Illustration from booklet celebrating the Brentfield Housing Scheme - June 11th 2021LINK

An obscure Brent Council document LINK on the Council's Local Plan  piublished in June reveals plans for high rise development on part of the Brentfield Estate. I declare an interest as a former teacher at Brentfield Primary School who became familiar with the estate and its families living in low density homes with gardens and a sense of community

Their homes had been built in the wake of the First World War concerns about the poor health of working class recruits stemming from poor housing conditions. In a campaign which became known as 'Homes Fit for Heroes' local councils would build homes for those living in such conditions.

Willesden District Council planned their first Council Estate of homes for heroes and celebrated the handing over of the first homes to their tenants with a grand opening and a booklet written by the Council's Engineer and Surveyor. LINK

 

 Conduit Way now (Instant Street View)

Now 100 years later, almost to the day, those same homes have been described as of 'low quality' by Brent Council and some designated as suitable for high density tall buildings - which will probably comes as a surprise to existing tenants. This comes in the wake of the redevelopment of the Stonebridge Estates on the other side of the Harrow Road which saw high rise blocks demolished.

In a sort of domino effect in reverse, Brent Council justify the building of tall buildings here because of proposed tall buildings on the Bridge Park and Unisys sites. This designation is just part of the Brentfield estate but one can see that the same justification could be deployed at a later date for other areas with the proximity of the redeveloped tall buildings used as a justification. The open space on the other side of the North Circular may also be affected with the proposed tall building at Stonebridge station setting a precedent for the area.

 

For Stonebridge Park an additional area adjacent to the site allocation BSSA7 Bridge Park and Unisys Building has been identified. This incorporates the Conduit Way estate. This extension is justified on the basis that the existing estate is of low density, lower quality homes which has the potential to be intensified to a higher density reflective of its higher public transport accessibility. This is particularly so along and in the areas adjacent to the Brentfield frontage. This will complement the taller buildings proposed on the Unisys and Bridge Park site and reinforce the gateway role from the North Circular of those entering the borough from further afield. 

 

An accompanying map shows the proposed change to the 'tall building' area:

 

The proximity to other tall buildings is also used to redraw the tall building zones for Wembley Central and Kilburn Square.

At Wembley Central the 'Twin Towers' on the site of Chesterfield House provides the justification for the extension of the tall building zone as well as an existing building. In this case the proposal is for additional floors to be added to the existing buildings:

For Wembley Central Area B, an additional area north of Duke’s Way has been included. This is a council housing block. This area has already been developed for a tall building at King Edward Court (11 storeys plus lower ground floor). As such its inclusion is justified in part on this basis to correctly reflect the current situation of a tall building being there. In addition, this block has also been identified as potentially being able to accommodate additional upper floors, in part taking account of the opportunity afforded by the adjacent taller Uncle building.

The new Kilburn Square Zone

The Kilburn Square controversy has already been covered on Wembley Matters LINK but it is worth recording Brent Council's justification here:

Subsequent to the submission of the draft Local Plan more work has been undertaken by the Council as the owner of the estate in testing delivery options. As a result of this a tall building is being proposed adjacent to the Kilburn Square open space. The tenants of the estate have been consulted as have the local neighbourhood forum. As the existing building is not occupied by residents, the scheme will not need a tenants’ ballot to proceed. The initial scheme has been subject to Design Council design review. Recognising the surrounding character, the Design Council regarded the principle of an additional tall building as acceptable in this location, principally due to the existence of a tower on the estate

Organisers have warned attendees at the Paralympics Homecoming Show at the Wembley SSE Arena that public transport will be disrupted.  It is unfortunate, to say the least, that accessibility will be reduced at a paralympic event. One would expect a coordinated attempt by the organisers and TfL to ensure this did not happen.

 Public Transport - if using public transport then there are several stations and bus stops serving The SSE Arena, Wembley.  However, due to planned works, Wembley Park station will be closed on both Saturday 11^th and Sunday 12^th September and there will be no service on the Jubilee line between West Hampstead and Stanmore and on the Metropolitan line between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill.

To help you make your journey, Transport for London is providing additional advice on alternative accessible routes using the Bakerloo line and London Overground services as well asreplacement bus services for the closed tube routes.  TFL Bus routes will serve Wembley Park as normal.  Click HERE to plan your TFL journey to the venue. 

Chiltern Rail will also be providing an increased service to Wembley Stadium Station before and after the event.

The first of Brent Friends of the Earth's actions ahead of the COP26 meeting in Glasgow gathered lots of support yesterday when residents were invited to send messages about the Glasgow to Conference partipants and the government.

The messages on bunting were strung outside the Harlesden Tesco store making a vivid display showing the extent of concern amongst locals that COP26 should take immediate and effective action.

When queues of school students formed to write their individual messages it was clear that their generation are aware of the threat to their future.

The Mayor of Brent, Cllr Lia Colacicco, joined fellow councillors Janice Long and Orlene Hylton in collecting signatures alongside Friends of the Earth activists.

FoE will be running another bunting stall  Wembley  on Saturday September 25th, 11am to 1pm.

Local social media burst into life over the weekend after in the space of a few days  hoarding was erected around a wooded green space next to busy Neasden Lane North. Many residents claim this was the first they knew of a planned 3 storey development of 9 flats on the green space.  They further claim that the delegated decision (ie made by officer, not sent to Planning Committee) was made when people were preoccupied with the pandemic. Brent Council claim that 57 letters were sent out to residents but only two comments were received.

The satellite view below shows the extent of the space between Aylesbury Street and West Way. Residents said that the trees screen them from pollution, noise and dust from the main road.

Brent Council granted permission (19/3738 July 2020) to erect a three storey block of flats in the land FULL OF MATURE TREES, next to Aylesbury Street and West Way, in Neasden Lane (A4088) by the bust stop after the flyover. Using Covid as a coverage Brent Council sold a public green space to a housing development company and pushed throug the planning permission to cut all the trees and built 9 flats next to a polluting road allowing the neighbouring streets surging with pollution too once the trees are gone.

If you care about whats happening in the area and the environment or this "development" affects you please sign this petition forcing the council to re consider the application and stop the works immediately before any of the green gets damaged in any way.

The Arboricultural Implications Assessment LINK submitted to Planning found many of the trees to be low quality (although that doesn't stop them doing their screening job) and concluded:

The proposed development would require the removal of 22 individual trees and one small group, all but one of which are BS category C. These are mainly small, short lived or poorly formed trees which should not represent a significant constraint to the proposals, according
to BS5837:2012. A further 10 trees are recommended for felling on safety/short lifespan grounds whether or not the development proceeds.

 

Three offsite Ash trees will not be affected by the proposed building and nominal potential impacts of a path are mitigated by existing trees for removal dominating the areas of near surface disturbance.

 

The retained trees will be appropriately protected by robust tree protection fencing in accordance with BS5837:2012 requirements. Only temporary foot access for hand tool construction of the proposed path will be allowed with details indicated on the Tree
Protection Plan.

 

The Tree Protection Plan can be referred to in a specifically worded condition to ensure that the retained offsite trees are appropriately protected during the construction process.

 Trees in the development including new planting (note the view through the gate above is now car parking for the flats)

cgi of the development - the new trees would not reach this size for a long time

The residents I spoke to this morning were not only concerned about their own exposure to pollution once the mature trees were removed but that of the residents of the new block of flats.

There is an Air Quality Report. These extracts show that it is not an ideal spot for anyone to live LINK.

Based on the assessment results, exposure of future receptors to exceedances of the annual mean AQS objective for NO2 is considered likely as a result of the proposed development. The development would be classified as APEC-C on all levels of the proposals; therefore, mitigation measures to protect future users from poor air quality are included in Section 7.

Not withstanding this the Final Delegated Report states (typos in original) LINK:

The applicant has not provide an Air Quality Assessment subject of this proposal due to the habitable windows proximity to the Neasden Lane Gyratory. Brent’s Environmental Health Team have reviewed thereport and confirmed that as the NO2 levels at the windows facing Neasden Lane arew upto 57.17μmg3.

This would require mitigation in the form of a mechanical ventilation system to ensure that the resdients are not exposed to harmful levels of NO2 concentrations. Such systemj does still enable windows to be opened and not required to be sealed shut. Environmental Health have supported the recommended subject to a condition.

