Members’ Update Email 8th March 2021

Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group Update w/c 8th March 2021

Welcome to the latest Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group Update We are an informal, self-organised group of leaseholders, who seek to help each other access information around the Barnsbury Estate transformation proposals. Please refer to our website for further details. NOTE: Replies to this email will go to barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com where they will be picked up by the Reps

CONTENTS Response from Newlon to anonymous flyer – New Barnsbury contractor info – Finding more leaseholders – All: find and scan your lease – Old Barns leases – New Barns legal update

Response from Newlon to anonymous flyer  Last week, we shared the informal fact-checking response from Source. Newlon has now responded to most points. We’re chasing the unanswered point and will update you when we hear back. 1. What is the confirmed current state of the estate? Newlon has built the case for transformation on the grounds that it is in disrepair and the only way forward is transformation etc but are there are any specific facts /data about its current state of disrepair? Newlon: The 1950s and 1970s properties on the New Barnsbury side of the estate exhibit multiple problems much of which are a function of their original systems built construction. Stock condition surveys indicate the properties are in poor condition with many components having failed or come to the end of their useful lives. Increased repairs reporting, degraded drainage, concrete dilapidation, poor thermal performance due to thermal bridging, thermal bypassing and poor insulation have led to damp, mould, excessive condensation in flats. Poor acoustic performance, and the lived experiences of the residents living on the estate – the stock on the Barnsbury estate is the least well performing, and residents are our least satisfied customers – all point to the need for a fundamental treatment to resolve the issues. When we add to this the high level of overcrowding and health needs on the estate and poor prospects for transfers either to stock owned by Newon or Islington Council via the housing waiting list, the case for the transformation of the estate was even more compelling, and this was borne out the resident consultation over the last 15 months and set out in the Offer Document. The 1930’s stock on Old Barnsbury, though older was better designed and constructed and with better materials so has fared a lot better. In this case, therefore, we have consulted with residents on the basis of full refurbishment works and this is set out in the Offer Document. NOTE: The Leaseholders Group understand that Amory and Aldrick are in fact 1930s buildings, and are on a separate Freehold Title from the rest of New Barnsbury. We will investigate further and seek to understand the implications if any. Does this put leaseholders in those blocks in a different position than the rest of New Barnsbury? See legal update below.  2. How does Newlon justify the poor state of the estate given that they have managed the estate for c. 20 years? Not answered by Newlon – response requested 3. What are Newlon’s obligations re estate maintenance and repair under business-as-usual? Newlon’s obligations as a landlord are set out in statute, regulations and the tenancies and leases held with residents on the estate. Currently, rented dwellings must meet the Decent Homes Standard set out by the Regulator for Housing England. This is a minimum standard. 4. Has Newlon ever promised not to demolish blocks 2 years ago? If so, when/why? I’m not aware of any promises made regarding the demolitions of buildings. 5. What did Newlon promise with respect to the community centre when built? On the Community Centre, I am not aware of any promises that were made, but there would have been planning conditions associated with the uses of the buildings and obligations to residents. You will be aware that proposals set out in the Offer Document include a much larger community centre at the heart of the estate with much improved facilities. 6. Is the £2M revenue generated from the estate figure quoted accurate? I have asked colleagues in our Housing Services Department to provide me with the figure of the rental values generated for the estate and will revert to you on this once I have the information.  7. Is the 950 new flats instead of the current 358 on New Barnsbury accurate? We do not yet know the exact number of dwellings that will form the redeveloped New Barnsbury as the proposals will need to be submitted for planning approval and thus far the designs are not sufficiently developed to enable this. Much more consultation with residents is needed, or course, too. 8. Which aspects of the para on ‘What a No vote really means’ are accurate or inaccurate? A No Vote will mean that Newlon ensures its rented properties meet the Decent Home Standard, meet the current statutory minimum for standard housing, be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Many of the problems described above would take a lot longer to deal with as there would not be the funding cross subsidy that a transformation exercise can achieve.  9. Ditto ‘What a Yes note really means’? A Yes Vote will mean we could bring the new Barnsbury side of the estate to a high quality, sustainable, modern and affordable standard, and undertake full refurbishment works to Old Barnsbury to bring those flats up to a modern standard as well taking advantage of the existing sustainability of those building.

New Barnsbury contractor information Mount Anvil – awarded the development partnership with Newlon for New Barnsbury – has shared some information about their other projects and initiatives.  NOTE: The links below contain promotional material from Mount Anvil. The Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group neither endorses nor opposes Mount Anvil. News and articles page on the Mount Anvil website: https://mountanvil.com/news/ Barnsbury residents page on the Mount Anvil website:https://mountanvil.com/barnsbury/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mountanvil The Verdean in Acton: https://mountanvil.com/find-your-home/the-verdean/ – this is the Estate we’re transforming with Catalyst and is most similar to Barnsbury, you’ll find updates on its progress and our resident engagement activities on our news section Keybridge in Vauxhall: https://mountanvil.com/find-your-home/keybridge/ – our joint venture partnership with A2Dominion, here we’ve provided lots of new homes and an extension to the existing Wyvil Primary School Some of ours and our partners residents talking about their Mount Anvil homes: https://youtu.be/Q7YyZAYc1sA – Rosangela, a Newlon resident living at our Hampstead Manor development https://youtu.be/5_LI6XTWIbk – Barchyn, Kevin, Sarah & Justin and Robert discussing their homes https://youtu.be/NdGT9uc0Rcw – Andrew Terrey, Head Teacher of Wyvil Primary School at our Keybridge development

Finding more leaseholders to join us Over the coming week, we’ll be drafting a flyer about our group, which Source has agreed to print for us. Once we have the copies, we’ll be looking for a volunteer from each block to drop off to other leaseholders in their block. The flyer will try to ensure as many leaseholders as possible are aware of this group and can share information and any future legal or other costs.

All – find and scan your lease A reminder to all leaseholders to make sure you have a copy of your lease. It will be helpful for you to have a scanned electronic copy. You will need to find help if you are unable to do this by yourself.

Old Barnsbury (OB) legal update The OB Reps have compared their 3 leases and found that they represent 2 different forms of lease. There may be more out there. We are still waiting for Newlon to share the information they hold on lease varieties. Once we have this, the an example of each form of lease we have found will be emailed to all Old Barnsbury Leaseholders so you review against theirs. We can then proceed with the steps outlined last week to ask for a specialist lawyer to analyse for us. As soon as we receive the generic lease information, we will forward it on to all Old Barnsbury leaseholders via email.

New Barnsbury (NB) legal update As we wrote in last week’s update, the specialist advice that NB leaseholders will need is completely different from the advice that Old Barnsbury leaseholders need. The NB res and non-res Reps are having a preliminary conversation early next week with Keith Murray, a highly experienced and respected Compulsory Purchase Valuer. We will find out whether he can help NB leaseholders as a group, what actions we might want to take, and what the costs might be. We will let you know in the next update what we learn from him.  In the meantime, here’s Keith’s website: keithmurrayconsultants.com – he was recommended by Sarah Finch, the housing solicitor working with Old Barnsbury leaseholders.