ACTION

Election of Chair

Bryan Kennedy chaired the meeting in accordance with the decision made under item 5 a) at the last meeting.

Apologies:

Ms Nadre Karakus, George Birch, Sue Goldman, Ms Michelle Asbury (Food Project Manager).

Minutes of 6/10/2000 - Accuracy:

Attendance: Add "Ms Joan Reid" to the attendance list.

Attendance: Change status of Mike Casajuana from "Haggerston Area Trust and resident observer" to "Haggerston West Estate Committee".

Item 3b Line 6: after "……..meetings" add "The Tenant Support Worker would not confirm this"

Item 4 Paragraph 3: Paragraph starts "Proposed that…….." delete paragraph.

Proposed by Tom Seabury that minutes were a correct record with the above amendments. Seconded by Monique Carter, Agreed.

Minute Taker

Chair asked that item 7 be taken next as the IT Manager had to get home to the other side of London.

Projects

7 a) IT Project (IT Manager, verbal report)

Sefa Inceleme, the new web designer, was introduced.

Proposing that a new, additional, open access session starts on Friday afternoons. Hope to transfer funding for the crèche facility to this session as it is under-used on Saturday mornings at present.

Heart of East End Urban Initiative are funding £7,500 for an additional course. There is a new OCR/RSA CLAIT (Computer Learning and Information Technology) course starting this week. An application is being made to the National Lotteries for new funding for 3 years as the current project funding ends in March 2001.

There have been cash flow problems due to the delays in Urban payments and also in the Treasurer making payments. There needs to be better communication between the Treasurer and the project, hopefully things will improve with the employment of the new bookkeeper.

Brian Kennedy stated that he had limited time he had to carry out his role as Treasurer; that some payments had to be delayed because of money owed to the project; that he tried to prioritise payment of staff wages above other bills; that the new bookkeeper was employed 6 hours per week for the TRA, IT and Food projects so "don’t expect miracles" he would try and "take up some of the slack"..

In answer to members’ questions:

IT Manager didn’t think suppliers would get upset by the delays in payments in the long term due to the amounts involved which are eventually paid.

The grant application to the National Lotteries was "being done". Brian Kennedy stressed the need to get the application submitted so that the inevitable delays in processing would not jeopardise the funding.

IT Manager

The Open Access sessions, including Saturdays, were very well attended apart from the under-use of the crèche.

The proposal is to hold Friday sessions from 4-6pm.

Ose Akpom and Sefa Inceleme left the meeting.

7 b) Food Co-op (Tenant Support Worker, verbal report)

The co-op held its AGM last week. Mary Kumar is the new Chair and Tina Norrie is the new Treasurer.

The co-op agreed to employ Simon Lukes to do additional work to help out Michelle. The project was also proposing to start up a stall on Wenlock Barn estate which replaced a Grocer who had left. It was being funded by the Shoreditch New Deal Trust and had the support of Wenlock Barn TRA. The food co-op would supply the manager and a van.

Committee members raised concern about the absence of the Food Project Manager from this meeting and the absence of a report on the food co-op.

Agreed to ask Food Project Manager to attend the next meeting or if unable, to attend the one after.

Tenant Support Worker

Monique Carter felt that Food Project Manager got little support previously and the co-op committee was only just elected. Ivy Matkin felt the co-op committee needed "to find its feet".

Monique Carter asked again that everyone consider using the box scheme to get fruit and vegetables delivered to them. At the meeting several members stated that they had not received the order forms. Monique Carter took their names and will arrange they get one.

Monique Carter

Following motion proposed by Monique Carter and Paul Sprenger, seconded by Ivy Matkin: That the TRA supports the expansion of the food projects activities provided that this does not impede the development of services on the HAWK TRA estates and that there is no resulting financial loss. Motion agreed.

Food Project Manager

Matters Arising from 6/10/2000

4 a) Item 6 c) - Letter to Canalside regarding lack of information to residents

2 letters were drafted separately by Gillian Excell and Tom Seabury. The drafts were circulated at the meeting and members felt that both letters would work well. Sheila Seabury proposed combining them into one letter, Brian Kennedy suggested that one of the letters should be signed at the meeting to save time. Members felt that it would be more effective if there were a number of signatures rather than just one.

Agreed to use the letter by Tom Seabury and for TRA members to sign the letter at the meeting and for it to be sent to Canalside.

