Showing posts with label Wembley Stadium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wembley Stadium. Show all posts

Saturday 27 January 2024

Wembley Stadium to bid for an increase in the number of non-sporting events held at the venue

 


 Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium

The impact of Wembey Stadium on the local community has always been controversial. On the one hand complainants are told, 'There has been a stadium here for more than a hundred years. Why live near a stadium if you are going to complain about it?' to, 'We are imprisoned in our homes on Event Days and the number keeps increasing.'  Views vary from, 'The stadium brings in money for the local economy and puts Wembley on the map', to 'We have to pay for clearing up all the litter, put up with public urination and disruption of public transport.'

So the news that Wembley Stadium is seeking to apply to Brent Planning Committe to increase the cap on the number of non-sporting events from 46 to 54 is likely to reignite debate.

In a circular to residents Wembley Stadium says:

Wembley Stadium is looking to adjust the annual stadium event cap to provide more flexibility to attract additional non-sporting major events.

The current permission of 46 events per year limits the number of dates Wembley Stadium can offer to non-sports acts or events. Increasing the cap to 54 major events per year would provide increased flexibility to attract major international acts to the stadium.

The application will retain a cap on the number of major sporting events to no more than 25 per annum, with a minor variation to the definition of a major event as a stadium bowl event with a capacity in excess of 60,000 people.

A planning application will be submitted to Brent Council shortly. Full details of the application will be available for viewing on Brent’s planning portal in the coming weeks.

If you have any initial comments or queries about the proposal, please let us know by submitting your response
HERE before 1 pm on Wednesday 21st February.

We will also be holding a drop-in session for more information from 6 pm on Thursday 22nd February in Wembley Stadium’s Club Wembley Main Reception. Please come along for more information and a chance to discuss this in person.

Meanwhile Brent Council's 'Healthy Streets and Parking Resident Services' is asking for the views of councillors (not the public) on Event Day Traffic Management Orders

In order to accommodate events and games being held at the stadium, it is proposed to add dates for the 2024 calendar year to the existing Wembley Stadium Event Day Traffic Management Orders which have been made and are currently enforced.

 

We need to prepare for the eventuality for all of these dates to be included within our Traffic Management Orders even though on some dates no event will take place. This is mainly due to the fact that the dates cannot precisely be identified with certainty yet, at the time of this proposal.

 

Please note that on the date that enforcement will take place, signs will display the restrictions that are in place.

 

The proposed events are planned on the following dates, inclusive of the South Way two-way traffic flow:-

 

25th February 2024,

23rd and 26th March 2024,

7th, 20th and 21st April 2024,

4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th May 2024,

1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 29th June 2024,

3rd, 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 27th, and 31st July 2024,

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th and 25th August 2024,

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 28th and 29th September 2024,

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th October 2024,

2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th November 2024,

1st, 2nd and 3rd December 2024.

 

Sunday 21 January 2024

A 'community impact' levy on Wembley Stadium tickets and a 'green budget' to align climate emergency measure are among 11 recommendations from Brent Budget Task Force

 

 

There is likely to be little change in Brent Council's final budget compared with earlier drafts. Wednesday's meeting of Scrutiny Committee will hear a presentation on the Budget Task Group's recommendations.

A concern repeated from previous years is around accessibility, transparency and clarity. You may recall that they had argued for calling a cut a cut, rather than a saving last year.

In all there are 11 recommendations.  ACE Brent (Action on climate and ecological emergency Brent who have been advocating for more joined up cross-department work on the climate emergency will be pleased with Recommendation 3 on a 'green budget'.  Voluntary organisations will welcome Recommendation 4 that recognises if the Council signposts the sector to mitigate the impact of cuts it should first discuss with them how the mitigations will be delivered in practice.

There is similar common-sense in Recommendation 5 that advocates a strategic approach to income generation while warning of the dangers of over-commercialisation. It  emphasises the importance of complicance with current policies on empty properties and business rates. Recommendation 6 suggests the renting out of Council meeting rooms for external use. There is still a shortage of such spaces to hire in Brent.

Campaigners for the retention of the New Millenium Day Care Centre will be disappointed that  Reccommendation 9 advocates the retention of the building for community use but not as a Day Centre.

An imaginative flourish is Recommendation 10 that suggests a Community Impact Levy on Wembley Stadium tickets.

