Seren Park Residents Information

Your guide to living at Seren Park Gardens, Restell Close, Blackheath, Greenwich, London, SE3 7RD, UK.


Seren Park Development - Location and Map:

Seren Park Gardens Greenwich Postcode: SE3 7RD or SE3 7RR or SE3 7RS or SE3 7RP
Seren Park Google Street Map
Full Address: Seren Park Gardens, Restell Close, Greenwich, London, SE3 7RD, UK
If you can't find the location try looking for Vanbrugh Hill Road (off Trafalgar Road / A206). Restell Close is mid-way up the hill.
For deliveries please ring the concierge at the gate.
* Good local Road Traffic Information or Blackwall Tunnel traffic visit - http://www.londontraffic.org/

Public Transport Links:
Train - Maze Hill Station is the nearest rail station is located only a few meters away!
Station Information, Arrivals Link, Departures Link
Maze Hill Station is only 1 stop from Greenwich Station and 3 Stops from London Bridge.
Tube, DLR and Tube Map PDF Link
A news article on how Seren Park residents gained access to Maze Hill station - Link.

DLR - The nearest DLR Station is the "Cutty Sark DLR" for Maritime Greenwich BUT only if you are walking (1.1miles/21 minute walk) or taking the bus (free with zone 3 tube/dlr ticket). This is the cheapest option. If taking the bus you can catch one at the (2 min walk) National Maritime Museum Bus Stop F, Bus Number 386 towards Woolwich. Get off at Ulundi Road Stop: E which is mid-way up Vanbrugh Hill.

The least effort route is from the "Greenwich DLR" which is located at the Greenwich Train Station. This route will cost you extra as you will need a national rail ticket to Maze Hill Train Station.

Bus - The closest stop is called Ulundi Road (Located a few meters up Vanbrugh Hill Road)
Stop code: 74567, Bus Stop F, Serving routes: 386, Live Bus Information Link.

Alternate Bus - If you are up to walking up the hill there are other optional bus stops that are located on Trafalgar Road (A206) main road.
Opt 1: Tyler Street, Stop code: 77102, Bus Stop L, Serving routes: 129, 177, 180, 188, 286, 386, N1
Opt 2: The Plaza, Stop code: 52458, Bus Stop M, Serving routes: 386

Boat - Catching the Thames Clipper to "Greenwich Pier" can be fun and its not that expensive. Times, Rates and Map.

For more complicated or alternative routes try the TfL Journey Planner.

Concierge Contact Information:
Telephone: 02088533492
Mobile: 07775000854 (24hr)
The concierge service operates 24/7.
Out of hours - Emergency Helpline: 01606866939

The Seren Park Development is Managed By:
Rendal and Rittner - 02077020701 (R&R are no longer since 06/2013)
Lambert Smith Hampton - 02071982021 Collin Mitchell / 02071982059 Sabrina Fulgoni

A1 Block Rental Properties Managed By:
Sequence UK Ltd - West Kirby - 01516258691 - (Emergency Out of Hours - 08006527577)
Sequence are no longer in charge of this since 05/2013 - The new agents are:
Arim - 03003031531 - glasgowcs@arim.co.uk - www.arim.co.uk

Noise Complaints: Seren Park quite hours are from 10:30pm to 8am
Council Noise Information (link) - Greenwich Council - 02089218921 or 02088548888
If its after hours then wait for the long message and it will connect you to the emergency team at the end.

Phone and Internet Access: Seren Park only has ADSL lines (NO BT Infinity or Virgin Cable) but the line quality is good with a some flats getting 20mb downstream and 1.8mb upstream. I see fiber internet is active nearby but not connected to this development which is quite a terrible considering the exchange is a stones throw away. https://www.hyperoptic.com keep sending flyers around with the promise of 20mb/100mb/1gb fiber but I don't think enough flats have called up to show interest.
** Mobile phone coverage seems to be quite good (O2, Vodafone confirmed) 3G data is also good.
iPhone users can use 'coverage map' by 'root metrics' to check area coverage. Some of the flats do however have poor(ish) reception but so far I have not heard of anyone with no reception.
*** A lot of flats have had incomplete telephone wiring which has been resolved in many of them now.

Parking: As of +-20/06/2013 the parking is now controlled and monitored by:
P4Parking - 08455560789 - www.p4parking.co.uk
Parking without a permit is a £100 fine.
So what about visitor parking?.. Well there is none because the people in charge don't live here and don't care.

Access Fobs and Remotes: Fobs cost £30 and Remotes cost £72. Contact NACD to order (link).

Sky TV: All flats have 2 satellite connections in the lounge. No feed in the bedrooms except for a TV coaxial (aerial) lead to send a non-HD signal from the main decoder to the bedrooms and kitchen.

