BREAKING: Brent Council opposition groups unite to fight sale of 42 acres of Northwick Park public open space

 

The red line encloses the freehold under threat

 

In a unique move Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens have joined forces to challenge Brent Council’s decision to sell the freehold of Northwick Park Golf Centre, despite 205 objections and representations.

 

Brent’s three opposition groups have united in opposition to the Council’s controversial decision to sell its freehold interest in 42 acres of public open space at Northwick Park Golf Centre.

 

Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors are demanding greater transparency and accountability over the proposed disposal, raising serious concerns about the loss of public ownership, the financial justification for the sale and the long-term future of one of Brent’s significant green spaces.

 

The council approved the disposal on October 12, despite receiving 205 objections and representations during the consultation process. The decision authorises officers to market the freehold interest in the site at 280 Watford Road, which is currently subject to a long-term lease.

 

The three opposition groups believe the Council has yet to demonstrate why selling an income-generating public asset is preferable to retaining it for future generations. They are calling-in the decision for scrutiny.

 

The cross-party challenge brings together councillors from across Brent who are calling the for the decision to be reconsidered and for residents’ concerns to be properly addressed.

 

Cllr Keith Perrin, Councillor for Northwick Park Ward, leading the call-in said:

 

The Golf Centre on the A404 Watford Road forms part of an important Public Open Space with a long history of recreational use by the community. It was originally purchased in 1913 by public subscription to protect the area from development and has remained an important part and lung of North Wembley since then.

 

As a ward councillor who has followed this site since 1995, I have serious concerns about selling the freehold, especially while questions remain around the existing lease’s powers, the income the Council receives and outstanding enforcement matters relating to unlicensed waste.

 

If the freehold is sold Brent Council could easily lose control of this green space’s future. It’s designation of Metropolitan Open Land, Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and Public Open Space, along with its public footpaths could all disappear.

 

This is why I believe the decision to sell deserves proper scrutiny, and ultimately, reversal.

 

Cllr Suresh Kansagra, leader of the Brent Conservative Group, said:

 

We do not believe selling this site is the right decision for Brent. The Council already receives rental income from the land, while retaining the freehold also preserves its long-term value for future generations.

 

Once the asset is sold, that opportunity is gone.  But this is not just about money. This is a large area of green and

recreational land which has been part of the local community for generations and brings real value to the surrounding neighbourhood.

 

We are using every formal route available within the Council to ensure this decision is properly examined and every opportunity for it to be reconsidered is exhausted.

 

Residents also have an important role to play. We want people who care about the future of this site to make their views known and show the Council how strongly the community feels about what happens next.

 

The council should be able to demonstrate clearly why selling is better than keeping an income-producing asset with long-term value. We do not believe that case has yet been made.

​

Cllr Anton Georgiou, leader of the Brent Liberal Democrat Group,

said:

 

The Labour council’s decision to sell this important piece of public land without proper consultation sets a dangerous precedence. The administration is opening the door for potential developers to have free reign over what this open space will be replaced with.

 

The interest of our community isn’t typically the primary concern of developers and there is a risk that this decision will allow the expansion of high-density tower blocks into the area.

 

The reason I am speaking out and supporting the cross-party call-in, despite it not being in my ward, is to help get greater transparency of the deal for residents and prevent this same opaque tactic from being used in our other green spaces. Residents deserve to have a say when these kinds of major changes are proposed on their doorstep.

 

Cllr Mary Mitchell, Leader of the Brent Green Group, said:

 

Northwick Park Golf Course is far more than a commercial asset on a balance sheet. It is one of Brent's most important green spaces, providing vital wildlife habitat, absorbing carbon, helping to reduce flood risk, and offering an invaluable sense of openness in an increasingly built-up borough.

 

As a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and public open space, it plays a crucial role in both the ecological health of our area and the wellbeing of local residents. The proposed freehold sale risks removing a key layer of public protection and stewardship from a site that has been held for public benefit for nearly one hundred years. Once public land is sold, it is extraordinarily difficult to recover.

 

Residents are right to ask why Brent would relinquish control of such a significant environmental and public health asset at a time when access to green space, biodiversity recovery and climate resilience are more important than ever. We should be protecting this space, not putting its future at risk

 

The three opposition groups are calling on Brent Council to fully explain the financial case for the disposal, address outstanding questions surrounding the existing lease and the site’s management, and reconsider whether surrendering the freehold is in the long-term interests of residents.

 

Cllr Matt Kelcher: 'There is no better builder in London than Brent' - your comments invited.

 Press Release from Brent Council published unedited but Wembley Matters readers may wish to comment below.

