Showing posts with label Brent Connects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent Connects. Show all posts

Monday 24 January 2022

Brent Connects 6pm tomorrow. Council Draft Budget and Let's Talk Climate conversation

 From Brent Council


Brent Connects takes place tomorrow on Tuesday 25 January 2021, 6-8pm and will focus on the Council's draft budget and the Let's Talk Climate conversation.

Voices of the community and generating new ideas are key to making Brent a better place to live, work and visit, so book your place today by visiting: Brent Connects Tickets, Tue 25 Jan 2022 at 18:00 | Eventbrite.

The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom, but do not worry if you’ve never used Zoom before as we’ll be sending detailed instructions to all attendees beforehand.

If you have any questions, please email brent.connects@brent.gov.uk

Brent Connects - Agenda - 25 Jan 2022.docx.pdf

Draft budget

Join us to share your views on the proposals for the 2022/23 budget. We want to know what services are the most important to local people so we can make the best decisions about where to make savings.

The new proposals for 2022/23 are designed to limit, as far as possible, service reductions and the impact on front line services, particularly during these challenging times.

Let's Talk Climate

The second part of the session will focus on how we can work together to make local neighbourhoods greener and more sustainable.

Your feedback will influence the contracts for three important council services that are up for renewal next year and could change how your waste and recycling is managed, how we keep streets clean and how green spaces are maintained.

We want to hear your ideas for how we can deliver these services in ways that meet your and your neighbourhood’s needs while encouraging people to take more responsibility for keeping their areas clean.

Wednesday 13 January 2021

Have you say on Brent Budget at Brent Connects tomorrow or give your views via on-line consultation

Thursday's zoom Brent Connects will focus on the budget proposals for 2021-22 and 2022-23 as well as a briefing on the new round of CIL bids.

There is also an on-line consultation which closes on January 31st.
 
 
Brent Connects is a space for local communities to come together and discuss the things that matter most to you.

About this Event

The upcoming Brent Connects session on Thursday 14 January 2021, 6-7.30pm will focus on the council's draft budget and NCIL funding.

The session will focus on the proposals for the council’s 2021/22 and 2022/23 budget.

Join us to learn more about how budgets are developed, why cost savings are needed and the council's priorities over the next few years.

We want to hear your thoughts on the draft budget proposals and give you the opportunity to get any questions answered.

The Grants Team will also tell you all about the upcoming round of NCIL funding and how you can apply.

You'll be invited to join a breakout room where you can discuss these topics in more detail with others in your community and there will also be a soapbox slot where you can raise any issues or promote activities in your local area.

Voices of the community and generating new ideas are key to making Brent a better place to live, work and visit, so book your place today.

The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom, but do not worry if you’ve never used Zoom before as we’ll be sending detailed instructions to all attendees beforehand.

If you have any questions, please email brent.connects@brent.gov.uk

You will need to book in advance HERE


ON-LINE CONSULTATION

Residents are being invited to take part in the consultation on Brent Council’s draft budget proposals for 2021/22.

Over the past ten years, Brent like many other local authorities, has been faced with increasing financial pressures caused by significant funding cuts and a growing demand for services.

Some tough decisions were made early on which has left the council in a strong financial position, however the unprecedented effects of COVID-19, including increased spending and a loss of income, has meant that the task of balancing the budget is more challenging this year than it has ever been.

Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader of Brent Council, said:

“I want to encourage all residents to get involved and give their views on this year’s budget, which may be our most important ever.

“The budget will affect everyone so it’s vital we hear as many views as possible to help make sure we get this right.”

The budget consultation will remain open until 31 January 2021.

View the full report outlining the budget proposals and take part in the consultation today.

