The review of Fire Safety was the second item on the recent Brent Scrutiny Commitete agenda and was not as comprehensive as the Flood item.

A Brent council tenant who listened carefully to the discussion said:

The scrutiny committee did not seem to know much about the subject they were discussing with the biggest fault being they made no mention as to how residents will be involved, which was the main focus of the Building Safety bill and they failed to even mention Dame Judith Hackitt's three reports on Building Safety and the Fire Safety Act which updated the Fire Safety Order (2005.

 

Their 'experts' seemed to believe that it is only new buildings that the Building Safety bill applies to but that is not the case, as it also applies to current buildings.

 

Although they mentioned cladding, no one mentioned fire doors but to be generous the absentee technical officer might have brought them into the discussion and Cllr. Conneely tried to raise issues like fire doors but was told it was a 'housing issue'.

 

They were also vague about the training competences required but if they had read the Health & Safety reports on Building Safety led by Mr. Baker, the Regulator, they would understand that any new Inspectors would need to start from level 7 (Honours Degree) and have post grad qualifications in Fire Safety and related areas.  That is why it is so hard to find suitable candidates, as most surveyors only have an honours degree but nothing higher.

 

I could go on, but I suppose it was a start, but I would give it a 3 rating (out of 10) as the council needs to start reading all the material that has already been published, although they seem to be waiting for someone to guide them to it.

 

As Dame Hackitt said only 10% of councils are 'on the ball' e.g. Camden but unfortunately Brent is within the remaining 90%.

 Details of the proposed legislation  HERE

Meanwhile planning applicants, Brent Council planning officers and members of the Planning Committee as well as the public may wish to take part in this series of meetings organised by the GLA (My hgihlighting):

 Guest post by Philip Grant in personal capacity

Earlier this month I sent a letter to Brent Council’s Leader and Chief Executive headed “Council Housing and Common Sense”, which was published as a guest blog. It set out my view that the Council has become too complicated in the way it seeks to provide the new Council homes that many local people need. 

My letter focused on two Cabinet decisions in the past six months. One was to spend at least around £48m of borrowed money to buy 155 leasehold flats in a 26-storey tower block, yet to be built on the former Alperton Bus Garage site. These would not be acquired directly from the developer, Telford Homes, but from an unidentified “Asset Special Purpose Vehicle”.

The block in Alperton where the 155 leasehold flats will be built.

The second decision was to allow a private developer to buy 152 of the 250 homes that Brent Council will be building on land that it owns at Cecil Avenue in Wembley, and sell them for profit, rather than using all 250 of those homes as affordable housing for local people who need them.

What the High Road frontage of Brent’s Cecil Avenue development will look like.

I have received a reply to my letter, from Brent Council’s Director of Finance, and this is what he has written:-

‘Dear Mr Grant,

The Council continues to increase the delivery of affordable housing for our residents through self-delivery, via the use of S106 agreements with developers and working in partnership with Registered Providers. To maximise the delivery, the Council utilises GLA subsidy to support scheme viability but this is becoming increasingly challenging. This means the Council has to explore more complex ways of delivery, one of which has been the Alperton Bus Garage Development.   

The development at the Alperton Bus Garage site provides a unique opportunity to purchase the affordable units in the wider development as part of a lease structure. The original proposal contained a tenure mix of 57 shared ownership units and 97 rented. By entering into this lease structure, it allows the Council to convert the shared ownership units into more affordable rented units. In this specific development, without the involvement of the Council a Registered Provider is unlikely to be able to offer the most affordable rented product due to viability limitations so the acquisition will further Brent’s key priority of providing homes that are most affordable. The lease option demonstrates value for money against our average development cost across our New Council Homes Programme of £280k per home, which includes both leasehold and freehold tenures.

The acquisition of the homes takes place through a lease structure that includes both the development and lease agreements. These areas of the report are exempt as they contain the following category of exempt information as specified in Paragraph 3, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, namely: “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)".

The Council has undertaken due diligence with regards to the SDLT exemption for the acquisition and assumes the Council will receive the exemption given the Council is deemed to be the relevant housing provider that is controlled by its tenants and the application of GLA grant receipts meets the requirement of a qualifying public subsidy. Until this has been confirmed by HMRC on acquisition, the potential cost needs to be highlighted as a factor of the scheme’s viability. 

