Chairman’s Report 2024 AGM

EARL’S COURT SQUARE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ON THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2025 AT 6:30 P.M.

AT THE BOTTLERY, 231 EARL’S COURT ROAD

The Chair, Alex Tullett, welcomed everyone to the Earl’s Court Square Residents’ Association Annual General Meeting.

The Chair started the AGM by advising attendees that your Guest Speaker Joe Powell MP has had a change in his itinerary for the evening and may arrive a lot earlier than originally expected.

The Chair asked that the AGM starts as normal and when Joe arrived interrupt the AGM to allow Joe to talk and answer question before going to his next engagement.

1. Apologies for Absence:

Mariaclara Vilona, Nadia Allan, Paul Horton, Maria Xirou, Cathy Burnaby-Atkins.

2. Minutes of the 2024 AGM:

The Minutes of the 2024 AGM had been circulated and were on the website.  They were proposed by Rodney Brangwyn and seconded by Shailesh Katyal as being a true record of the meeting. Members approved the 2024 AGM Minutes with a show of hands.

3. 3. Chairman’s Report:

WELCOME – and a special welcome to Cllrs Hamish Adorian, Tim Verboven and Linda Wade. Our Guest Speaker Joe Powell MP for Kensington and Bayswater will join us at some point earlier than originally envisioned as he has another engagement to attend. When he arrives I will pause the formal sequence of the AGM to allow him to give his talk and take any questions before going on to his next engagement, and then pick up where we left off.

One important change that happened this year was Chrissie Courtney resigning as Chair in December and relocating out of the Square.   Most of what I will be reporting is based on what Chrissie has done over the year.

Our catchment covers around 650 households and last year Chrissie confirmed our aim was to increase our membership from 140.  This year our membership dropped slightly – but there is still room for expansion! Membership of ECSRA costs £10 (individual) and £15 (family/household) and enables us to fund refreshments and music at our events such as the “Lighting of the Christmas Tree” and wine and canapés at our AGM tonight. – Subscriptions also help pay for the DJ at our annual summer family BBQ/Disco.  All residents are welcome to these events. However, they all need funding - and ECSRA membership fees provides this – so please make 2025 the year when everyone here tries to recruit a member so the majority of the 650 households in our area join ECSRA – which will enable us to continue providing free or subsidised events for our community.

EVENTS: 

During 2024 - ECSRA hosted 4 events – some of which were shared with the Garden Sub-Committee.  Our AGM in February, held at the School started the ball rolling with Guest Speaker, Cllr. Cem Kemahli, Lead Member RBK&C for Planning and Public Realm with responsibility for Earl’s Court.

The BBQ and disco, our annual fundraiser, was held a little earlier on Saturday 22nd June, to enable more families to attend before the main school holidays. We started at 5pm to cater for young families and ended at 11pm to be considerate neighbours and keep to our Temporary Event Notice licence. The four BBQ fires were set up for communal use (one specifically for vegetarians and one pork-free) with a gazebo for the disco with DJ Jerry Shillingworth - who got everyone up dancing and joining in the fun - culminating in a conga around the garden. People brought their own rugs, tables and chairs and, with a lovely summer evening, the event was well attended and deemed to be a success.

We held a “An Indian Themed Evening” in The Bottlery for all residents of the Square - and we’re back at The Bottlery on Thursday 16th October for a “Japanese Evening”.  It's a great opportunity for residents to mix and get to know each other and I’d like to express our special thanks to Jimmy from The Bottlery who provided the venue for free, as he wanted to support the community. This year members of the Executive Committee jumped in to supply Indian nibbles and finger foods for the event and found Indian music and dance videos which were played over the system at The Bottlery. Our final event was, of course, “The Lighting of the Christmas Tree” in December and this year we again had a Santa – which made all the difference. This year we had Ben Comeau a Keyboard Player whose playing was enjoyed by everyone and generously sponsored by John D Wood & Co, we have him booked for this year’s event. It’s magical to see so many neighbours of all ages celebrating the festive season together - consuming Alan’s mulled wine, Katrina’s 100 home-made mince pies and Mariaclara’s home-made chocolate chip cookies – which the children love!

Thanks to all the wonderful members who helped behind the scenes with the Events’ catering over the past year and to our committee who have provided all the canapes for our Reception tonight.

There was 1 other event organised by and held for residents in 2024

Halloween in Earl’s Court Square was a delight with around 30 charming

trick-or-treaters turning our neighbourhood into a festive hub.  Our communal garden, aglow with Halloween lights, hosted a joyful gathering of diverse neighbours.  Children in super cute costumes and some adults in funny ensembles added a touch of whimsy to the night.  Many thanks to all involved with organising this community event.