 

Brent Council, which completed more homes than any other local authority in the UK this year, has welcomed the Mayor of London’s Draft London Plan and urged City Hall to support its ongoing efforts to tackle the housing crisis.

It backs the Plan’s ambitions for more housing including affordable options, sustainable growth, climate resilience and high street renewal, but warns that boroughs cannot deliver London’s growth ambitions without investment.

 

From the CityUK (not Brent Council)

 

Cllr Matt Kelcher, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Growth, said: 

"We know the difference that a safe, secure and genuinely affordable home can make to a family's life. As the leading housebuilding authority, Brent has consistently shown that it is prepared to play its part in delivering the homes, jobs and infrastructure Londoners need.

"We support the ambitions of the Draft London Plan and stand ready to continue delivering new homes, including affordable homes. However, if London is serious about tackling the housing crisis, we need to be clear that boroughs cannot do it alone. Future growth must be supported by investment which backs the builders not the blockers, and there is no better builder in London than Brent.”

Having already delivered more than 20,000 homes over the last decade, major regeneration schemes continue across the borough of Brent. In South Kilburn, one of London's largest estate renewal programmes is delivering new homes, parks and community facilities, while the Bridge Park development will bring forward a new leisure centre, community facilities, public spaces and more than 1,000 new homes.

In its response to the London Plan consultation, the council is particularly supportive of City Hall’s proposals to recognise Staples Corner as a key growth location, as well as to upgrade Wembley to Metropolitan Town Centre status in recognition of the area’s growing national and international significance.

Brent also suggests an alternative to proposals to remove the current carbon offset funding mechanism for new developments, which could reduce the funding available to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and buildings. Instead, it proposes a hybrid model that combines tougher on-site energy performance standards with a more limited financial contribution for unavoidable emissions.

Black History Month event: Learn from the Grunwick strike! Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM ONLINE

 

 

Black History Month event: Learn from the Grunwick strike!  

Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM

August 2026 was 50 years since the start of the Grunwick strike, a major struggle for workplace and trade union rights by predominantly female, migrant, South Asian film processing workers. It was a tumultuous two-year battle that, in the face of employer aggression, media demonisation and brutal police violence, saw widespread solidarity from other workers in the area and far beyond, but grossly inadequate support from the top of the labour movement - and ultimately defeat. What is the story of the Grunwick strike, why is it so important and what are its lessons for the workers' movement and left today?

For Black History Month 2026, the Green Party Trade Union Group and Brent Greens are hosting a meeting with Sundari Anitha, author with Ruth Pearson of Striking Women: Struggles and Strategies of South Asian Women Workers from Grunwick to Gate Gourmet, a book built around interviews with the strikers themselves.

 

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE 

St Andrew's Church, Kingsbury, glows in autumn sunshine

 

The landmark horse chestnut tree next to St Andrew's Church, Kingsbury

 

Walking home through the churchyard of St Andrew's churches (old and new) from a day on my allotment at Birchen Grove I was struck by the beauty of the church and its surrounding's  in the late afternoon autumn light. Not for the first time I gave quiet thanks for the genius and enterprise of the generation that took  on the challenge of transferring the church from Wells Street in central London to suburban Kingsbury and chose such an ideal location on a hillock at a bend in Church Lane, near the 12th century Grade 1 listed Old St Andrew's church, now hidden amongst the mature yew trees.

 

 The grass has returned to a vibrant green after the parched brown of this summer's drought

 

 Glowing in the sunshine

 

From the St Andrew's website LINK

   

St. Andrews is one of London's finest Victorian churches, containing some of the finest sculpture and craftsmanship of the nineteenth century. Its own history is quite unique, and symbolizes the very essence of the Christian religion: death and re-birth.

St. Andrews was originally built in the heart of the West End, in the middle of the nineteenth century (in Wells Street near the present-day busy shopping area of Oxford Street). It was consecrated on the 2nd February, 1847, and soon became one of London's best known and fashionable churches, famous for its fine architecture and sculptures and items of craftsmanship. The services at St. Andrews were noted for their outstanding music - finer it was said than at many English cathedrals. The congregation included many of the leading figures of the day. The Prime Minister, William Gladstone, was an occasional worshipper.  However by the turn of the century the area around St. Andrews had changed dramatically. Houses had given way to warehouses and commercial property. The congregation had fallen away and the church was declared redundant. It closed its doors in the West End on Easter Sunday 1931.

