England v Spain Saturday 26th September Road Closures etc

 

Some history talks at Kingsbury Library this autumn

 Guest post by local historian Philip Grant in a personal capacity

 

The opening day at the Co-op store in Kingsbury Road, 1935. (Brent Archives image)

 

Brent Libraries put on a variety of events, for people of all ages, and you can find details of what’s on and book your places at them on their Eventbrite website (“click” here). I’m writing this to let you know about three FREE coffee morning talks, each with a different history theme, which are taking place this autumn at Kingsbury Library. The talks are all from 11am to 12noon (but arrive from 10.45am to collect your free tea or coffee and biscuit), and I’m sure you will enjoy them if you decide to come along. 

 

 

The first of the three talks, taking place on Monday 28 September, is about the 1926 General Strike, which has its centenary this year. This national strike was called by the Trades Union Congress, and former TUC librarian, Christine Coates will explain the events which led to it, what actually happened (including some local examples), and whether anything was gained from this historic industrial action.

 

The second of these free autumn coffee mornings at Kingsbury Library is on Tuesday 13 October, and I will be giving that illustrated talk myself. Kingsbury – a short look at a long history will provide an introduction to the story of this area, from the earliest people known to have lived here, almost 3,000 years ago, to how it has developed over the centuries to become the place we know today.

 

The last, but not least, of the three talks will take place on Thursday 5 November, when Jeremy Waxman, the former Head Teacher at Kingsbury High School, will be giving an illustrated talk on Letters to Miss Baker. She was a teacher at Kingsbury County School (KHS’s predecessor in Princes Avenue), who kept in touch with many former pupils who were serving in the British forces during the Second World War. More than five hundred of the letters she received, from young men and women around the world, were discovered in a cupboard at the school in 2017, and Jeremy’s book about them, and his talk (which I have heard myself and can recommend) give a fascinating insight into those times.

 

 

Kingsbury Library is at 522-524 Kingsbury Road, NW9 9HE, close to Kingsbury Station on the Jubilee Line, and buses 79, 183, 204, 324 and SL10 also stop nearby. And if the recent photograph of the library looks similar to the 1935 Co-op store picture at the top of this piece, there is a good reason for that!

Philip Grant.

School Support Staff pernsion surplus should be used to help the low paid workers themselves - not to fund teachers' pay rise, NEU Response

From the GMB Union 

Surplus in the school support staff pension scheme must be used to help the workers themselves- not to fund the pay rises of teachers, GMB Union has told the Education Secretary. 

In a letter  to Lucy Powell, the union said any 'financial benefit' should 'be used to support the school support staff workforce, including protecting support staff jobs and hours, rather than being diverted exclusively towards meeting the costs of teachers' pay settlements'. 

The Department for Education this week announced a £500 million surplus in the pension fund teaching assistants, catering staff, school caretakers and other workers pay into would be used to fund a pay rise for teachers. 

School support staff are the lowest paid workers in education, with many tied to term time only contracts leaving their annual salary as low as £12,000 per year. 

Stacey Booth, GMB National Officer, said: 

It's shameful money from school support staff pensions is being hoovered up to cover for teachers' pay. 

Teaching assistants, catering staff, caretakers, admins staff and others are the lowest paid people in education – struggling to get by on term time only contracts and poverty pay. 

Any surplus in their pension scheme surely must go to them help ease their lot, not go to better paid colleagues. 

GMB has called on the education secretary to ensure that from now on, any surplus from school support staff pensions must only be used in consultation with them – and used to help make their lives easier.

 From Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the NEU

 

SCHOOL PAY & PENSIONS — A SIMPLE EXPLAINER 

 

There’s been a lot of confusion about the LGPS pension saving, so here’s what has actually happened.

 

What is the LGPS saving? The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) covers many school support staff. Every three years, the scheme is reviewed to work out how much employers need to contribute. Because investment returns have been stronger than expected, employers now need to contribute less. On average, employer contributions have fallen by 4.9 percentage points. 

 

This does NOT reduce the pension support staff will receive when they retire. It changes what the employer has to pay into the scheme. 

 

So what does this have to do with school funding? Lower employer pension contributions mean lower costs for schools. Normally, the Department for Education could take those lower costs into account when calculating how much funding schools need in future. That could mean less additional funding being provided to schools. The government has now said it will not use this particular LGPS saving to reduce next year's funding assessment. 

