Development: Barrier Point (252 Apartments built by Barratt Homes)
Property Management: Urang Property Management Limited
Address: 196 New Kings Road, London, SW6 4NF
www.urang.co.uk
020 7751 8355
Concierge: The concierge is onsite daily from 7am to 8pm Mon-Fri and from 9am to 1pm on Sat-Sun. Call 02075113615 or 07912993946 or 07912993947
Location: Barrier Point Road, Silvertown, Newham, London, E16 2SB, UK
(off New Woolwich Road A1020)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/18fp
DLR Station: Pontoon Dock [100m East]
Nearest Tube and Rail Station: Canning Town on the Jubilee Line [1.5miles] connection to DLR
Nearest Airport: London City Airport [1mile East]
Nearest GP Doctor / Surgery: Click Here for a list of nearby doctors. Make sure they are in E16 as the list also contains doctors south of the river and you are unlikely to want that.
Nearest Hospital with Emergency: Click Here for the hospital list. Once again make sure they are located in E16 as they could be south of the river which takes longer to get too.
Closest Accident and Emergency is: Newham General Hospital. Glen Road, Plaistow, E13 8SL, 02074764000 - 1.6 miles away - Ample Parking - Map
Nearest Postbox: Pontoon Dock DLR stop on the road side [100m East]
Nearest Petrol Station: You have quite a few good options to choose from..
1: BP Silvertown -Basic Shop [500m West]
2: Esso and On the Run Shop with Free Cash Point/Car Wash http://goo.gl/maps/f3jS [650m East]
3: Esso and On the Run Shop with Cash Point/Car Wash http://goo.gl/maps/Mtca [1.8miles West]
Gym: Located in the basement of Tower 1 - A very small and simple gym with no view. Open 6am to 11pm - All week. Max 2 Visitors.
Noise Complaints: Residents are expected to be quite from 11pm to 9am. This includes TV, Sound Systems and Parties apparently. The Newham Council Noise Disturbance number is 02084722000
Balconies: Cannot be used to hang washing, window boxes, have BBQ's or install satellite dishes.
Refuse Removal: Please put refuse into bags and deposit in the basement bin stores. Large items or furniture must be removed by Newham Council by calling 02084302000 who will do so for FREE.
Pets: Generally not allowed. Permission can be obtained by writing to OM Property Management. However if anyone complains you will have to remove your pets from the building.
Access and Parking: Fob/keypad controlled gated access with available guest parking.
Local Area: Barrier Point is located very near the Thames River barrier and only 2 miles to the east of Canary Wharf. It has Royal Victoria Docks just north of the development and Thames Barrier Park to the East. Many of the apartments have direct river views or a good view of the park. The development is in a safe zone (no through traffic) and appears to be fairly crime free most of the time (cars are occasionally broken into). Most of the residents seem to be professionals and good neighbours.
Food Shopping: The best options are - Waitrose in Canary Wharf or Tesco's in Beckton. Alternatively you can order online from Ocado.
The Apartments: A typical Barratt development which is fairly well thought out. Most of the apartments are a good size and typically have a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom configuration with a good sized balcony. All internal fittings and fixtures are of good quality standards. Sound proofing between neighbours and floors is better than most modern developments. External noise is also minimal with no through traffic and a park on the East side. The kitchens are a fair size and generally have a washing machine, full fridge and dishwasher. Bedrooms are big compared to other developments often with the master bedroom having en-suite (bath/shower configuration). All properties have gas central heating with good quality radiators.
Thames Barrier Park: A fair sized park area that is well maintained and safe to visit. Located on the East side of the complex you will need to find the entrance at the base of the Pontoon Dock DLR station rather than the river side of Barrier Point road as it appears public right of way has been restricted for some reason.
The park has a nice cake/coffee/snack/soup/ice cream shop with inside and outside seating that charges about £0.65p for a coke and £1.60 for coffee. Toilet facilities are in the shop. You can cycle in the park on the paths and dogs must be kept under control. A small playground with swings etc is located on the SE side. The park is open daily from 7am including holidays but closes as follows: Jan 445pm, Feb 530pm, March 630pm to730pmBST, April 8pm, May 845pm, June 915pm, July 9pm, Aug 830pm, Sept 715pm, Oct 615pmBST to 545pm, Nov 445pm, Dec 430pm.
Park security is available on 07715840389, Park Office 02074763741, Post Code: E16 2HP, Website: www.thamesbarrierpark.org.uk
The following is a list of issues residents have once they have moved in:
Internet: Super High Speed Internet Provided by HyperOptic https://hyperoptic.com/
TV: Sky TV is limited to one sky feed in the lounge and one in the bedroom. This is a serious problem when you want to have Sky+ recording as you have to be watching the channel you are recording. The management company will not let you install another feed or have a dish fitted. Anyone with a solution please email us.
So far possible alternatives are: A: Rewire bedroom feed to lounge (not easy but most logical). B: Try a Sky Stacker (link) it may or may not work. C: Put your sky decoder in the lift shaft cupboard (you would need to be desperate for this option) direct from the satellite feed boxes and then send the signal over the RF cable to your TV (drawback will be no HD but you can record). D: Get a flat 'Sqish Dish'. This can be mounted inside your window (only 8cm thick in total) but only some people will be able to use this solution. Use a compass to see if you have a clear view of 145'degrees (SSE) with an elevation of 25'degrees up - if so - Sqish Dish may be your answer for a measly £200. OM does not allow dishes to be connected to the exterior of the building or on your balcony.
Sky Update: No particular solution to add a cost effective additional cable has come about - suffering continues.. Read more here - http://barrierpoint.freeforums.org
Maintenance: Although the complex is semi-well maintained by OM property management - they fail to do simple things like paint communal areas (lift/stairs) - making the complex looking a little poorly. The outside could also do with being cleaned and repainted as this too is looking quite nasty.
Boilers: The typical boiler in this complex is the PowerMax 185. The company that originally supplied this boiler went bankrupt and the product range was taken over by Potterton (Tel: 08448711560). There are very few spare parts available and if something serious fails it will likely mean a new boiler. The boilers were installed without safety ventilation and now each flat owner needs to modify the system at their own cost or at least put in a decent Carbon Monoxide Detector in the mean time. If you have problems with this system have a look at this page: http://www.powermax-repairs.co.uk/index.html
Read more here - http://barrierpoint.freeforums.org
Parking: The underground parking spaces are really too small! So if you have a large car or coupé you have to hope your parking buddy doesn't ding your door. However 10 points to Barratt for having a big visitor parking area. As a side note remember that there isn't a single power point in the parking garage if you want to vacuum your car!
Parcels: In order to receive parcels/packages you have to sign a disclaimer that the concierge/OM will not be held responsible for any loss/theft but at the same time the concierge can leave your parcels in the storage shed with the door open to the road by accident (it does happen) and the missing parcels are at your expense because the concierge has signed for it. Courier insurance will not pay out and neither will the concierge. Its a great risk but there is no alternative!
Intercom: You have to pay £48!(Telguard price) for your door+gate intercom to be connected to your phone line so you can push * or 1* or # to let someone in. (Just # works to open the main gate). The two companies who deal with Barrier Point are Telguard 01306710120 or RJK Teleporter 02085297999.
If you have anything to add to this blog feel free to write to us: barrierpointblog@gmail.com