The Cecil Avenue site is part of a wider development in the Wembley Housing Zones Programme and includes the adjacent site Ujima House. This site is intended to deliver 100% affordable housing and a target of 50% across both sites. The development will also include workspace to support job creation and economic growth, community space, highway and public realm improvements and new publicly accessible open space. The Council needs to ensure the entire programme is financially viable within the GLA grant available hence the requirement for a mixed tenure development in order to subsidise the delivery of the affordable elements. The application of the funding structure available for the Alperton Bus Garage site cannot be applied to improve viability in the Wembley Housing Zone Programme to provide more affordable housing within the existing development.

As evidenced, the Council is committed to seek all opportunities to deliver more affordable housing within the financial viability constraints to ensure the optimum housing mix can be provided for our residents.

Regards

 

Minesh Patel

Director of Finance’

 

The main messages in this reply seem to be that the Council has to use more complex methods of funding, in order to make its Council housing schemes viable, but because this involves information relating to the Council’s financial affairs, they don’t have to explain the details to us. So much for openness and transparency!

The reply does not mention the shadowy “Asset Special Purchase Vehicle” for the Alperton acquisition, simply referring to ‘a lease structure that includes both the development and lease agreements’, which we are not allowed to know about, because that is ‘exempt information’.

The response over the Cecil Avenue homes may sound familiar. Some of it appears to be from the same source as Cllr. Butt’s recent reply to me. At least one sentence is identical, and must have been “copied and pasted”!

Parody Brent Council publicity photo for its Cecil Avenue development.

I still do not understand why the Cecil Avenue development, on land the Council already owns, can only be viable if just 37 of the 250 homes (just under 15%!) are made available to Council tenants at affordable rents. And why 152 of them (over 60%) have to be for the contractor, who Brent will pay to build them, to purchase for a fixed price and sell at a profit. I will continue to question that, as best I can.

Philip Grant.

With Brent schools struggling to cover classes due to high Covid rates amongst staff and a lack of supply teachers it is sobering to see that by February 4th the numbers of deaths from Covid had passed 1,000.

At the same time, according to BBC figures above, only 38% of the population of Brent, despite the best imaginative efforts of the NHS and Brent Public Health, had received a booster or third dose.

Omicron may generally be mild in impact but another variant could come along and 'long covid' rates are troubling.

 It isn't over yet.

The re-vamped Brent Council website is attractive and the link to services useful but there is a missing link that is important for active citizens who want to participate in decision making.

There is no link to 'Local Democracy'  where citizens can find details of their councillors' contacts, meeting agendas and minutes, information on how to arrange to speak at meetings, information on petitions, election timetables and results and current consultations and consultation results.

These can all be found indirectly by using the 'search' facility, although you have to get the search term right, but for ease of use and accessibility there should be a direct link.

The most common request made by Wembley Matters readers is for councillor contact information and details of consultations - Brent Council should be providing that on its landing page.

There is a feedback form on the site to help make improvements. I have completed it and this is the link if you wish to provide feedback LINK

 UPDATE:

I am grateful to Life in Kilburn for pointing out via Twitter that you can get to the information via the 'Brent Council' tab right at the top of the page next to the Search button. Not at all obvious and as there is a separate tab for 'Residents' doesn't seem to apply to them.  

In my opinion it should be far more prominent but this is what the 'Brent Council' tab leads to:

I am afraid you missed the first event that was held this afternoon but there are more chances coming up:

From Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

Before submitting a planning application to Brent Council, we are holding a public consultation to seek community feedback on our final designs.

The consultation will take place between 16th February and 2nd March and to support the consultation, we’re inviting the community to join us at one or more public events:

(Events on Thursday 24th February and Saturday 26th February will only be held on Zoom.)

Venue events

Community consultation event: site tour, presentation and Q&As*

Wednesday 16th February 2pm until 4pm

Grand Junction Arms, NW10 7AD

Drop-in public exhibition, view plans, ask questions and leave feedback*

Saturday 19th February

Between 12 and 4pm (drop-in)

Grand Junction Arms, NW10 7AD

Online events

Online consultation event: presentation and Q&A

Thursday 24th February

6pm until 7pm

Zoom, online

Online consultation event: presentation and Q&A

Saturday 26th February

11am until 12noon

Zoom, online

Book your tickets to come to our events HERE

*please note that only the events on the 16th and 19th February are held in Grand Junction Arms. Online events on Thursday 24th February and Saturday 26th February will only be held on Zoom.

