Attendees

Frances Goldberg (RA Secretary) - Flat 1 - In person

Sultan Bin Mahfouz - Flats 2 & 3- In person

Nadeem Anjarwalla - Flat 7 - Zoom

Richard Bruce - Flat 10 - In person

Irene & Stuart Munday - Flat 11 - Zoom

Philip Hindley - Flat 12 - Zoom

Gail Alexander - Flat 14 - Zoom

Rahul Yadav - Flat 17 - Zoom

Nick Hill - Flat 21 - Zoom

Donald Gordon - Flat 27 - In person

Faisal Shaker - Flat 28 - In person

Iain (RA Chair) & Anette Fergusson - Flats 29, 30, 31 - In person

1. State of the Building

a.   Ground floor carpet

          i.     There was consensus that the ground floor carpet needs replacing.

        ii.     Sultan has proposed some options, which can be seen on the ground floor porter’s desk.

       iii.     There was consensus that, given the multiple assurances by the Church Commissioners’ agents’ contractors (The Furniture Union) that the present carpet would be hard-wearing and could be easily cleaned, the cost of a new carpet should be borne by Savills or the Church Commissioners.

b.   Paint job

          i.     There was consensus that the state of the paint job and general decoration carried out by PJ Harte was sub-standard and had deteriorated and this should be remedied.

        ii.     There was concern that the managing agents had signed off on the works with these being sub-standard.

c.   Cleaning

        i.       Differing views were expressed as to the cleanliness of the common parts.

       ii.       There was consensus that the ground floor and forecourt cleaning was not up to standard.

       iii.     There was uncertainty as to what duties the cleaning company and the porter had for cleaning.

2. Proposed works

a.     Leaseholders’ Windows and Doors (including the Thursday 31 August letter from the Church Commissioner’s Solicitors)

          i.     There was consensus that the offer of replacing windows while scaffolding was up for external works potentially represented a good opportunity.

        ii.     It was recognised that as the windows and front doors are demised under the leases, it would be up to individual leaseholders to decide whether to replace them, and whether they could be repaired or repainted.

       iii.     A concern was voiced that some of the windows may not comply with current safety regulations for lettings and that in the event of injury to a tenant, the leaseholder could face criminal prosecution, potentially resulting in fines and imprisonment, this being a particular risk if a tenant were to fall out of a window or from a balcony.

b.     Outside works

        i.       There was consensus that the louvered windows on floors 1-6 should be replaced as part of the external works.

       ii.       There was consensus that the exterior brickwork needs to be cleaned, likely with high pressure hoses, as was done to No. 2 Hyde Park Square, and that the brickwork needed to be repaired as necessary.

     iii.       There was consensus that the balconies should be repaired:

o   The paintwork on the ceilings of the balconies needed to be repaired.

o   There was a suggestion that window boxes should be removed as they are not always well-tended. It was recognised that as these are likely demised, this may be up to individual leaseholders.

o   There was consensus that the green mosaic panels on the sides of the balconies should be removed or covered.

       iv.     There was consensus that Savills needed to exercise substantially improved quality control over building works than had taken place by Knight Frank with the interior works.

        v.     There was a suggestion to investigate the possibility of installing a common roof terrace on the 4th floor roof and solar panels on the South wall. Some doubts were expressed as to their desirability and viability.

       vi.     There was a suggestion to use moveable scaffolding platforms that would provide considerably more security.

      vii.     There was consensus that it was worth investigating whether the green canopy at the main building entrance could be made more attractive.

    viii.     There was consensus that the paving stones in the forecourt under the canopy needed to be cleaned and repaired as necessary.

3. Service Charge

a.       Increase

        i.      There was consensus that the reasons for increases in the Service Charges should be investigated.

       ii.      There was consensus that the invoices provided to the RA for 2022 should be checked in detail against the budget and leases as to whether all charges were made correctly.

     iii.      Nadeem offered to take on the above two tasks.

b.   Pre-payment

        i.      Nick explained his interactions with Savills regarding the proper quarterly invoicing of the service charge. It was noted that the correspondence with Savills was ongoing.