 FULL REPORT

The Budget Scrutiny Task Group makes the following recommendations to Cabinet. Budget Presentation and Communications

 

Recommendation 1 – Improvements to budget communications:

 

The Task Group acknowledge the improvements that have been made to the consultation and engagement process following the Budget Scrutiny Task Group Review 2023/24, but believes further work is still needed to better communicate to residents what the vision, mission, aims and priority protection areas of the upcoming Budget are. This also includes ensuring communications meet agreed accessibility standards, such as writing documents in plain English in line with the average Brent reading age. These revisions will help build a greater understanding of the priority areas safeguarded in the proposals and enable residents to provide more meaningful/influential consultation feedback. As an example the Task Group received evidence that there was only one proposal from the Housing portfolio as the Council had made a concerted effort to protect housing services and the most vulnerable; Although it could be assumed that an area not featured in the proposals would be protected, such information should be made clearer in the draft Budget for the lay person. The Task Group recommend that the Council includes a concise, summary page in the Budget (and in future budgets), adopting more accessible language which makes it clear what its vision, aims, and priority protection areas are.

 

Recommendation 2 – Developing clearer and concise proposals:

 

Some of the proposals are generally vague and lack clarity around the possible impact(s) on residents and partners (e.g. 2024-25 CR02, 2024-25 FR02, 2024-25 RS21, 2024-25 CHW03, 2025-26 CHW02 etc.) The Task Group recommend that the Council review the proposals ahead of publication of the final Budget to ensure that the final proposals and their possible impact(s) can be clearly understood and are accessible to all Brent residents. This review could be actioned collaboratively with a lay-panel (e.g. resident focus group) and in future years by including additional questions in the consultation. These suggestions could also help achieve recommendation 1.

 

Recommendation 3 - Alignment with climate action commitments in Borough Plan 2023-27:

 

Building on the recommendation made as part of the Budget Scrutiny Task Group Review 2023/24, there still needs to be greater alignment between the draft Budget and the Borough Plan 2023-27, particularly in relation to climate action. The Task Group appreciates changes being made to the corporate reporting template to include a ‘Climate Change and Environmental Considerations’ section - this good practice should also be applied in the budget setting process. The Task Group recommend that the Council adopt a ‘green budget’ which clearly outlines the climate and environment implications of each proposal. This will assist the Council in its urgent climate commitments, including  the goal to become Carbon Net Zero by 2030.

 

Stronger Partnership Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)

 

Recommendation 4 - Shared Outcomes Framework:

 

Although the Council has understandably prioritised protecting the VCS and frontline services over other areas in its proposed budget, there is scope for stronger partnership working with the sector. During the Stakeholder Session (please see section 3), VCS partners expressed concerns that mitigations proposed in the draft Budget were centred around signposting to the VCS, however there had been no discussion or collaboration around how these mitigations would be delivered or achieved in practice.

 

The Task Group recommend that the Council explores a shared-outcomes framework with the voluntary sector for the benefit of residents/service users. As part of this work, the Council should urgently discuss and collaborate with the VCS in relation to budget proposals that involve them and/or may have an impact on their service provision.

 

This discussion could build on the Task Group’s recommendation from the Budget Scrutiny Task Group Review 2023/24 which suggested a collaborative strategy with the VCS to enable these organisations to identify and secure new income streams.

 

A shared-outcomes approach could avoid future service cuts, avoid service duplication and save the Council money long-term. Additionally, it would ensure that a consistent dialogue is maintained with the VCS throughout each financial year around issues like council budgets rather than the current approach which has meant budget discussions with the sector take place after proposals have already been drafted.

 

 

Income Generation

 

Recommendation 5 – Establishing a strategic approach to income generation:

 

The Task Group commend the Council’s creativity/efforts to generate additional income to bolster its finances, and particularly welcomes proposals such as 2024-25 FR01, 2024-25 RS13, and 2024-25 RS14. However, more could be done to generate even more income.

 

The Task Group recommend that the Council develops a longer-term, strategic approach to income generation (accompanied with yearly action plans) rather than focusing on piecemeal proposals year to year. The strategy should include a robust monitoring process that enables holistic working across all departments to create synergies for income generation. Specifically, allocating a dedicated, cross-  departmental resource to work across the Council to investigate and identify additional opportunities for income generation e.g. compliance with mandatory HMO licensing, compliance with council tax on empty properties, and business rates evasion.

 

Establishing a longer-term approach will help the Council to be more resourceful and self-sufficient in the absence of large central government funding pots. Strategic interventionscould enable the Council to address areas of improvement in its operations and recoup income that would have been otherwise due, as well as identify new creative ways of generating income. The Task Group however recognise a balanced approach must be adopted that ensures the Council does not become over-commercialised and learns from local authorities that have experienced financial difficulties (i.e. entered s114 territory2) due to certain commercial choices.

