Minutes of Spitalfields Society committee meeting held on Wednesday, 30 November 2011 at 7pm at 5a&b Heneage Street, London E.1.

Present:  Fay Cattini, Sandy Critchley (Acting Chair), Donna de Wick, David Donoghue, Polly Hope, Tim Lowe, Nicholas Morse, John Twomey, Rupert Wheeler, Megan Williams

Apologies:  Philip Vracas

1. Election of Chair and Vice C hair:  There had been 2 nominations for Chair – Nicholas Morse and Rupert Wheeler. Rupert declined his nomination. It was unanimously agreed that Nicholas be appointed Chair. There had been 3 nominations for Vice Chair – Nicholas, Megan and Sandy. Megan withdrew her nomination and it was unanimously agreed that for continuity Sandy be appointed Vice Chair. Sandy handed over the meeting to Nicholas.

Sandy had written toMartin Lane inviting him to be President and as she hadn’t heard from him she rang him and he has accepted. It was agreed to invite him to our next meeting.

It was agreed that we will inform members about these appointments and put a short note in about Nicholas and Martin. Committee members are elected at the AGM for a 3 year period but can stand for re-election. There is nothing in the Constitution about how long a Chair/Vice Chair should be in office.

Diamond Jubilee party: John Twomey is heading up a small sub committee: John, Philip, Andy, David Gadd, Ann Hartnett.  John will invite John Critchley to join the sub committee.

Monday and Tuesday will be reserved for the party. SCG are ready to have a joint party. Agreed that it will be a Society party open to the whole community. Anyone coming should be given a wristband. Children will be welcome and it would be good to have a theme – a 1950s theme was suggested.

Truman’s Brewery: Members have to re-submit their objections to the 5 restaurants application by 2 December.

Next step is to widen the debate. We had a letter from Brewery and we will ask for a meeting with them with the police and Council.

It would be a good idea to have one member to deal just with the Brewery. Chris Dyson will be asked to be a liaison between the Council and Brewery on behalf of the Society.

Correspondence with the Brewery will be circulated. The Brewery have knowingly allowed their tenants to break planning and licensing laws. The Brewery had said there are not many restaurants in the area but a map is being produced which clearly shows just how many food outlets there are in the Brewery and the nearby Brick Lane area.

It was really helpful to see this visually.

Crossrail: Morton Partnership has been approached about working with the Society and its members for issues related to property owners 30m along the Crossrail route. This will gives us collectively a more powerful voice with Crossrail and is a more economical way of getting advice. Crossrail will be surveying houses along the route, many of which will be members. They issue all the building owners with a condition report so the Morton Partnership would review everyone’s report when they have been done. They will visit houses and assess reports, 1-1 ½ hours for each house, and say whether it is accurate and relevant and other concerns that owners might want to act on. The Society has identified at least 50 houses in the area, so about 20-30 may be members. Cost of that is £150-£200 per house. It is advice not insurance. If members had further concerns they would then employ Morton further.

An exact costing will be produced.  

Pat Jones is looking into legal aspects so that the Society is not liable for any advice and is simply arranging services for members.

Filming: Eleanor Jones is acting as liaison on filming matters. A regular report will be produced.

Licensed premises:  A spreadsheet going through the Council website finding out about licensed premises and their hours of operation is a work in progress. This is for committee use. Committee members will assist in compiling information for the spreadsheet.  The initiative is being led by Megan Williams

Historically, off licences sprang up because restaurants did not serve alcohol but now most restaurants are licensed. There is now no justification for a proliferation of off licenses. People now buy alcohol and stand outside drinking from plastic cups.

Megan said that104 Brick Lanehave taken down their façade.

A query arose as to the difference between late night refreshment and licensed for alcohol.

The two Council officers in charge of licensing are Kate Oliver and Colin Perrins.

It was noted that there is no joined up thinking by the Council when it comes to planning i.e. there are 2 new hotels almost opposite each other in Folgate Street– The Rookery and Tune Inn.

