Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
Martlett Court Co-operative
The Martlett Court Estate is situated behind the Bow Street Magistrates Court and police station and is held within the boundaries of Broad Court, Drury Lane and Crown Court.
It is a small estate, comprising 3 blocks, Fletcher, Beaumont and Sheridan buildings. There are 125 flats on the estate and the residents represent a mixture of Westminster tenants, lessees and sub-lessees.
The estate is managed by a Tenant Management Organisation composed of residents and this was set up in 1991. We are fortunate to have a committed core of residents on the management committee.
Over the last year there have been many developments on the estate some of which are outlined in the following.
Our relationship with Westminster City Council has improved in that there is a closer dialogue between us and the council on many issues that affect the estate.
With regard to the running of the estate, we are currently in the process of hiring our own Co-ordinator. This is currently achieved by a property management company. However, we have found the level of service to be unsatisfactory and the cost for the service we are getting too high. We hope that when we get our own co-ordinator, the level of service we provide to our residents will improve dramatically.
Over the last year we have spent money improving the courtyards on the estate and this will continue. Further, we have just started the development of a garden area which is currently a disused playground. It is hoped that this development will improve and benefit the estate and the local area as a whole.
Recently, the estate has been used for the filming of a pilot episode of "Mirrorball" starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. If the pilot is successful then there will be further filming on the estate, which will earn the estate facilitation fees which will be used for the benefit of all the residents.
Of concern to the residents has been the proposed development of the Bow Street Police Station. The residents have been in dialogue with the developer. Help, support and advice has come from the Covent Garden Community Association, for which we are grateful.
There is so much more that can be said. The main message that I would like to get across is that the estate is flourishing and continues to develop, and in a positive direction.
Franco Tacconelli, Chair
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