Category Archive: CBWRA

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£450 a night Airbnb in Howard Building – apparently CBWRA and Rendall and Rittner have only just noticed it

It has been reported to the author of this blog that a property in Howard building has been used as an Airbnb for at least two years and possibly longer. The property is listed here:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6683135

The property, which goes for upwards of £450 a night, was apparently purchased in 2015 for £1,025,000 and is currently valued at up to £1,022,000 (according to themovemarket.com).).

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Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association has chosen a managing agent for Right to Manage application – your view does not matter.

CBWRA announced today that they are ‘recommending” Urang as the managing agent to handle the Right to Manage application for Chelsea Bridge Wharf. Except that it is not really recommending – the decision has been made. Residents are offered the opportunity to meet with Urang online on 30th May – but none of the other companies have been invited! Residents have been provided with some incredibly weak and superficial ‘analysis’ document, supposedly the basis on which Urang are recommended but detailed examination is only provided for Urang and not the other bidders. So this is not a consultation, it is in true CBWRA style, a decision made without resident consultation and then they insult our intelligence by asking for feedback after the decision. If such a consultation were carried out in any private or public organization it would be dismissed as heavily biased, or in plain language, a token consultation on a done deal. This is pretty pathetic given that millions of pounds of service charge are involved here (I believe Rendall and Rittners’ overall revenue, i.e. the total service charge collected, is in the region of £3 million a year at Chelsea Bridge Wharf) and that 2.5 years have been wasted by CBWRA telling us that Right to manage is not possible. So this is the biggest decision that a residents’ association can make and rather than doing it in an open and inclusive way, the decision has pretty much made already by a small cabal of mostly unelected people. ‘Consultation’ is happening AFTER their decision has been made.

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The CBWRA Annual General Meeting April 2023.

*CBWRA plans to spend huge sums on new fountains *no meaningful response on massive service charge increases * CCTV installed in block foyers with no consultation *no action on management audit

In summary, dear CBWRA, thank you for the work that (some) of the committee are doing, but could I respectfully suggest that you please stop trying to blow smoke up the residents’ rear ends and start behaving like a normal democratic residents’ association, then we might actually get somewhere as a community of engaged residents. Even the CBWRA home page is not being straight with us – ‘a board of elected residents’?. No one on the committee is elected apart from the co-Chairs and there are many aspects of that which are questionable to say the least.

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Leasehold/Commonhold reforms unlikely to happen before next general election – LKP exclusive interview with former leasehold and building safety minister Stephen Greenhalgh

The reforms which CBWRA maintained for 2 years were just around the corner are unlikely to materialise Throughout 2021 while on the CBWRA committee, attempts to discuss Right to Manage in committee meetings… Continue reading →

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2023 CBWRA Chair Elections: Unfair by any reasonable measure

Grossly unfair elections – again! The 2023 CBWRA Chair elections were unfair for a number of reasons Two candidates stood jointly, thus pooling their votes, in a massive and clear violation of the… Continue reading →

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Please Vote in CBWRA Chair elections! We need a new model of residents’ association – not a rebrand

If you have not done so yet, please vote in the CBWRA Chair elections. I have made Right to Manage and reform of the residents’ association my top manifesto priorities. You need only… Continue reading →

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Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association initiated Garton-Jones Estate Agent’s ‘intervention’ in the 2023 Chair Elections

An estate agent distributing Chair election voting links? While voting is live? And openly supporting one candidate? Yep, perfectly normal… nothing to see here… CBWRA requested Garton-Jones Estate Agents to ‘intervene’ in Chair… Continue reading →

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Berkeley Homes contradict CBWRA claim that management contract retendering has been decided and also state that CBWRA recognition to be withdrawn

Berkeley Homes today confirm they have given CBWRA notice that their recognition will be withdrawn. The reason is not (as CBWRA have been desperately trying to say) anything to do with me –… Continue reading →

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Voting open in CBWRA Chair elections and membership fees increase by 140% – still no statement of income and expenditure

The voting opened in The CBWRA Chair elections today. The process has been characterised by what one might politely call a number of ‘irregularities’. The email containing the voting link also announced that the RA subscription fee has gone up from £20 a year to £48 an increase of 140%. No explanation is given. I have been saying for the best part of 18 months that the CBWRA should publish a statement of income and expenditure and this is need now more than ever. Why would such a huge percentage increase be needed? Has there been massively increased expenditure? If so, what on? Where has all the money gone?

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Right to Manage stalled again – just days before Chair election results. CBWRA claim Berkeley Homes to retender the management contract at Chelsea Bridge Wharf – Berkeley Homes say they have not made the decision yet.

Residents will not choose new agent – Berkeley Homes will be in charge of the process

Rendall and Rittner will be allowed to bid and may be reappointed

Right to Manage at the very least delayed by many months and may not happen at all (unless you vote for me!)

No resident consultation on this decision

It is clear that once again CBWRA/BH have at the very least kicked Right to Manage a long way down the road, and without any resident consultation, and the timing of this announcement suggests at the very least a disregard for the Chair election process.