Thursday 7 March 2019

Details of next round of Brent Connects meetings - all residents welcome. Get on your soapbox and air your concerns to Brent Council


From Brent Council

Kilburn
Harlesden
Wembley
Willesden
Kingsbury & Kenton
Tuesday 26 March 2019
7pm to 9pm
Tuesday 2 April
2019
7pm to 9pm
Wednesday 3 April 2019
7pm to 9pm
Wednesday 17 April 2019
7pm to 9pm
Tuesday 23 April 2019
7pm to 9pm
Front Room Granville Centre, 140 Carlton Vale, London NW6 5HE
Tavistock Hall, Main Hall, 25 High Street, Harlesden NW10 4NE
Patidar House
22 London Road, Wembley HA9 7EX
The Library at Willesden Green, The Performance Space, 95 High Road, Willesden NW10 2SF
Kingsbury High School, Main Hall, Upper School, Princes Avenue, Kingsbury NW9 9JR

The Brent Connects forum meetings offer a great opportunity for residents to hear about what the
 Council are doing in your area and get involved in the decisions the Council makes. Each meeting is
chaired by a Councillor and attended by your local Councillors, Council officers and partner agencies
such as the police and health authority.

At each meeting residents also have an opportunity to express their views and concerns
on an issue of their choice through the ‘soapbox slot’.

You don’t need to register, just come along. Light refreshments will be provided.

Wednesday 28 December 2016

FA bids to increase the number of full-capacity events at Wembley Stadium


High rise developments around Wembley Stadium today
The Football Association is bidding to increase the number of full-capacity events at Wembley Stadium.  At present the cap is 20 per year and the FA wants to increase this by 20 to 57 per year - more than one a week.

The FA will be making a presentation at the next Brent Connects Wembley as part of the consultation process.  They have left little time for a public response as Brent Council expect the formal application to be made around January 20th 2017. There will be just 30 minutes allocated to the presentation by the FA and questions from the public.

Meanwhile little further has been heard about the FA's opposition to Quintain's  housing developments close to the stadium which they felt pose a danger to fans. LINK

Other weighty issues will also be on the agenda for the meeting including consultation on the 2017-17 council budget and  on how the Community Infrastructure Levy (CiL) should be spent.  The CiL is the contribution made by developers towards improvements in local infrastructure (roads, nurseries. schools, health facilities etc) and is subject to some controversy.  Some feel it should be spent in the immediate area of developments like South Kilburn, Wembley and Alperton while others feel its benefits should be distributed across the borough. Negotiations over the amount of CiL between the Council and developers are an issue that could benefit from deeper scrutiny.

Brent Connects is 7pm-9pm  on Wednesday January 11th at Patidar House, 22 London Road, off Wembley High Road, HA9 7EX


Click on image to enlarge




Saturday 19 November 2016

Brent Council opens consultation on 2017-18 budget: including cuts and council tax rise

Brent Council has issued the following press release on its budget consultation - printed here unedited.

 Six years of cuts by central government to local authority budgets across the UK has meant Brent Council has needed to find new ways to maintain services, with some difficult decisions made along the way.

Despite growing demand for local services from an increasing and ageing population, the funding that Brent Council receives from the Government is set to fall even further.

Rather than cut vital services, which residents rely on, the council is conducting a ten-week consultation on its budget proposals which includes a rise in council tax by 3.99 percent to help plug the gap left by the government's cuts.

"Imagine your household bills went up every year, but your salary kept being cut. You would have to make some tough choices and find new ways to make your money go further," says Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council.

As well as showing how the council plans to raise income to balance the books the budget details spending plans for 2017/18.

Key areas include everything from investment in making Brent cleaner and safer, rubbish and recycling collection, boosting jobs and skills to protecting the vulnerable, increasing council housing, maintaining parks and open spaces and giving every child the best start in life.

"In recent years, we've taken steps to make sure that Brent Council is as efficient and cost-effective as possible. At the same time, we've worked hard to ensure the services that our residents rely on are protected.

"It is vital that the work we do as a Council reflects the priorities of our residents. That's we are asking the people of Brent to tell us what matters to them. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit the website, or join us at their local Brent Connects meetings taking place at the start of next year."

Have your say online by 1 February 2017 or come along to one of the Brent Connects public meetings in January or February 2017.

Views taken at the Willesden and the Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects meetings, after the consultation portal has closed, will be added as an appendix to the Cabinet report and considered on Monday 13 February 2017 at the Cabinet meeting.

