Guest post by Philip Grant in personal capacity
SEE UPDATE AT FOOT OF THIS ARTICLE
As you had not seen yet another “guest blog” by me on the “footballers” tile mural since 13 April, when I set out the reasons that Quintain does not have consent to cover it with adverts and asked “Why won’t Brent concede?”, you may have hoped that this question had been settled by now. I’d hoped that as well!
The “footballers” mural in the Bobby Moore Bridge subway at Wembley Park.
Unfortunately, Brent Council Officers don’t want to “play ball”, and get this issue properly resolved. It seems they would prefer to “kick it into the long grass”, so that Quintain and its Wembley Park subsidiary can continue to claim they are “entitled” to cover over this heritage asset and public artwork with adverts for big events at Wembley Stadium, starting with the Euros football tournament next month.
It should be unthinkable for this mural, showing England footballers playing at the old “twin towers” Wembley, to be hidden away behind advertising material when fans are going to the stadium to watch their team play. The adverts would also cover-up the plaque which shows they are walking through a structure dedicated ‘in honour of a football legend’. Even if you are not a football fan, I hope you would agree it would be wrong for any adverts to be placed there unlawfully, and that is what I believe would be the case.
The plaque in the centre of the “footballers” tile mural.
After I had sent the detailed reasons why Quintain did not have advertisement consent for this mural to Brent’s Legal Director and Chief Executive on 9 April, I had expected either to receive their agreement, or their counter argument. Instead, this is the full text of the email I received on 16 April from Debra Norman:
‘A substantial amount of council resource has been devoted to considering the concerns you have raised, including taking external legal advice. I am afraid we are now at the stage where it’s not reasonable continue with correspondence about this matter upon which it is clear the council is not in a position to agree your view or take the action you wish.’
Because this matter does need to be resolved, I believe it was reasonable to continue! I wrote to Carolyn Downs, asking her to let me know the reasons why the Council did not “agree my view”, and making clear that if they had a stronger case than the one I had put forward, I would accept it.
I will not accept the outcome that Council Officers want to impose without the evidence to back it up. I know, from past experience, that the Council will never share a copy of the ‘external legal advice’ they have received. But as they told me the QC’s advice ‘aligned with’ the view they’d already taken, surely they could share that view with me?
What I asked for was: ‘the substance of the reasoning for your view that the 2017 advertisement consent still applies to the "footballers" mural, and the documentary evidence on which that reasoning is based.’ The answer I finally received from Brent’s Chief Executive, on 19 May, was:
‘I have taken further legal advice on sharing our QC advice and have been advised not to so do.’
I don’t think it is fair or open for senior Council Officers to refuse to give their reasons for the view they have taken on this important matter, and I have said so. I will ask Martin to attach the full text of the latest email exchanges, so that anyone who wishes to can read them and make their own judgement.
We are now less than three weeks away from the start of the Euros football tournament, so this dispute over advertisement consent does need to be resolved without further delay. As Council Officers are reluctant to settle the issue, I have taken the initiative and suggested that Brent Councillors could help to do that.
I decided to ask the Lead Member for Culture and Leisure if he would be willing to organise a small panel of councillors to arbitrate and decide, on the facts and evidence, whether or not Quintain has consent to put adverts over the “footballers” tile mural. Any decision would need to be binding on both myself and the Council, so I copied my email to the Chief Executive.
I approached Councillor Nerva as he had expressed an interest when I suggested, in early January, that the Cabinet should consider the option of only allowing advertising on the Bobby Moore Bridge parapets, not covering the murals on the subway walls, when the advertising lease came up for renewal in August 2021. (That was before it was disclosed that a VERY dodgy deal had been made by Council Officers in 2019, to extend the lease until August 2024!)
At the time of writing, I have not heard back from Councillor Nerva, but I will ask Martin to attach a copy of the text of my email, so that if you are interested you can see what I have suggested. You are welcome to add a comment below, if you wish to suggest any improvements to my proposals, or to share any better ideas on how this matter can be settled, quickly and fairly, and at minimal extra cost.
Hopefully, either this way or another, we should be able to resolve this dispute. If I have to admit that my view was wrong, on the basis of the facts and evidence, I can accept that.
But if I did not have confidence in the case I have already put forward, openly and transparently to Council Officers and my fellow Brent residents, I would not still be fighting to keep the “footballers” tile mural on permanent public display.
Philip Grant.
UPDATE- CAROLYN DOWNS' RESPONSE
Readers of this "guest blog" may be interested to know the latest developments, from this exchange of emails which took place this afternoon (24 May):
1. Dear Mr Grant
Cllr Nerva has asked me to respond.
Thanks for your suggestion of a way to resolve your outstanding issue.
I am afraid that even if a panel of Councillors agreed with you it would not change the legal right for vinyl advertisements to be attached to the tiles over the football mural.