 

Recommendation 6 – Renting out Civic Centre meeting rooms:

 

The Task Group acknowledge the efforts the Council has made to rent out spaces in the Civic Centre to generate additional income, however believes there are additional opportunities that can be realised. The Task Group recommend that additional space, specifically meeting rooms, in the Civic Centre are made available for external hire given that staff no longer work 5 days per week in the office. To complement this suggestion, some council meetings could be moved outside of the Civic Centre to be held in other community assets in the borough.

 

Not only could this recommendation generate additional income, but it could provide residents and businesses with office space and workspace solutions in the heart of the borough. It could also encourage members/officers to increase their use of other community facilities in the borough and spread the Council’s visibility more equally throughout the borough.

 

Recommendation 7 – Implementing additional shared service arrangements:

 

The Council’s efforts to generate additional income by offering shared services to other local authorities are welcomed. Notable examples include proposal 2025-26 CYP04 which intends to sell additional respite bed nights to other local authorities at the Ade Adepitan Short Break Centre. Another instance is the formation of the Shared Technology Services (STS), an IT shared service for the councils of Brent, Lewisham and Southwark, whereby Brent is the host borough for the service. The Task Group recommend that the Council explores further opportunities for shared service arrangements, learning lessons from its current arrangements and from good practice of the shared service models that already exist across the country.

 

It is acknowledged that there is not a single model that suits all councils, localities, or types of service provision, and that this recommendation will take time to scope out. However, if delivered effectively, the Council would be able to generate additional income, reduce duplication, potentially increase investment in services, and reimagine services to better meet the needs of residents.

 

Lobbying and Advocacy

 

Recommendation 8 - Housing Subsidy Loss:

 

Although the Task Group welcomes the increase to Local Housing Allowance rates via the Autumn Statement 2023, further pro-active work could still be carried out with neighbouring local authorities, London Councils, and the Local Government Association (LGA) to seek reform to the Housing Benefit Subsidy rules. The Task Group recommend that the Council works with the above mentioned associations to lobby for positive change to the Housing Benefit subsidy rules which currently caps the amount the Council can claim back from the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) to 90% of the 2011 LHA rates per household for TA provided, and which places financially onerous restrictions on the types of TA the Council can provide to be eligible for housing benefit subsidy. Such reform would enable Brent to significantly reduce its overspends, and to have access to a wider pool of affordable temporary accommodation to deal with increased demand in homelessness.

 

Recommendation 9 – Retaining use of New Millennium Day Centre

 

The Task Group accept that alternative provision will be put in place to mitigate the impacts of ceasing use of the New Millennium Day Centre. It would nevertheless be disappointing to lose a vital space in the borough that brings local communities together and which allows the Council to achieve its 'Borough of Culture' legacy ambitions. The Task Group recommend that the Council explores options to retain the building for community use.

 

Recommendation 10 – Wembley Stadium: 'Community Impact' Ticket Levy:

 

The Task Group welcome the financial contributions made by Wembley Stadium towards the Council’s event day management costs (e.g. cleansing and waste management, highways management, enforcement etc.), however recognise that these contributions do not cover the full extent of the costs incurred by the Council for its operations on event days.

The Task group recommend that the Council explores options with the Stadium for a ticket levy, whereby the Council receives a proportion of each ticket sale in order to fully recover costs incurred or to provide for further enhancement of the Council’s event day operations.

 

Recommendation 11 - Delegation of budgets and decision making to Brent Integrated Care Partnership (ICP):

 

The Task Group note that the success of many of the proposals are dependent on effective partnership working with health partners (e.g. 2024-25 CHW01, 2024-25 CHW03, 2025-26 CHW03, 2025-26 CYP06 etc). It was heard that the established working arrangements and governance in the Brent ICP provide opportunities for closer working between the Council and NHS partners. These working arrangements have enabled health funding to be transferred to Adult Social Care to support residents and the local health and care system.

However, the Task Group understand that the centralisation of decisions on NHS budgets away from the borough to North West London Integrated Care Board (NWL ICB) has reduced the ability of the Brent ICP to address local needs and may have increased future demand on the system. For example, in accordance with ICB processes, the ICP has submitted robust business cases for paediatric continence services, nursing provision for children in special schools, and to manage pressures on CYP and adult mental health services. All of these business cases are still awaiting a decision after many months, while need continues to increase.

