Press release from 'Wembley Park'

For the third year, Wembley Park will host International Busking Day, on Sunday 25 July. The free, family-friendly, day-long celebration of busking and street performance - supported by the Mayor of London – will feature performances by international and home-grown talent. The event is a highlight of Wembley Park’s Summer of Play programme of events, featuring a line-up of the best UK based buskers and exciting new local talent, plus a few surprises along the way. It’s part of the latest phase of the Mayor of London's #LetsDoLondon campaign, the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen, the ‘Family Fun’ season will see London burst back to life with an unprecedented range of family-friendly events and activities.

Committed to nurturing creative talent and the performing arts industry, Wembley Park has launched the Wembley Park Live Academy, an educational scheme for emerging musicians, which involves teaching and mentorship for 10 North West London musicians, culminating in paid performances at Wembley Park’s International Busking Day.

Selected applicants of the Live Academy scheme had the opportunity to attend an ‘Academy Day’ at The Yellow, Wembley Park’s community centre, events space, and learning hub, where they were given performance training, personalised coaching, and taught key industry skills, all in the lead up to their debut performances at International Busking Day. The successful trainees will be represented by Busk in London and paid to perform at Wembley Park for the special day-long International Busking Day event, as well as other Wembley Park locations throughout the summer.

The Wembley Park Live Academy graduates come from a variety of musical backgrounds, including folk, pop and rock, perfectly complimenting Busk in London’s stellar line-up on musical talent. Many of the Academy graduates are North-West London locals, with two performers living right in the heart of Wembley Park itself.

As well as watching home-grown talent take centre stage at International Busking Day, guests can expect to see street dancers, walkabout artists such as the Human Hedges, roller skate dancers, and more. Busk in London’s seasoned artists will also play an integral part in the day’s proceedings, with performances taking place across Wembley Park and the iconic Arena Square.

Not only can visitors listen to great musical talent but take part, too; pre-bookable cajon workshops are on offer, where guests can master those basic beats in an easy to follow, all-ages-welcome session. Drumming not your thing? Visitors can grab a spray can and let their street art juices flow with artist Sophy Robson guiding guests every spray of the way.

International Busking Day will take place on Sunday 25^th July, from 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Key Locations and Timings

Through Booby Moore Bridge

What: Wembley Park Live Graduates give visitors a warm welcome at the gateway to International Busking Day.

When: 1400 – 18:20

Opposite Black Sheep Coffee

What: From homegrown musical talent to mesmerising Street Dancers, guests can catch both Busk in London artists and a street dance crew in this location throughout the day.

When: 14:40 – 18:40

Olympic Way South & North

What: Olympic Way will play host to several intriguing artist performances, including the Human Hedges and roller skate dancer, hula artists, jugglers, and more. 

When: 1400 – 19:45

Arena Square

What: Spectators in Arena Square can expect to see a variety of acts, including classical, funk/flamenco fusion, folk, Jazz, and Afrobeat artists.

Also in Arena Square, guests can enjoy pre-bookable participatory Cajon workshops; participants will have a 45-minute energising session to learn the basic drumming patterns associated with Cajon playing.

When: 14:15 – 18:50

London Designer Outlet - Town Square

What: The London Designer Outlet will be playing host to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra it’s Town Square, where the renowned musical body will perform an intimate set of classics. 

When: 1200 – 18:30

Arena Square

What: Guests will be treated to a pre-bookable, participatory workshop with street artist Sophy Robson. The public can get to grips with their creative talents, by crafting works using spray paint as the medium, with the artist. Sophy will use the themes of Wembley Park to help participants devise original artwork, ensuring creativity is in no short supply.

When: 14:15 – 18:50

Royal Route Bridge

The Yellow will host a stage in front of the Royal Route, curated by a volunteer team from The Yellow.

 Via They Work for You

 From Government Statistcis LINK

Cases in Brent

A confirmed case is someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

193 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported on 23 July 2021.

Between 17 July 2021 and 23 July 2021, 1,312 people had a confirmed positive test result. This shows an increase of 23.9% compared to the previous 7 days.

