To all residents of Montpelier Square:
Please join us
for a convivial evening of drinks, nibbles and conversation
on
Thursday, 5th July
6:30 – 8:00pm
We will be dedicating a plaque beneath the newly planted jubilee tree.
Please RSVP to
Results of 2012 Lighting Poll
The results are in! We had asked how many residents supported applying for planning permission for the night-time light of the trees and, of those who voted, 80% voted yes.
We received 16 replies in total: 13 in favour, 3 against. We also had one reply that had a comment but no vote.
We have about 50 houses on the Square but about 10 are empty or being refurbished. 16 replies out of 40 isn’t too bad and we’re pleased that the voting went in favour of the proposal to keep the lights and make the planning application.
The forms will be submitted to Westminster City Council next week.
2012 AGM
Our annual residents meeting was held on 26th March at the Montpeliano restaurant, with light refreshments being provided.
Highlights:
- Next year’s precept will be £32,500
- Thames Water hosepipe ban begins on 6th April. We will investigate digging a borehole for irrigation water.
- Tree pruning continues in rotation. This year: the bay tree at the SW corner.
- The garden committee remains unchanged for 2012/13
- New Byelaws have received court approval
- Planning permission will be sought for the existing lighting installation
Next year’s meeting will be in March 2013.
Attached: AGM Minutes 26.3.12
Byelaws Updated
At the AGM last year we voted to update our Byelaws as the old version dates from 1959 and is showing its age.
The version of the new Byelaws that was voted on and has now been approved by a Crown Court, with the help of Pemberton Greenish, solicitors. His Honour judge Nicholas Price QC has reviewed and confirmed them as being in accordance with the Act of 1863 which governs our square garden.
Download a signed copy today!
Archive Hour
I recently came into possession of our ‘archives’ : three large cardboard boxes with the name of a well known legal firm emblazoned on the side. At first I viewed it as a burden but when I opened them and began to read I was delighted by the stories they tell.
The Montpelier Square Garden Committee was founded sometime after the Garden Square Act of 1863… our earliest document dates from 1867. We have an almost unbroken line of minutes and reports from that dim past to today. Covered in spidery handwriting for the most part and difficult to read, the original minutes book is now cushioned by acid-free tissue and only emerges on special occasions.
The archives are important because they show us how valuable the Square Garden was to the earlier residents, helping us to understand where the garden has come from and what it could become. We can see how things have changed and how the same concerns (noise, litter, garden design) arise again and again and how the earlier people handled them.
I want the archives to be more readily available to those who are interested in them so I have begun to scan the documents and you can find them online at
Annual Residents Meeting
This years Annual Residents Meeting will be held on
26th March at 6:30pm
at The Montpeliano Restaurant, 1st Floor
All residents are invited to attend. Some light refreshments will be served.
The Montpelier Square Garden Committee manages the square garden on behalf of the residents. According to the rules we operate under there can be no less than three and no more than nine committee members at any one time. If more than nine nominations are received then a written poll will be conducted.
If you would like to join the committee for the 2012/13 year then please use the form attached below to nominate yourself for election. The nomination deadline is March 12th. Please return completed forms to Number 8.
CommitteeMemberNominationForm (PDF)
These are the minutes of last year’s meeting:
ARM_2011 (PDF)
Montpelier Square Fire
On Thursday last, Feb 16th, a fire broke out in No.7 Montpelier Square.
The property was badly damaged but thankfully no-one was injured.
Twenty firefighters were on hand to tackle the blaze which took almost two hours to get under control. Their prompt efforts are to be applauded as the fire was contained and no damage occurred to the adjoining houses.
Someone posted a youtube video…
Annual Precept Charge
The precept charge for 2012/2013 will be £604.50 per house. The total charge is £28,000. This is a fall of 20% compared to the charge for the current year.
Uniquely in the borough of Westminster, our precept charge is added to the council tax demands sent to each house on the Square. (We are our own line-item in the annual accounts of the city council.) Westminster is thus responsible for collecting our annual maintenance fees. This may be very convenient but we pay a charge of 4% for this service because they assume a collection rate of 96%.
Most houses on the square are in Council Tax Band H (the highest) and these houses will pay £634.50 next year. Houses in lower bands or carrying partial or complete exemptions will pay correspondingly less. The consequence of these exemptions is that although there are 52 properties on the square (48 in Band H, 3 in band G and 1 in Band D) the effective costing approximates to 45 houses.
Great Turnout at Christmas Carols Party
We had a great evening last Monday at our annual Christmas Carol party. The relatively mild weather led to a strong turnout and no doubt even more were encouraged to drop in when the Salvation Army Band struck up at 6:45. A crowd of at least fifty enjoyed the mince pies and excellent mulled wine.
Our carol singing efforts, somewhat paltry in previous years, were lifted by the presence of a dozen or more soldiers from the Blues and Royals stationed at Hyde Park Barracks. All our thanks go to Captain Alex Owen and his men without whom the Salvation Army Band might have been on their own, musically speaking. All they asked in return was a little mulled wine to keep away the cold.
Continue reading Great Turnout at Christmas Carols Party
Autumn Colour in Montpelier Square