From 16th February you will be able visit this consultation platform to view plans and fill out an online feedback form at:

http://www.consult.opdc.london.gov.uk/harlesdencanalside

From our very local correspondent

 

 

 

 

Last week I saw several workmen digging out the places where trees once were on the High Road to install new ones!!! Obviously of the right kind???? and it would appear that Brent have added some new Urban Art in Electric Orange colour warning Paan Spitters that they could be fined £100.  Interestingly I spoke to Brent  Enforcement Officer  who said despite working for them for 3 years and Paan Spitting being one of his big bug bears like the rest of us, no matter that he has tried relentlessly he has never been able to catch a perpetrator in the act. LOL.  I think it mostly happens at night.

Behind the Twin Towers (developer's name 'Uncle and the site of Chesterfield House) two more blocks are going up, one of 17 storeys and 1 of 19, being constructed by Henrys (same as twin towers) with same developer "Squarestone Hub"  I think on planning it's listed as the Wembley Link, you will see from photos they continue to build on the Chiltern railway cutting as it has been purchased by them.  The view from the back of my house shows that they have built in front of the gap between the twin towers which will definitely obscure most of the sunlight when it sets in the West.  It's funny because these towers are directly behind Daniels, Nando's etc and cannot be seen if you are  on  the High Road at all.  

 Dear Editor,

Regarding Brent Article 4- REMOVING PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS RELATING TO CHANGES OF USE FROM RESIDENTIAL FAMILY HOUSES TO HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION confirmed by the Council on 3rd February 2022 and coming into force on 1st November 2022.

This applies to the whole of the London Borough of Brent, but excludes the area designated as the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Area, the draft Local Plan’s site allocations within the Church End Growth Area and all parts of the other seven Brent Growth Areas- Alperton, Stonebridge, South Kilburn, Northwick Park, Neasden, Burnt Oak/ Colindale, Northwick Park and Wembley corporatist colonial zones.

Why has the Council introduced this Article 4 to parts of Brent? Brent's answer is that:

...currently all Brent dwellings can be turned into smaller houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) without the need for planning permission. Smaller HMOs are shared houses occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals, as their only or main residence, who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom. There are currently about 17,000 HMOs (small and large) in Brent.

 

The Council recognises the importance that HMOs have in meeting housing needs. They provide accommodation that is more affordable for some people.

 Nevertheless, when there are significant concentrations of HMOs it can cause issues. They change the character of an area and result in adverse impacts, for example higher amounts of anti-social behaviour. They also reduce the amount of larger homes (3+bedrooms) that are available for families.

 

As such the Council wants to be able to manage the development of HMOs and consider whether change of use from family dwellings is acceptable. Requiring planning permission will help in doing this. It will ensure that where a new HMO is applied for (except where exclusion applies) there is not an overconcentration. It can also help address elements that might impact on anti-social behaviour (such as waste management). It will also allow the Council to ensure a reasonable amount of larger homes for families remain available"

 

- but not in: Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Area, the draft Local Plan’s site allocations within the Church End Growth Area and all parts of the other seven Brent Growth Areas. Why?

Two Brent's are emerging fast, one of family homes population de-growth suburb-bias and one of corporatist population growth "we can do whatever we want" extractive colonialism where existing social, health, education infrastructure, public open spaces and flood defences are built on and destroyed by political/ market design.

Combine this Article 4 major change with the Royal Institute of British Architects proposal last week for a £38 billion mass insulation of inter-war suburbs for health, wealth and social benefit gains. And Brent's persisting with 'Growth Areas' even though the new planning bill (which included this GA planning idea) was ditched in September 2021 by Michael Gove, all can see clear that Brent is a Local outlier, risk hungry and politically indifferent to its Growth Area high tax, less and less public services zones.

David Walton

 

Debris outside the former Barclays Bank (Credit: AmandaRosePhoto) @amandarosephoto

 (Credit: AmandaRosePhoto) @amandarosephoto

Bridge Road was closed by police (Credit: AmandaRosePhoto) @amandarosephoto

 It was fortunate that no-one was hurt when the gable wall above the former Barclay's Bank came down in Storm Eunice today.  The bus stop is close by following its removal from the bridge but people had taken advice and stayed at home.

Alongside NHS leaders, members of Independent SAGE condemn the reported decision by the Government to stop free COVID-19 tests and payments to support self-isolation in England. Although we were initially sceptical about the utility of lateral flow tests in the absence of more financial support for isolation, widespread availability of these tests alongside existing PCR tests might have contributed to reducing peak infections both in last summer and this winter.  

