Your House Group Committee hopes you will be able to join us for our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 12 June at 7.30 pm. Davy’s City Boot is located on Moorfields Highwalk, between Willoughby House and the escalator down to Moorgate underground station. We will be occupying the large table to the right of the bar, through the first entrance you come to, when approaching from Willoughby House.

• You can download the minutes of last year’s AGM as a PDF. The password is in the printed AGM announcement delivered to your flat (or by post, to non-resident long leaseholders) – or phone the chairman for the password.

Going up and coming down

By Tim Macer, WHG Chair

As I write this, I can count six building sites visible or audible from my balcony overlooking Fore Street. Those of you nearer to Silk Street will be enduring two more – the Heron/Milton Court complex, and separately, work in our car parks, fitting out ready for Heron residents. The end is at least in sight for Milton Court, but work is now about to start on St Alphage. Brookfield, the new owner, has appointed Keltbray to do the demolition. Enabling works and soft sripping-out has now started, and the noisy demolition work is due to start in November – fortunately by the time our windows will be closed again, assuming warmer weather ever arrives this year.

The demolition work is simply to clear the site. Building work will not start until Brookfield have a pre-let, which they do not have yet – so we may be staring into an empty hole for a while.

WHG, along with all other neighbouring house groups and the BA have set up a regular series of consultation meetings with the developer, and we will be watching their plans carefully to ensure every step is taken to mitigate what is going to be a noisy and disruptive process. At least the timing means it will take place when windows are more likely to be closed.

GSMD Extended Hours

Even before the new GSMD building is open, Barbican Centre and GSMD are in the process of applying to override the planning condition that says public performances must stop by 11pm for the new school building. This condition was put in specifically to protect local residents.  They now wish to extend to midnight. Even if the number of late events are infrequent, as they propose, this will still mean late night disturbance for residents on or close to Silk Street.

We have been in discussion with GSMD, in association with Speed House and the BA. GSMD are aware of the strong opposition they face to this move. We will be in touch again when any application is made, as our objections will be made stronger if they are also supported by many objections from those who directly affected. We will let you know when this application goes live.

Heron Sales Pavilion: Cheeky bid 3 more months

In last year’s AGM notice, we told you of Heron’s audacious request to extend its temporary planning permission for another 18 months beyond the original 3 years it was granted.

Nobody could accuse this developer of sensitivity to its neighbours. Almost a month after this extended permission had lapsed on the 31 March, you probably received the planning notification that Heron is applying for a further extension for three more months.

Your house group has objected, as  has Speed House Group and the Barbican Association. The planning site shows numerous objections from residents from Willoughby and Speed Houses too – sufficient for this application now to go before the planning committee. We are pressing for the City to apply an enforcement notice to ensure the building goes.

AGENDA

AGENDA
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of previous AGM, 18 May 2011
3. Matters Arising
4. Chairman’s report

The chairman will report on the work of the House Group during 2011 and describe current issues facing Willoughby House, including Milton Court, Crossrail, Moor Lane street scene, Moorgate Telephone Exchange, St Alphage House and other redevelopments.

5. Treasurer’s report and presentation of the annual accounts

6. Election of Committee for 2012/13

All members of the committee stand down annually. The meeting may elect seven members to serve for the coming year.

7. Membership resolution

Each flat within Willoughby House will be granted membership of Willoughby House Group until the next AGM, unless the owner or tenant notifies the Hon Secretary that he or she does not wish to be a member during this period

8. Setting the membership subscription for 2011

The committee recommends that the current subscription charge of zero be maintained for the coming year.