Full Council will then make a decision on the final budget for 2017/18 on Monday 27 February 2017.

Thursday 18 June 2015

Brent Connects Meetings in June and July

Cllr Dan Filson, Chair of Scrutiny, said he would be attending Brent Connects meetings to pick up the concerns of residents.  Here are details of the current round:


Sunday 20 July 2014

A 'secret' meeting with Councillor Butt

Guest blog by Philip Grant

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The need for independent investigation of a number of important matters which appear to be going wrong within Brent Civic Centre has been the subject of a number of “blogs”, and hundreds of comments on them, in the past few months, most recently in Martin’s article about ‘Diminishing democracy in Brent’ on 13 July:- 


I was one of the people who urged our Council Leader, Cllr. Muhammed Butt, to publicly answer the allegations which were being made, both in comments made and in emails sent to him both before and after the local elections in May. I also had outstanding matters from a letter I had given to him on 4 February 2014, at a “Brent Connects” meeting where I had spoken out in a “soapbox” slot about Senior Council Officers failing to honour commitments in Brent’s Constitution about proper consultation and working effectively with the community (the report back to the following “Brent Connects” meeting in April had incorrectly informed the public that ‘the Leader’s Office has responded to Mr Grant’).

I was therefore pleased when one of my emails finally received a reply, from Cllr. Butt himself, on 24 May saying: 

‘Let’s meet up soon so that we can discuss the points that you have been highlighting. I need to be appointed as leader again on June 4th at the agm of the council and if all goes ahead fine we can sit down soon afterwards.’

After some delays at his office, I finally met with Cllr. Butt, and his assistant Thomas Cattermole, in his office at the Civic Centre on Thursday 26 June. I am a retired Civil Servant, and right at the start of the meeting I made it clear that I wished to make a written record of our discussions. This is how I recorded it in the “Introduction” to my notes of the meeting (the only part of them which I feel I can disclose, for reasons which will become apparent):


Friday 28 March 2014

A tale of two soap boxes at Brent Connects



Guest blog by Philp Grant

I was not able to be at the Wembley “Brent Connects” meeting on 26 March, but hope that the following “soapbox update” item which I sent in was read out:-


A “Wembley Lion”

At the Wembley “Brent Connects” forum in October 2013, I asked for the support of local people, councillors and Council Officers to get a lion head from the former Palace of Industry building put on permanent public display for the 90th anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition. The meeting responded well to my “soapbox”, and I am pleased to let you know that Wembley will soon have its “Lion” again.


Volunteers from Wembley History Society and the Exhibition Study Group have worked together with Brent’s Regeneration, Heritage and Parks sections since last October. As a result of this, one of the lion head corbels will be placed on a concrete plinth at the new open space in Wembley Hill Road, opposite York House, by the end of next month. 


The plinth will have a plaque donated by Quintain, the Wembley Park developers who gave Brent three lion heads from the demolished building. It will also have a panel giving details about the history of the British Empire Exhibition in 1924/25. This Exhibition, which helped to put Wembley “on the map”, brought people together from across the world, to get to know each other better. 


I hope that today’s Wembley community, whatever their origins, will enjoy visiting this piece of our shared local history. From the end of April, please go and see it – take your families, take a picnic, and have your photograph taken with a “Wembley Lion”!

If you go between late April and 31 July, why not combine this with a visit to Brent’s BEE 90th anniversary exhibition at the Civic Centre.


I also hope that everyone at this evening’s meeting will note from this example that good things can happen when the Council works together in co-operation with interested local people. Thank you.


I was good to be able to report back on this example of “Brent Connects” helping to provide a positive result. It is part of the consultation system set out in Brent Council’s Constitution, to encourage local people to get involved in the way decisions are made. This time it worked, but things are not looking so good over another “soapbox” I gave at the Kingsbury and Kenton “Brent Connects” in February 2014
(http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/respecting-brent-councils-constitution.html). When I received my invitation to the next meeting of this forum I had to reply as follows:


Thank you for your email, link to the minutes of the meeting on 4 February and copy of the agenda for the meeting on 9 April, which I certainly plan to attend.



