New Secretary Needed

The Estate Secretary, Dominique Florin, will be resigning from the post of secretary at the AGM in April. This is the central executive role for the Estate Committee, responsible for carrying out the committee's decisions. Key aspects include:

• Contract and staff management (three maintenance staff)
• Administration (parking system, residents list etc)
• Secretarial (writing agendas, minutes, arranging meetings)
• Liaison (with committee members, Camden Council, Tenants Association, etc.)

This is an enjoyable, varied and rewarding post which involves meeting people on the estate and outside. It is challenging as it requires a wide range of skills, and enables the incumbent to make a real contribution to ensuring that the estate is an attractive place to live. The role attracts an honorarium. If you are interested in this position and are a resident of the Estate, then please contact Dominique Florin on florindominique@yahoo.co.uk in the first instance, to obtain a job description and to discuss it further.

Estate Committee Minutes

At the AGM, the committee was asked to publish its minutes on the website. The monthly minutes can be downloaded from the panel on the left.

Please note that it takes several weeks for the minutes to appear ... firstly they have to be approved at the next monthly meeting, then the secretary has to prepare them for publication and finally the website editor has to post them. Sorry for this inevitable delay.

Updated: 29 Dec 09

Avenue Gates to be Renovated

The renovation of the Road Gates, Pedestrian Gates and Railings at the seven Avenue / Mansions entrances is about to start, with completion planned for October. An audit of the work needed formed the basis of a Brief to three contractors, one of whom has now been chosen. This is Metalcraft Ltd, a long established and locally-based company, with much experience in work on railings and other ironwork for many London boroughs. They recently won an award for work done for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and are currently renovating and reinstalling railings around Hyde Park. We believe they are well qualified to carry out our programme.

Our plan is to restore, repair and repaint the existing gates, where possible, keeping their appearance broadly as now. New iron railings will replace old wooden railings, underpinned by low retaining walls. The full programme is as follows:-

• Six of the seven existing Road Gates are to be taken offsite, sand-blasted, renovated, primed, repainted and reinstalled. They will have a central support put in to help them keep their shape, with a drop-bolt and padlock. The Holly Lodge Mansions gate, in very poor condition, will be replaced.
• The thirteen Pedestrian Gates will be restored or replaced, and to a uniform design. Currently the Estate has gates of different designs, mostly in very poor condition. The ones at Langbourne Avenue East are judged the most attractive. The gate itself has a design of some character, with two outer posts, two octagonal-topped inner posts, and self-closing hinges. Gates to be retained, like the road gates, will be taken offsite for renovation. Other gates and the wooden gates at Makepeace Mansions will be replaced.
• Iron Railings with the same design as those in Bromwich Avenue will replace old wooden railings at five entrances. They will be horizontal, not sloping, and "stepped" down the hill. The sloping iron railings at Langbourne West will be replaced in the same way. Brick retaining walls will be put in underneath, high enough to prevent the exit of detritus from adjoining beds and verges, but not intrusively so, just 45cm high, except in Bromwich, where they will be 20cm.

We have had discussions with Camden's Environment (Planning) Dept; who are satisfied with our proposals. We emphasise that the character of our Estate will not change significantly. We will simply restore the Road and Pedestrian Gates to good condition, while improving the appearance of the railings, with new iron railings and retaining walls. However, if anyone has any concerns, questions or comments about these plans they should contact the Project Manager, Reg Smith, on 020 8340 2926 or at regsmith@liquivite.co.uk

New: 25 Jun 09

New staff member

You may have noticed a new face around the Estate. We are delighted that Lea Carroll has joined our team as Assistant Estate Foreman.

This brings our permanent ground staff team up to 3, which will certainly help to maintain the Estate common parts to an even higher standard.

Lea joins us from Turney Landscapes in Hertfordshire and has extensive experience in grounds and gardens maintenance.

New: 9 May 09

Parking Consultation

The estate committee receives many complaints relating to parking and has decided to seek residents' views before it considers whether there should be any changes to improve the situation.

It would be helpful if residents could complete this survey by April 30th and return it to one of the addresses at the back of this questionnaire.

You can download the consultation here.

The results of the consultation will be reported in a newsletter and on this page.