The Church looked set to be demolished but there was an outcry at the idea of destroying such a beautiful building containing so many items of outstanding craftsmanship. Surely it could be put to some use? Other suburbs needed churches to serve their growing populations. A proposal was made to move St. Andrews from the West End to the fast growing area of Wembley and Kingsbury, served by the new Metropolitan Line.

St. Andrews was demolished stone by stone - each piece carefully labelled and numbered and transported the ten miles to southern Kingsbury which urgently needed a bigger church. The rebuild took three years - a project dubbed by one newspaper "the biggest jigsaw in the world".  Finally St. Andrews was reborn and reconsecrated on October 13th, 1934 by Arthur Foley Winnington Ingram, Bishop of London from 1901-39.

The church was designed by Dawkes and contains work by some of the top sculptors and craftsmen of the day. It is mentioned in Nicholas Pevsner's noted series The Buildings of England.

 

Do you have Willesden ancestors who were killed in the First World War? Rededication of the Dudden Hill School war memorial on 10 November.

Guest post by local historian Philip Grant in a personal capacity

Poppy from the Royal British Legion annual appeal.

 

If you have relatives who died in the First World War, particularly if they went to Dudden Hill School in Willesden and are named on the memorial pictured below, you will be very welcome to attend a short ceremony at Willesden Green Library on Tuesday 10 November.  Please pass on this information to any friends who may be interested, so that they also have the opportunity to take part.

 

The restored memorial, on the first floor landing at Willesden Green Library.

 

Many of you will know that 11 November (Remembrance Day) this year marks the 109^th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the awful “Great War”, now known as the First World War because of the second global conflict of the 20^th century between 1939 and 1945. Willesden’s School Board had opened Dudden Hill as an elementary school in 1897, and more than five hundred of its former pupils answered the call to go and fight “For King and Country” between 1914 and 1918. Eighty-six of them, and one teacher, died in that conflict.

 

Dudden Hill School’s headmaster, John Kelly (who had such a well-respected educational career in Willesden that Boys’ and Girls’ secondary schools were later named after him), kept a record of all the former pupils who had died. At a meeting of the school’s Old Boys’ Association in 1921, it was decided to create a memorial to their fellow students whose lives had been lost in the war, and the money for it was promptly raised. The memorial to “Our Glorious Dead” was unveiled in the school hall a year later, on 4 October 1922.

 

Programme for the unveiling of the Memorial in 1922,
by Sir James Yoxall, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers.

 

The memorial was central to the school’s Remembrance Day commemorations each November, until its infants/primary department was transferred to the newly built Northview Primary School in 1960, and the remaining secondary school closed in 1964. The building was then used by Willesden Technical College for a few years, before being sold off to a developer and converted into flats.

 

The former Dudden Hill School building in Dudden Hill Lane. (Photo by Irina Porter)

 

Sadly, no respect for the former school’s memorial was shown by those carrying out work on the building. The wooden surround around the WW1 plaque, on which the names of former pupils who’d died during the Second World War had been added, and a casket beneath it, with a complete record by headmaster John Kelly of the actions during which the former pupils had been killed, were lost or destroyed. Luckily, the copper plaque itself, with the names engraved on it, was rescued from a builders skip by Bill Martindale, a lecturer at Willesden Tech. 

 

Mr Martindale realised the historic importance of the memorial, and took it home for safekeeping. Years later, Paul Mitchell, who’d known the memorial when he was a pupil at Dudden Hill School, was trying to find out what happened to it, and came across photographs of the battered plaque on the War Memorials Trust website. Its location then was shown to be Wembley, but it had actually moved to Cumbria, when Bill Martindale retired there. Paul’s further efforts put him in touch with the Cumbria Western Front Association (“CWFA”), and in September 2022 one of Bill’s CWFA colleagues, Richard Preston, brought the plaque back to Willesden.

 

 

 Paul Mitchell (left) and Richard Preston handing over the memorial plaque
 at Brent Archives on 23 September 2022. (Photo by John Bunn)

 

Brent Museum and Archives agreed that the memorial deserved to be put back on public display, once it had been cleaned and restored. With the help of a grant from the War Memorials Trust in 2025, that has now happened. The copper plaque with a new wooden frame, and its 87 names of the fallen picked out in black, now has a permanent pride of place in Willesden Green Library.

 

The ceremony at the library, on Tuesday 10 November from 10.40am, will be a Civic rededication and official unveiling of the war memorial by the Deputy Mayor of Brent, Councillor Kanta Mistry. A bugler and standard bearer from the Royal British Legion will be there as well, for an act of remembrance, and residents who wish to attend, in memory of those who have died in war at any time, are welcome to do so. You can reserve your free place at this event HERE.

 

Philip Grant.

