Consort Alerts + Kingsland Shopping Centre Redevelopment
I have, this morning, posted 3 new Consort ‘Alerts’ to the forum: Sanitisation of the Phase 3 sub-basement has begun as promised, but will take a little longer than expected to complete; cleaning of communal carpets throughout the development has begun this week; Phase 2 bicycle storage unit to be emptied by Friday next week. All 3 ‘Alerts’ can be read in full in our forum HERE.
Those of you familiar with Hackney Council’s DAAP (Dalston Area Action Plan) know that Kingsland Shopping Centre is living on borrowed time. The planned redevelopment of this area is central to the council’s vision of an updated, modern Dalston. To this end, the first of what is sure to be many public meetings is scheduled for Tuesday next week, February 25th, at 6.30pm in the Stoke Newington Town Hall, and everyone is invited. Although not able to participate in the discussions, members of the public will be able to sit in on the presentation a developer will be making to the council, about their plan for the redevelopment. Full details of exactly what will be happening are included in the document thumb-nailed below. Click on each image to see it full size. (The link at the bottom of page 1 can be followed HERE.)
Past, Present, And Futures
In time order then, let’s start with the ‘Past’: Thanks to everyone who attended the recent DSRA open meeting in the CLR James Library. The meeting was kept short, as requested, but, I believe, successfully conveyed to all present where the DSRA currently stands and what we have been working on. Of particular interest was the subject of our service/management charges, which we hope to have further news on very soon as Consort complete the budgets for past years as well as the 2014/15 financial year. A report on the meeting is now available for download from the DSRA specific section of our Forum HERE (if this link does not work for you, read the first post in THIS THREAD). And while on the subjects of our forum, Consort, and budgets, at Consort’s request I have published a copy of the letter they recently sent out to all owners (there has been an issue with sending out this letter so if you are an owner but have not received it, a little patience should see new copies sent out very soon. Failing that, read it on our forum HERE). Though mostly of interest just to owners, the first paragraph includes news relevant to all Dalston Square residents: For those still unaware, Sean Stone, Consort’s on-site development manager, has left Consort and been replaced by Mr. Gerald Bernard. Obviously Gerald is going to need a little time to settle in and get to know the place (and it’s issues), but if needed he can be contacted on 020 7249 0896, or by email at gerald.bernard@consortpm.co.uk.
Moving now into the ‘Present’, we have the ongoing issue of the flooding of the sub-basement beneath phase 3 buildings, and more specifically Sledge Tower. After many emails back and forth between DSRA Chair Ben Collins, Consort, and Barratt, it seems we have finally got the the crux of the issue. It seems this is pretty much the last part of the Square yet to be handed over to Consort because of the issues of flooding in this sub-basement. This flooding has been an issue right from the early stages of construction and Barratt have a number of engineers looking at the problem, trying to find a way to rectify it. This problem only recently came to residents attention when a sewer blockage forced raw sewage into the already flooded sub-basement. Anyhow, Barratt have now pumped this area dry (and have committed to keeping it dry until a solution to the flooding has been put in place), and have instructed Consort to go ahead and have the whole area sanitized to remove the last of the residues and with them, hopefully, the last of the odours. Consort have advised us that this work will be undertaken next week, and will take a full 5 days to complete. If after next week anyone again smells a problem, do not hesitate in contacting either Consort or Barratt (phone numbers and email addresses are in the side-bar of our website homepage).
And finally the ‘Futures’: Dalston Futures (the Hackney Unites project that aims to give the local Dalston community a voice in what happens in/to Dalston). They have just received a grant to make a short film allowing local people to voice their concerns, and they want to hear what yours are. If you would like to be heard, or have experience in film making and can offer advise/help, check out all the details HERE.
That’s all for now, have a great weekend neighbours!
Sewage Smells In Dalston Square
Hello all. Whilst primarily directed to tenants of Phase III, as the smells have apparently been detectable across the Square I felt this official notice from Consort should be posted here as well in it’s usually place on our forum (in the ‘Consort Memos & Notices’ section HERE):
Dear Resident
Sewerage smells
You may have noticed a smell of sewerage over the last couple of weeks and we apologise for this.