New: 4 Apr 09

Steps replacement update

Our contractors, Capital Gardens, have completed the first batch of steps and they can be inspected on Langbourne Avenue. The construction of this batch of poured steps has enabled both the Contractor and ourselves to learn at first hand which techniques work best in step construction on the Estate.

We are grateful to Dharminder for planning and managing the project very professionally and effectively.

Now that the likelihood of hard frosts has receded, the plan is to re-start work with the next batch of five steps during week commencing 23rd March and then continue working until next winter.

This first 2009 batch of five flights of steps will include two on Bromwich Avenue, the two corner Langbourne Avenue/Hillway flights and one on Langbourne Avenue and Highgate West Hill (upper). Broadly the work will then progress uphill from the bottom of the estate.

During the warmer months (May, June, September) we aim to tackle the larger flights in Makepeace Avenue East and possibly Langbourne Avenue East upper. At the height of the Summer July, August we would avoid the largest flights and move back to the medium and smaller flights.

New: 20 Mar 09

Parking Consultation

The committee has provided more information from this page, but I have not had time before going on holiday to format it for the website or include the charts and downloads. I will finish it off when I get beck from holiday. Sorry, Mark.

The Estate Committee (HLEC) has received many comments from residents about various difficulties related to parking on The Estate and as a result decided to consult with residents in order to asses how big a problem there is, what the big issues are and what suggestions residents had to fix the problems.

Questionnaires together with copies of the parking regulations were distributed to every home on the Estate, both flats and houses. There were over 130 completed questionnaires returned.

In this article you will find a summary of the responses and some early conclusions that the HLEC reached based on the responses to the questionnaire.

If you'd like to see the raw data from the questionnaires then will be able to retrieve two documents from this website, one with the quantitative data and the other with the comments and suggestions of residents.

Please note that in this summary when we use the terms "significant" or "significantly" in this text we mean that something was statistically significant at a 95% confidence level. (i.e. that there was only a small (5%) chance that the statement made was incorrect).

Is parking a problem - and will it become so?

There was no overall agreement about the current situation though house occupiers are more likely to think that parking is a problem. Nearly half of householders do think it is currently a problem, whereas less than 30% of flat dwellers thought so:

Analysis of resident's comments indicated that not being able to park near one's residence was an irritant for a substantial number of residents who parked on Estate roads, especially on the lower part of the Estate.

Those not parking a car on Estate roads were at least as likely to think parking is a problem (46%) as those who do park a car on Estate roads.

There was agreement amongst householders that the number of cars has increased considerably in the last five years:-

All Houses Flats Agree 52% 59% 36% Neither/nor 32% 31% 34% Disagree 15% 10% 30% 100% 100% 100%

Those who answered were divided as to whether the problem would get worse or stay about the same, flat residents being more optimistic than their house counterparts:-

All Houses Flats Worse 55% 62% 39% Same 42% 36% 56% Better 3% 2% 5% 100% 100% 100%

What to do about it?

There was disagreement about whether the Estate's parking rules need modifying (none of these differences are statistically significant):

All Houses Flats Agree 42% 44% 40% Neither/nor 20% 20% 19% Disagree 38% 36% 41% 100% 100% 100%

Looking at the comments from respondents there was a strong belief among many that the existing regulations should be more rigorously and consistently enforced especially at weekends.

Several suggestions were made to the effect that the accurate identification and control of visitors is an issue if unauthorised parking is to be dealt with.

A significant majority of residents thought that there should be a limit on the number of cars that can be parked by any household, although many householders are opposed.

All Houses Flats Agree 59% 55% 71% Neither/nor 10% 7% 16% Disagree 31% 38% 13% 100% 100% 100%

59% thought that there should be limits on the number of cars that each household can park on the Estate.

Not surprisingly, those parking two or more cars on the Estate roads are most likely to be against the idea (61%).

There is overwhelming opposition to charging a fee for every car parked on the Estate

All Houses Flats Agree 12% 12% 8% Neither/nor 6% 6% 5% Disagree 82% 82% 87% (Strongly disagree 65% 57% 79%)

A significant majority of householders were also opposed to charging for a 2nd+ car, but flat residents are more favourably disposed to the idea.

All Houses Flats Agree 43% 37% 57% Neither/nor 8% 7% 11% Disagree 49% 56% 32% 100% 100% 100%

One suggestion was that a charge could be considered for residents parking three or more cars on the Estate.