Anti-social behaviour:  James Warwick, Rupert Wheeler and Sandy Critchley went to a meeting with the police. The focus is more on drugs than alcohol. Police argument is that these operations in Brick Lane will have a domino effect on surrounding area.

Agreed that the Society will draft a letter to Andy Bamber asking for more “No street drinking” signs for our area.

Minutes of the Ward Panel meeting will be circulated after the next meeting.

Nicholas Morse is talking to Matt Piper about starting up a Neighbourhood Watch.

Date of next committee meeting:  Wednesday, 25 January, 7pm at Polly’s.

Minutes of meeting of Spitalfields Society held on Tuesday, 26 October 2011 at 7pm

Present: Sandy, Fay, David, Philip, Megan, Nicholas

Apologies: Polly, John, Donna, Rupert, Tim

Sandy took the Chair and welcomed Megan and Nicholas to their first committee meeting. Agreed that they will be sent minutes for the last quarter’s meetings.

Planning: 73 and105 Brick Lane have dismantled their shop fronts and are now wanting to put in for restrospective planning permission. Agreed that if necessary we can enlist the help of non-members to monitor and object.

New Chairman and Vice Chairman: We discussed the procedure for electing a new Chairman and Vice Chairman. Agreed that members will send their nominations in the next 2 weeks and then we will vote at the next committee meeting, this will be sent out as an email. Agreed that the role of the new Chairman will be to facilitate and look after meetings and make sure action is taken. This could mean bringing in other Society members.

Fay agreed to continue as Secretary for the time being and Philip agreed to continue as Treasurer. Position of Honorary President was discussed and Martin Lane was put forward and this was agreed.

Police meeting: The recent meeting with the police and LBTH was reported. The new Police Inspector said he would be putting more police around Brick Lane but he is often under staffed and if an emergency occurs officers are called away. Agreed to have a concerted two week campaign and during this period to ask all our members to note incidences of anti-social behaviour and take photos so that we can send these with a letter to the Mayor of London and the new Police Commissioner. Members agreed that anti-social behaviour was aggravated by off licences in and around Brick Lane and a list will be compiled of off licences and the hours they are meant to operate.

We will ask members to continue emailing John Critchley with their complaints. SCT will be informed of our campaign and ask them to also send evidence to John C. Ward Panel meeting minutes will be brought to the next committee.

Communications: A Facebook site, website and Twitter are set up for The Society. The Hanbury Street noticeboard needs to be updated showing our website address etc.

Diamond Jubilee: Agreed to contact Tower Hamlets about our street party. Agreed to set a sub committee.

Fruit & Wool Exchange:  A letter was written on behalf of the Society. The Committee thought no further action was necessary.

s.106 money: A copy of Eleanor’s letter re s.106 money will be filed in Committee correspondence, and a letter of complaint about Allen Gardens will be sent to The Council.

Shoreditch Station: There is an exhibition at the Rich Mix this Saturday, 12-1pm.

Christ Church gardens:   There is a meeting this week of the steering group to discuss Christ Church gardens (the public part). Philip Vracas will be there for the Friends of Christ Church and Eleanor Jones for the Spitalfields Society. The Society’s view is that the whole of Christ Church gardens should be a green space.

 Filming:  Eleanor Jones is serving as filming liaison officer for the Society, and Nicholas Morse will be the liaison on the Executive Committee.

 Crossrail: In principle we agree to fund an initial survey and will discuss at the next meeting.

 Next committee Meeting: Wednesday, 30 November

 

Minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of Spitalfields Society held on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 at 7pm

Present: Sandy, Fay, Donna, David, Tim, Rupert, Philip

Apologies: Polly, John

AGM: We went through and agreed the AGM agenda and which will be emailed this to committee before emailing it to members. The Chairman’s report is being worked on and a list of what will be mentioned was reviewed. The Spitalfields Life blogger will be invited to the AGM.

 s.106 money. As Eleanor Jones, previous Chair of the Spitalfields Society was working on this issue before her resignation, she will write the letter to the Council about this. It was agreed that any meeting with the Council with Eleanor should also have a committee member present. Handover meetings with regard to the Christ Church garden matters are planned with Eleanor.

