The Van Alen

The Van Alen Newsletter July 2024

Summer Garden Party. Building on the success of The Van Alen Summer Party in 2023, please join us on Saturday 27 July 2024 at 2pm. The party will be in the garden at The Van Alen or the meeting rooms in Yolk House in Rock Place, if the weather is against us.

 Redecoration of the outside of the building. Work is progressing well, with the bulk of the painting now complete. Snagging will take place next week and the removal of the scaffolding will then begin. All the scaffolding should be down for Pride Weekend.

Electricity Supply Upgrade. UKPN are well into their planning for the upgrade of the electricity supply to The Van Alen. This work will future proof The Van Alen in terms of electricity supply, including the provision of EV charging should we choose to do that. The main works will commence on Monday 5 August (after Pride weekend) but some preliminary work in the garden by the bin store and the underground car park near the electrical intake room may start before that. As part of the upgrade UKPN will remove and rebuild their substation in the office’s car park behind the Mews Houses, accessed from Madeira Place. They will also need to dig up the walkway behind the Mews House to facilitate the installation of four new cables from the new substation to the electrical intake room in our underground car park.

UKPN tell us they do not anticipate any significant power cuts affecting The Van Alen. August has  been identified, by UKPN, as the best time to do this work, as the demand for electricity from all the buildings supplied by the Madeira Place Substation is at its lowest. Their plan is to have all the work completed by 25 August.

The New Madeira Hotel.  Soho House, through their Landlord, Brighton Seafront Properties Ltd, have put in a detailed planning application BH2024/01398 for the refurbishment of The New Madeira Hotel. The application can be found at

https://planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SEO5C2DMMQY00&activeTab=summary

Attempted break in. Around 11pm on Thursday 11 July, two people, dressed in black and wearing crash helmets climbed over the wall by the vehicle gates and went down the fire escape stairs in front of the middle block. They did considerable damage to the fire exit door but were unable to open it. They then made their way to the vehicle gates at the entrance to the underground car park and using brute force managed to open them enough to get into the car park. In doing so they sheared off some of the gate brackets. We think they were then disturbed as they were in the car park for only a few minutes before leaving. We are looking into replacing the two wooden car park fire escape doors with steel security doors. . 

Artila. We send our thanks and gratitude to our wonderful Housekeeper, Artila, who is leaving us. She will be very hard to replace but we are working on it. 

Contact

[email protected]  or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, tel. 07887 983352.

www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter March 2024

Soho House. Disappointingly things have stalled. They received planning permission for the glass screen and improvements to the roof structures, but the planners, very late in the process, decided that as Soho House is built on top of a Listed Building, The Aquarium, then by default Soho House is also a Listed Building. All works on Listed Buildings require Listed Building Consent.

Below is an extract we received from Steven Dover the BHCC Planning Officer on 06 March.

“The agent is aware that they require Listed Building Consent and I have been chasing for submission. Once we receive it will advertised etc in the normal way and subject to a public consultation.

 Regarding your queries , the gate in the railings was shown on the plans to be an exact match of the current railings, clearly the current does not match this and enforcement are aware.

 In respect of the wood burner pizza oven there is no specific condition stating it has to be gas. As always if the output from the plant is causing nuisance then Environmental Health will/can investigate.”

As a Van Alen resident if you find the wood smoke from the pizza oven unacceptable then please contact BHCC Environmental Health directly on 01273 294 266. Or send an email to [email protected]. Or by post to Environmental Health, Bartholomew House, Bartholomew Square, Brighton, BN1 1JE.

Redecoration of the outside of the building.

You will shortly be receiving a formal Section 20 Notice regarding the external redecoration. The tendering process is complete and the Board, helped by SHW, have chosen a company that we believe will do a good job.  Redecoration in 2024 is a very costly process and the decision has been taken to redecorate the front and east elevations this year and to redecorate the rear elevation when our reserves have built up again.

The formalities need to be completed, but we hope to start as soon as the weather permits as painting requires good weather. The work is programmed to start at the beginning of May and to take14 weeks. Unfortunately this means that there may be scaffolding on the front of the building into August.

Bollards. To prevent vehicles from parking on the pavers in front of the main doorway two stainless steel non retractable bollards have been installed.

Defibrillator training. Lucy Jenner, from the South East Ambulance Service, has offered to run a defibrillator training session at 7pm on Friday 12 April at The Van Alen. Please let David Brown know If you would like to attend.

Van Alen WhatsApp Group. To allow the management company to pass on urgent messages to you as quickly as possible, the board approved the setting up of a Van Alen WhatsApp group. We hope this will be helpful to you. It's a message only service and you will not be able to reply via this group.

The Van Alen Newsletter January 2024

Soho House. We can report more progress with Soho House. Soho House have been very slow to submit accurate plans to the Council, but Steven Dover, the Planning Case Officer, tells us “Yes, progress is being made and we now have a full set of plans. We are just agreeing various elements of conditions then we should be able to determine.”

Electricity supply upgrade. As you know we have signed a contract with UK Power Networks for them to substantially increase the electricity supply to The Van Alen. We are in contact with them re dates and the intent is to get the upgrade completed by the autumn.

Redecoration of the outside of the building.
The specification of works have been completed and the redecoration tender documentation has been sent out to 6 firms to quote. Tenders are due to be returned early in February. The plan remains for the external redecoration to take place before the summer.

New Director. We are pleased to welcome Sam Memour, Flat 4, as a director of The Van Alen Freehold Ltd and The Van Alen Management Ltd.

Diary date. Building on the success of The Van Alen Summer Party in 2023 please save the date Saturday 27 July 2024. The party will be in the garden at The Van Alen or the meeting rooms in Yolk House in Rock Place, if the weather is against us.

Bollards. To prevent vehicles from parking on the pavers in front of the main doorway on Marine Parade two stainless steel bollards have been purchased and will be installed in the next month.