 

I gratefully acknowledge Paul Mitchell’s article “Quest for Remembrance: A Personal Story of Dudden Hill School” (Willesden Local History Society Journal No. 56, Winter 2022/23) as the source for much of the information used in this article.

Our Right to Protest. Do we still have it? Tuesday November 3rd 7pm-8.30pm

 

Protest 2025 (Credit: Defend our Juries)

Tuesday November 3rd 7pm - 8.30pm

St Luke's Church, Fernhead Road, W9 3 EH ( Near Queens Park  Station)

Our Right to Protest. Do we still have it?

 

From Kensal to Kilburn Better 2026

       

It's now common for peaceful protestors to be jailed. Is protest becoming criminalised? How worried should we be?

With a stellar panel, this event will consider what is happening in relation to the State and protests, what the future may hold, and what it all means for justice and democracy.

Laura O'Brien is Head of Protest and Public Law Team at Hodge Jones & Allen and one of the most respected lawyers in the field of protest law.

Paul Stephens was thirty years in the Met before he retired and joined Extinction Rebellion. He has worked as protest liaison on many occasions between protestors and the police.

Paddy Friend is a spokesperson for Defend our Juries and co-wrote Britain's Political Prisoners' Report. He is writing his PhD on the British criminal courtroom as a site of resistance

 

Peaceful protest is a fundamental pillar of a healthy society and a functioning democracy. But in 2026, following successive Tory and Labour legislation aimed at curbing protests, thousands have been arrested and scores of protestors are serving lengthy prison sentences. In the future, perhaps under a Reform government, the tactics used now against pro-Palestinian and climate protest could be applied more widely. The issue may affect us all.

 

PLEASE REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE

Brent Council challenged by residents on its Flood Emergency Strategy - is Brent ready for the deluge and the overflow?

 

 

Coincidentally it was at the beginning of what promises to be a very wet week that ACE Brent (Action on the Climate and Ecological Emergency) made a presentation on flooding to Brent Scrutiny Committee:

 

In what one councillor described as a powerful contribution, Kaushik Bhattacharya, speaking for ACE, said:

  

There is much to comment on across all the climate documents presented tonight, but with the potential of extreme storms this winter as a result of a growing El Nino, and overall climate change, we are forced to focus on flooding . We understand that representatives from Thames Water, Environment Agency, and Affinity Water have been invited to attend this meeting but it is a shame that there won’t be a real chance for them to answer questions from our councillors, as we originally requested, due to the very limited time tonight.

 

Our initial request for a thorough scrutiny of flood risk arose from concern about inadequate progress on the Brent Local Flood Risk Management Strategies Action Plan and this remains a serious concern. The RAG rating in the Action Plan grades 4 Amber and 26 Red out of 30 actions listed, including some basic short-term actions such as ‘Collaborate with other partner RMAs to improve understanding of flood risk interactions and identify areas where flood risks could combine to exacerbate risk.’ None of the actions are rated Green. 

Click on bottom right corner of the table for a full view of the table.

  

 

The Action Plan is a click away from the main documents submitted tonight and should have been tabled separately because it is so important. Many members of this Committee will not have read it. 

 

The photos shared tonight document flooding that has occurred during flash storms over the last decade on College Road, in the Preston Ward of Brent. The latest occurred overnight earlier this summer, just before the second heatwave, and resulted in a Tesla being written off – a vehicle used by a resident for his work as a private hire car driver, resulting in a loss of his income and increased insurance premiums.

 

 

We were shocked to discover that Brent has only a single Principal Flood and Drainage Engineer with many responsibilities that according to Appendix C:

 

Whilst statutory duties continue to be met, creates limited resilience within the service and can restrict the pace at which strategic projects, investigations and improvement programmes are progressed. Periods of annual leave or staff absence can further increase these pressures and create temporary backlogs in service delivery.

 

Is a single postholder sufficient in a climate emergency?

 

The Report designates the Head of Highways as responsible for Appendix C – Flood Risk Management Strategy – that’s a huge area covering many areas of expertise other than highways. Is that fair or adequate?

 

Meanwhile the Council continues to build, build, build; gardens are paved over; more concrete covers the borough; and our green spaces are lost without the necessary alleviation increasing the flood risk.

 

You’ve declared a climate emergency so we urge this committee to table another full scrutiny meeting specifically on the Flood Emergency Strategy and Action Plan including contributions from our Flood Risk Strategy partners.

