is at the development from 9am to 5pm on
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. It may just be coincidence, but
this change coincided with our decision to obtain Right to Manage.
The last 12 months has seen the completion of the major work of
complete external redecoration and repairing sections 2 and 3 of the
moat liner. Unfortunately the cost of the repair to the moat
liner is not covered by the buildings insurance, as no insured peril
has operated. The NHBC has also denied liability, on the basis
that the damage to the liner is not a structural issue. Berkeley
Homes will not accept liability.
An issue that has been around for a long time is the TV upgrade, which
the vast majority of owners asked for in a development-wide survey
conducted by JIRA three years ago. This has obviously not been a
priority for Peverel and the slow progress is down to them. JIRA
Committee member Jeremy Hendy has put in a huge amount of effort to
ensure Peverel is working with the right technical specification.
Without his help and the persistence of JIRA, I don't think this
project would ever have got off the ground. We are now moving
towards the final stages. The latest consultation period ended
on 20 April and very few residents raised any objections.
Obviously we live in a community and we all have to accept the
majority view.
I and the JIRA Committee (listed elsewhere on the website) look
forward to continuing to liaise with the Managing Agent, Peverel OM,
to safeguard the interests of leaseholders and to keep JIRA members
fully informed.
If you are not already a paid-up member of JIRA, it would be great to
have your support.
Colin Hartridge-Price
Chair, Jacob's Island Residents' Association
89 Providence Square
June 2009
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