Defibrillator training. The defibrillator in reception is fully automatic but we are working on setting up a training session for those who would like to know a little more about what to do and how to use it. We will keep you posted.

Contractor working hours. To manage noise and disturbance, for all those living at The Van Alen, please remind your contractors that, except in an emergency, their working hours are 9am to 5pm weekdays only.

The Van Alen Newsletter September 2023

Defibrillator training. We are keen to know if you would like to take part in a training session on CPR and how to use the Zoll fully automatic AED defibrillator in reception. If there is sufficient interest we will organise a training session. See https://youtu.be/yo5jKJBKo0w?si=zSiFsRRUKgbRPZYV for information on our defibrillator.

Soho House. We can report more progress with Soho House. After consulting The Van Alen residents, a joint meeting of the boards of The Van Alen Management Ltd and The Van Alen Freehold Ltd resolved to support the latest Soho House planning application, BH2023/02342. Our support is conditional on Brighton and Hove City Council applying specific restrictions to any approval they may make. Full details have been circulated to all residents.

Electricity supply upgrade. We have signed a contract with UK PowerNetworks for them to increase the electricity supply to The Van Alen. Their installation team have visited the site and planning for the upgrade is underway. As details of the work become available we will keep you informed. UKPN have assured us that they will keep disruption to a minimum.

Redecoration of the outside of the building.
We are aiming to have the outside of the building redecorated next spring and SHW are preparing a specification of works so that we can go out to tender for the scaffolding and the painting.

Director vacancy. Would you like to join us as a director of The Van Alen Freehold Ltd and The Van Alen Management Ltd? We meet roughly 6 times per year and if you would like to understand what is involved, please have a chat to David Brown.

TV aerial. Responding to reports of loss of TV signal, Briant Communications attended the Van Alen to investigate. They have installed a new aerial and cabling which will improve the terrestrial aerial system. The old original FM aerial has been removed so the TV signal is not corrupted by recent 4G and 5G transmissions.

Vent covers. To resolve problems with water ingress, a high rope access abseil contractor has replaced the vent covers on the Camelford Street wall.

AGM will be held at the Rock Place meeting rooms 2-5 Rock Place, Brighton on Monday 20 November at 6pm. All residents and owners are welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you.

The Van Alen Newsletter June 2023

The Van Alen Garden Party. You are cordially invited to The Van Alen Garden Party at 2pm on Sunday 30 July. It will be in the garden at the top of the car park or if raining in the meeting room in 2-5 Rock Place BN2 1PF. Wines, punch and nibbles will be provided but please do bring a bottle and snacks, cakes, treats, to add to the communal table.

 Party House 29 Camelford Street. The retrospective planning application for a party house at 29 Camelford Street has been refused. The house is still being used as a party house so it is now up to BHCC to enforce their planning decision.

Defibrillator in reception. Donations from residents amounting to £600, have been received towards the cost of a defibrillator and the Board have agreed to go ahead and purchase one. It will be installed in reception.

Soho House. We can report some progress with Soho House. After our very successful media campaign and with the help of the residents of Camelford Street and the patrons of Legends, the ugly Heras fencing and the hanging antenna at the Camelford Street end of the Soho House site have been removed. This much improves the sea view down Camelford Street.

Later this month we will be part of a meeting between Soho House and the BHCC planning team to see if together we can agree on a way forward. This will involve compromises on all sides. Soho House are looking into changing the woodfired pizza oven to gas to stop the smoke. They are also putting forward a proposal for a glass fence and gate across the 10m gap with no trees or shrubs and they tell us they will be presenting suggestions for reducing the ventilation structures on the roofs.

Soho House have installed what look like a pair of garden gates in the gap in the Grade 2 balustrade on Marine Parade. We have informed the planners that the gates are supposed to match the existing balustrade which the new gates clearly do not.

Garden maintenance. The many changes of staff at GreenServe have been a nuisance and have resulted in an unsatisfactory level of performance. We are looking into seeking a new garden maintenance contractor.

Bollards at the front entrance. To stop cars from parking in front of the entrance doors on Marine Parade we are getting quotes for the supply and installation of two cast iron bollards

Bike theft. Two bikes were stolen recently from the underground car park in broad day light at 3pm in the afternoon. The intruders climbed over the Camelford Street pedestrian gate and got to the main vehicle gates to the underground car park just as they were closing after a vehicle had entered. They then forced the gates open. Please be attentive to strangers “tailgating” you into the estate.

Visitor car parking spaces. Please use your designated parking space and leave the visitor spaces for visitors.

Larger waste items. Please use the bin on Camelford Street for larger waste items. Bagged rubbish and recycling only in the bin room - thank you.

Contact

[email protected]  or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, tel. 07887 983352.

www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter March 2023

EV Charging and Electricity Supply
We are in discussions again with UK Power Networks about increasing the electricity supply to The Van Alen estate. We looked at this in 2017 but decided not to proceed at that time. Since 2017 more flats have gone all electric and EV charging has become a clearer future requirement. UKPN have changed the way they charge for supply upgrades which we hope will mean it will be less expensive than in 2017. We will keep you updated.

Washing Machine
A 12Kg capacity washing machine has been installed in the cleaner’s cupboard in the underground car park. It has been purchased to wash the various cleaning clothes and other items used by the cleaner. It is a large capacity machine and residents are welcome to use it. It is not a dryer, so residents will need to take care of the final drying themselves. To use the washing machine please contact David Brown.

Painting
It is our intention to redecorate the outside of the building later this year and our Managing Agents SHW are currently involved in drawing up a specification for the work required so that we can seek quotes for the scaffolding and the redecoration.

Bicycle theft
Our CCTV has enabled Sussex Police to successfully prosecute an individual for the theft of a bike from the underground car park.

