Thursday 8 October 2009

Meet the Olympic Suits - Take 2


Right - we all well remember the humungous doo-dah last time we tried to get together with the Community Relations team from the Olympics - don't we?!

Please be nice Leabank Square!

I DO NOT want to censor any residents comments again. I DO NOT want any visits from the police again. I DO NOT want any letters from lawyers again. I DO NOT want to have to explain to you why I took your comments down. I would rather you took all your concerns to this meeting.

Tracie has organised another meeting with the suits from the construction companies opposite, along with their Community Relations team - with a packed agenda. You should all shortly be receiving the flyer through your post slot - but in the meantime - here is the email version currently being circulated.

Please - PLEASE do come to the meeting. This is the only way we are going to get things off our chests. Tracie has provided an email address for those of you who can't make the meeting as well - so make sure to send her any queries you may have in your absence. She is a real trooper - she is definitely on our side - and she will definitely get answers for you!


Dear Leabank Square Resident

You may already know that the Leabank Square Community Association has been talking the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) about what they do and how we can work together for a better Leabank Square.

As the ODA are probably our closest neighbour and are responsible for the development of the 2012 site it is important to them that they are good neighbours. There have been some well reported newspaper articles which have left some unanswered questions about the site and it would be good to have the opportunity to talk about these with the people who really know.

We have arranged a meeting for all of us to meet with the ODA, contractors and developers on WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER AT 7.30PM. This will take place at the Hackney Wick Community Centre (The Old Baths). There will be refreshments.

There will be an opportunity to hear the ODA talk about being a good neighbour and covering the recent media articles as well as hear from the Contractors what the next three months will look like for us and them.

There will be an opportunity to discuss some of the issues which we have as residents, see what is being done and planned around these and to discuss opportunities coming up such as family days and other ways which we might be able to improve the square in areas such as the riverbank, gardens, car parking and front gates.

Please do come along and meet people, find out what the future holds for the Square and have your say.

If you are unable to attend, have access issues or would like to be involved without attending, please either call Tracie on 07525923750 or email tracietrimmer@hotmail.com.

Look forward to seeing you then.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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Matt said...

Hi Sóna, I hope they are going to get Ban Ki-moon to cahir this meeting! That is an awful lot of agenda they set! All this in an evening? Sounds like an all-nighter to me. Hope to see you there.
Matt

Ms Pink said...

Stop right there Tiger! Since when did we ask you to give the role of Chief-Olympic-Pitbull to anyone else in the square? Seriously Sóna, did I miss an email? Have you really handed over to someone else?
I'm sure they're just as capable, but none of us have even heard of her. Has she just moved into the blocks?
Please tell me that you've fully briefed her when you handed over.
So what do we do about the secure channel now. Has she got the password as well?
Sóna, I know a bit of what you went through a few months ago, and completely understand your stepping down from a few local boards, but we need you to still be the pitbul here. Would you reconsider?
Call me.
Ms Pink

Anonymous said...
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TaggerX said...

Sóna, just seen the thread on lunch-break, we WILL talk later, but please don't hand over until you've spoken to the rest of us.
TaggerX

Su said...

Here we go again Sóna. They were supposed to be supplying us with these 3 month reports - from a year ago! So why - all of a sudden should we believe that this time they are serious? Before you pull this comment in case you get sued (geddit?) - I am not calling them liars again - just VERY economic with the truth!
Su

Olympic Truth Detective said...
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Paul said...

Sóna, I'm not entirely clear what this meeting is about. In one part you are saying we can chat to the ODA about issues, then you go on to the gates & gardens. Are there 2 seperate meetings here, or are the ODA also going to take over the management of the square? You really ought to make yourself clearer.
Paul

Block 1-18 residents said...
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Tony said...

Hey Paul I missed the gardens part. What do the gardens have to do with the olympics? Since when are they going to get involved with the canalside? Sounds like they want to homogenize the whole canal opposite the press centre. First Wick Village, then Gainsborough, only us left to sort out and make look corporate enough for visiting journos?
And who gave them permission to do taht anyway?
Somethings fishy and it aint the carp I can tell you.
Tony

Mohammed said...

Thanks for the call Tone. What about all the designs and work the kids have put in up there? This exact thing happend next door. They came in during the school hols and changed the steps and picnic area without consulting any of us, and now we're having a fight with them lot at wick about who the area belongs to. Why do they want to get hold of the whole canal tow-path. Is this that land grab Shona was telling us about, the tow path thing? Mo

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d said...
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Yusuf said...

They better fix up the car park. Have you seen what they done to the white lines? Soon we not gonna know where to park no more.
Yusuf

Pete said...

Sona, are you selling us out? What next, macdonalds signs on benches? coca cola sponsoring some raised beds? Whats going on man?
Pete

Mary said...

I won't be here next week so I'll email YOU my questions. Never heard of Tracie, but we all agreed that YOU would be our conductor of all things Olympic. Don't pass the buck Sóna.
Mary

Matt2 said...

I'm with Mary. We voted you into the role of Olympic Bulldog, and you HAVE to continue giving them hell when they mess up Sóna. To change Bulldog now would mean losing all our history.
Matt2

Ms Scarletttttt said...
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Maria said...

Hey Sóna
How come these leaflets you guys handed out are so tiny? Does it say the same thing as what you wrote up here? Please print the leaflets a LOT larger next time.
Maria

Anonymous said...
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Debbie said...

