Surgery with Housing Officer Carmen McFarlane

LYTTON ESTATE

SURGERY

A new Housing Officer surgery for residents will be taking place every Monday morning between 10.00am – 12.00pm from 2^nd April 2012. The venue for the surgery will be the Lytton Estate Tenants and Residents Hall (between Burne Jones House and Samuel Richardson House).

This will be an opportunity for residents to meet with their Housing Officer (Carmen McFarlane) to discuss issues they may have regarding their tenancies or issues on the estate.

It is hoped that residents will find the surgery useful and look forward to meeting with you all.

Carmen McFarlane – Housing Officer

Direct Line: 020 8753 6881

E-Mail: carmen.mcfarlane@lbhf.gov.uk

YouTube Video of Edward Burne-Jones Work

• Link to YouTube page

Pram Sheds to Flats at The Grange ?

It seems H&F have included The Grange in a possible scheme to increase affordable housing in the borough. The buildings pram sheds, on the ground floor, is the area they are considering for redevelopment. The plans are at an early stage and no decision has been taken, as resident consultations and a planning application still have to be made.

Red line marks the pram shed area at Grange

Here is how H&F describe the plans:-

"Site Description: The site comprises of pram sheds at the ground floor level of a ten storey 

Council owned tower block. The ground floor of the tower block is split between four flats on the northern side and the pram sheds to the south." 

"Site Potential: The pram sheds could be converted to create two new flats consistent with the existing design of the properties to the north. The pram sheds will be re-provided."

• Cabinet Minutes- See item 12, Housing Development Company 
• Housing Development Co. document

  UPDATE  17.2.12

  H&F are to hold a consultation meeting with all residents who want further information on the proposals. The meeting will take place in the Community Hall on Tuesday 21 February, 4pm to 7pm. Please come along, the plans for these works haven't been fully worked out yet, so this will be a first chance to have your views heard, either for or against.  

Refurbished Playhouse at Burne-Jones

The newly refurbished open playhouse and slide, at Burne Jones House young children's play area, looks very smart. Thanks to the work of H&F and the builders, who replaced the roof and repainted the structure of the equipment, to ensure it will be fun for many more years to come.

Housing Services being 'market tested'

LETRA has received an important letter, belatedly and not from H&F, but a concerned leaseholder, regarding the caretaking service provision on the estate and across the whole borough. The letter outlines to leaseholders that the council are considering whether to keep caretaking as a 
in-house service run by H&F or put it out to tender for an outside contractor to manage. This gives leaseholders the opportunity to consult with H&F, over a 30 day period, that is due to finish on January 16th. No such opportunity was given to tenants.

 On contacting H&F, we were told that at present this is 'market testing,' no decision had been taken and leaseholders had been informed because it was a legal requirement. LETRA also asked, if the rumour that the Housing and Regeneration department, the services that manages council properties, was also to be tendered out and received the same response, that it was also being 'market tested.' Both these major changes to our service provision, we were informed, will be discussed with tenants at a later date.

 LETRA considers that this half-hearted consultation has left at least 50% of our residents, the tenants, in the dark about one extremely important decision making processes, with regard to caretaking, that affect our homes and the future workings of the council on the Lytton Estate and all residents being excluded, at present, from knowing about any in-process decisions concerning H&F's Housing & Regeneration department. This at a time, when the council is promising a greater say for residents through the 'Involvement Strategy.' 

 Draw your own conclusions about all of the above.

Involvement Strategy Consultation

As a follow up to yesterdays announcement, covered in our last post, H&F have sent its residents an Involvement Strategy letter. It outlines potential changes, in how council tenants and leaseholders are to be consulted, on decisions taken regarding the housing management services and the future of the Tenants Levy.

If you wish to participate in this consultation process there are a number of ways to do so:

You can write to H&F, addressing your correspondence to...

Fiona Buist

c/o, 3^rd Floor Town Hall Extension,

Town Hall,

King Street,

London W6 9JU

Or

You can telephone H&F on 0800 542 6724

Or

You can email H&F at the following address consultation@lbhf.gov.uk

Or

You can attend consultation meetings on

• Monday 16^th January 2012 at either 2 p.m. or 6 p.m.
• Wednesday 18^th January 2012 at either 2 p.m. or 6 p.m.

The above consultations will be held at:

Small Hall,

Hammersmith Town Hall

King Street

London W6 9JU

Lastly you should know, that LETRA regard HAFFTRA to be an important and usefull organisation for residents on our estate and that its proposed closure by H&F will seriously weaken, not just ours, but all TRA's effectiveness across the borough.

Hopefully you will find the time to respond and give your view.

• Here is the Resident Involvement Letter

A HAPPY NEW YEAR 

 ALL THE SEASONS BEST TO OUR READERS

Pelham House Wall Rebuild

LETRA is pleased to see that building works, which we had asked for, have started on the rebuilding of the Pelham House boundary wall. The wall, that stretches along the pavements of North End Crescent and Mornington Avenue, had become insecure due to the expanding growth of the trees inside the gardens. The rebuilding of the wall will keep the series of London Plain trees, by giving them gaps in the wall to grow into, and provide a new safe boundary alongside the pavement.

H&F Cabinet Decision for Barons Court Library 5 December 2011

11.

Update on implementation of Libraries Strategy : Barons Court Community Library/ Avonmore Neighbourhood Centre  PDF 85 KB View the background to item 11. View the decision for item 11. Additional documents: EIA Barons Court Library, item 11.  PDF 47 KB Decision: That, in order to deliver the MTFS savings for 2011/12 and develop the More Than a Library concept via a community run service, the following actions be approved: 1.            To work with Hammersmith and Fulham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to deliver a community library (the upper ground floor of Barons Court Library is leased to CAB to use half the space for its principal services and the other half a combined Self Service library and CAB waiting area, managed by CAB volunteers), the duration, rent and other terms of such lease to be as the Assistant Director Building Property Management and the Assistant Director (Legal and Democratic Services) consider appropriate. 2.            To note the financial risks if there continue to be costs associated with the lower ground floor, and issues related to the covenant, as outlined in the exempt report. 3.            That approval be given for an order to be placed under the Measured Term Contract for Non-Housing Projects 2011/2015. This procurement route is based on a framework agreement with three contractors. 4.            That the contract be awarded to Mulalley & Company Limited, at an estimated works cost of  £308,000 (including a contingency of £40,000) to which fees of £47,000 will be added, making a total cost of £355,000. The funding for this project will be met from the Corporate Planned Maintenance Programme 2011/2012 as approved by Cabinet on 7 February 2011 and the agreed protocol for variation as delegated to the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance and the Assistant Director Building and Property Management. 5.            That the site be closed in January 2012 for a period of up to ten weeks (although this will be kept to a minimum), to allow  refurbishment works to take place, with authority delegated to the Cabinet Member for Residents Services, in consultation with the Executive Director of Environment, Leisure and Residents Services, to vary those dates should occasion require. 6.            To continue to draw down from corporate  contingencies the sum of £13k  per month should the site remain open beyond January 2012.

• H&F Cabinet Agenda & Decisions page

The Future of Barons Court Library

• H&F New proposals