Front door - please close securely.
It is proving very difficult to adjust the front door on Marine Parade, to close without slamming but also to always lock shut. When you enter or exit reception through the front door, please take a moment and make sure it locks shut behind you. As a longer term solution we are getting in quotes for replacing the manual door with a powered sliding door.

Fire- Premises Information Boxes
It is now a requirement in blocks of flats, for there to be a “Premises Information Box” (PIB) in reception which is accessible by the Fire Service and contains information about the building to help Fire Fighters find their way around. Given the layout of our building we intend to install a PIB in the main reception and one in each of the three block entrances.

Underground car park doors
Please ensure that the entry doors from the underground car park into the building lock shut behind you. Sometimes the doors get caught on the mat and especially in windy weather they can remain open. As “intruders” seem to gravitate to the underground carpark, open entry doors are a security risk for the building.
.

The Van Alen Newsletter June 2022

New Managing Agents
As of 1 June, Stiles Harold Williams (SHW) are our new Managing Agents. Their address is:
Lees House, 21-33 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3FE
The Van Alen Property Manager at SHW is:
Serena Taylor Telephone - 01273 876226 or 07947 373475
Email: [email protected]
In Serena's absence please contact Nigel Duffy [email protected]
The SHW dedicated Property Management Administrator, Jade Deen, can be reached at [email protected]
Out of Hours emergency relating to a communal issue please contact Adiuvo on 01323 406997

Roof repair
A contractor has been identified and instructed to carry out some repairs to the single ply membrane roof on the Van Alen Building. Repairing the 22 year old roof covering is not straight forward but we are confident that the three small leaks can be fixed.

Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)
We are required to have a FRA done every two years and we are getting in quotes for the next one which is due latter this year.

SGN
Southern Gas Networks are capping a gas pipe by the bin store that is no longer used. They are having a bit of difficulty locating the pipe but should not be on-site much longer.

The Van Alen Newsletter April 2022

New Managing Agents
The board has reviewed options and Stiles Harold Williams, SHW, are the preferred choice as the new Managing Agents. An orderly transition from GSP is underway and will be completed by the end of May. We are confident that we will get a better level of service from SHW at a lower cost. Serena Taylor (nee Whedbee), who many will remember from her time at GSP, will be our new property manager at SHW.

Purchase a Share of the Freehold
Five leaseholders have taken up the offer to purchase a share of the freehold. We hope you have received a voting form from our solicitors. If you have ANY questions about the process or the valuation please contact David Brown as soon as possible. The voting closes on 2nd May and a 75% majority vote is required to proceed.

Soho House Visit
A group of 17 residents had a tour of the western Soho House building on 8 April. The eastern building and the two spaces on the lower level are still being completed. As you might expect the interior is finished to a high standard. Soho House continue to talk about offering local residents some form of membership and we await details.

Soho House Roof Issues
The 2016 planning permission BH2015 02443
Stated that residents looking down onto the building will view a grass roof covered with shingles and dune grasses to create an attractive natural habitat and outlook from the surrounding buildings. It went on to state: All ventilation and extraction equipment for the building services will be concealed from the pedestrian path along Marine Parade as well as the buildings across the road. Flush mounted grilles will be installed at roof level to allow air movement to the respective equipment. There will be no equipment sited at roof level.
It is clear that Soho House have drifted a long way from the consented design and we have lodged a
complaint with Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Enforcement regarding the
smoking wood burning pizza oven chimney, the mushroom ventilators, the other ventilators, the stubs of the windcatchers and the sedum rather than the vegetated shingle roof. We also complained about the two olive trees in the 10m gap and Soho House have removed them.

Soho House Alcohol Licence
At our request the Brighton and Hove Licensing Panel have stated that alcohol cannot be served or consumed in the 10m wide gap between the two Soho House buildings. This should help to keep the gap clear of all visual obstructions, especially tables chairs and umbrellas.

Jubilee Street Party 4 June 2022
All The Van Alen residents are invited to contribute to and take part in the Jubilee Street Party in Camelford Street on 4 June. Camelford Street will be closed to traffic from noon to10pm. Vehicle access to and from The Van Alen will be via the south end of Camelford Street. Please contact Jane Pritchard, 23 Camelford Street, for more information. [email protected]

Front Door on Marine Parade
The door has been repaired with a new hinge and closer, it has been set to close gently and quietly. In some wind conditions it may need to be helped to close by hand as the new mechanism settles in. It would be appreciated if residents would take a second to check the door is closed on exit and entry

The Van Alen Newsletter February 2022

Service Charge Increase

We are facing a steep increase in the communal electricity costs (our common areas supply for lighting and lifts is NOT price capped) and other costs. We are planning to redecorate the outside of The Van Alen block in 2023. We are therefore anticipating an average increase in the service charge of 9% from 1st May 2022. Insurance will be renewed on the same date. At this stage we have no idea of any change to the premium but our brokers are exploring all options with insurers.

Paula Blunden

Our housekeeping manager, Paula, has been unwell but is recovering and we are hoping she will be able to return to work at the end of February. We send Paula our best wishes.

Managing Agents

We have had a good working relationship with Graves Son and Pilcher, GSP, but we have decided that we will be better served by moving to a new Managing Agent. The board is reviewing options and Stiles Harold Williams, SHW, are the preferred choice. An orderly transition will be underway, once contracts have been agreed, and will be completed by the end of May. We are confident that we will get a better level of service from SHW at a lower cost. Serena Taylor (nee Whedbee), who many will remember from her time at GSP, would be our new property manager at SHW.

Purchase a Share of the Freehold

Originally 31 leaseholders took up the offer to purchase their share of The Van Alen Freehold.