Shona, when were we consulted about the date for this meeting? I remember you asking us for the better date, but after the legal Ruck, I must have missed the date discussion in amongst the gazillion other emails flying around. Sorry, I can't make this one, but will email you a list of questions in a day or two. Give them hell on my behalf.
Debs

Paul said...

Hi Sóna
Thanks for the leaflet, sorry I was in such a rush!
Lets hear them out. Its been a while since we've heard them speak/recieved a newsletter/had anything positive from the ODA, that just maybe they have changed their spots.
I will try and change shifts in order to make it. Why such short notice?!? If not, I'll email you some of my questions as well.
Paul (the other one)

Anonymous said...
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Nick said...

Hey Sóna, will someone at this meeting please remind the ODA that the forum for discussing 'issues' relating to the construction site is still through you. We nominated YOU to represent us in all aspects of discussions to do with the ODA. Just because they can't read the secure comms we have does NOT mean that we are not discussing them. We all saw what happens with the actual stuff they CAN read. If they saw what we actually say about individuals we would the rest of our lives in court!
Sóna, like it or not (shut up!), you took the role on, and have achieved real results with the ODA, HC, both Mayors, and now the Legacy Company. This is exactly why we put you in this position.
Sure we will come to some of the meetings (only the ones with a lot more notice please ODA!), but just as they use the meetings to tick boxes, so do we use you to collate ALL the concerns we have with them.
Nick

Su said...

Nadira and Sóna
Hi. How are we supposed to 'already know' that they have been talking to the ODA? The LSCA is the most secretive group in Leabank Square. I think I once had an unreadable flyer from them - same size font as the meeting flyer! - but other than that - nothing.
At least the Family Mosaic group has open monthly meetings. But - even though only half the residences have a computer - this blog has by far the most democratic means of spreading & gathering info from us.
I'm sure these LSCA peeps are absolutely lovely, but definetly not democratic. Who voted for them? Who are they? Why don't we know when they meet? How come we don't know what they discuss? Why don't we get any minutes? Come on LSCA peeps, come out of the shadows.
Su

The Real LSCA said...
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Geoffrey said...

Sóna I have just got back for the weekend. Thanks for the leaflet. You know, this is exactly why we don't have meetings anymore! You have set another completely unrealistic agenda mate. How are we possibly going to get through all this in 1½ hours?
And anyway, when did all this other nonsense of gardens and car-parks come into the scheme of things? No offence, but we will have too many construction issues to deal with as major priorities before any fluff about flowers and gates. What has any of this got to do with the ODA anyway?!
Surely these are things we should be discussing at Reals meetings and up here on the blog? This is going to be one very interresting meeting. Good Luck Mate!
Jeff

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Keesha said...

Jeff you have a good point Know what I mean. We want to find out all the ansas to the questions we were going to ask us before they sued us. They are still left hanging in the air from then. The white lines and stuff is for the pre-menstrual lot to sort out, not the olympics. Why is sona waisting time talking about them at the meeting? There are still very important things we need discussing.
Keehsa

M said...

Who are this lsca? Is this the management company for the flats? Why are they so cosy with the olympics then? Are they getting free stuff from the olympics and then over charging us on our service charge? I will deffo be at this meeting to ask about the service charge. Anyone coming to shout with me?
M

Liz said...

Anyone got a magnifying glass? Sóna how come your flyers are getting smaller every time? I hope the gardening newsletter is going to be bigger, like you used to do them 'member? Please please make em bigger, I really can't read this latest one.
Liz

Tim said...

So they're pulling the old 3 month trick out again huh? Do they honestly think we'll believe them THIS time? Seems like they make stupid promises every time we get lary, then completely forget about them after the meeting. Are these lies? Sóna, this is all 'aledgedly' before you go pulling my comments again, okay?
Tim

Michael said...

Sóna, when did we give you the go-ahead to go and chat to the ODA about gates and car-parks? Your mandate stops at sorting out noise, dust and disruption to the 3 blocks. Why have you lot gone behind our backs to get all cozy with the very people making our lives such a misery? We need to talk.
Mick

Anonymous said...
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Dirk said...

Sona. Since when have the ODA become our management company? Looks like they're very interrested in a whole lot more than just (not) answerring a 'hotline'.
And why were the rest of us not consulted before you went chatting to them about all this?
Dirk

Matt said...

Hi Sóna
I hope you got the emails. Sorry I won't be there. Please do them in order of priority in case they shut you up again.
Matt

Anonymous said...
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Maria said...

Sóna, I will be on duty on the night, so please ask the questions for the 2 of us. Sorry, but I just don't trust Tracy to act as chair and fairly represent Leabank Square.
Maria

Anonymous said...
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Stacey said...

Sóna you really are piss-poor at getting back to people know what I mean? Did you get my list of questions on the secure comms? If not I will re-send them.
Stacey

Kimmy said...

Hello Sóna. Weren't the ODA going to do that 3 month in advance notification thing over a year ago? They promised that 'there would be no surprises' coming our way, by always letting us know what was coming at least 3 in advance.
Seems like they're re-promising it again. You know what I'd like to say don't you. But you will only pull my comment again won't you?
Kimmy

Anonymous said...
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Pete said...

Sona thanks for the update, i speed-read it, so will give you a better response at the weekend, Pete