Our concerns about removing access to free tests include:  

a) increased risk of spread of Omicron and any subsequent variants, leading to more illness, death and burden on the NHS and more risk of new variants emerging; 

b) a disproportionate impact on many of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society, especially those in public facing jobs that bring them into frequent contact with large numbers of people and those who cannot choose to isolate; 

c) loss of the reassurance provided by lateral flow tests to those considering the safety of meeting with others, especially isolated elderly friends and relatives; 

d) loss of ability to determine if you have Covid and then voluntarily self-isolate;  

e) loss of ability to determine when you are no longer infectious if you do fall ill with Covid;

f) reduced ability to make the early diagnosis needed to enable those who might benefit from the new antivirals to receive them rapidly, when they are most effective; 

g) reduced access to care for long covid if no proof from a positive test; 

h) reduced volumes of samples sent for genetic sequencing, thereby limiting our ability to detect and track newly emerging variants; 

i) loss of intelligence on the continuing course of the pandemic; 

j) widening inequalities, as those able to afford tests will continue to get them while people on low incomes will not. 

k) A disproportionate and adverse effect upon the ability of clinically vulnerable people to safely engage with society.

Independent SAGE calls on the Government to publish, immediately, the scientific evidence and risk assessments on which it has based this decision. It further calls on the devolved administrations not to follow this path until they have seen convincing evidence that it is safe. 

 Guest post, by local historian Philip Grant:-

Wembley History Society receives email enquiries from around the country, and the world, about a wide variety of aspects of our area’s past. Some we can answer easily, from information we already hold. Others take research, which can uncover some fascinating stories, like that of a 1960s music shop, or a remarkable Indian lawyer who lived here. Occasionally, we receive a query that we can’t answer. The origin of a “Wembley Girl” figure is one of those, which is why I am writing this, to ask if you can help, please!

Wembley Girl’s face.

Our enquirer and her late husband bought the Wembley Girl figure ‘many moons ago’ from an antique dealer who claimed, ‘she is rather rare’. The painted figure is around 15 inches (38cm) tall, and the email sending its photograph said the owner would love to know more about the story behind this model, where and when (and by whom) she was made, and what her connection with Wembley is.

The Wembley Girl figure.

There is no doubt that the figure is a “Wembley Girl”, because that name is clearly shown on the base of the model:-

There is no makers name or mark on the base, and no stamp to show where the figure was made (if it was made outside this country, it might have had “Made in ….” stamped underneath). The only other clue is the number “24”. This could be a number referring to the mould it was cast from, or if it was a limited-edition model, the number of that particular piece. Or it could represent the year 1924.

Wembley would certainly have been widely known in 1924, because that was the year the British Empire Exhibition (“BEE”) was staged here. 17 million people came to Wembley Park for the BEE in 1924, and most of them went away with a souvenir of some sort. Hundreds of different picture postcards and a wide variety of small china ornaments were available from stalls around the exhibition grounds.

Empire Stadium souvenir cup. (From Alan Sabey’s collection)

A BEE souvenir ornament, made by Cauldon Potteries Ltd. (From Alan Sabey’s collection)

But what connection could the Wembley Girl figure, which would have been a more expensive item than these mass-produced souvenirs, have had with the BEE? She certainly appears to be making an exhibition of herself, although that would go against the generally wholesome theme of the BEE! This is just speculation, but my guess would be that, if the figure did come from the BEE in 1924, it was connected in some way with the Pears’ Palace of Beauty.

An advertisement for the Pears’ Palace of Beauty. (Source: Brent Archives)

This ornate building, in the BEE’s Amusement Park, was created by the House of Pears to promote their soap, which they said had been ‘for 130 years the servant of beautiful women.’ Inside the building were 10 tableau rooms from different ages, and inside each (behind a glass screen, to protect them from admiring visitors) was an actress, styled and dressed as one of the most beautiful women in history.

The actresses, playing characters from Helen of Troy and Cleopatra, to Nell Gwynne, Sarah Siddons and Miss 1924, worked in pairs, sharing the 13-hour days that the Palace was open in shifts. They worked 10am to 1pm and 7pm to 11pm one week, and 1pm to 7pm the next, for £5 a week. They were one of the biggest attractions in the 40-acre Amusement Park, with 750,000 visitors paying one shilling and threepence each to see them in the 1924 season.