One new leaseholder, in a flat which originally chose not to purchase their share of the Freehold has decided to purchase their share now. If you are a leaseholder but do not own a share of the Freehold you might like to consider doing so by the year end of 30th April, 2022. A share of the Freehold costs £5,960 (following a recent professional valuation for 2 bedroom flats) and, if purchased, ground rent will no longer be payable from that date onward. Please contact David Brown for more information.

Soho House Development

We had a meeting on 1st February with Tom Collins, CEO, Soho House UK. Tom told us that Soho House are going to open some of Soho Little Beach House Brighton at the end of March and progressively open more of it over the following months. We took the opportunity to tell Tom that we continue to object strongly to the windcatchers and other amendments in their recent planning application. Tom said he understood our position and would talk to the developers. We will keep you posted. You may have noticed some new scaffolding has been put up to support a temporary roof. This is to enable them to tile the upper external floors without being interrupted by the weather.

David Simpson

Long time resident, David Simpson flat 37, has left The Van Alen to move to a care home and new tenants have moved into his flat.

Beth Wardle GSP

Matthew Reeve, our property manager at GSP has left the firm and Beth Wardle will be filling the role of property manager at The Van Alen through to our move to a new Managing Agent.

Contact

[email protected]  or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.

The Van Alen Newsletter October 2021

AGM 16 November

The Van Alen Management Company Ltd and The Van Alen Freehold Ltd AGM will be held on Tuesday 16 November 2021 at 6pm via Zoom. 

Please let us know if you have any topics or issues you would like to raise.

Door entry upgrade

Many external doors are now controlled by the new small, coloured fob, but we are waiting for some additional components to be delivered to complete the job. For the moment you will need to use the old fob for those doors still to be upgraded.

The vehicle gates are unaffected. Additional new fobs are £15 each and can be purchased from GSP.

Cladding

The “Notice of Intention” letter (to owners) is currently on hold until there is more clarification on the extent, if any, of the cladding remediation works that are required.

Recycling guide for the two large recycling bins in the bin room.

Tins and cans - empty and rinsed

Aerosols - empty with lids removed

Paper, magazines and cardboard - flattened

Plastic bottles - rinsed with lids replaced

No plastic film

No plastic bags

Soho House development

Soho House recently approached the planners seeking the following amendments: To change the finish of the terrace from Portland stone to porcelain and terrazzo, removal of pergola from the scheme, to install windcatchers on the roofs of units 2-8, to add an additional gate to the western entrance to the terrace, to increase the height of the gate at the eastern entrance to the terrace, to replace metal

capping with zinc capping, to use GRP grating for

ventilation grilles, and a louvre and frost film for the plant room, to add a window and include sun pipes for units 2-5. The planners said: “Collectively, and for some elements individually, these changes would significantly alter the design and appearance of the approved development and there is also potential impact on neighbour amenity. They constitute a material amendment requiring a new full planning application.” We do not yet know how Soho House will respond.

Linescapes

There is a delightful architectural print of The Van Alen Building, in the lobby behind reception, given to us by Linescapes. Please see their website for other artworks available.

www.linescapes.co.uk

Katie Jackson GSP

Katie is a very experienced property manager and will be filling the role of assistant property manager at Van Alen. Katie works part time on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Contact

[email protected]  or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.

The Van Alen Newsletter March 2021

Render repair

The contractor Insa Rend have completed the repairs to the render on the east wall of The Van Alen Building and we are pleased with the finish they have achieved. The scaffolding will be removed shortly. They have also made good the wall where the mews house post boxes have been removed and again, the finish is excellent.

Fire Risk Assessment remedial work

We are pleased to report that the remedial work to all the fire doors in the communal areas is now complete and all the lobby doors and hallway doors now close fully from any open position and will contribute to keeping the stairs and lift lobbies smoke free in the event of a fire.

The original concealed Perkomatic door closers have had to be replaced on 19 doors with a more powerful overhead closer, but we were able to find an overhead closer that is very neat and visually blends in well with the internal design of The Van Alen Building.

Mechanical smoke seals have been fitted to the bottom of most of the communal doors. Please take care not to damage these seals when you or your contractors are moving heavy objects in and out of the building.

Flat front doors

The remaining piece of the Fire Risk Assessment remedial work is to make all flat front doors close fully from any open position. Even when the door is only a few centimetres open, the door closer must be capable of closing the door fully. In many cases this may require the concealed closer being replaced with the more powerful overhead closer. The cost of making the front doors close fully will be the responsibility of the leaseholder. We are working with our carpenter to price up the work required to achieve this for each flat and we will be contacting each leaseholder in due course.

Window and external door renewal

We received confirmation from Brighton and Hove City Council Planners in December 2016 that as The Van Alen is in the East Cliffe Conservation Area, all alterations to the fenestration and external doors on the Van Alen Building require planning permission.

Griffith Smith, our solicitors, have advised the board that as far as the lease is concerned, if the new windows and doors are visually the same as the original windows and doors, then the Directors should agree, subject to planning permission being granted, to the renewal.

The board and GSP have a specification for the glass and the frame colours to be used. The new doors and windows must be aluminium and the “sight lines” when closed must be visually the same as the original they are replacing. The new mechanism can differ from the original. If you are considering renewing your external doors or windows, then please talk to David Brown or GSP at the earliest opportunity.

Garden

The garden contractors will return in the week after Easter, after their winter break.

Contact

[email protected]  ,or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on

07887 983352. www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter December 2020

Render repair

A section of the external render, high up on the Camelford Street side of the building, had become unstable and needed removing and replacing. The removal has been completed and the area will be rerendered shortly. We have also been able to confirm that there is no insulation between the render and the brickwork, which, in terms of the on going changes to the building regulations and cladding is a good thing.

Soho House update

There were a couple of articles in the papers last week talking about Soho House. In one article, Nick Jones, the CEO of Soho House, pledged: “The long-delayed outpost in Brighton will open next summer”.

