CBWRA to proceed with Urang for RTM application – no meaningful consultation with residents and key aspects of resident feedback ignored

CBWRA informed those residents on their mailing list today (17.6.23) that they they are to engage Urang as managing agents for the RTM application at Chelsea Bridge Wharf. As reported here there has been no meaningful consultation with residents they were simply sent a brief note of the managing agent shortlisted with a ‘deeper look’ only provided for one agent (Urang). Residents were only able to meet one agent – Urang. CBWRA invited residents to give feedback on this decision (which is not a consultation) and have not published any meaningful account of the responses received. There is no mention of how many responses received from residents or how many were positive or negative. I know for fact that some residents objected to the lack of fair consultation (including me in this letter) but this is not mentioned. It would appear that the committee voted by email in a ‘secret ballot’ (rather than in a meeting) with 9 for and 3 abstaining. We are not told why they abstained. The ‘secret ballot’ committee vote is another tool from the CBWRA dysfunctional anti- democracy toolkit: it prevents discussion between committee members (or residents) in a meeting prior to a vote which would allow committee members and residents to interact with each other, it means that committee members do not know who else is supporting or opposing particular views and maximises the chances that the committee members (none of whom are elected) will simply follow the recommendation of the Chair. Why was this vote not simply held at an open meeting which residents could attend?

So in my view, it is clear that the ‘new’ Chairs are continuing the dysfunctional culture in CBWRA – censorship, lack of interest in residents’ feedback, and lack of meaningful consultation. This does not give residents confidence in allowing this tiny group of mostly unelected people to take control of a multi million pound budget, which is what they are asking residents to consent to.

The CBWRA committee have yet to explain why they misinformed residents that they had started a Right to Manage process in January 2022 (which was untrue), why they told residents in May 2022 that Right to Manage was not possible (which was untrue) and why they told residents in February 2023 that they were engaged in a retendering of the management contract (which was untrue). Again this does not give me or other residents any confidence that these people are capable or fit to take the responsibility that comes with Right to Manage.

CBWRA’s home page misinforms residents by claiming that:

”The association is led by a board of elected residents and holds regular meetings to discuss and address the concerns of the community. They also organize events and activities to promote a sense of community and bring residents together. The association aims to be the voice of the community and advocate for the needs and interests of its residents”.​

But the ‘board’ is NOT elected and there are no plans for it be elected so even this is not true. The idea that these people, who do not consult residents and are mostly unelected, and misinform residents on their home page on the most basic facts, are the ‘voice of the community’ is delusional.

The whole point of Right to Manage SHOULD BE to put residents in charge – not just a handful of unelected/unfairly elected residents who seem to have an incredible sense of entitlement. If we have the current situation continuing where decisions are made by a handful of mostly unelected people with no consultation with residents, and often no information, and the CBW app account of anyone criticising the committee is closed without any process or evidence, where there are few or no meetings with residents, and heavily censored/misleading committee meeting notes are distributed, will we actually be any better off in terms of understanding and controlling how our service charges are spent? Right to Manage transfers power from the freeholder to a residents’ management company – but are CBWRA going to pass any of that power onto you? It really doesn’t look like it – just more of the same broken way of doing things. We need a massive change in the culture and governance of the residents’ association as well as a new managing agent