 SOURCE

Announcement of intention to run as Co-Leaders Green Party England & Wales 2021 - Tina Rothery and Martin Hemingway:

These upcoming elections for Leadership come unexpectedly and at a crucial time for the Green Party; we face the ever-growing climate emergency and if ever there was a time for a strong, focused and effective Green Party, it’s right now.

As Co-Leaders we have very different skills, knowledge, work and life experiences to bring to the role; what we do share though, is the determination to unite and lead the Party with common sense, for a common purpose.

Our focus will be on the core concerns of the Green movement and the Green Party:

- campaigning to protect the health of our home, the earth

- campaigning to elect Green councillors and MPs to help bring this about

Our focus will also be on bringing the Green Party together:

- exploring the ways to deal with the issues that divide us, because there is far more that unites us: the health of our home and the health of our Party, matter to every member.

- ensuring a culture of openness and productive engagement with one another, so that our diverse membership can feel informed and involved.

About us

Tina Rothery:

When I discovered that Martin would be willing to run with me as Co-Leader, most of my concerns left me. I have the utmost respect for his length of service to the party and more than anything else, his honesty, integrity and commitment to fairness.

What Martin brings with his rich party knowledge, I will add to with my experience of environmental campaigning. Although my actual career has focused primarily on communications as a reporter in Hong Kong, broadcaster in Luxembourg, writer in Spain and copywriter in the UK, it is this last decade in the environmental movement that has provided the more useful skills: movement building, working across divides, creatively addressing problems and ensuring a presence in every arena relating to the issues; from political, to grassroots and neighbourhoods.

As a campaigner I co-founded the group ‘Nanas UK’, bringing together a specific demographic to commit to the task of stopping fracking. UK Nanas helped raise the profile of the anti-fracking movement by touring the country, hosting and attending events, taking part in actions and securing endorsements and media coverage from Emma Thompson, Vivienne Westwood, Bez (Happy Mondays), Mark Ruffalo and of course, the Green Party. Our campaign continues until there is a full ban on fracking. I believe ‘Nana’ is a transferable skill in this GPEW leadership campaign

My roles within GPEW include running in two general elections (George Osborne in Tatton and Mark Menzies in Fylde) and I am currently the co-chair of Blackpool & Fylde Green Party. Up until Brexit, I was employed as Social Media Officer for Gina Dowding (former) MEP for the North West; an incredible role that took me to Brussels and allowed me to participate in a host of activities including participating in the plan for a North West Green New Deal.

Greta Thunberg accurately said ‘our house is on fire’ and I see the Green Party as the only political party that has the extinguisher (and that we need to set the example by getting our own fires under control).

 

 

Martin Hemingway:

This election was not expected. Standing in it was not a realistic plan until conversations with Tina coalesced into a determination that something had to be done, and that we were the team that could re-establish the credibility of the Green Party in the face of the climate crisis.

I bring to the partnership fifty years of political campaigning experience, including 12 years as a councillor on Leeds City Council, the second largest council in the country. Experience in formulating and carrying out policy; experience of a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organisations, experience of meetings, hustings, television and radio, including a speaking tour of Japan as Chair of UK Nuclear Free Local Authorities.

In the Green Party I have been a lead Euro candidate, coming close to election in 2009, a General Election candidate five times, a City Council candidate many times; all with hustings, meetings and extensive media work. Some of my past interviews are on YouTube.

Perhaps also of importance I bring over ten years of active involvement in the governance of our Party, as a member of GPRC, and as a member of SOC. Experience of many of the problems in the Party, but experience that has brought me close to a lot of members, and has, I trust, demonstrated my honesty. Preparation of agendas for Conference has brought me close to policy concerns of members, and involvement on the equivalent committee for the Global Greens conference widened the range of concerns.

I bring nearly twenty years of work in my local party and in my region, in roles ranging from Local Party Support to Co-ordinator, getting to know my own region and its local parties well.

I started out as an archaeologist, and a PhD on the period of the last glacial maximum gave me an early introduction to climate theory. I retrained to teach Geography, and then retrained in Law, including Legal Practice. I have taught in schools - mostly in deprived areas, in university, in adult education.