Please note that there are some errors in the soapbox feedback section of the February notes on my item headed "Respecting Brent's Constitution":



Under "You Said" the text misses the main point of what I did say (see copy attached). I would suggest that this paragraph should be amended to:



‘Mr Grant quoted extracts on consultation from the council’s Constitution, and felt that the council was in breach of them. He gave one example of how staff at Museum and Archives had been restructured while consultation was in progress on a new Museum and Archives Strategy, which should have been completed before any restructuring. This was one of a number of examples of Brent's Officers ignoring what were supposed to be council commitments about consulting with the community. He said that he was writing jointly to the Council Leader and other party group leaders, asking them to work together to find a solution to this problem, so that everyone at Brent Council respected its commitments and worked together with local people for the benefit of the community.’

Under "We Said" it states: 'The Leader’s Office has responded to Mr Grant.'



It may be that the Leader's Office intends to respond to me before 9 April, but at the moment this should read: 'The Leader’s Office has not responded to Mr Grant.' I am copying this email to Councillor Butt, so that he can ensure that a response is sent in good time before the meeting.



In fact, the only written response I have received from any of the three party group leaders on the Council to the joint letter that I gave or sent to each of them was a copy of an email from Cllr. Paul Lorber to Fiona Ledden, Brent’s chief legal officer, on 12 February. He asked her to bring the matters I had raised about Brent Officers not respecting its Constitution to a meeting of the Council’s Constitutional Working Group, and to invite me to that meeting to explain my concerns in full.



Cllr. Lorber’s email was copied to Cllrs. Butt and Kansagra, but in the spirit of the group leaders working together which I had requested, it would have been better if he had asked them to support a joint approach to Brent’s Director of Legal and Procurement on this. As it was, she swiftly replied to the group leaders, with copy to me, that: ‘the Constitutional Working Group is not the venue for discussions with members of the public, or consideration of staff related issues, [and] I therefore feel unable to comply with the request.’



So there we have it, Brent has a Constitutional Working Group, but it is not allowed, by a Senior Council Officer, to consider alleged breaches of Brent’s Constitution by Senior Council Officers. It is certainly not allowed to hear what ordinary members of Brent’s public have to say about the Constitution, a document which includes the following commitment, quoted in my “soapbox” of 4 February:



‘The Council is committed to involving the community through effective consultation and two-way communication.’ (Article 10.1)


Philip Grant


Wednesday 15 May 2013

New Committee Chairs and members for 2013-14 approved at Council AGM

Brent Council's Annual Meeting this evening was enlivened by some well-deserved Community Champion Awards which went to a very representative range of Brent's diverse community. Lincoln Beswick,  in an often emotional speech, nominated Bobby Thomas as Brent's first Mayor of Jamaican origin. The significance of the occasion was marked by the presence of the Jamaican High Commissioner and even more by the crowd which came forward to record the moment on cameras and mobile phones.

Otherwise the evening was marked by a considerable amount of mutual political grooming on the last occasion in which the meeting will take place at Brent (formerly Wembley) Town Hall. The move to the Civic Centre will take place in mid-June.

The Executive and Committee positions were confirmed and the members of each of the main  committees is recorded below. The political balance is shown in brackets (Labour/Lib Dem/Conservative). In addition there are first and second alternates. Full details will be on the Council's website.

GENERAL PURPOSE (6/3/1)
Butt (Chair), Hirani, Mashari, J Moher, R Moher (VC), Pavey, Brown, Hopkins, Lorber, Kansagra

SENIOR STAFF APPOINTMENTS SUB-COMMITTEE (3/1/1) Important in light of senior officer restructuring)
Butt (Chair), Denselow, R Moher (VC), Lorber, Kansagra

PLANNING (7/3/1)
Aden, John (VC), Kabir, Kataria, Powney, Ketan Sheth (Chair), Singh, Cummins, Hashmi, CJ Patel, Baker

