Wednesday 7 May 2014

Kensal Rise Library not on next Planning Committee Agenda

The controversial planning application for Kensal Rise Library, subject of vociferous debate on this blog, will not be heard at the last planning committee meeting before the local elections, The agenda for the meeting on May 14th has now been published LINK

The next meeting, subject to confirmation, will be on June 17th.

Campaigners argued for deferral of the item on the grounds that the application should not be heard until police investigations into fradulent emails suporting the developer's previous application had been received. Kensal Green Labour candidate, Dan Filson, revealed in a comment on this blog that the investigation had been 'slow-moving, owing to the ISP hosting the bogus email senders not cooperating with the police'.

It is unclear how Filson got this information as the police have said they report to the Council and not to individuals on  progress on their invstigation. As a candidate Filson is of course at present a private individual.,

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the Green position on the application?

Toby Chambers said...

The Brent community can now rest hopeful that elected candidates on 22 May will do their best to secure the full return of both Kensal Rise library building and Cricklewood library back tin the community.

This could be very complex exercise and will take time, but the majority of the community seem to view that a private developer should not profit from a community asset.

Brent Labour seem to have lost their community values. The Ballot box is where the community can vote for candidates who want to see the buildings returned to the community.

As an independent standing in Sudbury the first priority is to secure the return of these buildings to the community. However the community will have to start working collaboratively in terms of the best use for the community buildings if they are returned to the community.

This will also apply to Barham Park and accepting artist studios are not appropriate use and Barham Park Trustee should be made up of local community people rather than just Brent Councillors who do not seem to be interested in what local people want for Barham Park.

Look forward to tonight's library meeting

Toby Chambers
Sudbury Independent

Anonymous said...

How will councillors, of whatever party, manage to return the buildings to the community? That ship has sailed.
The buildings are owned by a developer. Councillors doing their best will not be good enough and it is misleading to pretend otherwise. If any councillor could have done anything they would have by now, and that includes prospective councillors.
I am also not sure how Toby Chambers can claim to know what the community of Kensal Rise wants.
I would refer him to Brent planning website. Of 107 comments (including statutory consultees from all parties) 93 support the planning application and 14 object. 400 letters of support have gone to planning also in support. No one is happy about the building having flats but who wants to jeopardise the chance of any community space at all.
Talk is cheap before elections and that includes from Mr Chambers.

Anonymous said...

Set up your own blog Toby. Maybe you could call it "Ealing Matters" since that's where you live

Anonymous said...

Dan Filson reads this blog yet he has refused to respond to requests for information about how he came by the information about the ISPs. He has been asked over Twitter too and not replied. His silence is telling for someone who is usually so verbose. Silence in the face of awkward questions, Is this the kind of accountability Kensal Rise residents can expect if we elect him?

Anonymous said...

How do you know the planning Dept has received more than 400 letters of support in addition to what has been lodged publicly on Brent's website? I think you've been busted Roxanne!

Anonymous said...

Toby is going to magic money and Compulsory purchase all libraries. Well done Toby where is this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? And the money to do them up and put books on the shelves? No worries there the Elves will do that at night.

So Dan now has an inroad into Brent CID. Dan is your motto if you don't know make it up. You have a PhD in Bullsh1t. Did you see how fast the IP addresses were tracked on the people who passed abusive comments on Ann Maguire the murdered teacher in Leeds? Well you are talking days!

We have two top candidates here! NOT

Toby Chambers said...

Brent Labour spent large sums on legal fees opposing the community legal challenge.

Gillick took a risk in purchasing community buildings to redevelop into flats. Developers can't always get their own way.

If fraud has been committed the assets of Kensal Rise and Crickthey should be seized under proceeds of crime and returned to the community where they belong.

Complex and lengthy process, but social justice would be done.

It was Brent Labour that created this mess and recently seem to think letting a private individual profit from a community asset is still OK.

I do not think it is OK for those who raised community funds many years ago for the buildings to simply be used to make a "Quick Buck"

Brent Labour have lost all sense of Social Justice.

Toby Chambers
Sudbury Independent

Anonymous said...

400 letters in support if this is true have these people been "Bribed ?"

Something does not add up, as this seems a very high number supporting development.

Usually it is the other way around with high numbers of objections.

If people support a development few would even bother submitting a letter of support.

Seems like this needs to also be invetigated to determine if letters of support are genuine and has any coercion been used!

Anonymous said...

It would be interesting to find out how the 400 names in support were collected ?

Was a standard template used ?

Perhaps this is why someone knows the number submitted as they were collected on a standard template ?

There would be know way of knowing unless they were bulk collected.

The cat is out of the bag and this needs to be reviewed, given previous claim of fraud.

Anonymous said...

Public knowledge!

Anonymous said...