 

How much money are we talking about? The government has announced: • £700 million in July towards this year's pay awards • £500 million announced in September from the pension saving • The government says these together fully fund this year's 3.5% teacher pay rise • Schools are expected to be £1.6 billion better off next year than expected over the summer. 

 

But there is an important difference This announcement applies to the LGPS saving for support staff. There is also a much larger saving expected from teachers' own pension contributions in April 2027. The government has said that saving will be clawed back through reductions in school funding. 

So: 

LGPS saving for support staff → government says it will NOT claw it back. Teachers' pension saving from April 2027 → government says it WILL claw it back. 

 

The bottom line The issue isn't about taking money out of someone's pension. It's about how the government treats the saving in school funding. For this year's LGPS saving, the government has decided to leave that saving with schools rather than use it to reduce its assessment of future funding needs. That's why the £500 million announcement matters

Plans for new SEND and Primary Study classrooms at Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre now open for comment

 

A little over a year ago I presented a petition to Brent Council, supported by Brent Friends of the Earth and Brent Parks Forum, calling for the continuation of primary environmental education provision at the new Post 16 Centre at the Welsh Harp. LINK 

I am pleased to say that the planning application now on the Brent Council Planning Portal incorporates the recommendations we made.

   

Application Number: 26/2156 LINK

 

Location: Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre & open space, Birchen Grove, London, NW9 8RY Comments by 16^th October 2026

 

“Demolition of all buildings and construction of a one-storey education and community centre, including improvements to access arrangements, provision of car and cycle parking, landscaping, play space, boundary treatments and ancillary works.”

The proposed building is larger  to make space for the SEND and the primary provision with separate classrooms and toilets as we  requested. In order to keep it at single storey it occupies a bigger footprint than currently with the loss of some trees. The current classrooms that has a temoporary repait to allow classes to continue and the toilet block will be demolished. The chapel that was erected as part of a plan for proposed lawn cemetery on the site, but later abandoned will remain. it is currently let out by the council as Planet House,

 Double classrooms in both the SEND and Primary sections of the building

  

Internal Images

 

EXTRACTS FROM PLANNING STATEMENT 

 

The Site is located in the administrative boundary of the London Borough of Brent (LBB).The Site measures 0.3 ha (hectares) in total.

 

The Site is comprised of two existing buildings, the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre, and a W/C block, both accessed off a private road (?), Birchen Grove. Hardstanding for informal car parking is located to the east of the W/C block. Green open space, including trees and grassed areas, are located to the west.

 

   

The Centre is currently used for education and community purposes, providing support for schools via an outdoor learning curriculum, providing experiential facilitated sessions. The Centre is also available for hire by the local community primarily for children’s birthday parties.

 

The Centre is currently owned by Brent Council and operated by Thames 21. Thames 21 is an environmental charity that works to clean and restore rivers and improve wildlife by mobilising volunteers and engaging communities to help adapt to the impacts of climate change. At Welsh Harp, Thames 21 provide a large range of nature activities for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) students. Currently over 70 schools work with Thames 21, attending the Centre for outdoor learning and activities for either half or a full day. Activities include habitat studies, water pollution studies, Stone Age studies (fire lighting and shelter building), bushcraft activities and understanding the role of nature and waterways in building climate resilience.

 

The Site is located in the Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) and designated as Open Space, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and a local nature reserve in line with the Brent Local Plan

 

Brent Council formally committed to providing a Post-16 Skills Resource Centre in 2019, with approval granted by Cabinet in November 2021 as part of the School Place Planning Strategy 2024- 2028. The post-16 Skills Resource Centre is to be provided in recognition of the lack of in-borough provision for young people with complex learning difficulties, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

 

The Centre will provide access to land-based education and training for students who may have completed school or college programmes, but whose level of need means that they require additional support to access the next step after formal education. The Centre will offer training in horticulture, work experience, periods of volunteering and employment and enterprise development within the horticultural industry.

 

The Centre will be owned and operated by Brent Council. Delivery of the Centre will be developed with partners including environmental organisations, education providers, council services, local employers and community groups. A number of the groups that will utilise the centre have been consulted in the development of the designs and proposals. Together, they will seek to create a joined-up pathway from engagement to skills development, work experience, supported internships and, where appropriate, sustained employment. The introduction of flexible space in the form of the multi-purpose rooms will also provide other community groups and members of the general public to use the centre, with benefit beyond the core user group.