Tennis court: The Society is waiting for an invoice from the school. It seemed that this year there were more families using the court.

Finance: Draft accounts have been prepared which will be ready for the AGM.

Crossrail: A draft Crossrail update was circulated which will be amended and sent to committee so that it can be sent to members. It is thought to be a good idea for members who are affected by the Crossrail tunnelling i.e. properties 30m either side of the tunnelling line, to get the Crossrail survey checked. Crossrail have got this wrong before. Next steps for residents include:

1. Have a structural engineer to look at these surveys and say if they are accurate
2. As Crossrail have not gone inside properties and the structural engineer will need to do an internal survey, it will be expensive for individuals.

It was suggested that Society engage and pay for a structural engineer to do the exterior survey and individuals pay for an internal survey. The Society could recommend that members use the same engineer to do the surveys and 2 names were put forward – Brian Morton and Ward Cole.

People need to have advice on their Settlement Deeds with Crossrail, the same legal document for everyone, but people may need advice on what the impact of that is on them. It might be that legal advice which may cost £2K will be the same advice for everyone. The Society should be there for all the people on the route and be ready to use their funds to protect the community. A Crossrail update will be sent out to members. It was also agreed that The Society should print off copies and deliver it to residents in Princelet, Wilkes, Fournier and Brushfield Streets andPuma Court.

Planning: The Society has been consulted on major developments e.g. Bishopsgate Goodsyard. A list of planning applications will be circulated to the Chair.

Jubilee street party: Agreed to get a date fixed very soon and book Princelet Street. It would be good to combine with other local groups.

19 Princelet Street: Patrick Streeter is running a campaign about this property and Susie Symes has reported them to Charity Commission. Susie is opening the synagogue more.

Website: This is up and running and looks very good. We need a small sub-group to make sure this is kept up to date. We are now also on Twitter and the idea of a recruitment drive with local businesses was proposed.

Constitution: The old and proposed new Constitutions have been sent to members. At the AGM a few amendments will be outlined. The draft Constitution was sent to a few solicitors and received some minor corrections.

Agreed that Executive Committee minutes should be sent to members.

Elections: Nine of the committee members have been proposed and seconded i.e. Sandy, Donna, Polly, Fay, John, Rupert, Philip, David and Tim. Two new people have been nominated and seconded i.e. Nicholas Morse and Megan Williams. So there will be no need for ballot papers. As from next year under our new Constitution a third of the committee will need to resign, although they can stand for re-election.

It was agreed that some nice flowers will be presented to Eleanor (which committee members will pay for). Wine and nibbles will be provided post AGM by The Society, and a contribution will be made to the cost of any helpers at the meeting.

Anti-social behaviour: Agreed that Society should write to the new Police Commissioner.

The Executive Committee will meet at Polly’s at 6pm to have a pre-AGM meeting.

Apologies for the AGM received from Chris Dyson, Alan and Lyn Williams and Donna DeWick

The Spitalfields Society was heavily engaged with the Crossrail project from 2005 when the latest route for the project was published and Crossrail Bill was programmed to go before Parliament. The Society became the local focus in the area for the campaign and was joined by many local resident and business groups such. The Society also worked very closely with the council in lobbying for environmental and social improvements to the project, petitioning Parliament on behalf of many local building owners and submitting representations before Select Committees in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The two main objectives of the campaign were:

1. To stop the proposed construction of the enormous shaft in Hanbury Street from which tunnels would be bored eastwards and westwards from Spitalfields.
2. To obtain a realignment of the route that would avoid the tunnels going under the historic core of Spitalfields.

