ETRA meeting January 2021
2021-01-12 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | Online
This ‘Enhanced Tenants & Residents Association’ (ETRA) ‘meeting is a chance for residents to speak to Hackney representatives about issues on the estate e.g. cleaning, repairs, antisocial behaviour.
ETRA meetings happen on a quarterly basis in January, April, July & October
On Zoom only due to Covid-19 restrictions
The zoom link for this meeting will be emailed to all who request it (email kingscrescentn4@gmail.com)

Minutes
Chair – Emley Pine (resident and chair of Kings Crescent TRA committee)

In attendance:
John Morris
Consultant at Source Partnership/ Independent Resident Advisor

Deborah Noel
ASB Manager for the North of Hackney (Hackney)

William Owen
Project Officer Regeneration (Hackney)

Cllr Clare Potter
Councillor Brownswood Ward

Annette Reid (AR)
Housing Officer for Kings Crescent Estate (Hackney)

Bianca Rembrandt
Community Safety and Principal Enforcement Officer (Hackney)

Bronwen Thomas (BT)
Project Officer Regeneration (Hackney)

13 residents
(including 5 TRA committee members)

Agenda Item
Action

Owner

1
Welcome and Introductions

Alice proposes to accept the minutes from the last ETRA meeting (Oct 2020) as they have been shared, Bronwen seconds.
There are no objections.

2
Update on Older Blocks & Wider Estate

Update on action points from last meeting:
Bollards have been fixed in the play street.
The cleaning team has posted a list of what they do weekly in the notice boards in each of the blocks.

Noise in the courtyard: AR engaged with the resident participation team and it was agreed that this was a Covid-19 issue and so she will only monitor but no actions will be taken. She asks that people continue to report if the noise becomes an issue. A resident highlights that this is a recurring issues which comes every summer. AR reiterates that people should report if the noise becomes an issue.

Bins: AR has posted a notice in each block kindly asking residents to dispose of their waste in the right fashion.

Install signs to deter motorcyclist to use the play street

BT

Play Street – 3 no entry signs promised but never delivered: BT explains that it was decided that there were enough negative signs on the estate and that because there were less reports of vehicles using the play street then no further actions would be taken. A resident confirms there are still numerous motorcycles using the play street. BT agrees to look into this further.

Impact of cyberattack: A request was made by AH for Hackney to provide an update on what data has been compromised as a result of the cyberattack? AR invite residents who have any questions about the cyberattack to visit: https://hackney.gov.uk/service-status

3
Leaseholder concerns

Service charges (NB: this covered all parts of the estate) – Starting from 2020, some residents from the TRA are given early sight of the Service Charges amounts with some additional breakdown to give initial feedback ahead of being shared more widely with all residents. AH (one of these TRA volunteers) explains that when the service charges are first released (to those who are asked to comment before they are issued to all residents) there is a good engagement from Hackney but after questions are raised, Hackney never really gets back to them. AR asked AH to send the name of the contact person to confirm that the questions are going to the right person.

Cap removed for some leaseholders in the Southside blocks due to be refurbished in next phase: EP (resident) explains that Hackney has removed the £10k cap for some leaseholders and introduced a clawback mechanism. The cap had been promised to leaseholders on the cost of the refurbishment on the southern block. A group of leaseholders has been formed. If anyone wants to join, they can email the TRA at KingsCrescentN4@gmail.com to be put in touch with the group.
No one from Hackney is present to respond to these concerns.

AR to provide contact name to AH for service charges concerns

AR

4
Heating costs in Newer Blocks

AR and BT have started the conversation with the different teams within Hackney who deal with this. The Energy Team should eventually contact residents.
It is agreed that the TRA should see this letter (this is the action mentioned in several previous meetings which attempts to explain the overall cost structure of the Insite Heating & explain how Hackney has delivered “value for money” for residents) before it is issued to make sure that it answers residents’ concerns.

Share the letter from the Energy Team with the TRA before it is issued to the rest of the residents
Energy Team
BT
AR

5
Update on Issues in Newer Blocks

Update on list of all defects recently handed over from Higgins to Hackney – The list has been handed over and BT is going through it. It is a big document.
Post-occupancy survey of residents – The primary aim of this survey is to inform the next development phases but as Hackney is now aware of the list of pending defects from Higgins it may also be used to identify what ongoing defect issues there are within the new builds.
Update with ongoing issues:
BT apologies about the fact that it is taking time to resolve some of these issues and explains that this is because it is not always clear who should fix them between Higgins who should deal with defect issues and Hackney who deals with the “normal” day-to-day problems.
Broken doors – Handles should be replaced by Hackney (not Higgins) in the coming months.