 It is clear that a decision to approve the development was made more than a year ago, the erection of hoarding indicates that either work is due to start or, perhaps,  that the developer is protecting the site from possible community action to save the space!

Nevertheless residents are launching a last minute bid to halt the development and told Wembley Matters this afternoon:

It might be too late as many of us pointed out but without fight we cannot stand and watch it. We have created a petition to present it to Brent Council officials to put pressure on them showing that it is against the public will and they have to halt the works to investigate whether any failings occurred during the process.

 

The link to the petition is HERE:

We are also having a meeting with Clr Roxanne Mashari on Wednesday, 15th of September at 10:30 am on the site of the “development”, anyone who feels strongly about the environment and Brent Council policies please come and show your support.

Local theatre performances this autumn from Brent Museum and Archives

Coal, Dole and Dinner Ladies will bring to life the untold story of how dinner ladies and other Brent locals supported the Kent miners during the Miners’ Strike in the 1980s. The story has been uncovered in the Trades Union archive collection, held by Brent Museum and Archives, and will be told on stage for the first time this autumn.   

1984 - the Miners Strike was in full swing and a group of Kent Miners, desperate in their struggle against Thatcher's Pit Closures, marched from Kent to Nottingham. Arriving in Willesden, they were heralded by a group of Queens Park Community School (then Aylestone School) Dinner Ladies, given a standing ovation and served a slap up meal in the Dining Hall. Coal, Dole and Dinner Ladies takes us back to 1984 and tells the story of a community supporting the Miners at their darkest hour. Tea and jam roly poly at the refectory included

Performances held at The North London Tavern, 375 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7QB

• Saturday 18 September 2021 – 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm
• Sunday 19 September 2021 – 3pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm
• Sunday 26 September 2021 – 3pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm
• Saturday 2 October 2021 – 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm
  

Fully accessible performances held in the Performance Space at The Library at Willesden Green, 95 High Road, London NW10 2SF

•        Sunday 3 October 2021 – 2pm and 3pm

Tickets

Tickets are by donation, with the money going to Mutual Aid Food Willesden. We will also be collecting food donations on the days of the productions (we will send out more information about what to bring by email).

Each performance includes refreshments

Coal, Dole and Dinner Ladies is part of Being Brent – Heritage for Health and Wellbeing, a project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by Brent Museum and Archives.  

TICKETS HERE

The existing design  (figures are the number of storeys) - Kilburn High Road is top right

 

This is Brent Council's Press Statement

The design proposal for the new homes on Kilburn Square Estate is set to be adapted through collaboration with residents, the council has announced today.

This comes after extensive engagement throughout the summer with those living on the estate and the local community. The council has listened to people’s feedback and agreed to review the proposals taking into account some of the most commonly raised concerns, while also maintaining its commitment to delivering a significant number of new council homes.

Each council housing scheme is different and will always be considered within its own specific context.

Cllr Southwood, Brent’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said:

 Brent is in the grip of a severe housing crisis. There are more than 1,400 families living in temporary accommodation and many more whose home is completely unsuitable. We are doing everything in our power to build more council homes and create a fairer and more equal borough.

Since autumn 2020, we have been working with Kilburn Square residents on proposals to build new homes on the estate. We have received some helpful feedback and I want to thank everyone who has worked with us. I also want to thank everyone for being patient with us while we review the scheme and decide how best to take it forward.

We are keen to amend the existing design, working with the residents of Kilburn Square. It is essential that all tenants and leaseholders attend the workshops we will be holding shortly to have their say. By doing this, we can make sure the new homes we build and the changes we make across the estate are as good as they can be for the community, for future residents and for the council.

A letter and a newsletter will be sent to all residents living on Kilburn Square this week (w/c 13 September). This will include more information about this decision and the upcoming opportunities for residents to get involved in shaping the design.

The statement is partly in response to a public question posed for Cllr Southwood at Monday's Cabiner meeting on the Kilburn Square development that by the Kilburn Square Stakeholders Group,  a coalition of four local Residents' Associations and the Kilburn Neighbourhood Plan Forum. The KSSG is spearheaded by Kilburn Village Residents' Association - whose territory includes the Estate itself as well as the surrounding streets.

Keith Anderson, Kilburn Village Residents' Association chair said.

·       The saga of this huge "Infill" project has been running since last October. The Stakeholder Group was formed in January and since then we’ve been patiently dealing with Cllr Southwood, senior Officers and the project team, explaining why we believe the scheme is much too big. 

·         The drawn-out process came to a head in August, and our Question was designed to press the Council to finally deliver on its promise to heed the voices of the residents and the local community. We are grateful to Cllr Southwood and her colleagues for the written response being presented on Monday, to Council and the wider public.

·         We look forward to the promised shift to a more collaborative approach to finalising a smaller scheme that can, in Cllr Southwood’s words, “work for everyone".

 From Brent Council website LINK

·      North End Road will be closed to traffic from 09:30 on 16 September to remove the temporary Hostile Vehicle Measures (HVM) (Concrete Blocks) and to install the permanent HVM on the footway. It will take up to three days to complete the works and there will be a signed diversion route will be in place for the duration of the  works

·       South Way will be closed at the junction of Wembley Hill Road from Monday 27 September to allow for gas, water and electric connections to be made for the new development on South Way at the junction with Wembley Hill Road. A signed diversion will be in place and we expect the road to reopen to traffic before the 10 October

Editor's Note: These are concrete blocks that presently impede pedestrians crossing North End Road and particularly affect wheelchair users and parents with buggies. It remains to be seen whether the replacements improve access.  Traffic lights are still awaited.

The public are able to ask Brent Cabinet members a written question at Full Council meetings and follow up the answer at the meeting itself. The questions and answers are published on the Agenda in advance of the meeting.

A key question on the Council's Climate Emergency  Strategy has been asked by local r
esident Pam Laurance:

About a year ago the Council launched the Brent Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy, with a considerable amount of publicity, setting out specific aims and targets. The First Year Delivery Plan 2021-2022 set out 23 targets for that period. The Strategy documents states that:

'Progress against the key objectives will be monitored and measured regularly, and progress on the delivery of the specific actions in our yearly delivery plans will be reported in detail, alongside a commentary of progress of the overall programme each year. Available datasets and baselines will be measured against the most up to date statistics at the time of the adoption of this plan. This strategy is currently a long-term strategy, but we will keep under review the need to refresh its aims and objectives in the years to come'.

Please will the Council say:

1) What criteria are being used to measure progress?

2) How does the Council plan to keep the public informed on progress?

3) Does the Council believe that any of the targets need to be more ambitious in the light of recent climate developments?

Response:

1) What criteria are being used to measure progress?

 The overarching means for measuring progress on direct carbon emissions in the borough is from the local authority dataset provided by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) each year. It is from this dataset, for example, that we have been able to ascertain that there has been a 35% reduction in total carbon emissions on a borough-wide basis since 2005 (when this method of accounting began) and it is also by utilising this dataset that we are able to analyse different pathways of getting to carbon neutrality by 2030.

Unfortunately, the complexity of carbon accounting means that these figures are only available with an 18-month timelag – and therefore the latest set of figures for Brent is from 2019. We also have a baseline estimate of the consumption emissions (wider greenhouse gases, not just carbon) which are attributed to Brent and one of our key objectives is to reduce these emissions by at least two thirds by 2030. Due to this timelag in receiving specific data, councils are reliant in the meantime on assessing progress through other ‘proxy’ measures which will indicate the direction of travel in reducing emissions. We are currently working on developing an internal dashboard with the council’s Corporate Performance Team which currently includes around 80 potential underpinning long-term indicators and datasets. These can include specific datasets such as EPC ratings, waste statistics, TfL travel data but also through more the practical delivery of initiatives we have set out in our yearly delivery plans. Progress will be reported to Cabinet each year. The current 2021-22 delivery plan for example, comprises of actions that we expect to have a direct impact on emissions, or lay the building blocks for emissions reduction in the future.

2) How does the Council plan to keep the public informed on progress?

