Minutes of meeting 13/08/2025
Agenda
1. Welcome and introduction
2. Update on latest developments, website, domains, costs, budgets, membership
3. Appointment of Association Officers
4. Approval of the draft Articles of Association
5. Resolution to open an Association bank account
6. Strategy discussion – where do attendees see the Association heading?
7. Open discussion/questions for attendees to raise any concerns
8. Confirm action points from meeting and create points forward document
9. Any other business
Attendees
Jonathan Meech (JM), Amy Marr (AM), Emily Artinian (EA), Chris Du (CD), Jackie Rae (JR), Jill Oliver (JO), Murilo Salviano (MS), Roberta Schreyer (RS), Rhiannon Jones (RJ), Samantha Shepherd (SS), Bruno Macedo (BM).
Actions
1. Interim committee to contact individuals who expressed interest in becoming officers.
2. Association bank account to be opened and existing committee members to be made account administrators. Once bank account opened, membership subscriptions to be collected.
3. Final Articles of Association to be circulated.
4. Budget to 30 June 2028 to be circulated.
5. Centralised issue log to be created and shared with members via Google Drive.
6. Committee to petition to improve the security of the front entrance of the building.
7. Committee to petition for the removal of the second level of bike storage.
8. Committee to meet with Lornham and Regal to discuss on-going issues.
9. Follow up on Weevil infestation within two weeks of this meeting.
Minutes
The meeting commenced at 19:00.
JM welcomed everybody and talked through the agenda points. This included confirmation that there was sufficient interest in forming a Residents’ Association with 36/57 flats represented. On this basis, a formal resolution to create the Association was made with everyone in attendance in agreement.
JM noted that in the first 4 weeks of going live, 100 people had visited the new website. This being impressive considering it was entirely organic website traffic.
Association Officers:
JM volunteered for the role of Treasurer. CD agreed to become Interim Chair. EA agreed to become interim Secretary with the intention to share the role with another member. JM noted that there had been other volunteers for officer positions who were not in attendance, and that they would be contacted by the interim committee regarding their interest. All in attendance voted in favour of the above appointments.
The interim committee agreed to open an Association Bank Account. JM noted his personal banking associations with Santander and will explore what community banking services are available. It was collectively agreed that all officers would be made bank administrators and that all payments would require dual approval before release.
Association Articles:
JM presented the final draft Articles of Association to the group and amendments were made to produce the final version. These Articles were formally approved and it was agreed that they would be circulated alongside the minutes of the meeting. It was noted that on dissolution the Association would donate any surplus funds to the St Joseph’s Hospice on Mare Street. All in attendance were in agreement.
JM to circulate the final budget and forecast for the next three years to the 30 June 2028.
Strategy discussion:
CD led short strategy discussion. Main strategy of the Association to enrich the lives of the building’s residents and to streamline the process of raising concerns and issues with the communal areas of the building. Those present agree that the Association should be involved in discussions regarding the builders warranty with the developer Regal.
At present the Association is looking to gain formal recognition by Regal, Lornham and Oneder Workspaces.
JM enquired with workspaces about using the workspace for meetings. They came back with an ex-VAT price of £85 per hour. General consensus was that this was too much. In the meantime individual residents will host meetings in their flats and others will attend via Google meeting.
General Discussion:
There were concerns for the low attendances from members. JO suggested producing a pre-meeting agenda to encourage attendance. CD felt that whilst the association was being formed people were likely to be hesitant and that more people would join once in the routine.
AM highlighted the recent change from Olivier to Kinga at Lornham. It was noted that Kinga was not performing as well as Olivier and that residents were having negative experiences whilst dealing with her. The concierge also raised frustrations with the managing agent since the change in personnel.
The Concierge raised some concerns with building security. The recent security breach was discussed and details of break-in were shared with the group. The design of the front gate area was discussed. The conclusion was that the existing design is not fit for purpose. The committee agreed to raise this with Regal with remedial work to be completed before the builder’s warranty expires and the cost is passed on to the residents.
There were also concerns regarding the lift. Intruders/tailgaters can enter the lift and then wait for it to be called to any floor. They then climb out on whichever floor has called the lift. Conclusion was that the entrance to the lift needs to be fob activated as well as the floor selection function.
MS and RJ brought up the importance of meeting with the management company to understand how the issues are being addressed.
RJ and EA suggested a centralised document to record issues and measure response times by Regal and Lornham.
JM reported some concerns by the Concierge including the bike storage, landscaping, pest control and house rules for the workspace. The Association will create a petition for the removal of the second tier of bike storage due to the health and safety issues and general difficulty of use.
There is a Weevil infestation on a number of balconies. To be investigated by Kingston Landscaping and to be followed up in two weeks.
The Committee will publish the minutes of this meeting, the agenda, the PowerPoint presentation and the final Articles of Association.
There were no other matters to discuss so the meeting was adjourned at 20:30.
The minutes were approved by the following committee members:
Chris Du (Chair)
Jonathan Meech (Treasurer)
Emily Artinian (Secretary)