4. Building Management

        i.      There was a suggestion that the Residents Association should investigate the possibility of obtaining the right to manage the building.

       ii.      Some concerns were expressed as to the desirability of obtaining the right to manage.

5. Porterage

     i.         There was uncertainty as to the exact duties of the porter and the change of title to building manager.

   ii.         Some dissatisfaction was expressed with the work of the current porter. At the same time, there was considerable support for the porter and his commitment to the building.

  iii.         There was consensus that the porter’s presence at the front desk needs to be substantially increased and that he should refrain from being offsite for picking up newspapers for the block

6. Next Meeting

     i.         There was a suggestion that meetings should be held on a quarterly basis.

   ii.         There was a request for an AGM to be held in the near future.

7. AOB

     i.         Some dissatisfaction with the work of the RA Management Committee was expressed.

   ii.         There was a request by Gail and Philip to be on the RA Management Committee.

Actions (with target dates)Target Date

1. Members to provide any comments on the draft minutes - Thursday 7 September

2. Iain to circulate final minutes - Friday 8 September

3. Iain to ask the porter to enhance his presence at the front desk. - Friday 8 September

4. Sultan to provide versions of the carpet that can be circulated by email to those RA members not presently in London - Saturday 8 September

5. Sultan and Gail to gather all evidence of deterioration of the state of the building, with photos and location of the faults, in one document that can be circulated to RA members by email and subsequently to Savills. - Saturday 8 September

6. Frances to circulate the document of the state of the building to all RA members - Sunday 10 September

7. Frances to write to Savills asking for details of the porter’s/building manager’s duties. - Sunday 10 September

8. Iain to write to Savills requesting an estimate of costs for replacement of windows such that leaseholders can decide whether to replace, repair or repaint their windows. - Sunday 10 September

9. Iain to conduct an online pole of RA members on the following questions:

a.     Which carpet would you like for the Ground floor?

b.     Would you like the window boxes to be removed?

c.     Would you like the Residents Association to explore the possibility of having a communal roof terrace on the 4th floor?

d.     Would you like the Residents Association to explore the possibility of having solar panels on the South-facing wall?

e.     Would you like the Residents Association to request Savills to replace the porter?

f.      Would you like the porter to cease to collect the papers for the residents?

g.     Would you like the Residents Association to investigate obtaining the Right to Manage the building, with the understanding that legal fees for the investigation are likely to be in the region of £5,000?

h.     Would you like to nominate yourself for the Residents Association Management Committee?

i.       Would you like the AGM to be held on Saturday 30 September 3 p.m. -5 p.m., Sunday 1 October 3 p.m.-5 p.m., or on Saturday 7 October 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.?

j.       Do you agree that RA meetings should be held on a quarterly basis (with the ability to join by Zoom or other video conference facilities)?

k.     Do you give consent to your name, flat number, email, and phone number being circulated amongst the RA members for the purpose of communication on RA matters, on the understanding that this will be treated as confidential and not circulated outside of the RA or used for any other purpose and that you can withdraw your consent at any time and have your details removed from any list kept by the RA or any of its members?

Sunday 10 September

10  Members to provide answers to the pole. - Saturday 16 September

11.  Members to provide any additional comments on the state of the building, ideally with photos and location. - Saturday 16 September

12.  Iain to write to Savills regarding the ground floor carpet, state of the building and cleaning, and results of the poll, exterior works, and press for a meeting and resolution, including:

a.     Requesting a schedule of what in the building is required to be regularly cleaned and the responsibilities for cleaning as between the cleaning company and the porter.

b.     Requesting a change of the cleaning company.

c.     Submitting the state of the building document prepared by Sultan and Gail.

d.     Proposed schedule and content of exterior works.

Sunday 17 September

13. Iain to organise a RA AGM, to include elections to the Management Committee. - Sunday 17 September

14. Nadeem to report back on his findings regarding 2022 invoices and 2023 budget. - AGM

15. Nick to report back on his correspondence with Savills regarding quarterly invoicing of Service Charges. - AGM

16. Iain to report back on the results of the polls and interactions with Savills. - AGM