      

To provide a clear strategy and operational plan of the centre, it is proposed to provide an Operation Management Plan once details of delivery have been further developed. As the operational delivery strategy for the centre is still under development, it will be more effective to present the operational details at a later date. The Applicant is willing to accept a suitable planning condition requiring an Operation Management Plan to be submitted to and approved by the Council, prior to the centre’s Occupation.

 

The proposed single-storey development comprises two rectangular blocks in a stepped configuration, containing four classrooms, a multi-purpose room, WCs, reception, office, and plant rooms. The layout provides distinct and separate spaces for different users, with school-aged students located in the southwest section and post-16 SEND students in the northwest section. Administration spaces, including reception and office, are clustered around the reception area to the building interior and the outdoor entrance area, enabling flexible use by school-aged students, post-16 SEND users, or the local community. The design ensures safeguarding between user groups, with shared spaces located centrally while each distinct area has access to dedicated WCs and circulation space.

 

   

Access

 

The Site is accessed from the south of the site via Birchen Grove. It is proposed to keep the existing access road off Birchen Grove that runs adjacent to Planet House to the west. The access road will provide a shared surface entrance to the drop-off area, the accessible car parking bay and main entrance to the centre.

 

A new pathway will be created off Birchen Grove adjacent to the existing zebra crossing which will allow pedestrians to access the site to the school-aged student classrooms through the secure fenceline, or alternatively via the main entrance on the southern elevation. The pathway will also provide access to the cycle parking.

 

Trees

 

A total of 18 trees, in addition to two groups of trees and a hedgerow, have been assessed as part of the accompanying Tree Survey prepared by Arbtech. It states that the majority of trees identified during the survey were of moderate quality.

 

The majority of the trees will be retained as part of the proposals. Three trees are proposed to be removed, in addition to one group of trees and the partial shrub clearance to the north of the site boundary. This is to enable the space required for development to construct the new centre. The layout of the proposals has been designed so as to minimise tree loss as much as possible.

 

Thirteen trees are proposed to be planted across the Site. Five trees will be added to the trees clustered towards the south of the Site adjacent to Birchen Grove (namely T04 and T07) and around the new parking area. The additional planting in this area will help shield the proposed building when viewing the Site from the south along Birchen Grove.

 

 

One Kilburn Open Meeting: 23 September 2026 10.30am-12.30pm

 

One Kilburn Open Meeting: 23 September 2026

Time: Morning 10.30am-12.30. Arrive half an hour early and stay half an hour after for networking. Please bring leaflets, exhibits to publicise your work – there is not always time for everything we want to talk about to go on the agenda but you can set up a stall/table on the side.

Location: OK Club, entrance opposite Peel Plaza and Craik Court, NW6 5BP

Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4WPyqm3aEuD1VvNs7

what3word : ///noise.code.format

Please find One Kilburn’s values statement below which sets the tone for the meeting.

Item		Time		Lead
Introductions	5 mins		Co-Chairs: Caroline and Shereen
Coordinating group/governance update	5 mins		Stephane Godstein
One Kilburn community fund	10 mins		Stephane Goldstein
Whatsapp Community	5 mins		Nathan Willams
Presentation on plans for Paddington Old Cemetery chapels and Middlesex University collaboration	20 mins		Tessa Morrison and Francesca Murialdo
Announcements- come and talk to me in the break about…I will be sitting over there (point)	5 mins		All
Break	20 mins 10.50-11.15		n/a
A focus on South Kilburn	20 mins		tbc
Environmental initiatives/climate stories	5 mins		Cecile
Trees policy	10 mins		Lucy Bell, local resident and Gary Rimmer, Brent tree officer
Update on Kilburn Arches	5 mins		TfL representative
AOB Please agree co-chairs	10

 

Wembley: Saturday England v Spain road closures and parking restrictions

From Brent Council  

England vs Spain International Football on following date this week:

 - Saturday 26 September

Please read below to see how this might affect you.

Timings

-  England vs Spain International Football kick off will be at 7.45pm and road closures will be in place at 15:45pm on Saturday 26 September.

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

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 on Saturday 26 September.

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.

Preston Community Library - Two Poets October 8th and Lady Rose, Justice of the Supreme Court on October 11th

Union Jack Classic at Wembley Stadium Saturday 19th September - road closures from 10am Kick-off 5pm

 

The game kicks off at 5.10pm

General admission to the stadium will be available from 3pm

Road closures from10am 

Parking restrictions 8am to midnight