We look forward to welcoming you all to our 2025 events details of which are on our website www.ecsra.co.uk

PLANTERS IN THE SE ARM: 

ECSRA has taken over the re-planting and maintenance of the planters which were originally funded by a Council NCIL Grant.  The planters have been effective in blocking cycles and motorbikes from using the pavements to access Earl’s Court Road which was dangerous for pedestrians. The new hedging has been funded by the Nicholson Funds and we donated the original plants to the Garden.  These plants were not flourishing and, despite a few reservations from residents, they were replaced by ECSRA with a mixture of flowering - mainly evergreen -hedging plants which we felt would be more robust, provide flowers from November to May/June with berries at the appropriate times of the year and will grow to a height of around four feet and have thorns to deter people using the planters as seats. I am delighted to report that the planters, which l hope you all agree looked spectacular last Summer, we won one RBKC awards under the Brighter Kensington & Chelsea Platinum Jubilee 2024 Scheme – 2^nd Prize for “Category 10 – Community Effort South” in addition we received a medal to go along with the Certificate. Thank you to Alex Tullett for all his hard work and green-fingered contributions and whoever is keeping an eye on any rubbish placed in the Planters and removing it, we look forward to the Spring when we hope they will flourish and bloom once more. If you look closely the bulbs have again started sprouting and blooming.

CYCLE HANGARS: 

These are being used by residents’ although there are still residents on the waiting list.

E-BIKES AND E-SCOOTERS:

Durning the year the Council undertook an exercise to determine where E-Bikes and E-Scooters could be parked up as a group instead of being dropped off / left anywhere to the annoyance of residents’ Thay decided that Penywern Road could be utilised and two parking bays were converted for this. This has resulted in a marked decrease in e-bikes and e-scooters cluttering up the Square. The only issue is that they do not have the dedicated “slots” the Santander bikes have to keep them upright, and with so many e-bikes and e-scooters using this space in Penywern Road they are falling onto car bonnets and boots parked in the car parking bays. This is something being looked at to see what may be done.

TRAFFIC PROBLEMS IN SW ARM (WARWICK ROAD):

ECSRA worked with the School and the Council to minimise the problems of children being dropped/collected from the school and the “no waiting” signs outside the School have been amended to reflect the longer school days Monday to Friday 8am to 9:30am and 2:30pm to 5pm the school has now adopted their “School Travel Plan” and are actively encouraging parents to walk or use public transport.

The Council addressed ECSRA’s concerns about vehicles attempting to exit from the SW arm into Warwick Road by painting “one way” arrows on the road. Prior to painting the “one way” signs.

It is a year since RBKC measured the traffic volumes on Earl’s Court Square we will ask if another survey could be carried out to see if the road markings are still effective. The Council are of the opinion that the new road markings have made the one-way restriction very clear, so the few drivers that are still driving the wrong way are likely doing so wilfully, so it is unlikely that any additional road markings or signs will change their behaviour. We did ask for the RBKC Wardens to monitor the SW arm at peak times and issue fines (mostly to cyclists who are ignoring the one-way signs) as a deterrent.

TRAFFIC PROBLEMS IN THE NE ARM (EARL’S COURT ROAD):

Following complaints from residents in 2023 that vehicles were entering the Square from Earl’s Court Road, ECSRA met with Councillors and Officers to discuss the problems.  ECSRA has suggested that the current “No Entry” sign was obscured by a traffic light and should be re-positioned.  The Council are considering this request; however, we have not heard anything since.

PUBLIC SERVICE PROTECTION ORDERS (PSPO):

Following concerns raised by residents of Earl’s Court regarding the overall safety of the area, the Council had implemented a Public Service Protection Order (PSPO).  The measure was intended to address anti-social behaviours, enhance safety, and contribute to the overall improvement of the quality of life in Earl’s Court.  The proposed PSPO restrictions include:

• Use of illegal drugs or psychoactive substances.
• Littering
• Street urination and defecation.
• Consumption of alcohol in a public place.
• Loitering and refusing to leave an area.
• Aggressive begging.
• Bicycles and scooters – prohibits riding on pavements within the protected area but allows pushing and walking alongside bikes or scooters.

ECSRA supports the introduction of a PSPO to cover the whole of Earl’s Court to restore the public’s confidence in eliminating anti-social behaviour in Earl’s Court, but we would stress, it is essential that sufficient resources are made available to properly enforce them. ECSRA works very closely with the Police and Chrissie served on the Earl’s Court Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel.

EARL’S COURT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY:

ECSRA is represented by Alex Tullett at ECDC/Earl’s Court Society workshops where he is able to express our residents’ views and concerns on this very important project.  Please do speak with Alex should you have concerns as he also represents ECSRA on the Earl’s Court Society.