This is us and we look forward to the election ahead and hope we can earn your vote.

    

Shama Tatler, Brent Lead Member for Regeneration, Property and Planning has been elected to  the London Labour Regional Executive. She alongside Izzy Lenga, an NEC member of the Jewish Labour Movement, will represent London Division 7, covering Barnet, Camden, Harrow and Brent.

Cllr Jumbo Chan was previously a representative of the Division.

Shama Tatler  was named  in the list of Women of Influence 2021 on The Planner, the website of the Royal Town Planning Institute. The citation read:

Councillor Tatler is passionate about planning and regeneration, and the role it can play in improving the lives of residents in Brent. She is very pro-inclusive growth. She is incredibly supportive of the staff, and also shares best practice amongst other lead members by speaking at events and working with PAS and the Local Government Association. She is a great role model, being young, female and BAME.

Campaigners at the Granville. South Kilburn

A local campaign launched at the Granville Garden and Community Kitchen on July 10th has
issued a petition calling on the Council Leader Muhammed Butt to declare Brent a Right to Food Borough with its own Food Justice strategy. The campaign aims to ensure all Brent residents have access to safe, affordable, nutritious and culturally-appropriatefood every day of the year across their whole lifetime.  

Sign the petition HERE

Representatives of food-related initiatives in Brent met to discuss with Dee Woods (co-founder of the Granville Kitchen), Fahim Dahya (Sufra NW London) and Ian Hodson (National president of the Bakers’
Union) the best way to address food insecurity in the Borough. 

Alex Colás, acting co-convenor of the Brent Right to Food campaign, said:

Food poverty is the result of structural injustices connected to health, housing, employment and wider social inequalities. It needs systemic solutions that empower communities with public resources, including land, retail space and procurement directed toward a more just and sustainable local food system.

 Anyone wishing to support the aims of the campaign can get in touch with the organisers at this email address:

 brentright2foodcampaign@outlook.com 

The original detached house that had been allowed to fall into disrepair

When plans were put forward for the demolition of a detached house, 44 Queens Walk, at the corner of Queens Walk and Salmon Street, Kingsbury, it was met with some opposition because it would be replaced by a block of flats. Residents were concerned that it was out of keeping with the fairly uniform white painted houses of Queens Walk and would open the way to similar developments ,spoiling the suburban character of the area. LINK

Brent Planning Committee agreed the demolition and the new block. The two mature oaks on the site were preserved.  The new development is now almost complete as you can see below.  I understand that an offer to paint the block white ,so as to be in keeping with the rest of Queens Walk, was rejected by planning officers, presumably on the grounds that the modern corner plot block would 'make a statement'.

 The new block, named Krishna Court, has its pedestrian entrance on Salmon Street while its car park and vehicle entrance is on Queens Walk, further separating it from that street.

Today's  pictures:

 View from Salmon Street

The suburban detached houses of Queens Walk in the background
 

The gardens of Krishna Court

 

Cllr Muhammed Butt, yesterday broke his silence over the violent scenes at the Euro2002 Final at Wembley Stadium - two weeks after the event and announcements from the police, UEFA and the FA of their own inquiries.

Cllr Butt did not refer to the Scrutiny Committee's recommendation that Brent Council set up its own independent inquiry on the Council's role. The recommendation was not on the last Cabinet agenda. Neither did Cllr Butt refer to the claim LINK that the FA did not want a large police presence at the match because 'it's bad for optics' or that Brent Council, Quintain and the Football Association have an 'uncomfortably close relationship'.

This is Cllr Butt's statement as it appears on the Council website::

We welcome the independent review, announced by the FA, to get to the bottom of the scenes we saw at the EURO 2020 Final. It is important that a full and thorough review takes place and that any lessons that can be taken from the events of the England v Italy game are learnt.

The council will be fully participating in that review and will take on board any recommendations Baroness Casey has for activities under our remit.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council

 Wembley Park 1895

Artist's impression of the hoped for Wembley Park from the station
 

If you are a Wembley  Park resident you may have been stopped by a visitor asking for directions to the park. One Wembley resident got so fed up with such requests and what appeared to be the vanishing prospects of a new park in the quintain development that she took to calling it Wembley-No Park.