 The council has been keeping the public informed of progress through regular updates via Brent’s main communications and engagement channels. This includes the council’s social and digital channels, through news updates, webinars and social media feed on specific projects and themes from the delivery plan as well as in the physical copies of the Your Brent magazine or at any in person event where the climate emergency team has a presence. We have also developed and established the Brent Environmental Network which is now approaching 1000 members. The network is ultimately proposed to be the key overarching mechanism for sustained and ongoing engagement with communities on tackling the climate and ecological emergency and achieving the council’s sustainability aims for the borough. Signed up members receive, at the very least, a monthly e-newsletter which provides information on how individuals can live more sustainably and contribute to tackling the climate emergency, alongside updates about the council’s climate emergency programme and a ‘community corner’ which seeks to shine a light on all of the positive environmental initiatives that are happening in Brent led by brilliant individuals and local organisations. Members also receive specific alerts about local events, issues or new initiatives like grant funding as and when necessary. We have also established and meet regularly with the Brent Environmental Network Advisory Group not only as a means of providing updates, but also to gather regular community input on how we expand our engagement to all of Brent’s communities. As an example of an outcome of this work, we are also hoping to develop new dedicated social media platforms for the Brent Environmental Network as a means of providing even more regular and dedicated information about environmental initiatives in Brent. We have also committed to providing a comprehensive yearly report to cabinet which set out the progress made against all actions within the yearly delivery plans, plus any key contributing actions which have developed through the course of the year outside the formal delivery plan. This report will also be the opportunity for cabinet to approve future yearly delivery plans.

3) Does the Council believe that any of the targets need to be more ambitious in the light of recent climate developments?

Page 41 of the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy sets out of that this is a long-term strategy but that we will keep under review the need to refresh its aims and objectives in the years to come. Whilst recent weather events around the world and in London, plus the findings of the IPCC report, have been very troubling, we are one of only twelve London councils to have adopted a carbon neutrality target both for our own operations and for borough wide emissions by 2030. We therefore sincerely feel that we are being as ambitious as we can be with resources at our disposal at the present time. We remain open to ideas and suggestions from residents or communities as to what else the council can do to upscale our plans. We are very clear throughout the strategy document that the council cannot achieve these targets alone and we need all individuals and communities in Brent to play their part and strive for carbon neutrality.

Many thanks to Philip Grant for this Guest Post - Part 2 next week

This article only came about because of an enquiry to Wembley History Society. What were the name and address of a music shop in Ealing Road run by the Macari family around the 1960s, and could we provide a photograph of it? The first part was quite easy, Macari’s Musical Exchange was at 46b Ealing Road. But we can’t find a photograph of the outside of the shop. If anyone reading this has one, please share a copy of it with us (c/o Wembley Matters)!

An old postcard of Ealing Road, with the shop's location arrowed. (Brent Archives online image 8823)

Along with the shop’s address, we did receive a number of memories of the Macari family and the shop from the Society’s members and friends. Some of these were quite detailed. As they help to tell the story of those times, I decided to put them together in an article, both for general interest and for anyone who might like to know more about Wembley’s music history. I’ve since received some more information from the family itself, and am now including that as well.

Terry doesn’t remember the shop, but was taught to play the guitar in 1957/58 by Anthony Macari, at the family’s home in Canons Park. With his knowledge of Music Hall and Variety Theatre history, Terry let me know what a musical family they were. In the years after the Second World War, Anthony and his children, Larry, Joe and Rosa, were in an accordion band, Macari’s Dutch Serenaders. By the 1960s, they were also known as Anthony Macari and His Dutch Serenaders, with Larry no longer in the group.

46 Ealing Road is on the corner of Chaplin Road, at the northern end of a small parade of shops (numbers 46 to 60). The Macari shop is not shown in the 1958 edition of Curley’s Directory of Wembley, but that must have been out of date, as the business had opened by January that year. This is the top of a letter sent by Anthony to Rosa, who had a singing engagement in Dublin at the time.

The Musical Exchange headed notepaper from 1958. (Courtesy of Glo Macari)

Macari’s Musical Exchange does appear in the 1962 and 1968 editions of the Directory. There were two shops at number forty-six. 46b was the music shop, while 46a was Derosa Ladies Wear. This was run by Rosa and her sister-in-law, Jean (Joe’s wife), and took over the costume hire business, as well as selling evening gowns and children’s clothes. Anthony Macari is shown at 46c, the flat above the shops reached by stairs at the back, and he lived there for a time with his wife, as well as using one room [details in Part 2!] for the music business.

1960s street map of Wembley, with shop's location marked. (G.I. Barnett street plan / courtesy Zerine Tata)

The late 1950s was a pivotal time in music history. More people had radios and gramophones on which they could listen to music, but much of what you could listen to had been dance bands, such as Wembley-born Victor Silvester’s. Most “popular music” came from America, and performers like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly introduced young people to more upbeat songs, played by small groups with guitars, which came to be known as “rock and roll”.

Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group, late 1950s. (Image from the internet)

In England, there was a transitional stage, with its roots in jazz and folk music, called “skiffle”. Lonnie Donegan was one of its leading acts, but by 1958 the country also had its own “Pop” stars, such as Cliff Richard and his backing group, soon to be known as The Shadows (which included Jet Harris, from Willesden, on bass guitar and Tony Meehan, from West Hampstead, on drums). By then, many teenage boys wanted to play in rock and roll groups!

The Macaris had a shop in Burnt Oak before opening another branch of the business in Ealing Road, Wembley. Kay’s older brother remembered the shop: 

‘It was in the parade of shops opposite the old St Andrew's Church which is now the Wembley Mosque, not far from the junction with Chaplin Road. There was a cycle shop next door.  The shop wasn’t that big, they had a couple of upright pianos, lots of brass instruments, acoustic guitars and mostly “old fashioned” instruments.’   

‘He was passing the shop one day and Hattie Jacques and John Le Mesurier were coming out with instruments they’d bought for their kids. Keith Moon who lived in Chaplin Road used to practice there, and also in the Pavitt Hall on the corner of Union Road.’ 

Alan remembers the shop well, with guitars hung on the walls. He and some friends had formed a group as was so common in the early 1960s. He and the singer would go and ‘jam’ at the shop. He recalls the father and son running the shop being very helpful when he needed a new bridge for one of his guitars. Musicians wanting work or people requiring musicians would use the shop as a hub.

The 5 Stars skiffle group, c.1959. (Photo courtesy of Alan and Barbara Clarke)

Alan’s first group was a skiffle band calling themselves “The 5 Stars”. As you can see from the photograph, three of them played guitars, and their drummer, Roger, just had a side drum. A common feature of skiffle groups was the improvised bass, often called a tea chest bass (as that is what most of them were made from), although this one appears to use an oil can. A single string ran from the can (or wooden box) to the top of a broom handle. When the string was plucked, the sound resonated from the can, and the bass note could be changed by altering the position of the broom handle!

Three of the 5 Stars went on to form another group, led by their singer, Alan Hayward. The two Alans would practice in the shop, something the Macaris encouraged as it brought more interest to their business. There was no separate rehearsal room, just an area in the shop itself. Once when they were practicing, lead guitarist Alan was allowed to play “The Blue Moon of Kentucky” (a song from Elvis Presley’s first record in 1954) on a maroon Gibson guitar which had been on display, hung on the shop’s wall.

Glo Macari, listening to a record at the shop, 1961. (Courtesy of Glo Macari)

As well as instruments, the shop also sold records. Anthony Macari’s grand-daughter Gloria (“Glo”) liked spending time in the shop, listening to the latest songs, and learning the words and tunes. Her family lived in Clarendon Gardens, and she went to Park Lane, then St Joseph’s R.C. primary schools. She was already playing guitar by then, and the famous guitarist, Bert Weedon, who often came into the shop, gave her some extra lessons. You can hear Bert playing his 1959 hit record, “Guitar Boogie Shuffle”, here:

Like many Wembley children at the time, most of her Saturday mornings were spent at the Regal Cinema, just up the road from the shop, for the children’s picture shows. Sometimes these also included the chance for youngsters to perform on the stage – ‘very exciting!’ Glo remembers singing “Bobby’s Girl” there, which was a big “hit” for Susan Maughan in 1962.

The Regal Cinema, in a 1950s postcard of Ealing Road. (Brent Archives online image 1195)

There will be more on the music shop’s story, and the musicians who used it, next weekend. This will include a teenager from Chaplin Road, who bought some drum sticks there (can you guess Who?). I hope you can join me then, to enjoy more local history, and music, from a time that played a big part in the development of modern “Pop”.

The walk from Wembley Park to Stonebridge Park

The Wealdstone Brook flows through the recent developments in Wembley Park

The River Brent at Monks Park/St Raphaels

FLOOD ZONE 1 = low probabality of flood, FLOOD ZONE 2  =  medium probability between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 annual probability of flooding,  FLOOD ZONE 3 high probability having a 1 in 100 or greater annual probability of flood.