Postcard showing the entrance to the BEE Amusement Park. (Source: Brent Archives)

The Wembley Girl figure may have been inspired by the women in the Palace of Beauty (perhaps Miss 1924?), but she was not an official souvenir. Pears’ only offered souvenir bars of their soap, and a set of postcard pictures of the beautiful women (in their costumes), in their gift shop. If Wembley Girl was made for the BEE, it is more likely that she was sold in a kiosk close to the Palace of Beauty, for men who had been to the Pears’ exhibit, but wanted a souvenir which was a bit more “racy”.

Pears’ Palace of Beauty at the BEE Amusement Park in 1924. (Image from the internet)

If you know anything about the origin of the Wembley Girl figure, or even recognise its style and who might have made it, please provide the information in the comments below. If you are tempted to make any rude comments, about what her owner describes as her ‘rather deshabille’ appearance, please don’t! 

Thank you.

Philip Grant.

From More than a Score

Year 2 pupils have never spent a full year in school without Covid disruption. But these children will sit more government tests than any other class this year.

Last term, they took the phonics screening check. Next term, they’ll be facing their year 2 SATs. This is not the way to instil a love of learning.

Best wishes

Jill and Alison at More Than A Score

PS. If you haven’t done so, please Write To Your MP today. It will only take a minute.

 From Not the Andrew Marr Show (Pete has contributed to articles on this blog about South Kilburn issues and we wrote about his suspension HERE):

A Labour member and local party activist for over 40 years, a former postal worker and member of the CWU, Pete Firmin would seem to be the kind of person Labour would need to help the party back to power.

However, he has been told he is no longer welcome in Labour and has been sent an expulsion letter.

Show solidarity with Pete on tomorrow morning's Not the Andrew Marr Show (10:30-12:30am), when we hear his response to his expulsion and what he feels is going wrong with the party.

REGISTRATION HERE

 Cricklewood Library - 2011 Closed by Brent Council

Cricklewood Library - 2022 Opened by Volunteers

More than a decade after Brent Council closed half its libraries I popped into the volunteer run Cricklewood Library at the weekend. 

Back in 2011 I wrote on Wembley Matters:

Build on the commitment and perseverance of library campaigners 

 

The old adage that "you don't value what you've got until you lose it" clearly does not apply to Brent library campaigners but it will surely hit home to many others who were not involved, now that the Council has decided the six libraries will not re-open.

Of course it is mainly a matter of a place to read, enjoy and borrow books, educate yourself - but there's also so much more in terms of the social usefulness of a library as a provider of information, a place to meet, a safe public space in sometimes alienating areas, somewhere to relax and enjoy the company of your young children, a place where old people are welcome and not ghettoised.

As these community functions go they impact on the local area - everything else costs money: shops, betting shops, pubs, cafes - libraries were free and therefore open to everyone to use and enjoy.  Their demise marks another reduction in the social good of society, in cooperation and mutuality.

However although their loss represents a loss of mutuality and cooperation, the struggle against their loss shows how strong those values remain in our community, albeit not in our council representatives.  Whether an appeal goes ahead or not, whether it succeeds or not, we must continue to build on those values.

The upcoming Brent People's Assembly gives us precisely that opportunity.  I salute the Brent SOS Libraries campaigners for their commitment and perseverance in mounting one of Brent's largest and most energetic community campaigns and hope that they will join in with others in the numerous hard struggles ahead.

 

A campaign that has lasted more than 10 years is certainly an admirable sign of perserverance and commitment by the local community and the values I wrote about were clearly visible in the work of the friendly young volunteers I saw on Saturday. I would of course prefer a properly funded, professionally staffed public library service but that does not take away from the campaign's achievement.

Do go along and have a look for yourselves and enjoy a coffee and cake at the same time.

 You can find out more on the Cricklewood Library website

Opening hours are dependent on the availability of volunteers

 

In addition to the lending library and the cafe there are also two rooms available for hire as well as the library space itself and already a range of activities take place in a developing community hub which already boasts a Book Club.

These are the rooms available for hire. Details of furniture and equipment available are on the website.

As well as dependency on volunteers there is of course the issue of funding in the absence of a Brent Council run service. These are the current  funders as advertised on the library website.

Councillor Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray (Wembley Central ward) has joined the Conservative Party followed her resignation from Labour.

In a letter to Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, she said:

I am writing to you to tender my resignation from the Labour Party with immediate effect.

I have been concerned at times with the policies of the party nationally and I have been very unhappy with the direction the Brent CLPs have taken. I am particularly concerned with the way Momentum has been influencing and in some cases taking over the party.