ECSRA NEWS/WEBSITE:

Members have all been emailed the first edition of ECSRA News.  It is intended that this is published twice a year and the next edition will be circulated to all our Members in the Spring - after this AGM.

The ECSRA website is regularly updated and has all the details of our forthcoming events, archive information about the Square and hosts masses of photos of all our past events.  Please do have a look at www.ecsra.co.uk.

 FAÇADE RULES:

After considerable work by the Residents' Association the Square was granted full Conservation Area status by the Council in 1975. One of its stipulations is that the buildings on the west, north and east sides must be painted a specific shade of Magnolia the specific paint number is BS4800 08B15 with window woodwork in white but the colour of front doors is at the owners' choice. The colour for the house numbers is Black and typeface is Garamond, 7 inches in height. The latter detail is not in the Conservation Area Document but is something ECSRA recommended. Please keep our Square looking beautiful by advising your Managing Agents/Housing Association when they are re-decorating buildings that the Façade Rules are on our website www.ecsra.co.uk. the Home page, “Conservation Location and Rules”.

GRAFITTI, FLY POSTERS AND FLY TIPPING:

There has been an increase in this, especially Fly Posting. The Council does have a dedicated team to remove these posters and graffiti, however, they do need to be made aware of the problem. This can be done by going onto the Councils website www.rbkc.gov.uk and on the Home Page there is a section called “Report a Problem”. The instructions and fields are easy to follow to report any of Graffiti, Fly Posters and Fly Tipping. This “Report a Problem” feature can also be used for any domestic rubbish left out on incorrect days.

RUBBISH & RECYCLING:

There are a few remaining “hotspots” for rubbish dumping and ECSRA is working behind the scenes to eliminate these.  We had been working with the Council, Directors and Managing Agents of 69 ECS to activate one of their existing vaults so it could be used for rubbish bins, and this was finalised during the year.  Problems are again being found outside 312 ECS and we have requested an “A” Board outside the building to remind residents not to dump their rubbish on the wrong days and we have started to see rubbish by the tree outside 1A of the Square in the Northeast Arm of the Square. We believe that this building and the tree are the only ones in the Square. There are still occasional problems in the NE arm of the Square and Heidi Bradner, who leads on Rubbish & Recycling, would ask everyone to always report instances of rubbish dumping to the Council on their website as it helps build up a picture of problem areas.

This “Report It” feature mentioned above can also be used for any domestic rubbish left out on the incorrect days, we as the committee do so on a regular basis.

Just a reminder that rubbish collection days are Monday and Thursday and Domestic Rubbish should be on the pavement by 7a.m. on these days.  Residents are asked not put their rubbish out the night before, however, it may be that is the only time they can do so.

EXECUTVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND THEIR ROLES:

With Chrissie leaving the Square and resigning from the Executive Committee, certain roles have been split, some remain the same.

AT       Chair/Earl’s Court Society/Kensington Society/ESSA

TBA    Hon. Treasurer. Until someone volunteers this is being overseen

by the Chair.

HB      Rubbish and Recycling

NA      Membership Secretary/ Environment

AF       Liaison with RBKC Councillors (other than Ward Councillors)

and MP

SL        Events/ Website updates with Judy Head/News

MCV    Helping with Rubbish & Recycling

MX      Helping with Events

MZ      Photographer at events for website/Helping with Events

SK       Earl’s Court Safer Neighbour Team Police Ward Panel

Executive Committee members contact details can be found on the Home page of our website www.ecsra.co.uk.

Finally, Chrissie and I’d like to thank all our colleagues on the ECSRA Executive Committee for another year of Zoom meetings when we have had lively - and sometimes heated discussions - discussing all the issues Chrissie Courtney and I have identified in my report. However, we remain united in our endeavours “to protect and enhance Earl’s Court Square and the lives of the residents who live and work here.” The Committee is pleased that we have re-commenced our face-to-face meetings in 2025.

I would like to say a big thank you to Chrissie Courtny for being our Chair over the years and would like to ask you for a round of applause for all the hard work and effort she has done for the Square whilst she was the Chair.

A rapturous round of applause came from the floor.

ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT IS BASICALLY CHRISSIES REPORT?

Acceptance of the Chairmans Reoport was proposed by Richard Rolefson and seconded by Kevin Colgan.

4. Hon. Treasurer’s Report:

Treasurers’ Report for the Accounts ending 31st December 2024.

Kevin Colgan of The Garden Sub-Committee reviewed the accounts and confirmed he is happy with them.

In terms of cash the RA finished off the year with an increase in the balance after accruals and      receivables are taken into account compared to the end of last year.