Compulsory purchase of KRL is indeed what Brent council should do. It is responsible for the loss of the publicly funded library building. It should then rent it back to FKRL at a peppercorn rent. Cllr Mashari committed to doing the same with the Preston Library building when speaking at last night's hustings called by the Friends group - like all councillors, she's currently touting for votes for the 22 May local election, and as someone above says: 'Talk is cheap before elections'. It's Cllr Mashari's Labour Party that closed KRL and the other five libraries. It's doubtful that the Civic Centre mega-library will be able to cope with the increase in users that the closures and new residential units is already creating. Big isn't necessarily better - and is certainly an inadequate measure of social provision.

Anonymous said...

Fully agreed

The whole thing is a shame

Councillor Roxanne Mashari is touting for votes in all these recent promises.

Why did not they listen in the first place ? Why did not Councillor Mashari speak up years ago ? So close to an election and now offering promises that could easily be broken ?

Councillor Mashari is one of the 5 Brent Appointed Trustees of Barham Park. She could easily undo the current ACAVA agreement, but she chooses to do nothing and not listen to the local people. Sudbury residents do not need and want artist studios as proposed by ACAVA. Money is wasted on a planning appeal.

Councillor Mashari quotes figures on the cuts, but fails to acknowledge all the waste she has created by not listening to the local people, until the last minute dash for votes.

Time is up for this bunch.

Anonymous said...

Were the signatories to the 400+ letters of support that FKRL has collected told of the likely expense that would be incurred if FKRL were to become leaseholder under the conditions of the Option Agreement, likewise those online supporters who made their support conditional on FKRL being granted the lease? The utmost transparency is needed in the irreversible step that would be the loss of the publicly funded former library building to commercial development should Andrew Gillick's latest plans receive planning permission. People are entitled to know the details of what they're supporting.

The 400 template letters should be treated as a petition - signatories are agreeing to what's been put to them rather than responding directly and individually to the details of the planning application. For the record - more than 1,200 signed the petition opposing Andrew Gillick's original change-of-use application, so 400 in support of his current plans is barely one-third of that figure.

Anonymous said...

I'm tempted to move my entire family to Ealing so I can live near the Sudbury Independent Toby Chamber. The man appears to be a breath of fresh air and when it comes to social justice who cares about setting budgets or living in a so called "reality-based environment". I bet he has a beard too :)

Anonymous said...

People say there is no money and yet £50 Billion plus can be spent on a toy train set called high speed rail.

If we got spending priorities right there would be enough money.

Investing in community projects would be a far better use of £50 Billion. High speed broadband would improve access for all rather than the few who will be able to afford the ticket for High Speed rail.

Anonymous said...

LOL - it seems that the Westminster-inclining Cllr Mashari backed ACV (Asset of Community Value) status for Preston Library at last night's hustings! What's the point of ACV status if it's unenforceable? Historic Kensal Rise Library is ACV-listed, and we can all see what's happened there. More election talk...

Anonymous said...

Please enlighten me of the source. Not been published here or in any of the local press. This info is not commonly available until the officer's report is published before the planning committee meeting.

Anonymous said...

Well-said. And HS2 is a Labour project, of course. Bet no Brent Labour councillor has the guts to oppose a scheme pushed through by the unelected party member Andrew 'Baron of Camden Town' Adonis. Definitely all in it together, these traditional politicians. Spot the similarity: Con/Lab/Lib.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 16.37: it's on FKRL's FB page.

Anonymous said...

Seems like a political stitch up !

Support FKRL or else What ?

FKRL have recently shown that they do not represent the majority of the community with their inability to be open and transparent.

Sadly last minute votes seem to prevail rather than working towards securing the whole building for the benefit of the community.

Anonymous said...

Bet that 1200 were bribed too and did not know what they were signing.
You know, 'responding directly to what's being put to them, rather than responding directly and individually to the details of the planning application'.

Anonymous said...

Disagree. The opposition to the developer's original change-of-use planning application was clear from pubic meetings as well as on the door-step. Agreeing to an application demands detailed knowledge of a scheme.

Anonymous said...

Pubic meetings!!!!!
What happened on the door step? Whose door step? In Kensal Rise? Ealing?
This blog just got interesting!

Anonymous said...

Alas, I'm afraid I meant public meetings! Thanks for noticing.

Anonymous said...

LOL Predictable now that any mention of Kensal Rise library brings out the Wembley Nutters and their axe-grinding conspiracy theories, along with unrealistic opportunists who don't even live in the area like Toby Chambers. 400 residents bribed? You're having a laugh!! But I'll make a serious offer: if you'd all care to emigrate to Ealing, I'll pay your bus fares.

Anonymous said...

Only axe grinding should be reserved for 22 May.

People can then vote for who they think really deserves to be elected and represent the people.

I hate all "The Spin" and last minute dash for votes from those who should have listened to the voting people years ago.

The broom will sweep away the expired tins in the cupboard on 22 May, replacing them with fresh tins.

Everyone gets an opportunity to decide the flavour on 22 May.

More of the same ?

Anonymous said...

Dearest Anons 12.16 & 13.48 and Lord Chambers of Ealing,
Which pot of gold will allow the Council - whatever its hue - to compulsory purchase? Get real!