The campaign was dramatically successful on the 1st objective to the extent that Crossrail eventually abandoned the central tunnelling strategy and opted to tunnel the entire route from each end. The main tunnelling shaft in Hanbury Street was subsequently downgraded to an access shaft, then later downgraded to ventilation shaft and eventually abandoned altogether. This revision was the single largest and most dramatic change made to the project plan throughout the entire route and was the result of a very impressive and sustained campaign involving a great many local people from all parts of the Spitalfields and Banglatown community.

However, we were less successful on the 2nd objective as we were unable to obtain a change in the route. The local community is now faced with having to protect itself against the potential damage that may be caused by the enormous scale of the tunnelling operation that is set to pass through the area over the next few years.

The tunnelling project

The tunnelling will comprise the construction of 2no. 6 metre diameter tunnels passing under the area at a depth of about 30 metres (to the top of the tunnels). The line runs from Liverpool Street Station, curving up towards Brushfield Street and the old market buildings before bearing east to run under Commercial Street, past Christ Church and under Wilkes Street, and running east directly along Princelet Street before passing under Brick Lane and on to the Chicksand Estate towards Whitechapel. The date for the tunnelling is still not known but it is believed that it will pass under Spitalfields in about 2 years’ time (check this).

The settlement deed

Owners of buildings within 30 metres, in plan, of the tunnels are entitled to protection, mitigation and compensation where appropriate under the terms of the settlement deed. This deed can be inspected on the Crossrail website (type in “settlement deed” in the search facility) and can be obtained from Crossrail on proof of ownership of a qualifying building. The Spitalfields Society has a large scale map of the tunnelling proposals that defines the 30 metre zone if people be in doubt as to whether they are deemed to be affected and therefore qualify for the settlement deed.

The settlement deed has been the subject of much debate and lobbying from affected parties, including the Society, but remains a fairly standard document. It sets out the procedures for assessing the condition of affected properties, mitigating measures, compensation procedures in respect of any damage caused and repairs required. Crossrail require building owners that are entitled to a settlement deed to apply for this deed at least 10 months before the start of any tunnelling or construction that affects their building. However, as Crossrail are unable or unwilling to confirm when their operations will effect buildings in Spitalfields owners are advised to apply immediately.

The deed is supposed to be a straightforward document that building owners should be able to understand without further legal advice. However, owners may nevertheless require advice on whether to enter into the deed or not and on the implications. The Society is keen to follow up its earlier work on Crossrail by engaging further legal advice that can be made available to members in a coordinated fashion so that they do not each have to engage such advice. How this is to be achieved, administered and funded is subject to the nature of assistance that owners may require and this will be investigated over the forthcoming months. In the meantime we are ready to assemble questions on the deed from members who have obtained and read their deeds, prior to completing them, so that we may start to brief legal advice on the scope of legal work that might be required.

Survey procedures

Crossrail have made a crude assessment of the extent to which properties along the route will be affected by the tunnelling process only where these properties are statutorily listed. This assessment comprised an inspection of the front elevation as seen from the street and a desk top study of the effect on ground levels of the tunnelling. They concluded that the ground will subside by about 2.5 centimetres along Princelet Street, for example, but the effect on individual buildings will be negligible as all adjacent buildings will subside by a similar amount.Crossrail are due to make an internal inspection of all properties along the route within the settlement zone before tunnelling commences. This inspection is essentially to record the condition of the properties so that the extent of subsequent damage can be verified, and of course to protect themselves from false claims.

A number of properties along the route through Spitalfields are known to be extremely fragile. It may be that Crossrail will seek to install some protective measures in such buildings to attempt to contain the damage predicted by the tunnelling. In any event owners of historic or otherwise fragile buildings would be well advised to engage a structural engineer to accompany the Crossrail surveyors and/or engineers on their inspection to firstly, at least verify their condition survey and secondly, to review the validity of their assessment of the impact of the tunnelling on the building.