The main variances this year are: -

Income.

Subscriptions. Slightly Down.

Advertising. Down. We stopped producing hard copies of the Newsletter, therefore there was       no income from advertising.

BBQ. Up. We had more people attend compared to last year.

Hanging baskets. The same as last year.

1. E. Arm Planters. Down. We factored in a decrease in costs.

Increases on 2023;

BBQ. Costs slightly up on last year, namely new BBQ’s.

Hanging Baskets. There was an increase, but not as much as we anticipated.

ECSRA Jubilee banners, a one off, which you can see here.

Decreases on 2023;

AGM. We as the committee supplied all the food and drinks.

Newsletters. As above none were produced, therefore there were no costs.

1. E. Arm Planters. Only costs were for plants.

Jazz night / Indian night. Jazz night a DJ was engaged, for the Indian night we supplied the music and videos via the systems at The Bottlery.

Accruals.

Are in relation to BBQ charcoal purchased in 2024 for use in 2025. Kevin Colgan asked if it was in a dry place Alex Tullett advised it was.

Any questions?

Could someone propose the acceptance of the Accounts?

Thank you.

The acceptance of the Accounts was proposed by Shailesh Katyal and seconded by Maxine De Torrence. Members voted with a show of hands to accept the Hon. Treasurer’s Report.

5. Election of Executive Committee:

Currently serving, retiring by rotation and offering themselves up for re-election under the rules:

Alex Tullett (Chairman).

Andrew Foster.

Nadia Allam.

Laurence Smith.

Could I ask that instead of individually having a Proposer and Seconder for each Executive Committee member, just one Proposer and Seconder, this was agreed by a show of hands.

Their re-election was Proposed by Rodney Brangwyn and Seconded by Richard Rollefson.

Currently serving and continuing under the rules:

Heidi Bradner.

Stefano Galdiolo.

Shailesh Katyal.

Sue Lupton.

Mariaclara Vilona.

Maria Xirou.

Magda Zawisza

6. Membership Rates:

They remain the same this year

Individual Membership is at £10.00

Family Membership is at £15.00.

Membership of ECSRA was open to everyone living in the Earl’s Court Square Conservation  Area.

Subscriptions are used towards funding the drinks/canapés provided at the AGM and the mulled wine and entertainment at the Christmas event.

The BBQ/Disco is the only event that generates a profit.

7. Any Other Business:

There were not many AOB’s in general, only after our Guest Speaker Joe Powell MP had finished his talk, which did occur after he arrived part way through the AGM.

8. Guest Speaker: Joe Powell MP.

Member of Parliament for Kensington and Bayswater.   

Alex Tullett introduced Joe Powell.

Joe mentioned that he had been attending a lot of Resident Association AGM’s and that he had also held an informal get together of Residents’ Association Chairs at Westminster.

He mentioned that there were a lot of active Residents’ Associations in his Constituency.

He gave an informative talk on matters relating to Earl’s Court. He was aware of the issue of the “buildout” of the pavement outside the old Barclays and NatWest Banks and that residents were in favour of the buildouts removal which he was in favour of.

Residents pointed out that part of the original pavement was just under 4 meters wide and was the widest part of the pavement on that side of Earl’s Court Road from Cromwell Road to Old Brompton Road and the buildout had only created problems.

Buses used to pull into what is now the buildout, discharge and take on passengers and then filter back into the traffic flow where the road used to have a slight left curve without blocking the road. Now, buses have to stop on the inside lane blocking traffic, especially if a truck cannot pass the bus on the overside of the road resulting in a complete stop of the traffic flow.

Joe then discussed Anit-social behaviour and what was being done to tackle it.

Residents appeared to be appreciative of this.

Joe then moved onto the ECDC redevelopment of the old Exhibition Site and talked about how he thought there had not been enough thought on the mix of Social / Social Affordable / other sized properties in the development.

As part of this discussion Maxine Torrents Dels Prats. asked why it was the demolition of the Exhibition Centre was allowed before an agreed development plan was in place, as it is now over 10 years with nothing on the site. We could have kept the area more vibrant than what we live with now.

Joe responded that the previous owners prior to the current ECDC, wanted to move on quickly, however, then ran into difficulties which has meant the site remains unused.

Andrew Foster asked Joe how he was enjoying his new job.

Joe thanked Andrew for leaving the hardest question to the last. He responded it had been a steep learning curve, especially with active Resident Associations in the Constituency, however, he was enjoying what he was learning and doing.

Alex Tullett thanked Joe Powell MP for attending ECSRA’s AGM and everyone for their support and attendance and invited them to join us all including the Executive Committee and Ward Councillors, for drinks and canapés.

ALEX TULLETT - Chairman

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