Tenant Support Worker

4 b) Item 8 a) - Letter to LBH regarding bins and waste removal on Haggerston West Estate:

Mike Casajuana stated that he had been elected as Chair of the Haggerston West Estate Committee and confirmed that the matter had been discussed at the last Committee meeting and that housing staff were to "look into it". Joan Reid stated that residents had been told to attend the meeting regarding the cuts in services being held tonight at the Town Hall.

Gillian Excell had drafted a letter and circulated it at the meeting.

Agreed to the draft letter and that the TRA members sign the letter at the meeting and send it to the council.

Tenant Support Worker

Post Received

A summary of incoming post was circulated at the meeting.

5 a) Hackney Festival Support Group

£23-00 annual membership fee requested. Tenant Support Worker asked committee for a decision, Mike Casajuana explained that the group offered equipment for events and had been used before.

Agreed that the TRA pay the £23 annual membership fee to Hackney Festival Support Group.

Tenant Support Worker

Report Back

Tenant Support Worker stated that he had laid out minutes, reports etc. for the committee to pick up and read. He did not have minutes from Canalside Community Board and Haggerston Area Trust despite chasing them or from Ascent 21 who had stated the minutes were confidential. Sheila Seabury stated that the Canalside Community Board minutes were only delivered to Board Members days before the following meeting.

Agreed that the Canalside Community Board minutes should be made available even if they were produced late and possibly from the meeting prior to the last one held.

Tenant Support Worker

Tenant Support Worker stated that he would be asking the Canalside EDMC to request the minutes from Ascent 21. He also stated that it had been possible in the past to circulate the Canalside Community Board minutes with confidential items blanked out.

Tenant Support Worker

6 a) Canalside

i) Community Board (Sheila Seabury, verbal report)

Linbrooks have been incorrectly billing Canalside for securing of empty flats with the result that there was a shortfall of £150,000 in the budget. Canalside appear unable to resolve the matter and Board members felt it should have been noticed by staff much earlier.

Residents have still not been informed about the delays in the building programme. Canalside had released 2 newsletters in the last 3 weeks which did not mention the delays.

Paul Sprenger had given additional material on the LEB Substation planning application and the objections to MHT and CHA Board members. It has been agreed to circulate it to all board members and the papers have been given to Canalside for copying. Sheila Seabury stated that the item should be discussed at the next Board meeting provided it was quorate.

Tom Seabury reported that the planning application for the LEB sub-station site had now been submitted. He had gone to the council planning department and found that very little detail appeared on the submitted plans. Residents should be worried that there was no information on bin stores and amenities, the results could affect them for the next 50 years.

Chair asked that items on Canalside EDMC and Design Group and Walkabouts/Monitoring and Haggerston West Estate Committee be omitted due to lack of time.

6 b) Haggerston West

i) EDMC

In the absence of Lorna Meade the Tenant Support Worker reported that the EDMC had now received a letter from Ziggy Crawford (LBH Housing Regeneration Director) confirming that Haggerston West tenants would be balloted on the proposals for redevelopment. Brian Kennedy stated that he felt there did not seem to be much of a choice to vote on.

ii) Haggerston Area Trust (Mike Casajuana, verbal report)

The AGM was due in early December, the TRA would receive notice of the meeting. There are other groups apart from the HAWK TRA who are affiliated to the Trust and should nominate directors to the Trust Board but they had not done so. The quorum for Board meetings is 5 directors and there were only 6 in post. Brian Kennedy pointed out that the TRA had always filled its 3 nominations.

6 c) Other

i) Kingsland Community Forum (Mike Casajuana, verbal report)

Mike Casajuana was the only person present from HAWK TRA at the last forum meeting. The next meeting was due on Monday and would discuss an important item: the merger of the Learning Skills Councils from Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham. This would make it harder to fight for resources for this area.

The TRA asked if Mike Casajuana could report back to meetings. Mike Casajuana stated that that he attended as Chair of the Haggerston SRB Steering Group but could give a brief report to the TRA. Ivy Matkin was unaware that as a member of the steering group she was also on the forum. Ivy Matkin agreed to report back as well.

Mike Casajuana& Ivy Matkin

AOB

8 a) Meetings

The Chair apologised for the late running of the meeting and said he would try and use his skills to finish earlier next time.

8 b) HAWK TRA funding (Verbal Report, Bryan Kennedy)

Brief report: The TRA funding from the environmental budget will continue thanks to Mariarosa Frasca (LBH). Mike Casajuana was asked to try and ensure that Haggerston West got allocated an environmental budget to employ the Tenant Support Worker for next year.

mike casajuana