Herbs in the garden

Our gardeners have advised us not to eat any of the herbs from The Van Alen gardens. They have  pointed out that some of the plants look like familiar herbs but are not and the safe approach is not to consume any plants from the garden.

Mews house post boxes

Four new post boxes, for the mews houses, have been installed in reception and the original boxes in the Camelford Street gateway have been removed and made good.

Decking on patios and balconies

As per Matthew Reeve’s letter to all leaseholders on 30 October 2020, an area of concern for the Van Alen building is balconies which have decking that is not fire resistant. This is considered a potential fire risk. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government guidance notes state:

‘Balconies including combustible materials may not meet an appropriate standard of safety and could pose a risk to the health and safety of residents and other building users. Building owners should therefore ensure that they understand the materials used in the construction of balconies. This will enable them or their competent advisor to better understand the associated risk of external fire spread and take appropriate action to manage this risk.’

Please consult GSP before you replace or renew any decking at The Van Alen Building

Thank you to Don Mcilwain flat 18

Don was a director of The Van Alen in 2003 when there was a serious fire on a penthouse balcony.

Don has provided us with notes from that time which have been very helpful in our on going investigations into the cladding on the top storey of the building.

2003 fire damage

Contact

[email protected]  ,or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on

07887 983352.

The Van Alen Newsletter  September 2020

Seat 

The seat by the bin store has been replaced and the overgrown honeysuckle has been cut back.

New gardeners

The new garden contractors are called “Greenserve” and they visit on alternate Thursdays. When the leaves have fallen, they will be only visiting monthly until the spring.

Please talk to Kevin Bence, Flat 12, regarding any gardening issues or suggestions.

It is really good to see the garden at the top of the car park being used so much. If you are using it for exercise please, if possible, bring a mat, or use a different spot from time to time to let the grass recover.

Paula

By now many of you will have met the new Housekeeping Manager, Paula Blunden, who works from 08.00 to 11.00 Monday to Friday. To contact her for urgent issues, during her working hours at The Van Alen, please call 07745 490209.

Filming

The filming of the new Peter James drama “Dead Simple” starring John Simm, has been delayed by Covid19 but production is resuming and

The TV filming team will be on site at The Van Alen  from 7th October for about a week. They will be based within a flat in the east block and will be filming in the flat and on the balcony. They will be using another flat in the same block as a wardrobe and dressing room. The team will be operating under covid safe procedures throughout, under the very strict guidelines set by ITV.

There will be some filming in the underground car park.

The lead producer will be available to be contacted at any time during the filming to prevent any problems or inconvenience to residents.

The Van Alen Management company is receiving a site fee for the filming. This will go into the general fund held at GSP for future benefit of all at the Van Alen.

Contact email

GSP are keen to update the email contact list that they have for residents at The Van Alen. Please email the contact details you would like GSP to use to keep in touch with you, to Serena Whedbee [email protected]

Items on top of storage cages

As per the recent letter sent out by GSP regarding  items in the storage cage rooms but not in a cage ,  any such items will shortly be removed for disposal. All items in the store rooms must be in cages. If you have any possessions on top of or outside your cage please remove them.

Contact David Brown by email  [email protected] ,or pass a note to him Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       

www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter May 2020

Vehicle gate zappers

The new vehicle gate zappers went live on 30 March. The old zappers no longer work.

 Tidying up the estate

Terry, as well as cleaning duties, has been busy doing useful tasks around the estate. He has touched up the “No parking” sign on the pavers at the top of the car park and he has repainted the white edges on the steps from the underground carpark and the steps on the walkway behind the mews houses.

Fire Risk Assessment Door Testing- update

All of the lobby doors and most of the flat front doors have now been tested and most require some remedial work to be fully compliant. The cost of remedial work to the lobby doors will come out of the service charge. The cost of remedial work to flat front doors will be the responsibility of flat owners. We are getting in quotes for the remedial work and we will send full details to all flat owners in due course.

One of the remedial actions was to fit “Fire door keep shut” signs to both sides of all lobby doors. Suitable, self-adhesive, signs, on polished stainless steel, have been obtained and will be installed shortly.

Weatherproof 13 amp socket

A weatherproof 13 amp socket will be installed in the garden at the top of the above ground carpark to enable the pressure washer and other electrical equipment to be used safely in that area.

Additional CCTV cameras

An order has been placed with BrightonCCTV  to supply and install three additional CCTV cameras, one in each ground floor lobby. The work will be carried out as soon as the lockdown is over.

Lift maintenance

To date, our lifts have been serviced and maintained by Kone, the manufacturers of the lifts. We have, however, become increasingly unhappy with the poor level of service and the high costs of using Kone. We have, therefore, not renewed the contract with them and have signed a new contract with Southern Counties Lift Services which is due to commence from 1 August. They may be on site sooner to carry out work to replace the auto dialers and some of the outstanding items raised by the recent insurance inspection.

Graves Son and Pilcher

We wanted to update you on the actions GSP, our Managing Agents, have taken and their plans once the current restrictions are eased. All GSP staff were setup to allow them to work remotely from home from the first day of the lockdown, and they had worked in the days and weeks leading up to the lockdown to ensure that the IT systems could accommodate these changes. In addition, they have a rota of senior staff who attend the office each day to ensure post, cheques etc are dealt with promptly and to ensure that any residents that do not have the ability to email, can still engage with them through written correspondence. The GSP office telephones are being monitored all the time to deal with urgent messages and the direct dial numbers for all staff have been redirected to their mobiles. All of the senior management team continue to work full time to ensure the needs of clients, leaseholders and residents can be addressed promptly.

As the lockdown measures start to ease, all GSP staff are being equipped with PPE and hand sanitisers to ensure that they are able to continue with site inspections without posing a risk to themselves or any of the residents.

