This post has The Agenda, The Chair’s Report and the Financial Statement. Please note that the financial statement is in draft as it covers up to March 2025.
Agenda for the Annual General Meeting 2024, to be held 23.1.25
- Welcome and apologies
- Minutes of the AGM 26.10.23
- Matters arising
- Any other business
- Election of officers
- Chair’s report
- Treasurer’s report
- Police Liaison
- Alma Street Fair
- SustainIARA/Retrofit
- 2 Prince of Wales Road
- Future developments for IARA.
- Any other business
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Inkerman Area Residents Association: Chair’s report 2024
IARA WhatsApp
This has grown during the last year, and now has over 240 members. It has become a very strong community resource, providing a platform for exchanging items, sharing ideas and recommendations – and, for us, gathering views which can feed an IARA response to various consultations. To help manage the sometimes almost overwhelming number of posts we introduced some user guidelines and we hope this has helped to make it more manageable.
A number of subgroups have emerged from the main group – among them trees and gardening, SustainIARA, local history, theatre goers, dog lovers and cat lovers.
Regis Road and the proposed Film Quarter
Along with several of members, we attended various sessions put on by the developer, Yoo Capital, and by Camden officers to introduce plans for the Regis Road industrial site. This is all in the run-up to a formal planning application when we will hope to see plans that reflect at least some of the views expressed during these sessions. These include a strong wish to retain a Recycling Centre on site, a strong element of affordable (including social) housing, sufficient green space. We are aware that there is no overall consensus on some aspects of the proposals, so we have not submitted views from IARA but have encouraged as many people as possible to do so.
Transport
Clearly, the hot topic has been the impact of traffic changes following the closure to vehicles of the top of Anglers Lane and Raglan Street. Most of the feedback we have had on that change has been extremely positive.
More recently, the detailed plan for the Holmes Road Healthy School Street has provoked considerable and intense discussion, especially as there are some quite radical proposals (such as making the top of Willes Road closed to traffic). Some of this will be introduced on a trial basis, subject to further consultation before it is finalised. Again, IARA will only be commenting if there is consensus on the schemes.
The lengthy closure of Kentish Town underground station has re-focused attention on the lack of accessible platforms at the Thameslink platforms, and there is currently a push for lifts to be installed at the station. We are really encouraging everyone to push for this and there is a chance to do so as part of the Regis Road consultation.
Many of our members have expressed huge frustration about the lengthy and disruptive work on Prince of Wales Road to install very short bike lanes. We passed on your concerns when we met the new councillor for the area, Joseph Ball, who sent us an apology from the department concerned.
Licensing
Earlier in the year, we attended a meeting convened by other residents groups from Covent Garden and Camden Town to coordinate opposition to Camden’s proposals to extend premises licensing hours, and to abandon the current policy which scrutinises new licensing applications more carefully when there are already many licensed premises in an area. Camden Council have been very keen to help businesses and have largely sidelined the views of residents. We raised this in our meeting with Cllr. Ball, who is on the licensing committee and who had voted for the changes, apparently in the belief that residents supported them. This has made us acutely aware of the need to keep our local councillors fully briefed and not allow residents’ views to be ignored.
We have also supported Kentish Town Road Action in opposing late licences for local businesses when these could lead to antisocial behaviour late at night.
Crime and policing
We continue to be represented by John Nicholson on the Safer Neighbourhood Panel. John relies on
people reporting concerns about crime and antisocial behaviour to IARA so that he can raise issues with the panel and hopefully raise the priority level for the local police.
187 Kentish Town Road – the missing Cinema
We’ve shared your frustration that the owner of the old Pizza Express building (Vabel) claims that they have been unable to let the cinema space to an operator. We’re aware that they have had some interest from potential cinema operators – but only from people who could not accept the high rental and fit-out terms that Vabel demanded.
When Vabel, predictably, put in a planning application to allow a very wide range of uses, we were clear that this should not succeed. But, rather than see the space remain empty, we argued that it should not be used for a straight commercial purpose, but should find a community use. We went along to the meeting of the planning committee and although the Planning Officer was adamant that Vabel should be granted their change of use, we did at least persuade members of the committee to find a compromise that assured some use of benefit to local communities.
Stay Club nuisance and planning
Residents, particularly in Holmes Road, have suffered late night noise and nuisance from the club, and particularly in the summer from very large groups of very young overseas students, noisily excited to be in London. We met with the Chief Business Officer who told us that they would no longer host these groups, and that various measures to control their residents would be implemented. We watch this space.
We also, rather wearily, objected to yet another planning application they put in to further extend the building upwards and are glad to say this has been refused.
Holmes Road “hotel” and other planning applications
We’ve alerted members to a planning application for the office building above and next door to McDonald’s. Many of you were very concerned about various aspects of the application to turn this into a hotel, and there was enough of a consensus for us to object on behalf of IARA. No decision as yet. Meanwhile, we continue to alert neighbours to residents’ planning applications that may affect them.
Gardening, trees
Grateful thanks to Robert and Chris for maintaining the Raglan Street Garden, and to Dilip for organising clear up days for Inkerman Gardens in Holmes Road (which he helped to design and develop). Also to all those of you who have undertaken to water the new young trees in the area, and who plant and maintain the tree bases.
Elders
The group that rather grandly chose the name the Independent Elders of IARA has only met a couple of times during the year, but the meetings have been lively and useful, exchanging recommendations for activities and outings, and raising issues for IARA action. The members range in age from 50s to 80s, and the meetings are informal and sociable.
We were particularly sad to have the news of the death of Anne Hearn, a longstanding member of the group and a much mourned resident.
KTRA
Several of our members are also on the Kentish Town Road Action group, and we work closely with them on issues that affect the High Street, such as planning and licensing applications.
Hospitality
We are delighted that The Grafton has passed to new management, who have made considerable efforts to engage the local community. We are very grateful to them for hosting this meeting and making the pub a welcoming venue. We are also pleased to see the restored The Old Farmhouse in Holmes Road. So we now have two decent pubs within the Inkerman area. We await developments on The George!
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Draft Financial Statement 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 – up to the date of the AGM
Inkerman Area Residents Association Limited – Company Registration No. 10075818
Cash basis
INCOME
Balance B/F from 31 March 2024 8371.84
Alma Street Fair Income 9185.79
Dorothey P. Alexander Bequest £1000.00
HMRC Corp. Tax Refund £51.24
Misc income £7.83
Sub Total £18,616.70 18,616.70
EXPENDITURE
Alma Street Fair costs £8502.87
Company House filing £13.00
Corp. Tax paid £0.00
IARA Phone tbc £0.00
AGM tbc £0.00
Printing tbc £0.00
AGM Ent. tbc £0.00
Sub- total £8,515.87 8,515.87
Cash Balance up to the date of this AGM £10,100.83