Extraction Ventilation Fans: All flats have ceiling mounted extraction vents that should automatically detect moisture in the air (shower or cooking) and turn on for 15 to 30 minutes (listen for the high fan noise in the boiler cupboard). Make sure the switch is turned on. You can put the boost switch on if needed but it should work automatically. Our flat does not work as they have been installed incorrectly and if you pull the ceiling vent (round white thing) out in each room (easy to do) you may have the same problem we have - the vents don't line up with the ceiling holes and therefore can't extract anything except the air inside the roof cavity and hence the humidity detection does not work.
Tip: If you want a stronger extraction in one room over the another you can screw the round disks in the center of the vents upwards till they close the vent off allowing greater suction in other areas.
The main control unit is called a Vent-Axia Multivent. Model: MV250H(RF) 183010A or MV350H(RF) 183015A - Install Manual Part 1 and Part 2.

Door to Balcony: *** The door opening to your balcony can open wider than you think! In fact you may not even realise that you have two doors as there is no visible handle on the second. To open the secret door you need to look on the top and bottom of the frame on the opening door for a tiny little silver square that says 'exit'. Push these to the side and like magic you now have two doors :)

Front Door - Part 1: *** Does your front door slam shut (annoying the neighbors) ? You will need to have the door closing spring adjusted (simple screwdriver adjustment) as the original installer failed to fit them correctly causing them to slam shut and not close slowly.

Front Door - Part 2: *** Draft under your front door, noise from the passage or heat escaping? Every flat has a secret draft excluder built into the front door. If you close your front door completely and can see through the bottom or can push a letter under it then you need to do this to activate the hidden flap under your front door. Open your door and look at the very bottom on the side where the hinges are. You will see a black square button. This generally sticks out when the door is open and pushes closed as you close the door - activating the draft excluder only when the door is closed. If yours isn't working then pull the black button out and turn it. Test by pushing it back in. Simulating the door closing. Fiddle for a bit and your flap should drop down under the door. Now close your door and check its working.

Curtains: If you are fitting curtain rails note that the walls (window side) are 3cm thick exactly and are made from plasterboard. Rails of the correct length are available from B&Q but the longer ones are only available to order from the online store.

Windows: Your windows are able to open wider than the current 10cm. To do this you will need a 5.5mm alan key to rotate the lock mechanism in the frame to the open position. This will allow you to get some extra cool air through. By performing this procedure you must of course exercise caution (your responsibility) as it would now be possible to fall out the window. Naturally if you have small children I would not advise this.

Electricity: The mains switch is located in the central lift area which also has the meter cupboard. It might be an idea to test this switch as we discovered our primary mains trip-switch is not connected to our flat! The written numbering on the unit is wrong. Who passed the electrics in this development? We also discovered our electricity meter is not ours - Are you paying for someone else's electricity?
Power problems on the development? Call London Energy on 08000969000
nPower 08456030652 and EDF 08000280247 (Emergency 08452727999 ) are typical consumer connections.

Heating: The building has a central boiler (hope it doesn't fail) and all hot water is pumped up from the basement. You can check your meter reading for this hot water supply (not a gas boiler remember) in the small (ex) boiler cupboard in your flat by pulling the white wall box open like a regular door - left side opens)
Is it cheaper than having your own boiler? Who knows..
** Those of you living on the top floors you may have noticed the lift area (outside your front door) is rather hot (over 30'c). This is due to the heating/hot water pipes running inside the cupboards without insulation into the central area. All the lower floors heat flows up and sits at the higher levels. A very bad design and possibly rectified by a decent size vent on the top floor to extract this build up of heat during the summer or alternatively by putting insulation between the floors (inside the pipe cupboard) stopping the upward air flow. During the winter I believe the top floors do not require any heating at all. The concerning part is that this problem has been around for years and many people have complained about it but nothing has been done.

Central Heating Control Panel: If you need the user manual for your central heating system control panel.
Here is the PDF manual for the CentaurStat 7 Programmable Thermostat.

Water: Cold water is pipe via the central lift area cupboard (see floods below).
The water pressure is superb - bad news is that there is a fair amount of lime scale.
Thames water is the main supplier to the area - Call them on 08459200800
If the entire building has no water please call the water supplier emergency line on 08459200888

Gas: Although there is no gas in your apartment - there is gas piping around the development. If you smell gas call Transco on 0800111999

Toilets: If you have a problem with the toilet you can access the stop valve and other inside bits by pulling the silver square around the flusher - up and towards you - it should come off quite easily.

Floods: To turn off the mains water for your flat - visit the central lift area cupboard where you find the water meter. Just below the water meter (1 inch down / well hidden underneath) is a turn off lever for each separate flat. Failing that is a bigger red lever that will turn off all the water to your floor. (not a good idea)

Maintenance: Each home should have a very thick homeowners manual but this appears to have been lost for the majority of flats. I have scanned this entire manual and the file is 82mb. If you live in the building and need a copy you can download it from here.

CCTV: The CCTV coverage is very limited and could do with decent upgrade but nevertheless if you do see anything out of the ordinary let the concierge know about it sooner rather than later so they can save the footage. (Recently it has come to light that the CCTV coverage is actually quite useless.)

Entry Phone: In order to let your guests in you will need to get the entry phone connected to your landline or mobile. To do this get a form from the concierge or contact NACD on 01442211848
You can also tune your TV into the CCTV via the Analog tuner of your TV (use the TV connector in the lounge). However you may discover that the A1 door entry camera has not been connected up. Hopefully someone fixes this. Many months later and nothing has been fixed.