Contact

[email protected] ,or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on

07887 983352.       www.vanalen.info

 The Van Alen Newsletter February 2020

Vehicle Gate Zapper

As you know we are going to change the code for the vehicle gates on Camelford Street. Every property will be issued with two new gate zappers set to the new code. If you need more than two, additional zappers can be purchased from GS&P at £31.20 each. The new zappers have two buttons, the left one for the vehicle gates in Camelford Street and the right one for the gates on the underground car park. The underground car park will continue to open automatically, but the zapper will be handy for pedestrians, bicycles and motor bikes entering and leaving the underground car park. The changeover date will be Monday 30th March at midday.  Please contact Terry, the new concierge, on 07895 321076 between 8am-12noon Monday – Friday to collect your new fobs. If you live away from The Van Alen and do not have Tenants within your property, please contact Graves Son & Pilcher to make alternative arrangements.

Fire Risk Assessment Front Door Testing

The door closing mechanism on all flat front doors must close the door completely to prevent smoke from a fire getting into the stairwell. CTS tested 24 flat front doors and 27 lobby doors on 29th of January. The remaining 14 flat front doors will be tested on Tuesday 10 March. It is important that you provide access to your front door on this date. Many front doors will require remedial work, which will be paid for out of the service charge. We will keep you informed of the next steps.

New Peter James TV series

With the approval of the Management Company, an owner has agreed to let a TV production company use their flat as a location for a new Brighton based TV crime drama. entitled Grace, starring John Simm..The filming will be in April and disruption will be kept to a minimum.

Intruders

If anyone rings your front door bell in the middle of the night and you don’t recognise them through the door viewer, do not open your door and please dial 999 to report the incident.

Contact  - [email protected] or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter January 2020

We welcome our new cleaner/concierge, Terry Harding,  who will be working from 08.00 to 12.00 Monday to Friday. You can contact him during these hours on 07895 321076.

Ingrid Howard and Richard Read

It is with sadness that we have to let you know that two long term members of The Van Alen community have died since the last Newsletter .We send our condolences to both their families

Email contact list

GS&P are updating and refreshing their list of email addresses for The Van Alen residents. If you would like to be kept informed of developments at The Van Alen by email please send an email to Serena Whedbee at GS&P [email protected]

Vehicle gate zappers

As part of our continuing drive to increase the safety and security of The Van Alen we are going to change the code for the vehicle gates on Camelford Street. Every resident will be issued with two new gate zappers set to the new code. If you need more than two, additional zappers can be purchased from GS&P at £26 + VAT each. The date of the change over will be announced in due course.

Fire Risk Assessment remedial work

We are required to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment every two years and a considerable amount of work has been done to fix some issues that the most recent Fire Risk Assessment identified. An outstanding issue is the front doors to all flats. The door closing mechanism on all flat front doors must close the door completely to prevent smoke from a fire getting into the stair well.   A company called CTS will be testing all front doors on 29th January and will adjust or replace any closers that do not work properly. It is important that you provide access to your front door on this date.

Cage rooms

All flat leaseholders should have an allocated storage cage in one of the storerooms in the underground car park. A number of miscellaneous items are being stored on top of the cages or in the pump room. We will be clearing all these items at the beginning of February so, if any belong to you, please remove them by the end of January.

Lobby signs

To help visitors and the emergency services find their way around the building small signs have been fitted on the walls on each landing.

Location for a Peter James TV series

A TV production company want to use a The Van Alen flat as a location for a new Brighton based TV crime drama. Selected flat owners are being contacted.

Contact  - [email protected] ,Or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       

The Van Alen Newsletter November 2019

Camelford Street vehicle gates

We are planning to change the way the vehicle gates on Camelford Street operate, on 29 November. After that date, when you are driving out of The Van Alen, between the hours of 6.30am and 6.30 pm, the vehicle gates on Camelford Street will open automatically, like the new gates to the underground car park.  You will still need to use a zapper to enter The Van Alen from Camelford Street, at any time. During the hours of 6.30pm to 6.30am you will continue to need to use a zapper to exit The Van Alen  

We are making this change to make it easier for contractors and visitors to exit The Van Alen. and to deter people from pressing the pedestrian gate emergency break glass switch, thinking it will open the vehicle gates. We have retained the need for a zapper in the evening and night time hours to make it harder for a car to be stolen from The Van Alen.

Pedestrian gate Camelford Street

The emergency break glass switch for the pedestrian gate on Camelford Street has been repositioned and on 29 November will be upgraded, to flash and buzz when it is activated. Once the break glass switch is activated the pedestrian gate works as normal, but does not lock and can be easily pushed open by an intruder. This has enabled at least one intruder to enter the estate. If you see it flashing please let a Director or GSP know and they will reset it.

Keys

If you have not done so already, it would be very helpful if you could lodge a set of keys to your flat or mews house, with GSP to enable them to get in an emergency.

Burglar alarm

There was an incident recently concerning the burglar alarm installed in one of the flats as part of the original construction. The burglar alarm had not been used or maintained for many years, but suddenly and spontaneously went off. Not knowing the code, the flat owner had to wait, siren blaring, until it was disabled. If you still have an alarm and don’t plan on ever using it, you should consider getting Brighton CCTV 01273 782323 to decommission it, for a fee, to avoid future problems.

Underground car park gates pedestrian code

If there is ever a problem entering a block because the automatic doors have jammed closed, then an alternative way in is via the underground car park and using the lift in the basement. To do this you need the code to open the underground car park gates. We suggest you keep this code in your phone. For security reasons we don’t want to put the code in this Newsletter but David Brown 07887 983352. or any director will be happy to give it to you. The block doors can always be opened from inside by using the emergency button.