The reason there has been a smell is due to a large amount of sanitary towels/wipes/fat etc blocking up the drains underneath your buildings. This led to flooding of the sub basement area with actual raw sewerage. Thames Water were called out who had to pump out tonnes of contaminated water. Unfortunately this meant that remnants of the raw sewerage was left lying stagnant in the sub basement area for some time before Barratt were once again on site after the xmas break to clean it up. The sub basement area has not been handed over to Consort to date, but the clean up has now been successfully completed and the smell should have disappeared.
If you could please refrain from ever putting sanitary towels or wipes down your toilets it would stop this from happening again in addition to fat or ground coffee being put down your kitchen sinks.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Consort Customer Services
So there we have it. And it must be said that this advise is applicable to ALL Dalston Square residents, not just those in Phase III: Phases I & II, though not so severely, have also had blockage problems as a result of people flushing things down the toilet that should not be flushed. Tampons, sanitary towels, wet-wipes, cotton-buds, and fabric off-cuts are just some of the items removed from blocked pipes throughout the development (that I know of). Plumbing, and sewers come to that, are simply not designed to accept these things. As for fat and coffee, do a quick search on Youtube and you will find videos that show in full disgusting detail why these should never be flushed or discarded down the sink.
Apologies for starting 2014 with such an unpleasant post, but better news (the Square’s newest restaurant – Le Ziz) coming very soon. 😉
Important Consort Alerts
Hi all. I have just posted 2 new Consort alerts to the FORUM but felt they warranted a quick post here as they are rather important. Firstly (HERE), to strengthen security and with immediate effect, identification will now need to be presented to the concierge when collecting parcels or keys. Further security tightening measures are planned and will be announced soon. Secondly (HERE), to Phase 2 bike store users, the code has been changed: Please see the concierge for the new one.
Sub-Committee Reports
Hello again. Firstly, thanks to those who left us feedback after the last post. You will notice that the first comment was from Lucy McMenemy, Cultural Programme Officer for Hackney Coucil, so you know your voices will been heard. Surely there must be others with an opinion?
This post, as referenced by the title, will give reports from 3 of our sub-committees: ASB, Buildings & Maintenance, and Finance.
ASB – Chris Rivinus has produced a comprehensive document, available for download from the DSRA-specific section of the forum HERE, which contains a review of the last 4 to 5 months of this groups activities, including a summary of progress against the ASB action plan established early this year, and a note from Sean Stone in response to the ASB/Security survey conducted some weeks ago now (results from this survey are also available for download in the same forum post).
Buildings & Maintenance – Jane Collins has produced a report for us on the latest meeting and issues facing this group. Again, this is available for download from the forum, HERE
Finance – Dave Eastwood and team are still working with Consort to finalise the budget for 2013/14. This from Dave:
‘The finance committee is continuing to work with Consort on the 13/14 budget, we had pre-meet with Consort on 6th June to discuss progress against outstanding actions, they were able to provide some clarification on a few items but unfortunately the 2013/14 budget is still not finalised. Consort have promised to update us on Friday 14th June with a date when this will be available for the committee to review, we will then arrange a finance committee meeting to clarify and challenge this. This will then be followed by a full residents meeting where Consort can present this budget to all residents. As soon as we have a draft budget we will arrange for this to be put up on the website.
Various members of the committee are also in the process of reviewing the actual spend since 2010 to check for any inconsistencies in invoicing and charges, this is a very detailed process so it is likely that this will take a while but will keep the RA updated with any major findings as these come to light.’
The only thing to add to Dave’s message is that contact was made on Friday as promised, and Consort have now promised to supply us with all budget info for 2013/14 before June 28th. Progress is slow, but we are getting there.
One last thing before I finish off, a new alert from Consort regarding cleaning of communal area carpeting throughout the Square in the Consort ‘Memos & Updates’ section of the forum HERE.
I believe that is it for now, but will of course keep you all up to date with progress on these and all other Dalston Square related issues as I become aware of them. Have a good week all.
Consort Customer Alerts
Hello everyone. A couple of alerts from Consort you should know of: An update on the elevator issue in Ocean/Dekker, and warning of upcoming works to the gates of the underground parking. These and other Consort alerts can be found over at the forum HERE.
I will be in contact again soon with news and updates to all that has been happening in the busy couple of weeks since my last post very soon: Watch this space.
New Consort Alerts
Hi all. A total of 4 new alerts from Consort to advise you of:
1) Roseberry Place will again be closed due to a Barrat crane in the road this weekend: HERE.