 

 Joy Rickman addresses the Committee

Kaushik was followed by Joy Rickman, a resident in  her area for some 40 years, speaking for the Friends of Woodcock Park, She described how her community were trying to deal with the flooding and pollution of the Wealdstone Brook in a very practical way:

  

My name is Joy Rickman and I am the Chair of Friends of Woodcock Park

 

The Wealdstone Brook bisects Woodcock Park and flows through the borough eventually meeting the River Brent. It is known as a flashy river. This is because in ordinary weather it is a gentle little stream, but in rain it becomes a raging torrent. There is a massive amount of water coming down because we are on the Brent/Harrow borders - coming down from Harrow . Often the river is running at over capacity.

 

We have witnessed many flooding events in Woodcock Park as in high storm the river flows are over capacity, and further downstream we have film footage of the river coming out of bank. 

 

We have also been subjected to many sewage events and blockages containing raw sewage, wipes, fat and soap as well as diesel and other chemicals being thrown into the river along with many lime bikes. 3 years ago we had polio in the river, as a result all the children aged 9 and under had to be re-vaccinated for polio.

 

Due to the many issues, we have experienced in the river, one member of our Friends Group instigated regular quarterly meetings with Thames Water to discuss the previously mentioned issues, to seek solutions.

 

Work with us is described in the report as an example of "successful collaboration", but we do not feel fully supported by Brent Council. We ourselves set up the meetings with Thames Water to examine pollution levels.

 

Levels of flooding used to be overseen by the Brent and Harrow Flood Working group, set up by Barry Gardiner. In the light of current flood risk this group needs to be restored. 

 

Our community members have completed very significant river projects including preventing the river flooding the area around a major roundabout. This project was subject of the Environment Agency national conference.

 

Thames Water has now asked our group to attenuate 20,000 cubic litres of water in the park. We are not sure why this responsibility has fallen on us. The council did come and help us work out where the pond should be and with volunteers we came in to hand dig it. We didn't t get very far because the clay is very heavy and difficult to manage. So we now need council approval, a digger to finish the job and funding for planting.

 

With a council grant,  we have recently created a stumpery - which is a self-sustaining eco system, and we worked with 4 local schools - with 50 children, who thoroughly enjoyed the project. This area should be planted but there is no fresh water source in our park. We can pay for a pump but have nowhere on the park to store it.

 

There is huge expertise in the community but to be honest we feel on our own. Some colleagues are giving up disillusioned, and the rest of us are tired.

 

We did investigate introducing beavers to help do the necessary work - a shame the river is too polluted.  Sometimes I feel the beavers would have been easier to deal with!!

 

Prevention is cheaper than cure when it comes to flooding. We are volunteers and we are asking for more respect for and partnership with us as the people who are actively monitoring the river.

 

The presentations meant that the first part of the Committee meeting was dominated by the flooding issue which in a way was a victory for residents keen to have their voices heard on such a vital issue. The full debate, including contributions from representatives of Thames Water and the Environment Agency, can be seen in the video above.

 

 

 

More detailed objections to Quintain’s plans for a hotel on Wembley Park’s Market Square and Samovar Space.- a space in regular use by residents, LDO visitors, football and concert fans and users of Brent Civic Centre & Wembley Library

Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

Pedestrians using Wembley Splay, and crossing the site of the proposed hotel.

 

Under a blog post on 16 June, “Wembley Park councillors call on the public to support the fight to keep the Samovar Space & Market Square in front of Wembley Stadium”, I added a comment saying ‘I will need time to study the application, and the previous consents, carefully but when I have done that I will submit my objections, and will share my thoughts with anyone who is interested.’ 

 

I submitted the first part of my comments to the Brent planning website for application 26/1351 in July, but never expected it to take so long for me to finish the task! For various personal reasons, and commitments that had to take priority, it was not until 16 October that I submitted the final part, and sent an illustrated document copy of my full objections to Brent Planning Officers. The application has yet to be referred to Brent’s Planning Committee (but could be at its next meeting on 11 November), so hopefully my delay is a case of “better late than never”. 

 

I will ask Martin to attach my objection comments document below, so that anyone who is interested, including any objectors who may wish to speak against the application when it does come before councillors for a decision, can read the reasons I have set out as to why the application should be refused, on proper planning grounds, in the hope that this assists in the fight to keep this site as open space for the local community and visitors to enjoy.

 

Philip Grant.

 

 

The petition to retain the Market Square and Samovar Space is still live and available to sign HERE

The application (16/1351) is on the Brent Council Planning Portal where comments in support, opposition or neutral can be made HERE.  The expiry date is November 27th 2026 but comments can be made up to the eve of the Planning Committee meeting hearing which may be sooner. It has not yet been fixed.