 

The Task Group recommend that the Council continues to advocate and make the case to NWL ICB for both a better alignment of NHS resources to population need and for an increased delegation of budgets and decision making to Brent ICP.

 

Not only would devolution to place allow for more effective collaboration between the Council and local health partners but it would also allow for implementation of service change at greater pace. Additionally, the Task Group is of the view that the ICP is better able than NWL to tailor services to the needs of Brent’s diverse communities with greater flexibility to respond to changing needs or circumstances.


Friday 17 November 2023

The Wembley bus that disappears on Event Days

 England play Malta tonight at Wembley Stadium so once again the 206 bus that runs between Kilburn Park and The Paddocks in Wembley Park will be curtailed at Bridge Park:


Kick-Off isn't until 7.45pm but the bus stops running at 2.45pm affecting secondary school pupils travelling towards Harlesden.

Stops affected:


Residents have been trying to get the Council to do something about this for decades and the need is now greater because of the increased number of events at the stadium. A local residents submitted a question to Krupa Sheth to try to pin down when the promised introduction of full working on event days will be implented:

 

Question from Peggy Wylie to Councillor Krupa Sheth (Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action)

 

The 206 bus route is for many living in the Kings Drive, The Paddocks, Salmon Street area a real necessity. However, when there is an event scheduled at Wembley Stadium no 206 service is provided to the area after 11.00/noon (or even earlier) because the service is curtailed at Brent Park.

 

The suspension of this service to the Wembley Park, Kings Drive, The Paddocks and Salmon Street area disproportionately affects our most vulnerable residents - the elderly, disabled, parents with small children and women travelling home alone at night. It also affects people needing to travel from this area to reach their place of employment and in particular those that work for Tesco, IKEA.

 

 

Brent's local plan for our area proposed the opening of North End Road to allow traffic to and from Bridge Road, Wembley Park, which would enable the 206 to serve our area on event days. The changes to the road layout have been completed and yet we are still deprived of our bus on event days.

 

As a result, can the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action advise if the combined forces of the London Borough of Brent, Transport for London ("Every journey matters!") and Wembley Stadium Limited will listen and take note of residents' needs and finally commit to seeking an urgent and permanent solution allowing the 206 bus to run its full route to the Paddocks on Wembley Stadium event days?

 

Response:

 

Transport for London (TfL) are responsible for the provision of bus services in London and consult on route changes and frequencies to improve services and efficiency.

 

Brent liaises with TfL on the bus services provided in the borough and requests improvements to satisfy the needs of residents and businesses. Brent also liaises with TfL buses for Wembley Stadium events where it is necessary to curtail / divert services for security. However, the council is committed to implementing infrastructure improvements identified under the Wembley Area Action plan and

recently completed the North End Road connection and Wembley 2 Way working projects which will enable bus services to be provided via this route on stadium event days in the future.

 

TfL carried out a consultation earlier this year on proposed changes to bus routes 92, 206 and 440 through the Wembley Park area with a view to simplifying the bus network following the introduction of two-way working arrangements in the area and which would allow for services to continue to serve the area on event days. The plan below outlines the proposals for all three services.

 

 


 

Following the consultation and following subsequent route tests, TfL has advised that the proposed changes to routes 92 and 440 will now go ahead, but a revised change to route 206 is to be implemented. This is due to the need for further works to signalise the junction at Bridge Road/North End Road (which is planned) control parking, and to strengthen a culvert. The latter is now required in order to support the intention to introduce electric buses on the 206 route. As such, and for the immediate future at least, route 206 will continue to serve Fulton Road and Rutherford road (see plan below). It is intended that all these changes will be introduced during 2024.

 

 


 

 

The Council will continue to work with TfL to deliver improvements to bus services through the area on stadium event days and throughout the borough.

 

Editor's Note:

 

On event days I often find people at The Paddocks bus stop vainly waiting for a 206 bus. At the weekend this is often after they have been walking in Fryent Country Park. They have sometimes waited for an hour. Public tramsport acess to the Park should be enouraged.

At Brent Park you find confused passengers told to disembark, milling around trying to find an alternative  route home. Often quite young school pupils are stranded.

Wednesday 27 September 2023

Wembley Park road closure from 8.30am on Sunday for NFL game

From Brent Council

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Atlanta Falcons 


Wembley Stadium will be hosting a National Football League (NFL) game between the Jacksonville Jaguars vs Atlanta Falcons this Sunday 1 October. Please read below to see how this might affect you.