Yours sincerely

Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray

The Conservative Group on Brent Council confirmed that Cllr Mitchell-Murray had joined them and said:

Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray has resigned from the Labour Party citing her dissatisfaction with the direction that the party has taken.

It would appear that the Labour Momentum have an unhealthy influence in the selection of local candidates and many sitting Councillors and activists are unhappy with the situation.

Wilhelmina has joined the Conservative Group.  Cllr’s Suresh Kansagra and Michael Maurice have warmly welcomed her saying that she will make an excellent Conservative Councillor and look forward to working with her.

Cllr Mitchell-Murray, asked to comment on her resignation by Wembley Matters, appeared to suggest she would be standing for the Conservatives in the May 5th Council Election. Asked to confirm that she was joining the Tories, she said:

Yes.  I have joined the Conservative Party.  Others must come to their own conclusions but, I came into politics to serve not to be self serving.  I hope to continue to serve the residents of Wembley Central Ward.  I hope everyone understand that at age 8 I skipped,to the polling station holding my daddy's hands to vote for the Labour Party.  It's up to the residents of Wembley Central Ward to decide if my days in public service are numbered.

 I have many friends in the Labour Party and we will remain friends regardless.

I have no further comment to make.

Brent Council leader, Muhammed Butt, told the Kiburn Times on Tuesday:

Wilhelmina’s friends in Brent Labour will be deeply disappointed to hear of her decision. While we respect her choice to leave, we must amicably disagree with her chosen means.

If the answer for Brent is Boris Johnson, then you are asking the wrong question.

Brent Labour is a broad church of beliefs, mirroring the range of thought and experience in our borough.

Notwithstanding, in the aftermath of the elections, I will be requesting to our coordinating bodies that a full review of our diversity monitoring procedures is undertaken. 

The resignation appears to be fall out from the current selections for Labour candidates in the forthcoming local Council elections. With the number of seats reduced there has been more competition so in the game of political musical chairs several seats have been whipped away from sitting members.

I understand that Cllr Mitchell-Murray's son who is also a councillor is not standing in the May elections. As it is we now have a Conservative councillor and a Labur councillor from the same family:

Muhammed Butt is himself a member of Brent Momentum, or perhaps was, and he as well as some of his loyal supporters have attended their meetings.

Cllr Margaret McLennan, currently Deputy Leader, is not standing again so the post will have to be filled by a loyal female lieutenant. I wonder who that could be?

Euro2020 crowd violence

With arrangements facing their first major test since the Euro2020 Final disturbances and the subsequent Casey Report, Brent Council has issued a press release announcing new steps to enforce the street drinking ban in the area surrounding Wembley Stadium. :

A ban on street drinking in the streets around Wembley Stadium will be in force ahead of the Carabao Cup Final, as part of the existing Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

The no street-drinking zone on Olympic Way and surrounding areas bars people from drinking alcohol in public spaces ahead of the match between Chelsea and Liverpool. 

Fans drinking on Olympic Way and the surrounding streets will be asked to hand over their alcohol and enforcement action may be considered.

The move by Brent Council and its partners aims to crack down on anti-social behaviour related to drinking ahead of the game on Sunday 27 February 2022

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Brent Council Leader, said: “The iconic Wembley Stadium has successfully played host to countless memorable and historic events over the years. The vast majority of visitors enjoy themselves responsibly but a minority do not and this new approach targets those people intent on causing disorder after drinking heavily on street.

“There are a number of pubs, fan zones and fantastic restaurants to enjoy in Wembley before the game so there really is no need for anyone to be drinking alcohol on our streets.”

If you are attending the Carabao Cup Final, there are a range of pubs, fan zones and restaurants available to enjoy in Wembley before the game. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

The ban on drinking in public will be enforced by a team of officers from Brent Council, Wembley National Stadium, Wembley Park, The Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London and the British Transport Police.

A letter has been sent out to licensed businesses in the area that quotes the Casey review on drinking in  public spaces near the venue. (Click on image to enlarge) and reminds owners and staff that they should not sell alcohol to anyone who appears likely to drink it on the street.

A local resident remarked to Wembley Matters:

This should be fun to watch........ wonder if its just for Quintain land around the Stadium?  Guess the new White Horse Pub won’t be doing a massive trade if they can’t take their drinks outside?  

 

Perhaps the Stadium are desperate for cash and only want fans to drink the lousy beer they sell at grossly inflated prices.

 

And what happens to the High Road?  Liverpool fans are in the West End, so this should be interesting to see if it’s enforced on High Road outside all Off Licences and pubs.