Again, as with the settlement deed, the Society is investigating whether we might not engage or promote the use of a single engineer that might represent members in this matter on a communal basis to avoid expensive repetition, ensure constancy and to engage Crossrail on a more professional and influential basis. Again, how this is to be achieved, administered and funded is currently the subject of negotiations with suitable structural engineers.

Agenda for Spitalfields Society AGM of October 4th, 2011

Welcome

Chairman’s report and outlook for coming year

Minutes of last year’s AGM, circulated to members after that AGM

Treasurer’s Report

New committee elected

Approval of new constitution

Thanks to retiring chairman, Eleanor Jones from Andy Rider
Presentation to Eleanor Jones
Response from Eleanor Jones

Talk by Alan Baxter, built heritage consultant to Crossrail

Questions and any other business

Refreshments

Minutes of meeting of Spitalfields Society Executive Committee
Held on Thursday, 8 September 2011 at 7pm at 14 Wilkes Street, London E.1.

Present: Fay, John, Donna, Polly, Sandy, David

Apologies: Rupert, Tim, Philip

1. s.106 money: 

The Spitalfields Society will submit a wishlist to the council of our priorities. Agreed.

Our agreed priorities are: (1) Repaving our whole area with riven York paving and (2)  works to Christ Church and Allen Gardens – nice planting, reinstating railings, no art works.  A meeting was held with Council about the Christ Church gardens. Agreed as very helpful. 

Agreed that we will circulate information to members about s.106 money. 

A letter supporting action for Allen Gardens will be written which we can also send to members asking them to write.

A sub committee will be formed looking after s.106 money. Eleanor Jones has volunteered to serve on this sub-committee. Agreed to leave launching new sub-committee this until new Executive Committee is confirmed.

2. AGM:

A reminder will be sent with the old and new Constitutions.

Wine and nibbles will be provided by the Society for after the AGM. 

Agenda

AGM minutes – copies for anyone who wants to have them.

Chairman address – thanks to Eleanor.

Treasurer’s report

Elections

Constitution new one

Q & A. Items proposed by members to be put in writing

Agreed to invite Alan Baxter of Crossrail to the AGM to give a short talk and answer questions.

Information on the bookings for tennis. A lot of the bookings were for children this year.

3. Website: The website will be up and running by the AGM. It’s got to be professional. Agreed the list of tradesmen to put on the website.

4. SCG:  The Spitalfields Community Group are against the proposed Fruit & Wool development, which The Spitalfields Society is not.

It is hoped that the two groups can work together.

Agreed  that The Spitalfields Society will undertake a membership drive.

Next Executive Committee meeting, pre-AGM: Tuesday, 27 September, 7pm 

 

The Committee of the Spitalfields Society has received notice of Eleanor Jones’s wish to resign as chair and from the committee. The Committee extends its thanks to Eleanor for her formidable work on behalf of the Society over several years. Sandy Critchley has kindly agreed to act as interim chairman. 

There will be an Annual General Meeting of the Society at 7.00pm on Tuesday 4th October. All members are invited.

The business of the AGM will be:

1. To review the activities of the year
2. To vote on the adoption of a new constitution. (The old constitution dates from the mid 1990′s and was in the format promulgated by the Civic Society which has recently wound up. There are several changes between the old and proposed new constitutions and we will be sending out copies of both shortly.)
3. To elect up to 12 members of the Executive Committee (under the rules of the existing constitution).

Nominations and seconders from paid up members of the Society are sought and should be submitted to the Secretary by 20th September, 14 days before the AGM. The work of the Executive committee needs persons with expertise/interest in: planning; licensing; police liaison; local politics; ward panel liaison; communications; business / company membership; diversity; film liaison; membership secretary; treasurer and secretary. Prospective nominees should expect to lead in one of these areas.

We anticipate that committee members will offer themselves for re-election although there could be several vacancies as some of our longer-serving members are disposed to retire to make way for new blood.