NB above are river flooding, in addition there may be surface water flooding.

Brent FoE will be leading a walk following (as far as possible) the course of the Wealdstone Brook and part of the River Brent from Wembley Park Station (meeting at 2pm) to St Raphael’s green space. We will meet at 2pm on Olympic Square at the foot of the Wembley Park station steps.

The possibility of flooding due to extreme weather, both in terms of river flooding and the drainage system not being able to cope with torrential downpours, has become more obvious in the last few years as extreme weather events have increased, with some area of Brent hit by flooding recently.

We will look at natural life along the waterways, (you may be surprised) and consider how the built environment interacts with nature, and the possible dangers posed as climate change threatens to bring more flooding over the next few years. We will pause (at about 3pm) on the bank of the River Brent, near the Monks Park/St Raphaels open space, to launch paper boats with messages about climate change, and what we all need to do about it. Come along and make your own boat to launch!

Also bear in mind:

• Children are welcome andd should be accompanied by an adult who will be responsible for them.
• Wellies optional
• Assemble at Wembley Park at 2pm. Boats will be placed in the river/or on the nearby grassy area on the St Rapahels bank at 3pm
• We will have fishing nets to ‘capture’ any boats floated down the river.
• Participants can choose to break the walk at Stonebridge Park (station and buses)  or do the return walk at their leisure or with the guide.
• Participants should bring water, snack and any medication they may require.

 There are firm paths throughout the route except for a few metres on the river bank for the boat launch.

If you intend to come  to the start of the walk please let us know by emailing martinrfrancis@virginmedia.com with name etc. We will email back a mobile phone contact for the day.

Brent Council last night unanimously backed Barry Gardiner's Campaign to end the practice of 'Fire and Rehire' - the method employers use to reduce their costs by sacking workers and re-eemploying them on on reduced wages and worsened conditions of service.

Conservative councillor Michael Maurice remarking that he did not often agree with Barry Gardiner supported the motion saying that some corporate employers were bullies.

The Stop Fire and Rehire Campaign is building cross-party support in Parliament ahead of the Bill's next stage which  takes place on Friday October 22nd.

As well as declaring support the motion also included practical steps to be taken by Brent Council:

This council notes the unethical use of the fire and rehire tactics by certain employers, forcing their staff to accept unfair terms and conditions, leaving many having to work longer hours and for lower pay. 

While the Prime Minister has called this “unacceptable” he has continually refused to take action to outlaw the practice, raising concerns that he will not intervene in this race to the bottom by some employers. This council notes that this practice has been rejected here at Brent as is specifically outlined in the procurement strategy. Furthermore, we have ensured all our service providers abide by these terms. 

 

This council stands with the campaign that has been promoted by our local member of parliament, Barry Gardiner MP who has spotlighted this unsavoury practice, working with trade union partners to defend the right of workers against unscrupulousemployers. Workers should not be scapegoated to carry the burden of lost profits. 

 

This council therefore believes action is required to ensure local residents are protected against such unethical practices and agrees: 

 

(1) To request that the Leader of the Council write to the Prime Minister demanding the full protection of employees subject to these terms and conditions. 

(2) To continue to encourage fellow councils to exclude from their authorised list of suppliers any business’ using these Fire and Rehire Tactics and to update their procurement and social value policy to reflect that of ethical practices. 

Furthermore we call upon them to update existing contracts with suppliers in accordance with this commitment. 

(3) To continue to foster good working relationships with Trade Unions here at Brent. 

(4) To work with our anchor institutions and key partners to bring forward plans for the introduction of a local employer charter for companies to work toward with Trade Unions. This should include worker rights, support for the TUC Great Jobs’ agenda and with the real living wage campaign at its heart. Brent council notes its records as a good and ethical employer, and truly believes that all workers deserve well-paid secure and meaningful work. 

 

BRENT COUNCIL ANNOUNCES A NEW WAY OF MAKING NEIGHBOURHOOD CIL DECISIONS

We want to make sure you know about an exciting change to the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) funding. The funding decisions are being handed to Brent residents, organisations and groups who work with and for them, and we are calling this You Decide.

The Five Brent Connects areas (above)  will receive £400,000 each of the £2m total and residents will decide how it is spent, through Participatory Budgeting.

How will this work?

We are inviting residents to join forces with local groups and organisations to decide what they think their area needs. What would make a difference to the lives of people and support them? What changes could funding bids for physical assets make? How could a street, estate, sports club, park or community venue provide more for local people by purchasing physical things? What do local people need?

Constituted organisations can submit a bid to You Decide for a share of the £400,000 for that Brent Connects area. Residents can share ideas with you.

Residents will then have the chance to vote on what they want at Decision Day events. Applications will be presented and voted on in each Brent Connects area. Anyone over 18 can vote.

Everyone is invited to attend the community-based information evenings, as a resident and/or representative of an organisation. Please register at this Eventbrite link. If you can’t attend your area meeting, please sign up for a different one.

You can find more You Decide information at www.brent.gov.uk/youdecide

Do spread the word about You Decide is how £2million of NCIL funding is to be spent. Please also tell us about events we can attend to share information at youdecide@brent.gov.uk.

KEY DATES

We want to create real buzz around this and we need your support to spend the money as you think it is best used. 

We want to create real buzz around this and we need your support so the money is spent as needed, and as decided by as many people as possible. 

Please share this information with friends, family, neighbours and all or any groups you belong to, and encourage them to come to an Information Evening – as a potential applicant, or voter – using this Eventbrite link

NCIL PB guidance note

NCIL PB application form (PDF)

NCIL PB application form (Word)

Extract from Brent’s housing projects map, with ‘not yet in public domain’ schemes in black.

Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

Three weeks ago, I wrote a guest blog about Brent Council plans for “infill” housing schemes which were ‘not yet in public domain’. In the comments beneath it, I shared the text of an email I’d sent to the councillors and Council officers most closely involved, offering them a “right of reply”.

I did receive a short email the same day, from one of my Fryent Ward councillors who I’d copied the email to. Shama Tatler, who is also the Lead Member for Regeneration in Brent’s Cabinet, wrote:

‘Thank you for your email. Yes, you can be assured that we as ward councillors will be involved early with any proposal and will ensure resident voice. We have been doing the same in other projects in the ward.’

Encouraging words, although they do beg the question: “if they had been involved early in the four ‘not yet in public domain’ proposals in their ward, why hadn’t residents been given a chance to have their say about them yet?”

I had to wait a couple of weeks for a substantive reply, but on 16 September I received Brent’s response to my article from Cllr. Eleanor Southwood, Lead Member for Housing. I will set out its full text below, and would encourage you all to read it. 

I believe that all citizens of the borough should be able to express their views, on issues they feel strongly about, to those at the Civic Centre who make the big decisions. But we also need to consider what they say. Having these exchanges of views publicly available can help us to understand each other. (It can also be useful in trying to ensure that the Council lives up to the words of the elected members who represent us!)

Here is the Council’s response:

‘Thank you for your email and again apologies for not responding sooner.

For clarity, the map that you included in your blog, entitled by you or other, ‘Brent’s secret housing projects’ was published alongside a cabinet report providing detail of all of Brent’s current housing projects – this report and its appendices were public and therefore by definition, everything included in it is not a secret.  However I agree that the term ‘not yet in the public domain’ used as a key on the map was unhelpful, and as such we will not be using this term in future to explain sites that are at the feasibility stage.

I absolutely agree that Brent Council must work with residents to shape housing development projects, not just on the housing itself but also on the improvements that are made as part of each development we deliver.  We take this responsibility seriously - with workshops, public events, newsletters and questionnaires all used to discuss and get input on our proposals.  You’ll no doubt have seen my written response to a question at Full Council re the Kilburn Square development, which I think is good evidence of this.

However, as I’m sure you’re aware, the process isn’t that linear.  As you have also pointed out, in addition to our duty to existing residents, we also have a duty to residents who are homeless or in priority housing need – as at August 2021 there were 1487 families and individuals living in Temporary Accommodation, to whom the Council owes a housing duty.  Just for context, if we do nothing more to increase our housing stock some of those families could be waiting more than 15 years to get a suitable house that they can call home.  This is unacceptable and we’re committed to changing this outlook, which inevitably involves balancing differing views and priorities.

