update on major works, repairs + maintenance and cleaning

On 19 February the below letter for Peta Caine, Assistant Director, Housing was delivered to Golden Lane Estate residents:

Date: 17/ 02/2025
Email: peta.caine@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Golden Lane Estate: Update on Major Works, Repairs and Maintenance and Cleaning

Dear Resident,

Further to my letter of 21 January 2025, I am writing to you with an update on the Golden Lane Windows refurbishment project and to share an overview on the City Corporation’s commitment to improving communications and actions relating to communal repairs and maintenance and cleaning at Golden Lane Estate.

I want to start by apologising to you for the unsatisfactory quality of Housing service delivery and support that residents have experienced over a number of years. This has been made very clear to me in recent months, and we will give focus, dedication and attention to ensuring that we improve the quality and coordination of our work on the estate. Our communication will include:

• Repairs and maintenance updates
• Planned Major works, including window refurbishment, fabric repairs and communal redecorations
• Fire safety works updates
• Delivery of the new repairs contract
• Cleaning

Having listened to your concerns we carried out an internal review which identified the need for us to provide a more co-ordinated approach to the above from our Repairs and Maintenance, Major Works and Estate Services Teams, for the benefit of all residents of Golden Lane Estate.

Repairs & Maintenance
We want to restore trust in what has been a challenging time for residents due to a breakdown in effective communication and service delivery. We believe that this collaborative approach by the three teams will enhance our efforts to work through outstanding property management concerns and we recognise the importance of engaging with you throughout the delivery of these projects.

Major Works: Golden Lane Estate Investment Programme update
Following my appointment, we conducted compliance related reviews to identify ongoing issues and outstanding repairs required. These surveys identified that all buildings at Golden Lane Estate, except Cuthbert Harrowing, should have been registered as HRBs (Higher Risk Buildings) which have additional compliance requirements, by the end of September 2023. Our failure to register the buildings was a very regrettable error for which I apologise profusely.

I am sorry to let you know that this means that there will be a delay to the windows refurbishment programme for both Crescent House and the wider estate. We are at an early stage in the design and planning process for the wider estate, but there will be a delay in the planning application submissions, given that we now have to consider the new HRB classification and what it will mean in terms of additional works.

The impact on the Crescent House programme is also significant. Due to these developments, the two-stage tender process (the first stage of which had successfully been completed) has now been withdrawn. We are taking the opportunity to review the scope of works and will now include some fire safety elements. We are also planning to include essential planned maintenance work (such as electrical upgrades, fabric repairs and communal decorations) which weren’t previously included in the package. The work carried out already will not go to waste.

The Project Team has developed revised high-level programmes for Crescent House (Phase 1) and the wider Golden Lane Estate (Phase 2) which we would like to share with you. We will be holding resident events for each phase in March where we will share a presentation and answer your questions. We will send out invitations to these events within the next two weeks.

We have also launched a new project website www.goldenlaneprojects.co.uk which will be fully updated after these meetings with the presentations and indicative programmes shared, as well as detailed FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). The website also has minutes from all Resident Liaison Group (RLG) meetings, including the latest Crescent House RLG meeting on 30 January when the HRB status and delays were discussed.

As an organisation, we want to sincerely apologise for this delay and let you know that we are mindful of the hardship of having to go through further winters with inadequate insulation. We know this will cause concern and anxiety and we are currently looking at ways of assisting residents with a winter support initiative (owner-occupiers and tenants only), which we will share with you as soon as possible.

Communications
I want to assure you that throughout this process, we want to maintain transparency and keep you informed about the plans to address identified communal repairs and maintenance as well as planned major works and compliance related works. We want to encourage residents to voice their needs and concerns so we can better tailor our initiatives to support you individually and the Golden Lane Estate community.

Our plan is to:

• Provide weekly updates on communal repairs
• Hold a drop-in surgery every two weeks at the Estate Office which I will attend to listen directly to your views
• Share all updates on our new project website www.goldenlaneprojects.co.uk
• Hold consultation events and drop-in sessions for Major works projects

In addition, I am providing senior focus to ensure our delivery is co-ordinated on the
estate and am bringing in extra resource as required.

We recognise that there are historical issues, and we are working on providing an improved approach to scheduling repairs and maintenance in the future to maintain your homes to a better standard.

We appreciate your support and understanding as we embark on implementing new measures to resolve outstanding issues and our aim to improve confidence with residents. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the project team at info@goldenlaneprojects.co.uk or call 0800 772 0475.

Yours faithfully
Peta Caine
Assistant Director, Housing