The Barbican Association and Residential Consultation Committee’s response to the City of London on Lord Lisvane’s Recommendations on Committees and the RCC

We are responding in particular to:

Para 353. This Committee’s task, according to its terms of reference, is entirely one of management. If that is the case, I cannot see why it should exist as a Corporation Committee. So far as the interests of the Corporation are concerned, that function can be dealt with by Officers. So far as the internal arrangements are concerned, those can surely be made by the residents themselves.

The current arrangements for the RCC were set up in 2003. Attached is the original agreement, and result, from the ‘2003 referendum’ among Barbican residents that we mentioned to you. This document came to light recently and we trust it is a valuable contribution to your meetings with Elected Members and Officers about Lord Lisvane’s recommendations re the Barbican residential estate. 

To highlight a few key phrases:

• The Resident consultation committee will immediately have a significant influence in the management of the Estate and in future could develop to be the basis of a delegation of service responsibility. (Page 7)
• The Resident consultation committee will be highly influential in the strategic and operational management of the Estate. In short, the Committee will have teeth.(Page 7).
• The Resident consultation committee proposal is designed to move beyond resident consultation to a level of significant resident influence over operational and strategic management of the Estate. (Page 8)

We welcome the City of London as freeholder and service provider. Further, we believe that the RCC, which has elected representatives from house groups and officers of the City of London, is competent to carry out the role agreed in 2003 with the BEO acting on behalf of the City as its Managing Agent. We have discussed this with the Assistant Director Barbican and Property services and the Head of the Barbican Estates and are in agreement the 2003 agreement represents a collaborative and effective approach to managing the Barbican residential estate. We will be having further discussions as to how this would be implemented

In the event that the City adopts Lisvane’s recommendation to abolish the BRC we recognise that the RCC will still need to feed into the City’s committee structure and would expect to be consulted on any new arrangements. 

Can we also take this opportunity to request that in your deliberations on Committees, you consider our request for an umbrella group to look after the Grade II listed Barbican Estate. It is not getting the attention it deserves as responsibility for the Estate falls among the 21 different committees.

Adam Hogg Chair Barbican Association

Christopher Makin Chair RCC