The approach to addressing the housing shortage in Brent is multi-pronged – we are working with Housing Associations and private developers to bring forward housing sites with good levels of genuinely affordable housing, we are reviewing and improving management of our existing stock so that we can make better use of what we have and, we are building our own housing for social rent to our residents. 

We don’t have a surplus of suitable land for development, so we are reviewing lots of sites across our borough to understand which might be suitable for housing – this is the feasibility work referred to earlier.  We’re always keen to engage with ward Cllrs and local residents ahead of any proposals going to planning.  I appreciate that proposed developments can create anxiety and that compromise is often required.  In addition, all of our work in housing development is framed by policy at a local and regional level, which provides strict requirements in terms of density, open space, parking etc, in order that Brent and London continue to provide homes whilst protecting what’s important for existing residents.   

I agree that working with residents is key and this will continue to be a core part of developing any proposals for new housing, balanced with the needs of residents who are currently homeless and the requirements of planning policy.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Cllr Southwood’

Encouraging words again, especially her agreement that ‘Brent Council must work with residents to shape housing development projects’, but we do need to see that happening in practice, and at an early stage of any proposed “infill” schemes. If you live at Campbell Court, Elvin Court, Westcroft Court or Gauntlett Court, or if you know anyone who does, have residents there been consulted about the Council’s proposals yet? Please add a comment below with the answer!

I had read Cllr. Southwood’s written response to the question on Kilburn Square. Some of the points she made in that, particularly that 'the most cost effective building occurs when the council is able to build on land that it owns', reminded me that no one from Brent had responded to an email I sent to all members of the Cabinet on 13 August. That email was about my article on Council housing on the former Copland School site. I also had a letter on the same subject published in last week’s Brent & Kilburn Times (16 September). 

An elevation drawing from the Council’s plans for the Wembley housing development.

The Council owns the vacant site, and has full planning consent to build 250 homes there. It has access to over £100m of grant funding from the GLA to build social rent housing over the next five years. Yet Brent’s Cabinet has agreed to invite a private developer to get involved in the project, and to let that developer have more than 150 of the homes to sell at a profit!

I have replied to Cllr. Southwood, and raised this issue again. I can’t understand why, with the urgent need for Council homes that she emphasises, Brent isn’t building all of these 250 homes (including sixty-four 3 and 4-bedroom family dwellings) for affordable rent, instead of just 52!

I will include the text of my latest email to her in the comments section below. And I will, of course, share any response I receive with you.

Philip Grant.

ice&fire –and Matthew Schmolle Productions are delighted to announce the London tour of a brand-new all-immigrant variety show. WE LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT is performed by a clown collective of immigrant performers, who take the audience on a journey of variety and satire. grappling with our decade’s stickiest subject; immigration.  It’s a show where karaoke meets moral philosophy, incorporating a stand-up pigeon double act, smorgasbord of characters, plenty of juice, plenty of biscuits and plenty of food for thought.

ice&fire have established themselves as a theatre company renowned for their use of performance to explore human rights issues, in WE LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT, the cast do just that. Because while Brexit is now ‘done’ it seems we are still far from done with the age-old immigration ‘question.’ This all-immigrant variety show, has been created by Olivier award winner Donnacadh O’Briain (Ireland) and playwright Amy Ng (Hong Kong), with a company of actors; Jahmila Heath (Jamaica), Tomoko Komura (Japan), Gaël Le Cornec (Brazil-via-France) and Sergio Maggiolo (Peru). Collectively they are over 29,000 miles from home.

Touring to every corner of London, including in Brent visiting venues in  Wembley, Willesden Green, South Kilburn, Harlesden and Neasden, and serving up jokes, songs and satire, the performers ask; ‘What is behind our societal acceptance of immigration control? What does it say about us and what do those who have come to the UK from somewhere else want to say about it?’ 

Christine Bacon from ice&fire says: ‘As a company, ice&fire have for some time been concerned with the here and now of human rights stories and what can be done to make current systems more fair. With this project, we are trying to take a big step back and interrogate how and why immigration controls are seen as a common sense and 'natural' feature of our world. But with clowns, so it will make you smile.'

Matthew Schmolle says: ‘We are passionate about getting this show out beyond the traditional theatre-world-echo-chamber, getting it in front of the broadest audience possible and seeing what all those people have to say about these over-looked issues which underpin so much of modern discourse around immigration’.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Tuesday 28^th September – Saturday 16^th October: 

Evenings (Timings vary, see www.iceandfire.co.uk/project/wltmimi for full information)

Tickets: Range from £Free - £15

Performance length: Approximately 60 minutes with no interval. 

Venues:

Thursday 7^th October & Friday 8^th October   The Yellow, Wembley

Saturday 9^th October   The Library at Willesden Green, Willesden 

Tuesday 12^th October   The Granville Community Centre, South Kilburn

Wednesday 13^th October   The Roundwood Community Centre, Harlesden

Thursday 14^th October     St Catherine’s Church, Neasden

This is the second and final part of Philip  Grant's Guest Post on the Macari music shop. The first part can be read HERE.

Welcome back to this concluding part of an Ealing Road music shop’s story. In Part 1 we met two Alans, a vocalist and a guitar player, who started a skiffle group with school friends, and regularly visited Macari’s Musical Exchange. We join them again as a “beat” group in the early 1960s.

A Musical Exchange advert from the 1960s. (Image from the internet, courtesy of Tony Royden)

Alan Hayward and the Haymakers usually practised at Lyon Park School, and mainly performed at a club based there. One day, while rehearsing at the school, a teenage drummer called Keith Moon came to hear them. He showed them what he could do on his drums, and managed to move the drum kit as far as the door while drumming! The group was not impressed with him (nor he with them).

The young Keith Moon, from Chaplin Road, was a hyperactive boy, who joined the local Sea Cadets aged 12, and learned to play the bugle. On his way home from Alperton Secondary Modern School, he often used to go into Macari’s Musical Exchange, at one time learning to play the trumpet. 

Glo Macari used to see him in the shop, and he must have been quite an attractive teenager. She used to go with her cousin to a nearby greengrocers (probably Smith’s Fruiterers at 40 Ealing Road) to buy a couple of pounds of potatoes, just to see him sweeping up at the back! Keith then decided that drums would be his instrument, and Glo remembers him buying some drum sticks from her grandfather. He was allowed to play on drums in the shop, and took lessons from a local professional drummer, Carlo Little.

[In the early 1960s Carlo was a member of The Savages, the backing group for Sudbury “singer” and performer Screaming Lord Sutch (if you’ve ever heard a recording of his one minor hit record, “Jack the Ripper”, you will know why I have put “singer” in inverted commas!). Carlo Little was a well-respected musician, and even played a few times for the “Rolling Stones” in 1962, when another Wembley drummer, Charlie Watts, was not available because he was still employed as a commercial artist.]

An Macari's advert from the 1960s.(Image from the internet, courtesy of Tony Royden)

Keith Moonleft school at Easter 1961, not quite 15 years old, and got a job. His earnings helped him to buy his own Ludwig drum kit. By the end of 1962 he had joined a semi-professional group, The Beachcombers. They all had day jobs, but played in the evenings and at weekends. In April 1964 he went to the Railway Hotel, Wealdstone, to hear a group called The Who playing. They needed a replacement drummer, and Keith grabbed his opportunity. The rest, as they say, is history! 

Keith Moon drumming with The Who.(Image from the internet)

You can hear The Who singing “My Generation”, and see Keith in action on the drums, here: 

Gary was another young Wembley musician who often visited the shop. He remembers Rosa’s husband, Derek, being the manager there at the time, and that Grandpa Macari would sit in the shop with his accordion. He sometimes played along with customers, and Gary once joined him on guitar as he played “Under the Bridges of Paris”. Gary recalls seeing Keith Moon practicing there, and being told to calm down in case he damaged the drum kit. One of the instruments Gary bought in the shop was a second-hand Fender Stratocaster, for about £60 – this iconic guitar would cost a lot more now!

A 1957 Fender Stratocaster guitar. (Image from the internet)

Gary worked as a courier, and the shop would call him if a customer needed help getting purchases home, such as large amplifiers. He remembers that the Macari’s bought the shop next door (46a, on the corner, which Rosa ran as Derosa Ladies Wear), and them making a recording studio behind the shop. He helped with the work on this, sticking dozens of old egg boxes to the walls as soundproofing.