Contact  - [email protected] ,

Or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter September 2019

Terry

With great sadness we announce the death of Terry Kinsella after a short illness. Terry was the person who everybody turned to for help at The Van Alen and was known and loved by all. He knew more about The Van Alen than anyone else and we will all miss his warmth, generosity, knowledge and charm. The details of his funeral are:  2.30pm on Friday 4th October at Woodvale Cematorium Brighton. Terry requested people wearblue rather than black. Afterwards at Brighton Race Course for refreshments.

Intruder

This woman was seen acting suspiciously on The Van Alen estate at 7am on Monday 22 July. The CCTV shows her attempting to open a window to Flat 12 and it is alleged that she put her arm through the open window of Flat 1. The police are treating this as attempted burglary, they know the identity of the woman and are looking to arrest her. If you see this woman on The Van Alen please call the Police on 999.

Pedestrian gate Camelford Street

The intruder gained easy access to The Van Alen by walking through the pedestrian gate on Camelford Street which was unlocked because somebody on the previous Friday had pressed the pedestrian gate emergency open button. Once the emergency button has been pressed the pedestrian gate opens and closes normally but the magnetic lock does not work so the gate can simply be pushed open. It remains in this open state until it is reset with a special key. Please make sure your visitors know that the vehicle gates do not open automatically. That a zapper or the door entry system must be used to open them and the emergency gate open button only works the pedestrian gate and should only ever be used in an emergency and the pedestrian gate should not be pushed or pulled. We are looking into ways in which we can make the buttons and their function easier for visitors to understand.

 Lights in the walkway behind the Mews Houses

As part of our continuing drive to make The Van Alen safer, three sensor activated down lights have been installed in the walkway behind the Mews House

Large rubbish bin

Please put large items of rubbish in the Council bin on Camelford St. not in the bin store. Rubbish must be in tied rubbish bags. Never smoke in the bin store.

Treating and washing

The back wall of the building has been treated with a biocide and the pathways and above ground car park have been power washed.

The Van Alen AGM 18 November

will be held at The West Pier Centre at 6pm on Monday 18 November 2019

Contact  - [email protected] , or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen Newsletter July 2019

Door entry system

CallMe call forwarding is available for the door entry system at The Van Alen.  You need to have a CallMe device fitted in your flat or house and the CallMe app on your smart device. It can be linked to up to 4 smart devices. You also need to have an internet connection for the CallMe device to link to with WiFi.

If somebody calls your flat or house from a Van Alen door entry panel, your smartphone or tablet will notify you wherever you are in the world.  On the CallMe app you can see who is calling and you can talk to them, just as you can on the video handset in your flat or house. If you want to let them into The Van Alen, you press a button on your smart phone or tablet, which will open the main door, the pedestrian gate or block entrance doors as appropriate. You can open the vehicle gates by pressing a different button on the app. The app only works when somebody presses your flat or house number on a door entry panel at The Van Alen, You can’t simply bring up the app and then open the doors, it is a call forwarding device.

Installation is by www.doorentry.net who installed the new door entry system at The Van Alen a few months ago and the cost of CallMe is £426.00 which includes VAT. Please contact us if you would like more information.

CCTV policy

The Board has recently reviewed and approved “The Van Alen CCTV Policy” and a copy is printed on the back of this newsletter. If you have any comments or questions please contact David Brown 07887 983352

Car park bollards

Three flats have a parking space in the above ground car park rather than the underground car park. Visitors have been using these spaces and to reserve them for the flat owners we have installed folding parking bollards.

Max headroom 2.0m

We have put up a sign indicating that the maximum headroom in the underground car park is 2.0m or 6’6”

Pedestrian gate damage

The pedestrian gate motor has recently been damaged and needed replacing. We believe the damage was caused by the gate being forced. Please remind any visitors that the gate is automatic and should not be forced to open or close.

Contact  - [email protected] , or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.       www.vanalen.info

The Van Alen CCTV Policy

Data Protection

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a CCTV operator reference number ZA297321 and the next renewal date 3 December 2019.

Purpose

The purpose of The Van Alen CCTV system is to enhance the safety and security of all who live, visit and work at The Van Alen. Specifically, we want to deter intruders and if intruders do gain access to the estate and commit crimes, provide evidence to the police. We also want to be able to identify individuals involved in anti-social behaviour inside The Van Alen estate, such that appropriate action can be taken by the board.

Signage and awareness

There is a “CCTV in operation” sign in reception, a sign on the ramp to the underground park and a sign near the pedestrian gate in Camelford Street. On page 7 of the Residents’ Handbook we state:  “The Van Alen has a CCTV system and the images are recorded.” In the January 2019 The Van Alen Newsletter we stated: “The two intruders who have been seen frequently on the CCTV were arrested over Christmas.” In the March 2019 The Van Alen Newsletter, we stated: “We have had some new cameras installed to improve the quality of the images and to increase the coverage”. We included a screen shot showing the image from all 13 cameras.

Queries and complaints

Any queries and complaints regarding the CCTV system can be raised with the Chair David Brown apartment 36, tel 07887 983352.  Brighton CCTV are responsible for the technical aspects of the CCTV system. www.brightoncctv.co.uk   01273 782323

Confidentiality

Only those who attend board meetings have remote access to the CCTV. The CCTV system is treated as strictly confidential and the sharing of any information, passwords or images or information derived from an image, with anyone not on the board, without the board’s prior permission is not allowed.

Those attending board meetings are encouraged to look at the CCTV, on their smart devices, regularly to make sure that the system is functioning, the CCTV cameras are working properly, and to keep themselves familiar with how to use the system so that they can respond quickly if they see or are  informed of a suspicious incident.

Recordings

The CCTV recordings are captured and stored securely in the hard drives in the DVR in a locked cupboard in reception.

We have endeavoured to build a CCTV system with sufficient camera coverage and sufficient definition to ensure that recordings can be provided to the Police as evidence. We don’t keep recordings for longer than we need. They are automatically overwritten as the hard drives become full.

