Category Archive: Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association

2 Comments

CBWRA committee apparently continues with arbitrary CBW app account closures – despite the resolution passed by residents at the Special General Meeting

Sadly it seems that the CBWRA committee are continuing with the process of arbitrary closure of CBW app accounts of anyone who dares to question the wisdom of the committee. A resident has informed me that earlier today (29.11.23) they posted a link to my blog regarding electricity prices at CBW and inviting residents join me in calling for refunds from Rendall and Rittner. There was an almost immediate response from Louis-Sebastian Kendall’ (quasi-elected co-chair) stating that this blog was ‘misleading’ but when asked to specify what specifically was misleading he was unable to do so

The CBW app account of the person who posted this link from my blog today was closed without any information, explanation or procedure despite the SGM motion passed 10 weeks ago which says that CBW app accounts cannot be closed without the use of a written process which allows the person ”accused” to see the supposed evidence for account closure and respond to it. No such procedure has been produced and it is clear that the CBWRA committee continue to close the account of anyone who should dare to criticise them in any way or to reports anything that is critical of the committee in any way. I genuinely feel sorry for people who are so insecure and intellectually immature that they cannot cope with any scrutiny or criticism.

0 Comments

Warwick and Burnelli Residents – please join me in demanding electricity refunds from Rendall and Rittner

I am suggesting that all Warwick residents should contact the estate manager (estatemanager@chelseabridgewharf.com) directly and ask politely, but firmly,  that we get a refund or adjustment of service charge amount because the electricity is now costing under 30p per KW/H when the figure in  the budget was much much higher (46p for W1-3 and 71p for W4 as I mentioned above).  Please ask your friends/neighbours at CBW to do the same. A similar situation exists in relation to Burnelli.

0 Comments

CBWRA have proved they cannot run fair elections – We need independent electoral oversight

Those who were supposed to be ensuring a fair electoral process actively undermined it by initiating Garton-Jones’ biased email to 400 + leaseholders, while voting was live.

0 Comments

Update on Special General Meeting 12th September – two important motions passed despite improper voting procedures, CBWRA’s attempts to supress discussion and chronically low resident engagement

Many thanks to those who supported the motions I put forward for this meeting which focussed on freedom of speech on the CBW app, trying to ensure fair elections for the future and also trying to ensure that Right to Manage actually delivers increased power to residents not just to a handful of people on an unelected/unfairly elected committee. The meeting also included a vote on ‘ratification’ (i.e. not an election) of the committee and a new constitution. Two of the five motions I proposed were passed.

These motions (in plain language) were that:

That no residents CBW app account can be closed in an arbitrary manner without any due process (as was the case with the closure of my account in May 2022). The closure or threat of closure of CBW app accounts has carted a ‘chilling effect’ on the CBW app which means that residents are afraid to say what they think or to be critical of the CBWRA committee in any way.

That there will be quarterly meetings with the new managing agent (Urang) assuming that RTM foes ahead and they are appointed – the meetings will e hybrid (face to face with the option to attend online) and ALL residents will be welcome not just leaseholders.

0 Comments

The ‘Special General Meeting’ on 12th September 7pm – please attend and vote against ratification of the CBWRA committee, constitution and 140% fees increase – vote FOR freedom of speech, fair elections and resident control of service charge expenditure

vote AGAINST  ratification of  committee (because they are not consulting residents, the consultations they do carry out are biased/ leading and the proposed quarterly ‘forums’ are too infrequent and exclude non-leaseholders.  Also  there is not freedom of speech on the app, and the CBWRA committee misinformed residents about RTM and have not explained or apologised for that). Also that there should be ELECTIONS not ‘ratification’

·         VOTE AGAINST the ratification of the constitution because we are only being given 10 days to see it before the meeting (it will only come around on 30 AUG) 

·         VOTE AGAINST CBWRA fees rise CBWRA have never given any meaningful justification for the 140% increase in fees  which they carried out in Feb this year. They claimed it was partly for legal fees to do with RTM but they have also said Urang  (the proposed new managing agent) are covering all fees or will recover them through the service charge.

I also encourage residents to consider withholding all payment to CBWRA until they adopt normal standards of governance in respect of fair elections, free speech and resident consultation. #NOSAYNOPAY

1 Comment

£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).).

3 Comments

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.

1 Comment

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.

0 Comments

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 →

11 Comments

Warwick Building Service Charges increase by 40% (yes, fourty)! CBWRA announces no action to be taken on audit or in challenging electricity costs

The latest service charge demands from Rendall and Rittner show that service charges will increase by 40% for the year commencing 1 April 2023. My service charge has increased from £ 247.71 to £347.05… Continue reading →