Glo Macari told us the recording studio was in a room at the back that her grandfather had originally used for giving accordion lessons. It had three booths, and wires going up through the ceiling to a control room in the flat above. There was a two-track machine that recorded the music and songs straight onto demo discs. Groups would send these discs to local agents, to get bookings for gigs, or even sometimes to record companies, in hope of something bigger!

By the early 1960s, Glo’s father Joe and Uncle Larry were working at Musical Exchange branches at Denmark Street and Charing Cross Road during the day, and playing some evenings in hotels or for wedding receptions. She began going along with them as a singer, and made some demo discs in the Wembley studio herself. In the Spring of 1965, still aged 14 and a pupil at St Gregory’s R.C. School in Kenton, she got a recording contract.

Glo Macari singing for some friends in the shop, March 1965. (“Wembley News” photo, courtesy of Glo!)

This photograph of Glo Macari, singing in the Ealing Road shop, appeared in the “Wembley News”, with a story about her contract, and her musical family. Her first single, released on the Piccadilly label, was “He knows I love him too much”, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and recorded with the Ivor Raymond Orchestra. You can listen to Glo Macari singing this song here: 

Glo’s records never made it into the “Top Twenty”, but she went on to be a successful songwriter and musical arranger. Some of the songs she wrote were recorded by 1970s groups such as Smokie and Racey.

Record label for Glo Macari’s song “Boy Oh Boy”, a 1979 single by Racey. (Image from the internet)

Not all of the musicians helped by Macari’s Musical Exchange in Ealing Road could be recording artists or become rock and roll legends (or experience the problems that came with a “superstar” lifestyle). Most just played for fun, for their friends and contemporaries, or might have made a small amount from playing at dances in youth clubs, church halls or pubs. But playing a guitar, in a group, you were part of the beat music scene that made such a difference to popular music, in this country and beyond, from the 1960s onwards.

 Alan Hayward and the Haymakers, playing at Lyon Park School c.1964.
L-R: Alan Clarke, Roger Horsborough, John Hammond, Alan Hayward and Pete Scott.
(Photograph courtesy of Alan and Barbara Clarke)

Alan Hayward and the Haymakers had a small popular local following. This picture of them, playing in a classroom at Lyon Park School, was taken by a Wembley Observer photographer in 1964. Around that time, they were allowed to play several songs during the interval at one of the Saturday night ballroom dances at Wembley (later Brent) Town Hall.

One day, around 1967, Gary got a ‘phone call from a friend who was at the shop, telling him to come down straight away with his guitar. He arrived and joined in with a “jamming” session in the shop which included Pete Townshend of The Who, Eric Clapton of Cream (whose drummer, Ginger Baker, lived in Wembley Park at the time) and two members of Status Quo.

A modern picture of 46 Ealing Road, now Kenya Jewellers. (Image from the internet)

I’m not sure when the local branch of Macari’s Musical Exchange closed, but it was probably around 1970. By the early 1980s, Ealing Road was becoming a centre for businesses run by families of South Asian origin, from East African countries, where they had been made unwelcome after independence from British colonial rule. The two combined shops at 46 Ealing Road became Kenya Jewellers, and they still are.

During it’s time in Wembley the Macari’s shop had encouraged many young people play musical instruments, at the birth of modern Pop Music in Britain. The business continued, with its main shop in Charing Cross Road, before moving out of London, but is still run by the Macari family and supplying instruments to musicians today.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these two articles, and listening to some music from that time. If they have brought back any memories for you, which you would like to share, please feel free to add a comment below!

Philip Grant 

Editor's Note - These articles have provoked considerable interest along with earlier ones by Philip. HERE you can find a personal account of the enduring friendship between Ginger Baker and Charlie Watts.

Glo Macari has her own YouTube Channel HERE

A  local family  took action yesterday in support of the London Parklets campaign asking for the right for residents of the capital to create small green and socialising spaces on their street. A contrast to all those fuming motorists queueing for petrol over the weekend!

A small table, three chairs, a tomato planter and a houseplant : that's all it took last Sunday afternoon for a Harlesden family to create a parklet on a space normally used for car parking.

For two hours, Amandine Alexandre-Hughes, her husband, Ben and their 4 year old son, Barnaby, invited neighbours and friends to come and have a cup of tea and a biscuit in their temporary parklet.

Amandine Alexandre-Hughes, Ben Hughes and their son on September 26th.

The family is asking for the right to create a permanent  parklet outside their house.

Photo by Mary Mitchell

“We grabbed the opportunity of The People Parking Day, created by London Parklets Campaign, to catch up with neighbours whom we had not talked to properly in a long time”, Amandine told us.

“We also received very positive feedback from passersby. It’s not surprising considering the obvious benefits of parklets. They create a space for spontaneous and friendly interactions between people. Those do not happen otherwise because our streets are dominated by cars, that cause noise and are a major source of air pollution”, adds the parklet enthusiast who is also a clean air campaigner. 

“Although half of Harlesden residents don’t own a car, the neighbourhood is dominated by them. Also, green spaces are few and far between in our area and trees are sparse. We desperately need parklets”, insists Amandine Alexandre-Hughes, a Clean Air ambassador for Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum and Mums for Lungs activist.

Among the people who enjoyed the pop-up parklet created by the Alexandre-Hughes family on Brownlow road was fellow Harlesden resident Mary Mitchell and her youngest daughter.

“I was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with other neighbours, drink tea, and bring some greenery to the realm. More thought-provoking acts of reclamation like this are necessary to bring about a cleaner, healthier, and happier community in our local areas”, Mary said.

On top of being community-friendly, People Parking Day organisers highlight the fact that parklets can help address the climate crisis by increasing biodiversity, breaking up heat islands and providing extra storm drainage.

Campaigners are calling on the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and borough leaders to allow residents to apply to create parklets in the streets where they live, with an aim to have one on every road in the capital.

In a surprise announcement the only Liberal Democrat on Brent Council has resigned from the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce. Cllr Anton Georgiou said, "With regret, I have decided to resign [] following serious concerns about the way in which elected members’ wishes, actions and agreed work direction have been blocked by senior officers at Brent Council."

The resignation comes after last year's skirmishes with Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt over Georgiou's attempt to put forward alternative ideas for the 2020-21 budget which Butt denounced as ill-informed. LINK

It appeared that his inclusion in this year's Task Force would enable Cllr Georgiou to make a contribution early in the process but he now feels that the Task Force has been rendered powerless and the different roles of officers and councillors blurred.

Statement in full

In Local Authorities, where the governing party has such a large majority, it is crucial that there are ways in which councillors from different parties can come together to provide thorough and detailed scrutiny and that there is maximum transparency over decisions, spending and service delivery.

No one party, or group of people have a monopoly on good ideas and policy, which is why it is critical we hold decision makers to account at every step of the way - especially when it comes to decisions around spending taxpayers money.

With regret, I have decided to resign from the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce, following serious concerns about the way in which elected members’ wishes, actions and agreed work direction have been blocked by senior officers at Brent Council.

It is my view that democratic scrutiny in Brent is being curtailed and undermined by those who it exists to hold to account.

Recent actions by senior officers suggest a contempt for scrutiny which makes it hard for effective scrutiny to take place in our borough. I believe challenge, disagreement and independence of thought and action are discouraged by those who hold the most power within the organisation.

It is crucial to define the different roles elected members and officers should be playing in the scrutiny process. In Brent I have seen that lines are too often blurred which results in elected members not being able to carry out key parts of our responsibilities, that we are elected by residents to do.

My decision to resign from the Taskforce comes following interventions by senior officers, including the Chief Executive, which put pressure on elected members to redefine an already agreed to work programme of the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce. This work programme had been democratically agreed to by councillors, with officers present.

At the insistence of senior officers, public engagement with the Budget Scrutiny process has now been taken off the table completely - which makes me feel deeply uneasy and raises a number of serious questions.

The decision to redefine the remit of the group in this way will effectively render it powerless. The outcomes will likely be limited and recommendations made will make no difference to the budget that will ultimately be rubber stamped by Labour Councillors at Full Council early next year.

I will continue to work with others who share the view that effective and rigorous scrutiny is essential in our borough. I sadly believe that there is an endemic problem with the way scrutiny is understood and respected by those at the top of the organisation.

Brent Council consists of 59 Labour councillors (one who has the whip withdrawn), 3 Tories and one Liberal Democrat.

