The reality of living on City Island does not live up to expectations. Ballymore promoted the Island as a “destination of extraordinary culture” yet the major art gallery which brightened up Botanic Square with its wonderful exhibits, is to be replaced with yet another gym. Apart from the delightful Lighthouse Gallery and the striking clothing store, Lyle street is a lifeless thoroughfare used liberally by fast food drivers. The ENB corridor, rather than being a showcase for the Ballet is just a vacant, sterile expanse.
Picnicing in Botanic Square means constantly being on the lookout for uncontrolled dogs (who also overrun the children’s play areas), speeding cyclists and fast food delivery drivers. Although promoted as a pedestrian-friendly development, cylists, illegal e-scooter riders and even motorbokes constantly ignore the pedestrians only notice and prsent an extremely dangerous hazard for children, older and disabled residents.
Rather than being a “thriving square” Hopewell Square is a desolate concrete expanse populated with dead trees and caravan park benches used by non-residents as a drinking place. The setting is anything but “magical”.
The Clubhouse might once have been an “elegant, stylish place to meet with friends” but in reality it is just one big home office. People slob around with dirty shoes on the sofas and tables, leaving a trail of empty cans, coffee cups and food containers. Furnishings are tired and grubby, games are broken and lying in pieces on the shelves, plants are dying and soft furnishings and decorative items disappear with alarming regularity. Smaller foyers, such as in Java, are bereft of any decoration and look spartan and unwelcoming.
In an apparent slap in the face to residents affected by the current electricity price rises, Ballymore leaves all the GLH pool lighting ablaze in the sunlight, ticking onto the service charges. I would like to see revenue be directed at the basics rather than vanity projects.
The Island Grocer, such a great initiative when Il Bianco occupied the space, was swept out with no consultation with residents to give way to replacement operators who failed to engage with their customer base.
Safety mechanisms put in place (speed limits/pedestrian only zones) are constantly ignored and are not monitored. Security needs to be more of a presence: would like to see patrolling officers, not just their empty golf cart.
On a brighter note, the Lockdown Room is a great social space and the operator friendly and generous. Residents orgainse social events and events to raise money for charity and are active in attempting to beautify the immediate area. There is a residents lending library. Concierge service is mostly excellent as is the Post Room service. The riverside spaces and gardens are well tended but much needs to be done to raise the Island to the standard presented in the advertising and glossy LCI coffee table book.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Good aspects: Proximity to Canary Wharf shopping, River and East India Basin. Reasonable transport links via bus and East india DLR, although Canning Town Station is overloaded (both Tube and DLR). Proximity to City Airport.
Poor aspects: lack of restaurants, shops and green spaces in the immediate area / grounds of LCI, litter problems, anti-social behaviour in some areas including on City Island.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Some residents have scant regard for their neighbours and can be excessively noisy and disrespectful of the common areas.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
As Managing Agents, Ballymore are slow to react to owners and residents concerns; sometimes ignoring them completely. More often than not, when residents raise an issue BAML refuse to communicate. With Ballymore being both a freeholder and manager, it is difficult to obtain any satisfaction when issues arise.
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