Washer/Dryer: It appears that all the washing machine installation where done rather quickly/cheaply and therefore have not been balanced. So you will need to adjust the feet by rotating them with the tool provided in order to level the machine. This will reduce the bouncing/noise you may be experiencing. TIP: Buy some anti-noise rubber feet for your machine and it will make a world of difference.

Refuse: Bin stores provided around the building. Large item removals - free of charge - call Greenwich Council on 02089214664. Recycling is collected from the bins at 7am on a Wednesday. (Noisy!)

Smoking: This is a non-smoking development. Smoking within the gates of the development is not permitted (especially not in the parking area due to the obvious fire hazard) Please refrain from smoking on the balconies as the smoke tends to drift up to your friendly non-smoking neighbor above you. Please only smoke in designated areas only.

Fires: Call 999, provide the address and exit the building. Please make sure the central lift cupboards that contain the electricity and water meters are always LOCKED. These are fire doors and it is illegal to leave them open.

Council Tax: Contact Greenwich Council Council Tax Line on 02089214147

Local Points of Interest:

Hospitals: Full Hospital List

Nearest Hospital A&E is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Stadium Road, Woolwich, London, SE18 4QH, 02088366000 1.94 miles away - map
Alternative A&E is University Hospital Lewisham, Lewisham High Street, London, SE13 6LH, 02083333000 2.22 miles away - map
For medical emergencies dial 999 from any phone.
Note that the BMI Blackheath Hospital is a private hospital and does not deal with emergencies.

Local GP Practice / Doctors: There are many local GP's but its best to ask around to find out which is the best ones. Here is a list of all the local GP's.

Post Office: Post Office Shop - 191 Trafalgar Road, London, SE10 9EQ - 08457223344
Alternative Post Box is located (map) on the corner of Annandale Road and Woolwich Rd (A206 Main Road)

Gym, Leisure Centre, Fitness Pool, Swimming Pool, Yoga, Toddlers World, Saunas, Sunbeds - Arches Leisure Centre (Website) - 80 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9UX - 02083175020
Alternative Gym - David Lloyd Centre -Kidbrook Park Road, SE12 8HG - 02083313900

Petrol Station - BP Connect - 43-53 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9TS

Cinema Options:
Odeon - Website - Bugsby Way, SE10 0QJ - Ample free parking - Nice cinema overall.
Cineworld Cinema - The O2 Greenwich - Website -Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX (Parking is free if you see a movie for up to 4 hours - Q's are often long as they sell food with tickets - It's also quite a walk from parking lot to the car (if it's cold) and parking people are rude if you have a problem. If your movie coincides with an 'event' at the O2 then you could be stuck leaving the parking area while all the traffic clears. I do recommend the Sky Screen (IMAX size).

Greenwich Park - Website - A fantastic park only a short walk from Seren Park with lots of things to do in the local area.

Shops Located on (or near) Trafalgar Road close to Seren Park:
Locksmiths - Website - Lockkeys, Master Locksmiths - 02088585577
Domino's Pizza - Website/Online Delivery - 201 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9EQ - 02088583222 (Open Mon-Thu & Sun 11am-10:45pm | Fri-Sat 11am - 11:45pm)
The Co-operative - Website -200 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9ER - 02088585856
Boots Pharmacy - Website -  196-198 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9ER - 02088580501 (Open 9am - 6pm | Closed Sunday)
KFC - 188 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9TZ - 02088588335
Dry Cleaners - Collins Cleaners - Website - 168 Trafalgar Road - 02088585027
Tesco Express and Free Cash Point - Website - 142-146 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9T
Marks & Spencer 24hr!! - Website - 43-53 Trafalgar Road, SE10 9TS
Sainsbury's Superstore (and Petrol) - Website - 55 Bugsby's Way, SE10 0QJ - 02083052519
Comet and B&Q are located next to Sainsbury's

A bit further away is ASDA Bugsby Way, Charlton, SE7 7ST - 02088583313
Near ASDA you will find ASDA Petrol, Pets at Home, Argos, WH Smith, Macro, Boots (late night pharmacy), Next, H&M, TK Maxx, River Island, Outfit, Carphone Warehouse and McDonalds.

The Vanbrugh Pub - Website - 91 Colomb Street, Greenwich, SE10 9EZ, 02083051007
(The Vanbrugh Pub is located a few steps away from the entrance of the development)
The Pilot Inn (near O2) - Website - Ample Parking - The Pilot, 68 River Way, Greenwich, SE10 0BE, 02088585910

Overall for a good day or night out go to the Greenwich, Cutty Sark, Waterfront area (map) and visit any of the great restaurants in the area. There are a few good ones on the waters edge. (Nandos, Zizzi's, etc)

Seren Park Development / Seren Park Gardens Rent / Flat to Rent Seren Park Gardens / Seren Park Flats.

If you need to ask a question or want to add to this - contact the forum admin: serenpark and send a private message.