2) Labyrinth Tower’s intercom should be repaired this Thursday: HERE.
3) Sean Stone is to re-start the monthly Development Manager’s surgeries: HERE.
4) A warning not to throw burning cigarettes into bins: HERE.
That’s all folk! 😉
Residents Surgery
Hi folks, just a quick one. Gerard Hayes, Consort’s on-site development manager, is to hold his next residents surgery on Wednesday 3rd October from 6.00pm until 8.00pm. To reserve your 10 minute slot contact Gerard by email at gerard.hayes@consortpm.co.uk, or by telephone on 0207 2490896. If you have any questions for Gerard regarding Consort’s management of the development this is your chance, so contact him soon to get the slot you want.
Two Dates For Your Diary
Hello neighbours. Firstly, Gerard Hayes, our on-site development manager from Consort Property Management, is holding another surgery to answer any questions you may have for him: Wednesday 1st August, 6.00pm to 8.00pm. To reserve your 10 minute slot contact Gerard by email at gerard.hayes@consortpm.co.uk, or by phone on 0207 2490896.
Secondly, a plug for a charity event. I am sure most of you are aware of Oxfam, and the incredible work they do around the world. Most of you will also be aware that they have a shop here in Dalston at 514-518 Kingsland road (just 2 minutes from the Square and recently declared London’s best charity shop for books and records by Time Out magazine – click HERE to read the article). Now, just for the sake of transparency I will tell you I volunteer one day a week to work in the shop (volunteers are always needed to help process donations and keep the shelves and racks on the shop floor stocked, so if you can spare a half-day or more each week, please do drop in and speak to a staff member). Also, instead of contributing to the local land-fill, please consider donating your unwanted items: No electrical or electronic goods please, but clothing, books, music & movies, general housewares and any other unwanted goods in good condition are always welcome.
And so to the special event. Over the past several months the guys at the shop have been saving the high-fashion and quality designer and vintage clothing and accessories that have been donated. These will go on sale at a special late night shop opening on Friday 3rd August. Titled ‘Oxfam Chic’, the sale will run from 6.30pm to approx 9.00pm. There will be light refreshments and nibbles available, and Steve, the shop manager, will be donning his DJ hat to supply some cool tunes. There really are going to be some amazing bargains to be had, so get yourselves along there! Click the pic below to see the full-size advertising poster (designed by the Squares own Stephen Humphries – thanks Steve).
Consort Customer Alert
Hi folks. A new alert from Consort that will be very important for all those phase 1 residents who use the underground bicycle storage facilities:
Bike Stores – Phase 1
Please note lock codes are changed as of to day. Please contact Concierge for new codes Labyrinth/Raddon/Gaumont.
Regards, ConsortPM
Consort Property Management Surgery
Gerard Hayes, our on-site Consort Manager, is holding another surgery for residents with questions about any aspect of Consort’s management of Dalston Square on 4th July between 6pm and 8pm. To reserve your 10-15 minute slot contact Gerard by email at gerard.hayes@consortpm.co.uk, or by phone on 0207 2490896. This works on a first come first served basis so be quick to get the slot that best suits you.
Important Consort Customer Alert
Hello again. Two new Customer Alerts from Consort today, the second of which is really very important. The first concerns the replacement of the broken panels in the canopy above the passage between Gaumont and Collins Towers (from the Square through to Beechwood road): We have received further apologies from the supplier (technical problems with their glass ovens) but been assured the 2 broken panels will be replaced next week.
The second alert is both important and troubling. Over the last 3 weekends, 3 residents from different towers (one each from Collins, Dekker, and Thomas) have had laptops stolen from their apartments. The thieves (not residents) have been identified from CCTV footage, and this footage has been passed on to the police. The thieves M.O. is very simple: They (2 young guys) hang about outside their targeted block until a departing/arriving resident gives them access. They then move from apartment to apartment, trying every door until they find one to be unlocked and walk right in. If there is someone home and attentive to their opening door, the thieves apologise and leave claiming they have the wrong apartment. If there is no-one home, or the resident is perhaps in the bathroom or in a bedroom, the thieves grab what they can (laptops seem to be their main target), and scarper double time. Dear friends and neighbours, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security with fob operated tower entrance doors and CCTV cameras, but do not forget we are in a relatively poor area of East London here: Keep your apartment door(s) LOCKED at all times. You have been warned.
Dalston Square Residents' Association 