Skips

Overall there is a significant majority for charging for skips but not amongst householders.

All Houses Flats Agree 53% 51% 55% Neither/nor 15% 10% 26% Disagree 32% 39% 19% 100% 100% 100%

However analysis of the comments made by residents indicated that the general obstruction caused by builders vehicles was also a cause for concern for some.

Car Club

Although ten respondents indicated interest in a Car Club, overall there was little enthusiasm, the evidence suggests that Car Clubs are unlikely to create a significant impact on the number of cars parked on the Estate, at least for the time being.

All Houses Flats Often 7% 5% 11% Occasionally 14% 13% 16% Try it once 22% 21% 24% Never 57% 61% 49% 100% 100% 100%

Of those so saying, 41% say they are likely to reduce the number of cars they park on the Estate - but this represents just 9% of all those answering the questionnaire and it should be noted that such "behavioural" questions can elicit misleading responses.

What conclusions have we drawn so far?

The HLEC has only briefly discussed the report and has met with the company that enforces the parking rules. However we will return to the topic at our next meeting.

In the short time we were able to discuss the subject we agreed that we will:

• Tighten up enforcement of the existing parking regulations.
• Stop issuing white warning tickets
• Increase the fine for a breach of parking regulations from £85 to £100.
• Issue yellow parking tickets to vehicles found parking without either a valid HLE windscreen sticker or a clear notice stating that they are a visitor to a particular flat or house or a bona fide tradesman, including the address and a mobile phone number.

We will keep you in touch with further developments.

Peter Wesley
Vice Chair HLEC

Weekly maintenance rota

In addition to their routine activities, Maurice, Sean and Lea have a weekly rota of streets which they focus on.

If you are aware of any items requiring attention please email Dominique Florin the previous week.

Urgent and health & safety issues throughout the Estate are dealt with throughout the year ... please let Dominique know of any concerns you have.

Week starting	Maintenance and gardening rota
18 May	Hillway to Oakeshott East & Oakeshott East
25 May	Rest of upper Hillway both sides
1 Jun	Holly Lodge Gardens
8 Jun	Upper Gardens
15 Jun	Lower Gardens
22 Jun	Robin Grove
29 Jun	Unallocated
6 Juk	Bromwich and Lower Hillway
13 Jul	Hillway to Langbourne West & Langbourne West
20 Jul	Hillway to Langbourne East & Langbourne East
27 Jul	Hillway to Makepeace West & Makepeace West
3 Aug	Hillway to Makepeace East & Makepeace East
10 Aug	Hillway to Oakeshott West & Oakeshott West

Updated: 18 May 09

Langbourne leylandii

As result of our consultation on the Leylandii it has become apparent that there are extremely strongly held views among residents both in favour of and against felling these trees.

Camden have given us permission to proceed with the felling so long as residents are given 28 days notice.

However because of the strong views the committee have decided that the next step should be to propose some possible replacements and consult residents on these prior to making a decision on felling. We are likely to contact residents again after our next committee meeting in May.

New: 22 Apr 09

Estate AGM 2009

The 2009 Holly Lodge Estate Committee Annual General Meeting will be held on April 22nd at 8pm in the Community Centre. Please come along and find out what the Committee have been doing and how you contributions have been spent.

As usual at the AGM, the six non-trustee members of the Committee are up for re-election. These elections are open to any plotowners who wish to put themselves forward. We would welcome interest from prospective new members, particularly with time to spare and skills of use to the Committee. Please contact the chairman, Geoff Lee, at 33 Hillway, or the secretary, Dominique Florin email, in the first instance, by 13th March.

We will be sending out information on all candidates with the AGM papers at the beginning of April. The regulations stipulate that only those attending the meeting are able to vote, so that is another reason to come along on the night.

New: Feb 09

Gates and railings

The Committee has appointed Reg Smith, a resident of Bromwich Avenue, to manage a project to repair and replace the gates and railings around the Estate. You may have noticed that some are very dilapidated, so this will be a major project. Our aim is to repair or refurbish as necessary, keeping any changes in the original 1920's style of the Estate.

We will keep you informed of proposed changes as the project progresses.

Newsletter: Feb 09