A sad Bank Holiday weekend as Jane's Cafe at Birchen Grove Garden Centre closes

 

JANE'S CAFE 12.30PM TODAY - 'THIS CAFE IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE'

The Birchen Grove Garden Centre was at its Bank Holiday weekend busiest today and really buzzing - except for one area which was still and silent, Jane's Garden Café

The Café gorilla, usually dressed in seasonal or special occasion scarf, invoking both fear and curiosity in children, sat unadorned at the blocked off entrance to inform customer of the cafe's untimely closure.

I understand that owner, Jane O'Hara, actiivated the breakout clause of the contract with the Centre's owners when costs became too high, and margins too narrow. The closure reflects the national crisis in the hospitality sector and the need to support our local small businesses that are at the heart of the community.

 

 The cafe busy on Thursday

  

Jane’s Garden Café had operated at Birchen Grove Garden Centre for seven years and has built up a reputation as an independent, friendly café.

 

It had a play area for toddlers valued by young families and quietly offered a calm sanctuary for various groups to relax and enjoy each other’s company.  On  Thursday morning they included a group of elderly people and a walking group. I regularly witnessed how staff looked after residents from the nearby care home withut fuss, as well as young adults with special needs. 

 

The Café was a favourite with dog owners, dog friendly with staff ready with nibbles and a bowl of fresh water.

 

Jane offered a varied menu of fresh cooked food and delicious cakes from their Greek baker supplier. Jaane was always looking for ways to extend the menu, and the coffee was great!

 

The welcoming  atmosphere was built up gradually and I fear a commercial catering company will not offer the same quality of food or personal warmth.

 

Regular customers are shocked at the news and there have been tears at the loss of a small local business that, without fuss or fanfare, has become an important destination for many. 

 

 

 

It is ironic that Jane’s Café helped keep the Welsh Harp Environmental Centre open by hosting the successful petition presented to Brent Council, has itself now closed.

 

Wembley Matters on Friday asked  Birchen Grove Garden Centre owners for a comment on the expected closure and details of the company and that would run the café but no response was received,

 

Green candidate speaks out at South Kilburn hustings - video

A unique hustings was held in Kilburn recently focusing on the South Kilburn Regeneration area where demolition and new build  is carrying on for decades.

Paul Ryan, spoke for all three Green Party candidates at the event. 

 

Published and promoted by James Paton on behalf of Brent Green Party and its candidates c/o 23 Saltcroft Close, Wembley, HA9 9JJ 

 

Brent Council Elections Hustings video: Climate and Nature

 

 Thanks to Brent ACE and Brent Friends of the Earth for this video of the hustings held inperson and online on April 14th.

WAYMO: Is this the way to go, Mo? Petition launched reflecting concerns over experimental 'robo-taxis' in Harlesden

 

Cllr Krupa Sheth and Cllr Muhammed Butt pose at Waymo's Park Royal HQ

An incident in Harlesden when an experimental autonomous vehicle drove through a police crime scene accidentally revealed a scheme that has been foisted on Brent with little or no consultation with residents raising fears of another Lime Bikes type debacle.

Brent Council was clearly very pleased with itself according to a public relations post:

 

Brent Council wrote, 'We know that new technology brings new questions as well as new possibilities, which is why early engagement matters.' 

 The robo-car drives through the crime scene

 

Now Green Party council candidate, Amandine Alexandre, has launched a new petition addressed to the London Mayor raising pertinent concerns.

Harlesden says no to Waymo LINK

We petition the Mayor of London to:

• Implement an immediate moratorium on the expansion of the Waymo pilot until a transparent safety audit is completed.

 

• Publish a full log of all safety breaches, "near misses", and traffic violations involving autonomous vehicles in London to date.

Why is this important?

Over the last few weeks, American company WAYMO has been testing autonomous vehicles in Harlesden and across London. On 22 April, a WAYMO vehicle drove through a live police cordon on Harlesden High Street while officers were investigating a double stabbing.


We, the undersigned, call on the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to immediately suspend the trial and roll out of Waymo autonomous vehicles on London’s streets. We further request a police investigation into near misses and other incidents where public safety was at risk. 

REASONS FOR THIS PETITION

The current rollout of Waymo autonomous vehicles (AVs) across London, and specifically within the Harlesden area, is proceeding without adequate democratic oversight or proven safety protocols for complex urban environments. Our concerns are based on the following:

1. Breach of Police Cordons: Footage has emerged of a Waymo vehicle in Harlesden breaching a live police line. Such actions constitute "wilful obstruction" of the police. If a driver of a regular vehicle had committed this act, they would likely be under investigation and could face criminal prosecution. We cannot allow a "two-tier" justice system where corporate AI is exempt from the laws that govern Londoners.

2. Unresolved Safety Risks: Autonomous vehicles are struggling to navigate the "edge cases" of London’s busy streets, including responding to emergency sirens, physical police barriers, and the unpredictable movements of pedestrians and cyclists in high-density areas like Harlesden.

3. Lack of Community Consent: Residents in Brent have not been adequately consulted on this trial. Public streets are being treated as a laboratory for unproven technology without a clear framework for liability when things go wrong.