Quintain's public relations company has been keen for Wembley Matters to publish details of the new park in the Wembley Regeneration area. Claims that it is the first 'new park' in Wembley Park are not quite true as we have the excellent Chalkhill Park in the locality, but on the other side of the railway line, which is maturing very nicely and really well used by the local community.

I responded that I would like to see the park for myself rather than base a story around the photographs and CGIs provided.

However, any green space is welcome amongst the concrete of the Wembley regeneration area. The southern section, south of Engineers Way,  has a considerable amount of concrete and we are promised a 'more rugged design' for the northern section on the site of the current Yellow car park on the other side of the road. (See LINK)

Today when I visited it was chilly despite the sunshine and there were few people about so the area seemed rather dead but I imagine on a warm day children would be having a great time in the fountains. A nursery will be opening soon on the edge of the park and they will be making use of it as an outdoor play and nature investigation areas. 

It was rather disconcerting to see so much water after I had led a walk on Saturday highlighting the danger of flooding in parts of the regeneration area!

Quintain say:

Union Park features a revolutionary water run-off system, which carries rainwater from around the area, filters it, and then releases it into one of the southern section’s lakes. Water features have been an important component of Wembley Park since it was first laid out by Humphry Repton in the 1770s, with the Wealdstone Brook and Brent River framing the then-manor and now-neighbourhood.

The park features a quotation from Humphry Repton on the side of what resembles a shed but is perhaps a pumping station, that is not entirely legible:

'The character of a place will take its distinguishing marks from the unified consideration of its situation and the extent of territory surrounding'

Quintain's press release said:

The first part of the park, which is open now, features amenities including a play park, paddling pools, outdoor gym equipment – which will be an extension of the super-gym right beside it – and a multi-use games area which will enable people to play a number of sports in view of the world-famous Wembley Stadium arch.

There is an adjacent cafe  at the foot of one of the high rises which is welcome but given the continuous sound of water, which is likely to induce a sense of urgency in bladders,  and the need for a place where wet children can change into dry clothes,  a public lavatory might be useful.

The park is not yet finished so there may well be one planned.

If you would like to see the park for yourself go along Olympic Way from Wembley Park Station and turn left along Engineers Way. It is a short walk to the Yellow Car Park and Union Park South is opposite. 

I would be interested in your comments on the park.

Philip Grant has left a comment  below and asked me to publish these images by way of explanation.

Postcard showing the North Entrance Gardens at Wembley Park in 1924

Painting of the gardens at the east end of the Lake in 1924/25 (now the southern section of Union Park)

River Brent catchment area

GLA Brent flood risk areasLINK

A press release from the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, on September 23rd reported on Climate Vulnerability Mapping carried out ahead of COP26. LINK

It said:

The boroughs at particularly high risk, meaning that the risk of both flooding and overheating are very high, jeopardising lives and livelihoods are:

• Hackney
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Islington
• Brent
• Tower Hamlets
• Newham 

 A combination of factor contribute to flooding including over-flowing rivers; reduced permeability due to development, including reduced green space and the paving over of gardens, and drainage systems unable to cope with extreme weather events.

Aware of this, Brent Friends of the Earth last week conducted a Flood and Nature Awareness walk from Wembley Park to Stonebridge Park along the Wealdstone Brook and the River Brent.  This article provides some of the background requested by the walkers.

The top image above shows the catchment area of the River Brent with Wembley at its centre. The lower image is the flood risk of all types captured in the Climate Vulnerability Mapping.  Unfortunately there is no data for the immediate Wembley regeneration area but the 'High Risk' vulnerability is clear. The map is interactive so you can zoom into different areas by following the link.

The maps below whilst not so up to date gives more detail - the darker the blue the more vulnerable to flooding. Light blue is surface flooding:

 Ten years ago Brent Council's Surface Water Management Plan said: LINK

Finally, a combination of poor historical planning decisions, urban creep and infill development has had a further detrimental impact on the ability of the Borough to hold back the rain where it falls, Thames Water have calculated that there has been a 17% increase since 1971 in impermeable area across North West London, as residents have added extensions or have paved over front gardens. This results in greater volumes of surface water for each rain event entering the system. This effect accumulates further down the system where the increasing volumes create greater pressures on the below ground piped assets, tending to result in overland flood flows, increasing frequencies and levels of discharges at overflows and flooding of peoples properties with contaminated foul and commercial wastewaters.

The amount of impermeable land in the borough must have increased  greatly since then.

Wikipedia records fluvial flooding LINK:

• 1682: A very violent storm of rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning, caused a sudden flood, which did great damage to the town of Brentford. The whole place was overflown; boats rowed up and down the streets, and several houses and other buildings were carried away by the force of the waters.^{[53]: 39–58}
• 1841: Brentford was flooded by the Brent Reservoir becoming overfull so that the overflow cut a breach in the earth dam. A wave of frothing and roaring water swept down the river's course taking all before it causing fatalities. Several lives were lost.^[54]
• 1976 and 1977: in the summer Britain saw drought and unusual heat with Water Companies declaring it would take six or seven years for empty reservoirs to recover. The following August, a rainy spell was followed by a day and night of torrential rain that overwhelmed the Brent reservoir — authorities decided to open the sluice gates maximally at time of highest volume and pressure, to avoid costly overflow flooding, having been under general pressure to keep stock water supplies. Later, before the river below overflowed in many sections certain local sewers overflowed, some into homes. The streets, including arterial roads were jammed and local trains blocked. Hundreds of homes and businesses closed for the clean-up, with widespread press coverage.^{[citation needed]}
• 2007: August saw heavy rain cause a short bout of flash flooding in Brentford and Hanwell on roads, the Hounslow Loop Line and London Underground.
• 2009: On 30 November, the Environment Agency warned residents of a flooding along River Brent from Hendon to Brentford, after a day of notably heavy rain. Several premises were temporarily flooded in Brentford and Perivale.^[55]

Local resident John Timms who has studied the 1977 flood in detail says that in fact the flow of the Wealdstone Brook had already increased significantly before the Welsh Harp sluice gates were opened and had caused flooding in Kenton and flooding followed down river with the draiage system unable to cope.

Laurie Pavitt, MP for what was then Brent South presented a petition to the House of Commons:

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I beg leave to present a petition signed by 588 of my constituents who seek relief from the acute anxiety that arises especially among the elderly, in my area whenever there is a heavy downpour of rain.

The petition sheweth That 71 households were flooded with sewerage water following the heavy rainfall on 16th and 17th August 1977. That this disaster has caused severe physical, mental and financial distress, and that investigations reveal that these floods were not unexpected, and according to expert engineering opinion the risk of further flooding has been rapidly increasing due to extensive new building developments and drainage systems. Planned and approved alleviation works have not been implemented and the reason given for this failure has been the shortage of finance. At a time of cuts in public expenditure which affect all citizens, the people of Stonebridge have had the additional burden of living through a disaster which has destroyed the contents of the ground floors of their homes, with all the consequent hardship and suffering. Nor will they have the wherewithal to replace their losses, as most families have a weekly wage and live from week to week.

The petition concludes: Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House by legislation or otherwise ensure that:

(1) full compensation be paid adequately to restore that which was lost.

(2) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall, in conjunction with the Greater London Council, seek to implement a satisfactory flood alleviation scheme as a matter of urgency.

(3) temporary works and an effective flood warning system be put into operation immediately and that the lowering of the 1126 water level in the reservoir known as the Welsh Harp shall have high priority.

If you or your family were affected by these floods, and particularly if you have any photographs, John Timms is keen to hear from you for his research. Write to me at martinrfrancis@virginmedia.com and I will pass it on.

This was the background to our walk which started on the bridge over the Wealdstone Brook on Bridge Road.

 Wealdstone Brook serving as a green corridor from Bridge Road (north side)

Brook Avenue, named after Wealdstone Brook which flows alongside it, is the site of planned tower blocks on the station car park (currently subject to a Public Inquiry) but has also been ear-marked in the Local Plan as a potential site for development between the avenue and the brook.

The surburban side of Brook Avenue where gardens back on to the brook 

The modification to the Local Plan both suggests development of the site, including a larger Premier Inn, and enhancement of the brook area:

The Premier Inn site provides the opportunity to provide a more defined edge to Wembley Park Drive/Brook Avenue and introduce an active frontage containing main town centre uses.