Now a pair of planning applications (21/2517 Plot NE02) and 21/2424 (Plot NE03) give some clues to the future shape of the park on the former Yellow car park (North East Lands).

The relatively new Chalkhill Park is a testimony to how parks can help transform an area: aesthetically, environmentally and socially. Chalkhill is open to the railway on one side and bordered mainly 2-4 storey homes on the other sides.  The 'Northern Park' will be surrounded by  tower blocks of various sizes. These applications include for NE02 two block of 10-27 storeys comprising 487 residential uits, and for NE03 two blocks of 10-21 storeys comrising 282 units. There are more blocks in the surrounding developments.

This image gives a view of the proposed park between the blocks:

The proposed park from above Wembley Park station

It is interesting in the above image to see the green space around Danes Court and Empire Court between the Jubilee and Metropolitan line and North End Road - the architects of the time knew their stuff.  These residents are now concerned about their loss of light from the nearby towers and one concern will be how much shadow will be cast over the Northern Park by  tower blocks.

Some of the artist's impressions make the tower blocks look like a mirage rather than the pretty hefty buildings that they are:

The Park will be divided into 2 sections - separated by Engineers Way and there will be a fairly narrow entrance between blocks on Rutherford Way:

 This image gives some context but show the blocks  only on one side of the park (well you can catch a glimpse of balconies on the far right).

 The entrance to the park from Rutherford Way:

Rutherford Way/Engineers Way where the two parts of the park are separated:
 

It is clear that a great deal of work has gone into the planning of the park and I embed the relevant document below. It must be a wonderful relief to design a beautiful park with pleasure people's pleasure in mind rather than yet another human rabbit hutch!

Attention has been given to bio-diversity and different habitats as well as play areas for children.  Clearly maintenenace of the park is a key issue and lack of clarity h over this has been the downfall of many a similar project elsewhere.

Users would include residents of the surrounding flats as well as visitors although again there has been local concern about what was advertised as accessible public space becoming private. The plans envisage that the park could be used for outdoor concerts, firework displays and New Year celebrations.  After the recent Euro2020 disturbances and earlier problems on the green at Wembley Hill Road near Wembley Stadium  Station, consideration will need to be given to how the park will be used on event days.

The Neighbourhood Consultation on the building and park plans for these 2 Reserved Matters Applications closes on Thursday 5th August 2021.

To comment got to LINK and search for references 21/2517 and 21/2424

DETAILS OF THE PARK PLANS ARE MAINLY IN THIS DOCUMENT (CLICK BOTTOM RIGHT SQUARE FOR FULL SIZE)

 THIS DOCUMENT GIVES FURTHER DETAILS LINK

Brent Council has announced that it is extending the Consultation on the extensive plans for the regeneration of Neasden which effectively creates a new area of high towers similar to those at Wembley Park and Alperton. The consultation is now open until Monday August 9th.

You can read the previous Wembley Matters report on the plans HERE

This is what Brent Council told residents and local businesses:

Calling out all residents, businesses and landowners of Neasden!

Don’t miss the opportunity to have your say on Neasden’s future!

The Neasden Stations Growth Area Masterplan SPD consultation is open until Monday 9 August 2021.

Brent Council is asking for residents’ views on how the future development of the area around Neasden Underground Station might look. Part of this exciting vision will include 2,000 new and affordable homes, new job opportunities for local people, improved and integrated cycling routes and new and better open spaces.

We want residents to have their say on the draft Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which will help guide and influence the development of the Neasden Station Growth Area (NSGA). This includes land around Neasden Underground Station that the Council has designated for development in its draft Local Plan.

The Council will use the document to help decide which proposals should be given planning permission in the area.

The Neasden Stations Growth Area Masterplan SPD consultation will close on Monday, 9 August 2021 at 5pm.

If you missed coming to the drop-in sessions, you could still provide your feedback. Find details below:

How to have your say?

