Make Your Voice Heard :  Leaseholder meeting with Urang & unelected RTM Directors Mon. 15th Sep 6.30 pm – at Pestana or Online

Just a reminder to all leaseholders that there is a meeting with Urang and the unelected RTM company directors tomorrow, Mon. 15th Sep 6.30 pm – at Pestana or Online Despite RTM, you… Continue reading →

Government consultation on Leasehold Reform – Closes 26th September – please have your say – the freeholders certainly will!

The UK Government’s July 2025 Leasehold Reform Consultation claims to outline major changes to empower leaseholders and end outdated, unfair leasehold practices in England and Wales. Built on the foundation of the Leasehold… Continue reading →

Our Petition is Cited in Government Letter to Rendall and Rittner! Answers demanded by 11th July.

Following Rendall and Rittner’s appearance before MPs in May, which I attended as an observer, they have now been called on by the Housing, Communities and local Government Committee to answer some key questions… Continue reading →

Chelsea Bridge Wharf RTM director resigns – Still no answers from Urang on the fundamental questions at Chelsea Bridge Wharf

Urang and the RTM directors need to answer these questions: So much for Urang’s ‘new era of transparency’. If you would like to leave a review for Urang on Trustpilot (good or bad) the… Continue reading →

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Vote Mike O’Driscoll for CBWRA Chair – for a new model of residents’ association, not just a rebrand and to keep pressing for Right to Manage despite the contract retendering

There are many areas of CBWRA governance which need reform, including the constitution, election processes, transparency on finances and resident consultation but  above all we need to detoxify the CBW app. I have spoken to many residents who are genuinely afraid to ask even the most basic questions for fear of being attacked or having their app account closed: this must stop. Please see my manifesto for detailed proposals. The unfair running of the 2023 Chair elections show how much we need to change to become a normal democratic residents’ association. A 140% membership fee increase without explanation says everything about the culture of current CBWRA regime – remote, hierarchical, apparently not too interested in residents’ views.

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Recognition of CBWRA – it has to be earned or else there is no incentive to address the serious problems in our residents’ association. CBWRA’s recognition is at risk because of its own governance issues – not because of me

. We should of course be recognised but we also need to get our house in order and start behaving like a normal residents’ association. A Residents’ Association which is not behaving in a democratic way – which has never held elections for committee and which has to be dragged into elections for Chair (while insulting the residents who are asking for elections) has never held a valid AGM, may have some issues to address..

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A slightly biased question.?

This is the voting form for the 2023 Chair election, which is currently open. Does anyone see anything wrong here? Has the result been announced already? :). It should of course say joint… Continue reading →

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Understanding the difference between Fact and Fiction – a response to some groundless allegations against me

While I am forced to be absent from the CBW app, the soon to be former Chair (Mr Stephen Thompson), has repeatedly made defamatory statements about me which are completely untrue and unevidenced. I consider these wild and groundless statements to be a smear campaign, and make a fair election impossible. My solicitor has written to Mr Thompson (5.2.23) and offered him the opportunity to draw a line under these matters by a simple retraction and apology on the CBW app – unfortunately Mr Thompson has refused to do that and hence I am writing this letter and discussing further action with my solicitor. Mr Thompson enjoys legal insurance as the Chair of CBWRA, which residents are paying for, and which in my view is being seriously misused.

Below I reply to numerous instances of what I consider to be defamation by Mr Thompson Since May 2022

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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.

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2023 CBWRA Chair elections – democracy dying in darkness?

I have nominated myself for Chair of CBWRA in the 2023 elections because I wanted to improve the governance of the CBWRA and to ensure that all that was possible was being done to achieve Right to Manage, following what have been (in my view) two wasted years as far as RTM goes

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Government set to ban hidden insurance commissions (such as Rendall and Rittner’s captive company schemes)

Close on the heels of Liam Spender’s win against First Port property management, whereby £100,000 in building insurance commissions is to be returned to residents, Michael Gove has announced plans to ban such… Continue reading →

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Petition passes the 3,500 mark! Thankyou for your support. Rendall and Rittner and Ovedo must listen!

More than 3,500 residents at developments ‘managed’ by Rendall and Rittner have now signed this petition to tell Rendall and Rittner that enough is enough – they need to stop the unjustified service charge hikes, lack of transparency, poor service and much more.

No meaningful response has been received from Rendall and Rittner or their parent company Ovedo. That is quite amazing when you think about it – just ignoring 3,500 of the people who have to pay their hiked service charges and endure their service which is often poor. However given Rendall and Rittner’s atrocious record on communications it is not surprising.

Rather than addressing the issues raised and responding to them, Rendall and Rittner and some of their allies have tried and failed to have this petition stopped. That is shameful. Rendall and Rittner have also made it clear that they may choose not to work with residents’ associations who support this petitions – even if they are elected representatives of residents – that is sinister and anti-democratic.

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Notes from the Right to Manage meetings at CBW (30 Nov and 1 Dec)

Thanks to all who attended these meetings and to Canonbury Estate Management for providing expert advice. The standout points are

i) The advice given by Stephen Thompson/Roger Southam/Charlie Garton-Jones/CBWRA that Right to Manage for the whole development is not possible because of the supreme court judgement of First Port v Settlers Court is categorically WRONG. David Breare of Canonbury added that in his view, any competent advisor/consultant would come to the same conclusion (i.e. it’s not a grey area),

This confirms Canonbury’s written advice of June 2022 https://chelseabridgewharf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/canonbury-summary-advice-1.6.22-correspondence-1522672.pdf

Residents should recall that this judgement of First Port v Settler’s Court was (according to Mr Thompson) the reasons why Right to Manage was not pursued at the start of 2022 and why the management contract retendering was chosen (this failed in Sep. 2022, in my view wasting up to £15,000 of residents’ money).

ii) The current position of CBWRA (after 2 years of saying that Right to Manage is not possible) is that they will investigate RTM on a block by block basis. Canonbury were equally clear that this will not work because all blocks are linked by an underground car park, and therefore cannot be considered as separate for the purposes of RTM (they are not vertically separated).