February 2025
Dear Cornwall Gardens Key Holder and/or Resident
We hope you had an enjoyable festive season and looking forward to what 2025 has in store. After weeks and weeks of damp, cold and cloudy weather inhibiting plant growth and holding back an early show of Spring bulbs, we are promised sunshine and warmer conditions from this week. This will give the Gardens a much needed boost.
MINUTES OF THE CORNWALL GARDENS COMMITTEE AND RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION AGM AT ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH HALL 15 JANUARY 2025
These are here and have been accepted by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) enabling them to release garden funds for 2025/26. Thank you to everyone who attended or otherwise participated, especially our guests, Cllrs Sam Mackover and Roberto Weeden-Sanz and the Chair of the Queen’s Gate Police Liaison Panel, Andrew Wylie. We are also grateful to South Kensington and Queen’s Gate Residents Association for lending their speaker equipment for the occasion.
KEY HOLDERS PRIVATE EVENTS IN THE GARDENS
Following the above AGM, the booking procedures, fees, guidance notes and rules have been updated and are attached. Please use this form if you wish to host a private event in the Gardens and/or you wish to use Garden equipment for the occasion.
TREE SURVEY AND REPORT
Our new Tree Consultant, Keith Macgregor, completed the regular survey of all the trees in the Gardens on 5 and 6 February 2025. Overall, Keith commented the tree stock was in good condition but with some problem areas, notably, the ageing metal braces between some of the limbs of some heritage trees. His written report is awaited along with recommendations. The Tree Report will be shared with residents for their views prior to any application being submitted to RBKC. Insurers and Lenders are becoming increasingly interested in the risks posed by large trees given the frequency of more extreme weather and you may be asked by your insurers to supply a copy of the Tree Report to demonstrate appropriate care is being taken to manage those risks.
Related to this issue is the desire by some residents to plant more flowering trees such as a Mimosa to replace the one that was lost opposite 70 CG and a Lilac in the north-west corner of Central following storm damage. Other residents have requested safety pruning of the heritage trees, aesthetic pruning of overgrown shrubs and/or removal of New Zealand Pines on the basis they are an eyesore or out of place. These matters will be covered in the Report, so you will see what is proposed.
GARDEN IMPROVEMENT PLAN UPDATE
David Ashton, our Gardener, has been preparing the soil in the Mound and Eastern Border in Central for the new planting presented to the AGM and elsewhere by Carola Enrich, a member of the Gardens Management Sub Committee. You may have noticed the area has been barriered off to enable these works, and the planting, to take place over the coming weeks.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Open Gardens Weekend, 7 and 8 June 2025
The Open Gardens Weekend, organised by The London Gardens Trust, will take place on 7 and 8 June 2025. Cornwall Gardens will be open to members of the paying public on Saturday, 7 June 2025 from 10 am to 5 pm to enjoy the Central Garden and refreshments whilst listening to light music performed by a jazz band. Key holders and Cornwall Gardens Residents are admitted free of charge.
The Taming of the Shrew, Cornwall Gardens, 25 June 2025 at 7 pm
Priority Booking Period and Early Bird Ticket Rate
We are delighted to confirm the return of Shakespeare in the Squares to Cornwall Gardens this year with The Taming of the Shrew.
The production will take place on Wednesday, 25 June 2025. The performance will begin at 7 pm and the Gardens will be open for picnics from 5.30 pm.
Tickets are on sale for a priority period exclusively for Key Holders and Residents from now until 26 February when they will become more widely available. You will be able to take advantage of the early bird adult ticket rate, which runs until 21 April.
You can buy tickets during the priority booking period via Eventbrite by following this link:
https://SITS-shrew-cornwall.eventbrite.co.uk
Summer Garden Party, Cornwall Gardens, 10 July 2025
We are pleased to welcome back Toby Brown of tlc to host a Summer Garden Party of Pimms, picnics and live music for Key Holders and Residents in the Central Garden for the evening of Thursday, 10 July 2025.
RBKC CONSULTATION ON CAR PARKING PERMITS
Please see this letter from Cllr Kemahli, Lead Member for Planning and Public Realm for RBKC, also with more information in the following link https://consult.rbkc.gov.uk/communities/residents-permits-eligibility/. Your views are being sought about extending the residents’ parking permit scheme to allow second home owners in RBKC to buy parking permits. The deadline for submission of your views is Sunday, 23 February 2025 using trafficorders@rbks.gov.uk
Cllr Kemahli is seeking residents' views on allowing up to 2,000 second home-owners across the Borough to purchase parking permits. There are almost 4,000 parking spaces in our local wards (Queen’s Gate and Courtfield) but only 2,600 are currently occupied (weekdays, overnight).
Cllr Kemahli believes the proposal should not create undue pressure on existing space.
A number of residents, including individual management committee members of the Cornwall Gardens Residents Association (CGRA), have voiced concerns and suggest there are better ways to use the available bays for the benefit of all, for example, providing additional secure, safer and/or better bicycle and scooter parking and storage. They have also suggested an alternative instead (which is supported by the Kensington Society), namely, that residents should be able to purchase packs of ‘Visitor Permits’, each valid for a single day, that could be used for visiting family, friends and tradespersons in their locality. This is already the practice in other Boroughs.
More information may be obtained by contacting trafficorders@rbkc.gov.uk or by phoning Chris Eales on 020 7361 2553 quoting reference “Extending Residents’ Permit Eligibility”.
BUILDING REPRESENTATIVES MEETING, 30 APRIL 2025 AT 6 PM IN FLAT 1, 74 CORNWALL GARDENS, SW7 4BA
The Chairman (John Varley) and Secretary (Alan Lester) of CGRA will be emailing members of the Building Representatives Group shortly, inviting them to attend a Group Meeting on Wednesday, 30 April 2025 at 6 pm in Flat 1, 74 Cornwall Gardens to make further progress on common issues of concern regarding the management of buildings, streets and services. We also aim to appoint more building representatives so that as many buildings as possible are included. If you are a Building Representative or would like to become one, please put this date in your diary and contact Alan Lester below for more information. We are particularly keen to compare and contrast buildings insurance premiums and the level of cover on offer as we are aware there is a wide disparity between buildings of a similar type and size. Managing Agents, leasehold and rent reform, short lets, building safety, fly-tipping and rubbish collections continue to excite a lot of concern too; all of which require some sort of action to resolve or improve.
BEREAVEMENT
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Dr Eric Munro of 14 Cornwall Gardens on 4 February 2025 at the age of 78 after a short illness at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in the presence of his Wife, Yoko Okamura, and close members of his Family. Many of you will remember Eric with great affection and gratitude for all the many years of service he provided to the Garden Committee across a whole range of formal management duties and activities, and also for the fun social events he organised, such as the wonderful Salsa galas in the Gardens.
Eric’s funeral will take place on Friday, 28 February 2025 at 2.30 pm in Christ Church, Victoria Road, Kensington, London W8 5RQ (located behind Cornwall Gardens on the north side).
Our deepest condolences go out to Yoko, who had been a huge support and comfort to him, and all those who were close to Eric.
Best,
John Varley
Chairman, Cornwall Gardens Committee & Residents Association
07775 552050
Alan Lester
Secretary, Cornwall Gardens Committee & Residents Association
07816 324335