• Visiting Wembley and Willesden Libraries: A copy of the SPD and feedback forms will be available for you to review and  provide us with your comments. 

Your feedback can be shared with us via: 

• Email: Scanning or sending a photo of the form to NSGA@brent.gov.uk or drop in the feedback box at the libraries
• Post: sending your feedback to NSGA MASTERPLAN SPD consultation, Regeneration Team, Engineers Way, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 0FJ
• Visiting our webpage: A digital version of the document is available to read, and an online feedback form can be accessed via the link:  https://consultation.brent.gov.uk/chief-executive-department/neasden-stations-growth-area-masterplan-spd/. Fill in the form and submit.

 Guest post by Philip Grant

1 Morland Gardens, Stonebridge.

What do these three proposed developments have in common?

1.    1 Morland Gardens, Stonebridge, with its planned demolition of a locally listed heritage building;

2.    St Raphael’s Estate, with plans to build on part of Brent River Park; and

3.    Kilburn Square, where it’s proposed to build extra homes on an existing green space with trees.

The answer is that all three were drawn up by Brent Council officers, and all three go against Brent Council’s own adopted planning policies.

Brent River Park, looking towards Wembley Point, with St Raphael’s to the left.

How could officers in Brent’s Regeneration major projects team even consider proposals that breach those planning policies? I found out, from a Freedom of Information Act request into the origins of the 1 Morland Gardens proposals, that as early as December 2018 (three months before the first official pre-application meeting between the project team and planning officers), an unnamed planning officer had told them that ‘we’re not likely to refuse a scheme due to loss of this building.’ Planning officers had given the green light to ignore Brent’s heritage assets planning policy DMP7, and backed that up all the way to the Planning Committee meeting twenty months later.

A recent protest against Brent’s Kilburn Square proposals.

In a recent blog on the Kilburn Square proposals, the Chairman of the local residents’ association said that Brent was ‘playing games’ with existing residents and their near neighbours. There are certainly some games being played by Council officers, and some of those involve “funny business” and questionable practices.

It’s perhaps not unexpected that Brent’s planning officers will “aid and abet” their colleagues in Regeneration’s capital projects team, and maintain that ‘on balance’ it is ‘acceptable’ for some of Brent’s planning policies to be broken, where Brent Council is the applicant. But how do they get around other legal requirements over which the Council does not have total control?

The 1 Morland Gardens scheme included building out over a highway / footpath and a community garden. As I couldn’t see that the Council had taken the necessary steps to make this possible, I submitted an FoI request in April to get some answers. In a guest blog last month, I was able to show that the Council had not yet followed those legal processes, which meant that the project would be delayed. I wondered whether this was just a careless oversight, or whether Council officers had not bothered to take those steps, hoping that as they were “the Council” they could get away with ignoring them!

But surely they had appropriated the main site for planning purposes? After all, the details of what was required to fulfil that legal requirement had been set out in the report to Cabinet on 14 January 2020, and Brent’s Cabinet had delegated responsibility to the then Strategic Director for Regeneration to carry out the required process for this. 

I put in another FoI request, and will ask Martin to attach a copy of the response I received last week (the replies provided by Brent are in red). You will see that, eighteen months on from being given that authority, Council officers have not even begun the process. Perhaps they never intended to (after all, you’d have to provide supporting evidence to justify that the heritage building is “surplus to requirements”, among other hurdles). Now they will have no choice!

To make my point, I forwarded a copy of the FoI response to Alan Lunt, the current Strategic Director, and referring to this and the earlier failure over the stopping-up order asked:

‘Please let me know whether this means that Brent Council does not intend to proceed with its ill-conceived planning application 20/0345, involving the demolition of the locally listed heritage asset, the Victorian villa "Altamira".’

I received this prompt response from him:

‘Thank you for your email. The Council intends to continue with the proposed development of the site in question.’

The demolition of the Victorian villa, currently used by the Brent Start adult education college (for which it was acquired, restored and converted from a disused members’ club in 1994), was meant to be principally so that a more up-to-date college facility could be built on the site. But the FoI response (see attached) claims that the “compelling case” for the appropriation of the site will be ‘housing needs’.