 The details and map of the PSPO are below (Click bottom right to enlarge):

It is a big test - will the number of enforcment officers deployed be sufficient to control thousands of fans?

Sudbury Town Residents Association have launched a petition and are crowdfunding legal action over Brent Council's Local Plan, and are asking residents to lobby their ward councillors to vote against at tomorrow's Full Council meeting which will also adopt the budget for 2022-23.

This is their appeal:

Ask Your Ward Councillors to VOTE NO to the Draft Local Plan on Friday 24 February 2022

SAY NO TO MORE Development in Brent

Brent Council planning officers have created the Draft Local Plan.  Once this plan is adopted by Brent Council, planning officers can grant permission to build within and around our green spaces, force the sale of homes and turn our wonderful neighbourhood into rows of high rises.

We are all aware of the housing shortage in England, and like every borough, Brent was given a target to build new homes to help the Government minimise the shortage. 

To meet housing shortage in England, Brent’s target was 23,250 new homes from 2019 to 2029and it has already met this target via developments approved in Northwick Park Hospital, Wembley Park  Wembley Central, Beresford Avenue, Alperton House, MinavilHouse, Alperton Bus Garage and Bridgewater Road.  However, as per their own Draft Local Plan, Brent Council plans to continue  unnecessarily granting permission to build more new homes. An interesting observation is that there is insufficient planning to develop or add to vital infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, GP clinics and adult social services. 

Everyone living in Brent has a say on the Local Plan and it’s the Council’s duty to consult its residents, but most residents are not even aware of its existence!

We are challenging Brent Council’s plans on a number of issues that will affect all Brent residents:

• Tall Buildings
• Intensification Corridors
• HMOs
• Compulsory Purchase
• Demolition of rows of houses
• Residential dwellings in rear gardens
• Replacement of pavilions and other buildings within green spaces with residential dwellings
• Building on brownfield sites within green spaces

Our group of community minded volunteers are trying to spread the word and let people know. We are local residents volunteering our precious time and expertise to try and protect our area from unnecessary development.  We are non-political and independent.  We are just trying to take care of our area and borough.

If you are also unhappy about the excessive development in Brent and would like to help, please:

• Donate to support our legal challenge via our Go Fund Me page

GoFundMe, https://gofund.me/bbd06d51 

• sign the petition HERE
• ask your Ward Councillors to VOTE NO at the Full Council Meeting Friday 24 February 2022

The five towers proposed to be built between Brook Avenue and the Metropolitan railway line, previously the station car park, have been approved. Philip Grant wrote about the planning issues involved HERE.

It is ironical that this has been announced on the day Full Council is set to approve the new Local Plan that will pave the way for many similar developments.

Construction News writes:

Transport for London (TfL) and Barratt Homes have been given the green light for a 454-home development near Wembley Park.

The minister of state for rough sleeping and housing Eddie Hughes MP made the decision to green light the project on behalf of communities secretary Michael Gove.

Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by the London Borough of Brent in November 2020. However, the scheme was called in by former communities secretary Robert Jenrick in May last year.

Up to five new residential buildings will include replacement train crew accommodation, retail space, parking facilities and other communal areas. Up to 152 of the new homes will be classed as affordable housing.

The project faced a delay after concerns were raised that the scheme could impact heritage and listed buildings in the neighbourhood, especially the Barn Hill Conservation Area and the Lawn Court Conservation Area. Other listed spaces included Wembley Arena.

The minister accepted a report from the Planning Inspector, submitted in November, that the benefits of the scheme were enough to outbalance “the less than substantial harm” to the conservation areas.

Some of the benefits identified were the regeneration of brownfield land, increased affordable housing, delivery of a car-free development, and economic as well as environmental improvements to the local area.

The project spans 0.7 hectares, with Wembley Park Station and Olympic Square to the east, and railway lines that serve Wembley Park Station and the Chiltern Railway to its north. The project has an estimated value of £123.2m.

 Dear Editor,

 Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

 1.The tile murals on the east wall of Olympic Way, March 2021. (Courtesy of Quintain)

On 14 February, I received an email from Brent Council to let me know that ‘the heritage tile murals outside Wembley Park station will be on display’ from 1^stto 21^st March 2022. This is the three weeks each year that we are currently allowed to see the mural scenes on the walls of Olympic Way, under the secret advertising lease deal which Council Officers made with Quintain’s Wembley Park subsidiary in 2019.