The site is adjacent to a mixture of residential and commercial buildings up to ten storeys. Within this context, development that is taller than the existing two storey suburban dwellings will be acceptable to the eastern side of the site, stepping down towards the residential buildings to the west of the site which is identified as an intensification corridor along Forty Avenue.

·A minimum of 8m setback from Wealdstone Brook will be sought. Development will be required to positively contribute to the biodiversity, improve access to the waterway and provide an appropriate landscaped setback which may include public open space.

·The building line should be closer towards Brook Avenue.

The brook flows beneath Bridge Road to  the College of North West London on the south side. Here it emerges into a small green space with mature trees and some landscaping.

College of North West London Grounds

The College building is adjacent to a major redevelopment site called the 'Fulton Quarter' which includes the retail park, McDonalds and the former studios, currently the temporary Troubadour theatre. The College site is also due to be redeveloped.

According to John Timms in the 1977 flood this park of the brook reached a height of 11-1/2 feet.

However, the modifications to the Local Plan concentrate on surface water:

The site is in flood zones 2 and 3a and susceptible to surface water flooding. All proposed development will require a detailed Flood Risk Assessment (FRA). Development must be consistent with the recommendations of the Brent Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 2.

Due to the site’s location in Flood Zone 3a, the ‘sequential approach’ at site level should be applied to steer more vulnerable development such as residential, student accommodation, hotels, and certain community uses towards areas of lowest risk within the site; north west area and southern edge.

 Associated infrastructure including water attenuation tanks, and the diversion of any utilities and services to accommodate the development.

·Green and sustainable infrastructure should be part of the development process and the development.

Most significantly a paragraph follows in bold  that is repeated for many of the developments, including Brook Avenue,  covered in the Local Plan Modifications, which really requires additional scrutiny. Who in Brent will provide it?

Waste water facilities enhancement Thames Water has indicated the scale of development is likely to require upgrades to the wastewater network. Thames Water will need to be engaged at the earliest opportunity to agree a housing and infrastructure phasing plan to ensure essential infrastructure is delivered prior to the development creating identified additional capacity requirements.

The Fulton Quarter (yellow) with CNWL and Wealdstone Brook bottom left. Numbers equal storeys.

 The Wealdstone Brook is culverted beneath Olympic Way and emerges next to 1 Olympic Way which has recently been converted from office accommodation to housing. Previously, as with the neighbouring Michaela School building, and as planned for the Fulton Quarter, the ground floor was not occupied, presumably because of the flooding risk.

                                       Wealdstone Brook emerges from beneath 1 Olympic Way

Now the brook meanders either side of North End Road with the attractive low rise Empire and Danes Court contrasting with the high rise developments. Soon we come across an interesting new development that was faced with the problem of potential flooding. It  is on the former Amex site and as you can see from the diagram surrounded on what is almost three sides by the Wealdstone Brook.

The planners recognised the flood risk:

The NPPF requires the Exception Test to be applied in the circumstances shown in Table 3 of the ‘Planning Practice Guidance: Flood Risk and Coastal Change’. Paragraph 102 of the NPPF makes clear that all elements of the test must be passed for development to be permitted. Part 2 of the test requires the applicant to demonstrate that the development will be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible will reduce flood risk overall.

The flood modelling prepared by the applicant shows that North End Road would be inundated in both the 1 in 100 35% climate change event and the 1 in 100 70% climate change event, which appears to be the only access/egress route. This means that safe refuge within the development is required for future occupants as safe access and egress cannot be achieved. 

 

The finished floor levels of the development have been raised above the 1 in 100 chance in any year, including an allowance for climate change flood extent. This means that floodwater is unlikely to enter the property during a 1 in 100 chance in any year plus climate change flood extent. 

 

The applicant has overcome the EA’s previous objection by submitting an acceptable emergency flood plan framework to the local planning authority that deals with matters of evacuation and refuge to demonstrate that people will not be exposed to flood hazards.

Since the development was completed North End Road has been reconnected with Bridge Road at a very steep junction which in extreme torrential rain could see a flood of water coming down the road.

This development also raises a continuing problem - that of the pastekl drawings of the development versus the harsh reality. The long term plan to utilise and enhance the Wealdstone Brook as a feature was addressed in the application's depiction of a waterside walk. At the time it was unclear whether this would be open to the public - another long-term plan. It was festooned with Private notices when we dropped by. Compare the artists's impression with the reality.

The brook now runs past industrial buildings and another ptential development site named rather anonymously 'Central Place' -. It is between Fulton Road and Fifth Way with Wealdstone Brook to the north. There is a big warehouse and car park occupying the site.

The Local Plan Modification states (NB items in bold:

North of the site is the SINC Grade II Wealdstone brook. The site is recognised as a waterside development, as such, developers will be required tocontribute towards restoration and naturalisation of the Brook,improve access to the waterway,provide appropriate landscaped setback, enhance water quality and biodiversity.
·Small sections of the site is susceptible to surface water flooding. The site is also adjacent to flood zone 3a (fluvial and tidal) so an appropriate buffer zone along the brook will remove the developable area of the site of any major risks.

A critical trunk sewer runs through this site which would need to be considered.

A buffer strip of at least 10m wide should be retained for a publicly accessible brook side park to allow for a cycle way/footpath, associated landscaping, tree planting and street furniture as agreed in consultation with the Environment Agency and Brent Council.

Infrastructure Requirements
·Developers would be required to contribute towards restoration and naturalisation of the SINC Grade II Wealdstone brook.
·Further master planning work will provide additional requirements.
·Green and sustainable infrastructure should be part of the development process and the development. 

 
·Thames Water has indicated the local water network capacity in this areamay be unable to support the demand anticipated from this development. Upgrades to the wastewater network are likely to be required. Thames Water will need to be engaged at the earliest opportunity to agree a housing and infrastructure phasing plan to ensure essential infrastructure is delivered prior to the development creating identified additional capacity requirements. Public sewers cross or are close to the site. The risk of damage during construction must be minimised. It must be ensured that development doesn't inhibit access for maintenance or the services in any other way.

 There is quite a lot of vagueness in all this and as we have seen pretty plans sometime turn into something much less and there does not seem to be a reliable process, with staff availability low after government cuts,to make sure promises are delivered. 

As a result over concerns over potential flood danger as a result of climate change and severe weather events, now with the addition of Sadiq Khan's warning, I have put two questions to November's Full Council meeting:

In the light of the increased prevalence of extreme weather events as a result of climate change and recent flooding in the borough, as well as a large number of new developments and increasing numbers of paved over gardens, does Brent Council:

 

Intend to work with partners including the Environment Agency and Thames Water to review and revise Brent Council’s

 

1)    Flood Risk Management Strategy

2)    Surface Water Management Plan

 and advise property owners and developers on mitigation measures?

Look out for Part 2 where we walk from Brent River Park to the North Circular at Stonebridge

NOTE

In case you feel you need to know more about how to react in a flood as a reesult of reading this article  this is the guidance from Brent Council:

Be Aware. Be Prepared. The time to think is now don't wait until it happens.

See how putting a grab bag may will help you to respond see the preparing for an emergency page.

If your house is potentially at risk from flooding here are some key things to remember.

If you are in a flood risk area find out if you can sign up to the Environment Agency's free 24 hour Floodline Warnings Direct service by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (or Type Talk: 0345 602 6340). You can select to receive warnings by phone, text or email.

Keep details of your insurance policy and the emergency contact numbers for your local council, emergency services and Floodline quick dial number somewhere safe - preferably as part of your emergency flood kit.

Know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water mains supplies.

If a flood is forecasted, take valuable items upstairs and take photos for insurance purposes.

Leave internal doors open, or ideally, remove them and store them upstairs.

Outside the house

Move anything not fixed down into a safer location, e.g. dustbins, garden chemicals car oil and similar.

Move your car to higher ground to avoid damage.

Weigh down manhole covers outside the house to prevent them floating away and leaving a hazardous hole.

See our page about who to call regarding drains and gullies for more advice.

For more information on preparing for a flood and other publications visit the Environment Agency's website

Sandbags

We do not supply sandbags or flood protection products directly to the public.

Builder's Merchants and DIY Stores may have sandbags available.

If you can't obtain sandbags, you can make them yourself by filling things like compost bags, old pillowcases or carrier bags filled with earth or sand.

https://www.brent.gov.uk/emergencies/severe-weather/flooding/