ONE COUNCIL OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (5/2/1)
Chohan, Harrison, Long, Mitchell Murray, Powney, Ashraf (Chair), Lorber, Colwill (VC)

BUDGET AND FINANCE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (5/2/1)
S Choudhary, Kataria (VC), RS Patel, Ketan Sheth, Van Kalwala, Brown, Hopkins (Chair), HB Patel

CALL-IN OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (5/2/1)
Daly, Jones (VC), Kabir, RS Patel, Krupa Sheth, Ashraf (Chair), Lorber, HB Patel

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (5/2/1)
Aden, Al-Ebadi, Arnold, Gladbaum, Mitchell-Murray (Chair), Matthews (VC), CJ Patel, Kansagara
(There are also co-optees and observers on this comittee)

HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (5/2/1)
Daly (Chair), Harrison, Hector, Hossain, Ketan Sheth, Hunter (Vice Chair), Leaman, Colwill

BRENT CONNECTS FORUMS - Chairs
HARLESDEN: Hector
KILBURN AND KENSAL: Oladapo
KINGSBURY  AND KENTON: RS Patel
WEMBLEY: Krupa Sheth
WILLESDEN: Jones

Tuesday 9 April 2013

New round of Brent Connects forums start next week

The next round of Brent Connects local forums are starting next week. This is an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in council policy but also to make your voice heard. You can do this by arranging to speak at a Soapbox. Book on-line or just before the meeting begins.

The format varies between meetings with some having a Question Time style section and others consisting of mainly presentations from council officers, which can be rather tedious. All would be much improved by a higher attendance of young people ands a wider cross-section of the local community.

Cllr James Powney will be giving an update on his brief at the Wembley meeting. Some of the meetings will discuss the priorities for the spending of ward working money,

The links below take you to venue details and the agenda.

WEMBLEY Tues 16th April 7pm, Patidar House, London Road, Wembley

KILBURN AND KENSAL Wed 17th April 7pm, Gaumont State, Kilburn High Road

KINGSBURY AND KENTON Tues 23rd April 7pm, Kingsbury High School, Prices Avenue, Kingsbury

HARLESDEN Wed 24th April 7pm, All Souls Church, Station Road, Harlesden

WILLESDEN Tues 30th April 7pm, College of North West London, Denzil Road, Willesden

Thursday 27 December 2012

Brent fails to connect with residents on budget

In January 2012 Ann John and Muhammed Butt toured the Area Consultative Forums to speak about the Council budget. LINK One year on, after Muhammed Butt ousted Ann John promising greater openness and engagement with residents, no budget discussion has been included on the agendas so far published for next month's forums.

Pleas to formulate a needs based budget as a campaigning tool to challenge the Coalition's unequal slashing of local government expenditure have been ignored. An opportunity to engage with local residents and mobilise them in defence of vital services appears to have been rejected.

Now known as Brent Connect Forums they meet on the following dates. I include the agendas that have so far been published. 

Brent Connects Kilburn and Kensal
08.01.13 7pm Kensal Rise Primary School, Harvist Road, NW6
Brent Connects Harlesden 
09.01.13 7pm All Souls Church, Station Rd, NW10

  • Update from representatives of TfL, Network Rail and London Overground (LOROL) on the planned improvements for Willesden Junction Station approach
  • The latest news on the Willesden Energy Recovery Centre (incinerator in Ealing)
  • Plans for the development of a Neighbourhood Forum covering parts of Stonebridge, Harlesden and Dudden Hill
  • Proposed improvements to parts of the Brent River Park (Phase 2)
  • Local Policing update
  • Doing more locally with Residents' Association Groups
Brent Connects Wembley
15. 01.13 7pm Pattidar House, 22 London Road, HA9
Brent Connects Willesden
16.01.13 7pm College of NW London, College Road, NW10
  • Government welfare reforms (including Discretionary Housing Payments) - how this will affect you and the benefits you receive
  • Customer services at the civic centre - what's on offer
  • Local policing update
Brent Connects Kingsbury and Kenton
06.02.13 7pm Kingsbury High School, Princes Avenue, NW9