Guest blog from Friends of Barham Library
A while back Sudbury
Town Residents Association persuaded a Cafe owner to rename his business in
Sudbury Town "Sudbury Tea Rooms". He spent money on new signage and
promotion and invited locals for a free sampling.
They came for a freebie but rarely again. The place closed down soon after.
Amazingly someone else opened a new Cafe in the Parade in East Lane near Watford Road. Within weeks the business was under new management.
Those of us in the know were certain that the venture had no chance of success. Passing today I note the windows covered up and presumably the Cafe closed down.
A while back a girl started a cafe in Sudbury Town Station. She happens to be a relative of Merle Amory a Labour Leader of Brent Council briefly in the 1980s. She is no longer open every day as business is slack.
All of this sends a simple message - it is tough to make a success of running a Cafe in the Sudbury area - yet Brent Council officers still persist with their pie in the sky notion of a Cafe in Barham Park - even though they have done nothing about it for 13 months since the Barham Park Trustees were persuade to endorse this.
Key question is - are Brent Council Officers and Councillors so determined to stop local residents to open a Volunteer Library in Barham Park that they will pursue any delaying tactic possible or will they at long last stop wasting time and money and convert platitudes into some decisive action and let Friends of Barham Library get access to the empty Card Room in Barham Park? The Volunteers have even offered to provide refreshments besides the many other services local people need.
They came for a freebie but rarely again. The place closed down soon after.
Amazingly someone else opened a new Cafe in the Parade in East Lane near Watford Road. Within weeks the business was under new management.
Those of us in the know were certain that the venture had no chance of success. Passing today I note the windows covered up and presumably the Cafe closed down.
A while back a girl started a cafe in Sudbury Town Station. She happens to be a relative of Merle Amory a Labour Leader of Brent Council briefly in the 1980s. She is no longer open every day as business is slack.
All of this sends a simple message - it is tough to make a success of running a Cafe in the Sudbury area - yet Brent Council officers still persist with their pie in the sky notion of a Cafe in Barham Park - even though they have done nothing about it for 13 months since the Barham Park Trustees were persuade to endorse this.
Key question is - are Brent Council Officers and Councillors so determined to stop local residents to open a Volunteer Library in Barham Park that they will pursue any delaying tactic possible or will they at long last stop wasting time and money and convert platitudes into some decisive action and let Friends of Barham Library get access to the empty Card Room in Barham Park? The Volunteers have even offered to provide refreshments besides the many other services local people need.
Paul Lorber for Friends of Barham Library
1 comment:
Brent Council led by its shameless senior clique, manages to be motivated by the good of its residents purely by accident these days.
Replacing a library in Barham Park will fit right in with the borough;s strategic priorities for social and health. When the library was open there were useful events such as weekly appearance of advisers from groups such as Age UK who were able to advise on how to access various services and help people understand some of the complex eligibility criteria.
These services will become more and more critical as we lose services and is is important that those looking at forward planning have this at the forefront of their minds.
Having listened to the council leader's lies over the Stonebridge Adventure playground, I suspect the fate of the Barham Park buildings is unlikely to be based on the good of the local community.
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