The shortage of housing in the Borough is a real problem (and a continuing one, because it was a problem 45 years ago, when I worked for a Harlesden-based housing association!). This is a common theme in all three proposed developments that I listed at the start of this article. Yes, Brent has been set challenging targets for the number of new homes which should be built in the borough over the next 20 years. But does this justify some of the tactics being used to force through developments which are clearly detrimental to the environment of the areas they are proposed for?

Council officers are ‘playing games’ with the lives of Brent’s residents. But why are they playing those games, what right do they have to play them and who is encouraging this behaviour? It is about time that this was explained, and if our elected councillors won’t challenge what is happening and let us know why, perhaps we need to demand some answers ourselves.

Philip Grant.

Brent Council's Response to Philip Grant's Freedom of Information Request

Click bottom right to enlarge to full page

An Appendix published for the recent Cabinet meeting revealed new schemes that are being considered for council land across the borough. (Printed in black on the map above). The figure next to the site name is the number of housing units.

Some are clearly infill but those with a higher number of units might involve wider changes.  All are aimed at increasing the number of council homes in the borough to meet the need for affordable housing.

Thanks to Life in Kilburn for this  earlier data that they requested from Brent Council (May 28th 2021):

The Keslake Pocket Park at project stage (final details may differ)

The Cabinet approved the largest bids (over £100,000) for the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy  at its last meeting and rubber-stamped the smaller grants.

The largest grants were:

·£194,988 for Jason Roberts Foundation - Connect Brent Project: to undertake much needed upgrading works at The Pavilion, the community centre where the charity is based. The project will make the centre an all-weather facility that can be used by residents and community groups all year-round, by erecting a steel canopy over the multi-games area and 5-a-side pitch.

·£100,000 for Brent Music Service in partnership with local Harlesden schools and community groups – Brent Music Service Harlesden Music Centre Project: Providing local, easily accessible venues to address the barriers preventing CYP participation in out-of-school music activity. Weekly centres will be available for children in Harlesden schools and will become progressively more visible in the community as the project progresses.

·£124,700 for Queen's Park Area Residents' Association (QPARA) in partnership with Brent Council – Keslake Pocket Park Improvements Project: (illustrated above) The project will remodel Keslake Pocket Park to make it safer and design out anti-social behaviour, crime, loitering and littering by providing a layout and street components that create a well-lit, safe, and open space. There will be increased visibility both into and across the space and the new design will provide a pleasing visual amenity, as well as a small square area for the local community.

·£100,000 for Alperton residents in partnership with Brent Council - Creating an Open Space for the Whole Community Project: The proposal by the residents is to enhance the quality of Alperton Sports  Ground and address concerns raised by residents around the lack of outdoor and play facilities, anti-social behaviour, security and safety concerns as a result of development.

The smaller grants. totalling £1,046,754, can be found at paragraph 8.3 (Table 7)  of the Cabinet report (click bottom right corner for full page).

From #RECLAIM THESE STREETS

 

Mina Smallman, mother of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman,  herself a former priest and teacher, spoke truth to power as an activist at yesterday's vigil atop Barn Hill in Wembley. The vigil was organised by Reclaim These Streets.

In a section of her speech she castigated the media for their lack of coverage of the murders at the beginning and went on to say how the interviews she gave subsequently were reduced to a minute or two or just a paragraph.

In the light of this I have published a video of her full speech above. The sound quality is not good as I was at the back of the 600 strong crowd but please perservere - it is an electrifying speech.

Barry Gardiner MP (who led the crowd in the singing of Amazing Grace), Cllr Shafique Choudhary; Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,  David Lammy MP and Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council. Dawn Butler MP made a heartfelt speech. Other councillors were in the crowd.

Much of the focus was on  future generations - a child in the audience clutches an electronic candle

Following the controversial tactics at Clapham, a vigil also organised by Reclaim These Streets, police tactics were low key and officers told me they had been instructed to keep well away from the crowd. They mainly assisted people in getting safely out of the park after the event.