Timings


Doors will open from 11:30am and road closures will be in place from 8:30am.


We expect the area around Wembley Stadium to be very busy before and after the event so please avoid the area if you can unless you have a ticket.

Wednesday 2 August 2023

Road closures from noon on Sunday for FA Community Shield: Kick-Off 4pm AVOID WEMBLEY AREA


 From Brent Council

Wembley Stadium will be hosting the FA Community Shield this Sunday 6th August.

Manchester City v Arsenal Kick-Off 4pm.

 

Timings

 

Doors will open from 1pm and road closures will be in place from 12 noon.

 

We expect the area around Wembley Stadium to be very busy before and after the event so please avoid the area if you can unless you have a ticket.

Event day parking

 

Event day parking restrictions will be in place from 8am to midnight on main roads and from 10am to midnight on residential roads.

 

If you have a paper permit, please make sure you clearly display it in your vehicle. If you have an electronic permit, you do not need to display this.

 

Drink-free zone

 

We want to create a safe and enjoyable experience for all visitors.

To crack down on anti-social behaviour, we will be enforcing a ban on street drinking in the streets around Wembley Stadium before these matches, as part of the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).


If we find anyone drinking on Olympic Way or in the surrounding streets, they will be asked to hand over their alcohol and enforcement action may be considered. 

 

Sunday 9 July 2023

Guest Post: Wembley Archive would love you to pay a visit

 


 1933

 

Guest post by Graham Cooksley (@Wembley Archive)

 

Launching on Twitter in 2022, the Wembley Archive (@wembleyarchive) channel sets about to record and highlight the rich heritage of Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena and the wider footprint of the former exhibition grounds from their inception in the early 1920s.  

 

We are followed by Wembley Stadium, the OVO Arena Wembley, Wembley Park LDN, a descendant of Sir Arthur Elvin and many others. The channel is based around a collection of primarily non-football focused Wembley memorabilia, owned and developed by a private collector (myself) over many years.

 In our first year we have recorded the 100th anniversary of the opening of Wembley Stadium with a series of ‘live tweets’ as if the events of the 1923 ‘White Horse Final’ were happening at that moment and we are nearing the 75th anniversary of the 1948 London Olympics which also utilised some of the then remaining British Empire Exhibition buildings.  Of course, the exhibition itself turns 100 in 2024 when the Empire Pool, now OVO Arena, will also celebrate its 90th birthday, busy days ahead.

As well as regular posts with a variety of items ranging from pre-war pageants to religious rallies, we have also learnt a great deal of information through the interaction with our readers and followers, so if you have an interest in all things Wembley and in particular the former Wembley Stadium complex site we would love you to give as a visit, follow and at the same time say hi.   

Graham Cooksley

@WembleyArchive


 

1944


 


 1946

 


 

1954

 

Tuesday 13 June 2023

Wembley Park residents deprived of 206 bus for 5 afternoons and evenings while Love is on Tour. Vulnerable residents left stranded.

 

A resident of the King's Drive/Pilgrims Way estate has written to Barnhill councillor, Kathleen Fraser, about the impact of the curtailment of the 206 bus at Brent Park on event days. Thirty minutes ago I had to inform people waiting in the heat at The Paddocks stop that there were no buses due to a concert at the Stadium.

 


 

As the writer points out we were promised that an advantage of North End Road being rejoined to Bridge Road was that the 206 could avoid the main stadum area by using North End Road on event days.

 

 
 

 Dear Councillor Fraser


I am writing to you with regard to the 206 bus route which, for many living in Kings Drive, The Paddocks, Salmon Street areas, is a real boon.  That is until there is an event scheduled at Wembley Stadium when no service is provided after 11.00/noon.

I believe I am correct in saying that in Brent's local plan for our area it was stated that the opening of North End Road to allow traffic to and from Bridge Road would mean that the 206 would be able to serve our area on event days.

The changes to the road layout have been completed and yet we are still deprived of our bus service.
 
Could I ask you to please enquire as to why this is the case and when we may expect a service to run regardless of events at the stadium.

May I point out that the suspension of this service disproportionately affects our most vulnerable residents - the elderly, disabled, parents with small children and women travelling home alone at night.

This week commencing Sunday 11 June we will be without a bus on no fewer than 5 afternoons and evenings.  
 
The bus company seems to suspend the service at the earliest time possible, even when traffic is light.

I would be most grateful for your help in this matter. Residents have been putting up with this for far too long.

Thank you in advance.