July 2019 v1

The Van Alen Newsletter May 2019

Audrey Simpson

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Audrey Simpson.  Audrey served on the board of The Van Alen Management Ltd either as Chair or in some other capacity from its inception in 2001. Her contributions to life at The Van Alen will be missed by all.

Residents’ Handbook April 2019

We have updated the Residents’ Handbook and a copy has been placed in each post box. Additional copies are available in reception and on-line

Bike storage

Bikes must not be fixed to the rain water pipes.or anywhere on the footpaths They should be stored in the underground car park.

Gas boiler upgrade

Steve and Vicki in Flat 13 have had their original Powermax Gas Boiler changed for a new high efficiency condensing gas boiler. If you are thinking of changing your gas boiler please let us know and we can explain what Steve and Vicki have had done.

18 Tonne weight limit

We all know that our above ground car park is in fact the roof of our underground car park but you may not know that it is subject to a weight limit. Visiting trucks may also not realise this and the new sign is to indicate no entry for vehicles with more than 2 axles weighing more than 18 tonnes.

New look for our concierge

Our Sunshine cleaner/concierge has a smart new outfit. The blue top and a name badge are key features of the new look as modelled by Honza

Contact and Feedback

Contact us - [email protected] , or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.      

The Van Alen Newsletter - Special edition March 2019

New gates on the underground car park

A set of automatic gates have been installed in the entrance to the underground car park. This will make it very difficult for unauthorised pedestrians to gain access to the underground car park. The new gates will become operational on Friday 15 March.

A sensor wire has been installed in the ramp on both sides of the gate. As you approach the gates in a car and drive over the sensor wire the gates will open automatically and will close automatically behind you.

As the ramp is one of the fire escape exits from the underground car park there is a manual override button located at the bottom of the ramp. If you press this button the gates will open to let you out.  You can also use this button to exit via the ramp on foot.  The gates will automatically close behind you.

If you want to enter the underground car park on foot or possibly on a bike or motor bike, should they fail to trigger the sensor wire, there is a key pad on the right hand gate post.  Please enter the four digit code followed by “enter” to open the gates. Again, they will automatically close behind you.

The code number which must be kept confidential, can be requested by email or by calling, David Brown on 07887 983352 or from any director.

Contact and Feedback

 Contact us - [email protected] ,

or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36,

or give him a call on 07887 983352.

The Van Alen Newsletter March 2019

CCTV update

We have had some new cameras installed to improve the quality of the images and to increase the coverage. This is the coverage we now have.

Vehicle gates in Camelford Street.

The vehicle gates in Camelford street can now be opened from the door entry handset in each flat or mews house with 3 pushes of the button with one dot (circled as 5 below). We suggest allowing a small gap between each pressing and the receiver can be on the hook.

Button, 1 second, button, 1 second, button

New pier caps

We have had no reports of intruders since the two “frequent offenders” were arrested over Christmas, but we continue to make our site less attractive to unwanted visitors. It was clear that the flat pier caps on the Camelford Street entrance were particularly easy to climb to get into the site. We have changed them to pyramid shaped ones which should be more difficult to climb over.

Additional gates on underground car park

The installation of the gates will begin on Tuesday 5th March and the work will take 2 - 3 days. Access to the underground car park may be slowed for a while but residents will be able to come and go easily.

Canopy over the front door

M Marchant Roofing plan to be on-site to remove and replace the lead on the canopy over the front door on Marine Parade, on Monday 4th March, weather permitting. The work should only take one day. The front entrance can still be used while the work is being done.

Contact and Feedback

Contact us - [email protected] , or pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.

The Van Alen Newsletter January 2019

Intruders update

The two intruders who we have seen frequently on our CCTV were arrested over Christmas. One was subsequently released, pending further investigations: The other was out of prison on licence, which was then revoked. He is now serving the remainder of his sentence. We understand that he will be charged with various offences, including stealing bikes from The Van Alen, in due course.  We should remain vigilant and if you see any intruders, the Police request that we do not confront them but dial 999 immediately.

Blocked drains

After the serious blockage at the bottom of the middle block recently, resulting in sewage coming up into the shower and bath of a ground floor flat, please do not flush anything other than toilet paper and FLUSHABLE wipes. Face wipes are NOT flushable, as indicated on the packaging. Cotton buds are a definite NO as the stick is often plastic and jams the drains.  

Boiler flues

To facilitate replacing the original PowerMax gas boilers for a modern, energy efficient gas Combi Boiler, the Directors have decided to allow, subject to written approval, flat owners to install new boiler flues on the front and rear elevations of the building, using when possible one of the existing flue exit positions.

 Large rubbish bin

Please put large items of rubbish in the Council  bin on Camelford St. All domestic rubbish should be in tied rubbish bags before being placed in The Van Alen bins. Never smoke in the bin store.

 Have your say about the Pride Village Party

https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/life-events-and-communities/community-and-voluntary-sector-support/pride-village-party

Additional gates on underground car park

In the light of problems with the intruders, the Board have taken the decision to have a set of automatic gates installed at the entrance to the underground car park. The installation of the gates will begin before the end of January

 Marine Parade garden

The garden between The Van Alen and the New Madeira Hotel has been replanted with Hebe plants.

Snail

The snail in the garden is a gift from Mark Powney, Flat 16.  Please don’t climb on the snail.

Contact and Feedback

To view minutes of board meetings or raise an issue, please contact us - [email protected] , pass a note to David Brown, Flat 36, or give him a call on 07887 983352.  We have had reports that some people can only access one of the two Sky TV satellite feeds.  Please report any issues as above.

 The Van Alen Newsletter November 2018

The Van Alen Newsletter September 2018

 The Van Alen Newsletter July 2018

The Van Alen Newsletter May 2018

The Van Alen Newsletter April 2018

The Van Alen Newsletter March 2018