Brent Council has responded to concerns that I expressed on behalf of residents over pedestrain safety at the new North End Road/Bridge Road junction opposite Wembley Park tube station.

I wrote:

There has been quite a lot of concern expressed on social media about the safety of the new junction at North end Road/Bridge Road and particularly the problems facing wheelchair users and parents with large buggies when crossing.  The tactile paving on the Olympic Way side is blocked and the several gaps between the blocks cause pedestrians to move in several directions and children sometimes separate from their parents. There are no lights or other controls. It is particularly difficult for those who are partially sighted or blind.

Could you clarify, so that I can pass the message on, whether the council or TfL will be adding any lights etc to the crossing/junction and whether the blocks are temporary or a permanent hostile vehicle prevention measure.

This is the Council's response received yesterday:

Thank you for your email and video link relating to safety concerns that have been raised about the new junction, particularly with access for wheelchair users and parents or carers with pushchairs and buggies.

 

The concrete barriers are temporary security measures and they will be replaced by bollards. Unfortunately, there was a delay in delivery from our supplier, but I am pleased to inform you that work has now been programmed for 23^rd August. In the meantime, our contractor has moved the Give Way sign post from between the concrete barriers so that it no longer impedes pedestrian access.

 

As this is a new junction, we will of course be monitoring its performance and will consider whether any further improvements are necessary.

 

We are currently liaising with Transport for London on signalising the junction in the future, this will improve amenities for pedestrians.

 I have not yet had a reply from Brent Highways or TfL on whether buses will be able to use North End Road on event days as planned. It has a weight limit of 7.5tonnes.

Guest post by Pete Firmin

Living in an area which Brent Council and HS2 have decided to turn into a building site for decades, we are used to the concerns of residents being ignored, to the point where hardly anyone can be bothered to complain about building work taking place outside "permitted" hours, contractors vehicles being parked on the pavement for hours and parking spaces suddenly being taken over by portakabins, because nothing ever happens.

The latest show of how little Brent Council cares is shown by its attitude to flood damage. I previously wroteLINKabout the difficulty of getting advice from Brent Council when flooding was happening. Water came back out of the drains with such force that it forced bricks out of the roadway. When Brent Council eventually looked at it late that evening they decided to do nothing. However, the next day they did send a Wates team to work on the area. They laid some of the bricks back, put some cement and sand over them and put plastic barriers around the affected areas. 

Problem? No-one has been back since. Over 3 weeks have passed, the barriers have fallen, the sand has been spread around, but no further work has been done. The piles of bricks in these photos are bricks which still need to be replaced in the roadway.

Councillors have been alerted, Brent Council has been chased, nothing. But then its only South Kilburn.

Pete Firmin, chair, Alpha, Gorefield and Canterbury TRA

There was rapid support when a Dollis Hill resident appealed on the community website Next Door for help after he spotted hard hatted tree surgeons seemingly about to fell some mature trees, including an oak, in a private garden bordering a public space.

 Advice poured in on Facebook and The View from Dollis Hill Facebook group and Brent's Tree Protection Officer was contacted. A temporary Tree Protection Order had been put in place by the end of the day.

Ronan, the resident who raised the alarm and someone who clearly values the borough's trees takes up the story:

Brent's Tree Protection Officer was receptive to examining one particular mature oak tree and determined its value worthy of protection.It is viewable from multiple properties and the street, forming a dense cover between houses and providing a wonderful habitat for wildlife.

There are so few mature oaks outside of parks and each one is a significant loss to our ecological community. Having seen too often such trees get the chop, I was aware time was limited. Fortunately Brent's Tree Protection Officer was able to act quickly enough. It's reassuring to see the support on Nextdoor.co.ukand local facebook groups, it seems clear that there would be vocal opposition to plans to harm the trees in this area. It's worth noting, requesting a TPO can be done by anybody in any borough. www.ltoa.org.uk has the details for each London borough and we should all make some effort to identify significant trees on public and private land. They are our community and voiceless and  require us to speak up when they are at risk.

 Now the community will turn to the task of making sure the TPO is made permanent.