4. Extra traffic on our roads: if Waymo or any other autonomous vehicles are allowed on the streets of London, that will lead to extra traffic on our roads. It will further compromise the Mayor of London's traffic reduction aims, led by Sadiq Khan, focus on reducing overall traffic volumes by 10-15% by 2041 and cutting car kilometres by 27% by 2030 to meet Net Zero and health targets. We need more accessible and affordable public transport, instead of more cars on our roads.

5. Vision Zero Compromise : The Mayor’s "Vision Zero" strategy aims to eliminate road danger. Introducing vehicles that fail to recognise and respect police cordons is a direct contradiction of this safety goal.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

 

 Sky News reported on April 14th 2026: 

Autonomous taxis are now driving themselves around London streets, the American company behind the technology has announced.

The self-driving cars have been in the capital since last autumn, but until now, they were under the manual control of "safety drivers".

Now, Waymo says, they’re being controlled by artificial intelligence, albeit with a human sitting in the driver’s seat just in case.

 

With concerns increasing over the the loss of jobs to   artifical intelligence, such as that used in robo-taxis, it is ironic that Labour Brent is promoting a project that will threaten  the jobs of local taxi, minicab and Uber drivers.

 

Published and promoted by James Paton on behlf of Brent Green Party and its 2026 council candidates c/o 23 Saltcroft Close, Wembley, HA9 9JJ 

Brent's Hidden Gems - check out these green spaces

 From Brent Council

 

Sunita Hirani hits out at 'pathetic' Brent West Conservative's attempt to discredit her and promises to clean up 'this dirty business'

 Cllr Sunita Hirani, ex-Conservative councillor for Kenton ward, and now standing s an independent has issue a fierce statement denouncing her former party.

She says:

I stand by my principls of honesty, decency, transparency and fairness. I reject the smears, innuendoes and false allegation which have been aimed at me in order to discredit me and prevent me being elected as a councillor for the Kenton ward of Brent Council.

This pathetic attempt by the Conservative Party (Brent West) at reputational damage will fail. The fallout when the truth is revealed will have serious consequences for anybody who colluded and conspired in this 'Operation Revenge' and I am determined to uncover  and name those behind this. 

As a woman. I am just appalled at the totally unacceptable, unjustifiable and unfounded personal attacks on me and it has mde me more determined than ever to stand, hold my head up high and carry on in politics to represent the residents of the Kenton ward. It has wakened  me to the endemic misogny within politics and this has to be rooted out.

When you re-elect me as one of your councillors on May 7th I will make it  one of my missions in politics to clean up this dirty business.

 

One of the ash trees on King's Drive estate saved for now - the other was removed this morning

 

 

 

This afternoon after the ash tree was felled 

 

 

Yesterday with removal notice

One of the ash trees scheduled for removal was felled this morning. Neighbours described an atmosphere of loss and shock at the site this afternoon - something in the air surrounding the stump.

 

There was better news regarding the other ash tree (pictured below) after I emailed this morning asking that it be reduced rather than removed. I pointed out that it was further from the blocks of flats than the tree above.

 

 Gary Rimmer, Brent Trees Officer, replied:

Good morning, thank you for your e-mail, as suggested, we will remove the ash tree nearest the block, and the horse chestnut.

The ash that’s a little further away, on the mound, will be reduced in size.

Monitoring to the affected building is ongoing, if, at some point in the future, it’s felt that the reduction we are about to do has proved ineffective  and we have to remove the second ash  we will inform residents of that decision, prior to the event, to reiterate, currently we are going to prune it, not remove it.

The offer to consider planting here, and elsewhere on the estate still stands, perhaps we can meet up sometime soon to discuss this.

 The pruning is scheduled for tomorrow.

Brent Council declares a temporary moratorium on councillors' enquiries on housing needs until May 11th 2026 as unprecedented numbers of residents ask for support

The extent of the housing crisis in Brent has broken through some of the 'feel good' election publicity coming out of Brent Labour Party.

Brent Chief Executive, Kim Wright,  has written to all councillors detailing changes to the system where they pass on residents' concerns over housing to the Housing Department. Ms Wright says that the 'sheer volume' of members enquiries is taking her colleages away from giving direct resident support and that the temporary moratorium on councillors making enquiries will stabilise support and ensure urgent cases are managed safely.

The position will be reviewed post-election on May 11th.

Furthermore,  the council cannot guarantee that it will meet the current 10 working day deadline for enquiries already lodged. Enquiries will be triaged to identify any safeguarding concerns and other urgent issues so they can be dealt with quickly.

The CEO asks councillors to direct resident who need housing help to the Brent Council website.  She warns councillor not to try and work around the moratorium by contacting officers directly or contacting the lead cabinet member for housing.

Kim Wright says the service is currently experiencing 'unprecedented' numbers of residents who need help, advice and support with homelessness and housing options. The implementation of the Renters; Rights Act that is due on May 1st is increasing demand, reflecting a rise in private sector evictions.

In addition to the pressures cited I think it is like that existing councillors out on the election campaign trail, knocking on doors, are being confronted with the reality of the housing crisis as residents complain about their housing conditions, soaring rents and charges, and the behaviour of some rogue landlords.