Just who is running the show?

A newsletter was distributed across the estate last week that appears to be from the Residents Association but on closer inspection appears to be nothing of the sort.

Our last post noted that the newsletter appears to have been prepared without the knowledge or consent of much of the Residents Association's Committee.

Of the twelve elected Committee members ten have stated that the first time they saw it was when it dropped through their letterbox.

That doesn't sound at all dodgy does it?

A further bit of digging has now revealed that:

• The newsletter was written with the help of, perhaps even entirely by, Council staff.
• The newsletter was printed by the Council.
• The newsletter was distributed by the estate's caretaker, a Council employee. 

And the photo of the recently anointed Chairman gracing the front of the newsletter was clearly taken in the Council's own offices. Probably by a Council officer (we wonder who?).

The Chairman. In the Council's offices.

That all sounds completely legitimate, doesn't it?

It's not as if we have Council staff effectively pretending to be the estate's Residents Association with the help of one particularly "helpful" resident is it? Of course not.

The newsletter states that a "residents meeting" is to take place this evening in the Cremorne Sheltered Clubroom. 

Again, most of the Resident Association's Committee, including the Resident Association's Secretary, knew nothing about it. It's clearly not a meeting called by the Residents Association in any legitimate fashion.

It hasn't been announced or advertised by the Council in any way. So it doesn't appear to be a Council meeting either, although we understand that a number of Council officers intend to be present (why? what for?).

The agenda is apparently going to include a discussion on the future of the Riley Arms pub, a den of iniquity, drug dealing, fencing stolen goods and other petty criminal behaviour at the end of Ann Lane that blights the lives of those living nearby, both on the estate and on the other side of the Kings Road.

The newsletter's author, whoever that may be, and whoever actually organised this meeting, clearly support whatever plans the pub's owners have for the place.

The Council, the freeholder of the property, appears to do so as well.

The only people who don't are the Resident Association Committee, many of the estate's residents and many of the estate's neighbours (and, unsurprisingly, they haven't been invited).

Does anyone else get the impression that the Council is making use of the newly anointed and clearly compliant RA Chairman to rush through unpopular decisions before the estate's residents, or anyone else affected, can do anything about it?

So much for the Council actually caring for its residents. Or having learnt anything from Grenfell.

We do wonder who at the Council thinks this is a good idea. A bit more digging is clearly in order, and once we start digging we are sure there will be much, much more to follow.

RBK&C dirt ahoy!

Newsletter #1

A "newsletter" has been delivered across the Cremorne Estate in the last couple of days.

A newsletter from the Residents Association. Possibly.

The newsletter appears to be from the Residents Association. It doesn't actually say it is so we're guessing. But having spoken to several Committee members it appears that none of them were aware that it was even being produced. Everything ship shape there then!

The contents of the newsletter make interesting reading, revealing much about the interests and concerns of those who wrote it. More on that at a later date.

One very short article in the newsletter makes interesting reading.

Under the heading "Resident Safety" the newsletter states:

"Concerns have been raised by some residents about vehicles being parked near gas pipes. Council officers have investigated and found there is no cause for concern." 

What's wrong with this you ask? Well, aside from the fact that no "Council officers" are named, the problem is that the "vehicle" often parked near a gas pipe, and likely to be the subject of these concerns, is a motorbike belonging to none other than the newly anointed Chairman of the Residents Association whose face happens to be plastered all over the newsletter.

The Chairman (photo taken in the Council's offices)

That's right, the owner of the offending "vehicle" is writing to let us know that it's perfectly safe for him to continue to park his motorbike on the pavement next to the gas pipe outside Riley House.

The Chairman's motorbike parked next to the gas pipe outside Riley House. As usual.

We have nothing to worry about.

Because "Council officers" said so.

Is this appropriate? We think not.

Have "Council officers" really investigated and determined that it's perfectly okay to park a motorbike next to a gas pipe?

Who are these "Council officers"? Why aren't they named? Why aren't any contact details provided?

If anyone should be writing to the residents about this it should be Council. Not the owner of the offending motorbike.

There's more than a small conflict of interest here. That no one at the Council appears to have spotted it is worrying. That it did not occur to any of them that this might not be a good idea really does call their judgement into question.

The motivation of the Chairman (motorbike owner) is clear for all to see. He wants to carry on parking where he does. The Council's is a bit of a mystery.

But given that it appears that the Council did in fact have a role in the creation and distribution of this "newsletter" the words "clueless" and "learnt nothing from the Grenfell fire" do come to mind.