Fire access key misuse & related parcel theft & ASB – A box with a more secure lock should be installed over these fire access key. The fire brigade has confirmed this is in line with the fire safety requirements. A resident highlights that this was supposed to be solved by August 2019. BT agrees to try to have a definitive date for the work by the end of next week. BR highlights that a members inquiry could be raised. Clare Potters agrees to raise the inquiry.
It was noted that the length of time for this to be solved is unacceptable and that the easy access into buildings is a source of worry for residents. There have also been incidences of physical harm when residents have challenged people in a block who don’t belong. A resident highlighted that for issues which put people’s safety at risk, a quicker response from Hackney would be expected.
Slippery courtyard – Cleaning and sealing has been “done” by Higgins but it appears that some areas have not been done properly. BT is looking into this.
Possible CCTV for bike stores – The CCTV team is currently working on this but no timeframe is available. The CCTV should cover the internal bike stores and the external ones.
Lifts continuing to break – Issues in Sandon, Kimpton and Radwell – BT is commissioning surveys to confirm if the lifts were installed properly or not. If they were not, Higgins will be responsible to find a long-term solution.
Mismatched paint used in communal areas – This may have to be done in the next cycle of maintenance. These cycles are 7-10 year long.

BT

CP
Find what date those safety boxes will be installed
Raise a member’s inquiry

6
Community Safety

BR has been looking at CCTV after a few incidents. She highlights that some residents are not careful in regard to shutting the door behind them. She has also noticed there are a lot of people (non-residents) who appears to be looking into the buildings. She repeats that putting frosting on windows to reduce temptation is an option she is looking into.

DN explains that residents should always contact the ASB team as a first point of contact (as well as the police if it is a crime) when witnessing ASB. Once this is done, a case officer will be assigned to the case and will keep the resident informed on what is happening with that case.
A resident says she contacted the ASB team prior to Christmas but no one has come back to them. DN will get back to the resident.

To report ASB: asb.housing@hackney.gov.uk or hotline: 020 8356 3310
AR stresses that any level of ASB should be reported low or high.
DN invites people to email her directly if they have comments about the ASB service (but not to report ASB): deborah.noel@hackney.gov.uk

Responding to resident who emailed ASB

DN

7
Update from Source Partnership

John invites anyone who has issues with Hackney to contact Source Partnership (SP), including the leaseholders from the southern blocks.
Tender invitation has gone out in February for the estate’s next phase of work. Residents in the Steering Group will get an opportunity to comment on the tender submitted but most of the score will be based on price.
SP has been supporting Hackney Showroom on a project to support people isolated due to the pandemic.
Source Partnership is available by email and on the phone.
john@sourcepartnership.com or carol@sourcepartnership.com
020 8299 2550 https://www.sourcepartnership.com/

8
Any other business?
A resident asks why the lifts always go back to the ground floor.
The same resident asks what is the colour for the white in his flat.

A resident asks if there could be another service charge workshop. The TRA confirms they will discuss this to see how it is best to organise this type of workshop.
Find the colour for the white in the flat and send to resident
BT

9
Dates of next meetings & close
Community focused residents meeting March 2021
Next ETRA April 2021 (dates TBC)

Emley (TRA)

Agenda

Agenda Item
Suggested
Timing

Lead

1
Welcome and Introductions
5 mins
Emley (TRA)

· Approval of minutes from last ETRA meeting (Oct 2020)
· Note actions taken since last meeting

2
Update on Older Blocks & Wider Estate

· Update on action points from last meeting
· Play Street – 3 no entry signs promised but never delivered
· Impact of cyberattack

when all services will be back up & running
when residents will get a further update on what data has been compromised
what actions are being taken to prevent this from reoccurring.

15 mins
Annette Reid Housing Officer
Andrea Scott (Hackney)
Or any Hackney staff able to answer

3
Leaseholder concerns

· Service charges – value for money?
· Cap removed for some leaseholders in the Southside blocks due to be refurbished in next phase
(How best to deal with these concerns?)

10 mins
Emley/
Hackney

4
Heating costs in Newer Blocks

· Competitive? Why maintenance being charged twice? Can we enrol the estate in a Heat Trust?

10 mins
Energy team

5
Update on Issues in Newer Blocks

· Update on list of all defects recently handed over from Higgins to Hackney
· Post-occupancy survey of residents
· Update with ongoing issues:
o Broken doors
o Fire access key misuse
o Related parcel theft & ASB
o Slippery courtyard
o Possible CCTV for bike stores
o Lifts continuing to break – Issues in Sandon, Kimpton and Radwell
o Mismatched paint used in communal areas
25 mins
Bronwen Thomas Project Officer Regeneration (Hackney)
And New Build Team

6
Community Safety

· Address current estate safety concerns
10 mins
Deborah Noel (ASB team) or
Bianca Rembrandt

7
Update from Source Partnership

· Update from John/Carol
5 mins
Source Partnership

8
Any other business?

5mins
Emley (TRA)

9
Dates of next meetings & close
Community focused residents meeting March 2021
Next ETRA April 2021 (dates TBC)
5 mins
Emley (TRA)

**Please note that this meeting will only deal with estate related issues**
We will have another resident focused meeting in March 2021 to discuss building community on Kings Crescent, ideas for events and activities etc. Feel free to email kingscrescentn4@gmail.com with any ideas or suggestions for community building or to find out more about how to get involved!