The same email must have been sent to the “Brent & Kilburn Times”, as they published the news online, and featured a picture of the murals on the front page of their 17 February edition. I was told that Brent would be issuing a proper press release about the murals being on display, but as I write this, it has yet to appear on the Council’s website. (Perhaps they are waiting until the murals are uncovered on 1^stMarch, so that a Cabinet member can be photographed in front of them, and featured in their publicity?)

2.The then Mayor, Cabinet members and guests at the tile murals “reveal” in January 2020.
(Courtesy of Brent Council)

I’m pleased to see that the Council are again recognising the heritage importance of the Bobby Moore Bridge tile murals, which they first seemed to accept at the start of Brent’s year as London Borough of Culture in 2020. The email included this “quote”:

‘Mayor of Brent Cllr Lia Colacicco said, “The tile murals are a part of Brent’s rich heritage so it is exciting to see more tiles revealed at the historic Bobby Moore Bridge. My hope is that when looking at the images we remember the historic and iconic moments that have happened in Wembley and I am looking forward to more memories being created at new events later this year.” ‘

Although the 2020 “reveal” of the Olympic Way mural scenes only involved the east wall, it appears that in 2022 they’ve remembered one on the opposite side! The email says: ‘The west wall features a scene of a drummer in concert at Wembley stadium to represent the Live Aid concert in July 1985.’ I have a photograph of that, which I took in 2009, before it was covered over with Quintain’s adverts from 2013.

3.The drummer mural, just outside the subway on the west side of Olympic Way.

If you look at the top left corner of my picture, you will notice that the mural has been patched up with some different tiles. That is because a much larger “Live Aid” mural scene was destroyed around 2006. Steps were built down to Olympic Way from the (then) bus stop on the bridge, in preparation for the opening of the new stadium. I’ve been told that TfL were responsible for this, but Brent Council must have given planning consent, and Quintain as owner of the land must also have agree to this work.

4.The original west wall mural celebrating popular music concerts at Wembley.

I don’t know who took the photograph above, but I’m very grateful to whoever shared it with me a few years ago, so that I at least have a record of what the mural scene on the west wall of Olympic Way originally looked like. We have “lost”, through neglect, murals of Mark Knopfler, Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury. I believe that the drummer, who you will be able to see this March, is probably meant to be Phil Collins.

For the moment, Brent residents and visitors will have the chance to see these ‘heritage tile murals’ on the walls of Olympic Way for just three weeks, from 1^st to 21^st March. We should be able to see them all of the time. Quintain’s consent to place their vinyl advertising sheets over these murals expires on 25 August 2022, and I wrote to their Chief Executive Officer on 1 January asking the company not to seek to renew it, so that these murals can be on permanent public display.

5.Back to black – adverts covering the east wall murals in March 2020, after the LBOC 2020 “reveal”.

I did receive an acknowledgement to my letter on 20 January, with an apology for the delay in replying. I was promised a full response ‘within the next few weeks’, after Quintain had consulted with ‘other Stakeholders’ (Brent Council?). At the time of writing, I have still to receive Quintain’s answer, but if they do decide to seek renewal of their advertisement consent, that will be strongly contested. Murals which are ‘part of Brent’s rich heritage’ should not be covered over and hidden from view.

Philip Grant.

From Brent Council

Think about when you are about to buy or consume something. A product or service perhaps. The different considerations that you are weighing up when asking yourself - do I purchase or do I not? Now think about whether protecting the environment or tackling climate change forms part of this thought process?

Why does it matter? Well, the ‘stuff’ we consume is contributing to the climate crisis by increasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s atmosphere. Whether this is from the energy used to create the product, the way it has been transported to you, and whether the materials it’s made with are recyclable.

The good news is however, that we have the power to make a difference. Consuming less, reducing waste and using items to their full life cycle is what the ‘Circular Economy’ is all about! This is the economic model of the future if we are tackle climate change, and will go a long way in creating a more sustainable environment.

Join us for a free webinar on Monday 28 February (6pm-7:30pm) Our expert speakers will guide you through this vitally important topic, providing key insights on what the circular economy is and practical tips for what you can do to help. We will be bringing together national, regional and local experts to discuss how we can start making changes, save money and lead a healthier lifestyle – and have a positive impact on the planet.

Our speakers include:

• Susan Evans, Senior Policy Adviser at Green Alliance

• Doug Simpson, Senior Advisor at ReLondon

• Oliver Peat, Education, Communications and Outreach Manager at Veolia

• Sophia Flucker, Director at Transition Kensal to Kilburn

Click here - Register Now