I have mentioned before that the contract for advertising is due to be re-tendered later this year and in the meantime, Quintain have said that they will not advertise over it.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn Downs
Chief Executive
Brent Council
2. Dear Ms Downs,
Thank you for your email, in response to my suggestion to Cllr. Nerva last Friday that a panel of councillors could settle our (not my) outstanding dispute over advertisement consent by arbitration.
It would probably save a more detailed reply from me if you would clarify two points from the final sentence of your email, please, as quickly as possible.
You have said that 'the contract for advertising is due to be re-tendered later this year.' It was my understanding that the November 2019 Deed of Variation extended Wembley Park Ltd's advertising lease until August 2024. Would you explain, please, what the re-tendering will involve, and when this will happen.
You say that 'Quintain have said that they will not advertise over it.' Does that mean that Quintain have given a guarantee that no vinyl advertising sheets will be placed over the "footballers" tile mural? If so, I would welcome a copy of the communication confirming that, please.
7 comments:
A local resident has sent me a copy of an email she received from Brent Council in March 2020.
She had written to the Leader of the Council, Cllr. Muhammed Butt, when the question of whether there was advertisement consent for the "footballers" mural first came up.
This was at the time when Brent was celebrating the start of London Borough of Culture 2020, with the three tile murals in Olympic Way on display for a few weeks, as well as the "footballers" mural in the subway, which Quintain had agreed to put back on permanent display in 2019.
A Council Officer from Brent's Regeneration Department wrote to her on 4 March 2020, on behalf of Cllr. Butt, and this was the message (headed Bobby Moore Murals) she received:
'Thank you for your enquiry dated 22 February in relation to the above.
The Bobby Moore murals will remain safe and unharmed and therefore avoiding any loss or damage to the original mural. It is the council’s understanding that these murals will be on permanent display and other murals will be exposed occasionally throughout the year.
I trust this clarifies the position.'
You have to wonder why 'the Council's understanding' that the "footballers" mural would be 'on permanent display' has changed.
She (CD) certainly likes her own way doesn't she? And of course gets it.
UPDATE:
Readers of this "guest blog" may be interested to know the latest developments, from this exchange of emails which took place this afternoon:
1. Dear Mr Grant
Cllr Nerva has asked me to respond.
Thanks for your suggestion of a way to resolve your outstanding issue.
I am afraid that even if a panel of Councillors agreed with you it would not change the legal right for vinyl advertisements to be attached to the tiles over the football mural.
I have mentioned before that the contract for advertising is due to be re-tendered later this year and in the meantime, Quintain have said that they will not advertise over it.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn Downs
Chief Executive
Brent Council
2. Dear Ms Downs,
Thank you for your email, in response to my suggestion to Cllr. Nerva last Friday that a panel of councillors could settle our (not my) outstanding dispute over advertisement consent by arbitration.
It would probably save a more detailed reply from me if you would clarify two points from the final sentence of your email, please, as quickly as possible.
You have said that 'the contract for advertising is due to be re-tendered later this year.' It was my understanding that the November 2019 Deed of Variation extended Wembley Park Ltd's advertising lease until August 2024. Would you explain, please, what the re-tendering will involve, and when this will happen.
You say that 'Quintain have said that they will not advertise over it.' Does that mean that Quintain have given a guarantee that no vinyl advertising sheets will be placed over the "footballers" tile mural? If so, I would welcome a copy of the communication confirming that, please.
Best wishes,
Philip Grant.
A friend of mine in America, who has seen this blog article online, sent me the following comments by email:
'Interesting issue you have re the mural. It does seem too many people ‘serving the public’ forget their power is not supposed to be for their own ends, and fall into the error of claiming rights of privacy as if matters of the locale are strictly their own business.
One odd thing I notice about the people who have surrendered their ethics to craven behavior is some sort of atrophy in their spoken and written capabilities. This is most pronounced on forums where Trumpy Trolls misspell almost every other word whilst employing grammar that is at times unworthy of an elementary school student.
The council’s reply shows the first signs of this affliction.'
I wonder whether other readers agree?
This surely is total madness!!!
Wembley Stadium is our showpiece national football stadium, located on this historic site since 1923 - the late great Bobby Moore was England Captain in 1966 when England won the World Cup.
Brent Council and Quintain would have known about the Euros 2021 (delayed since 2020) were coming to Wembley years ago yet between them all they’ve chosen to completely disrespect the memory of Bobby Moore with this ridiculous advertising deal covering the football tiles and the plaque to Bobby Moore, as well as the other tiles commemorating other sporting and music events held in Wembley.
These tiles should be on permanent display to the public where they are or they should be moved to another location where they can be on permanent display and be fully appreciated by residents and visitors to Wembley.
No doubt if a Banksy appeared in Wembley Brent Council and Quintain would do everything possible to protect and display it.
Dear Anonymous (25 May at 12:48),
Thank you for your comment.
A secret deal to allow advertising which covered the murals was done between Quintain and Brent Council Officers in 2013. Quintain's application for advertising consent was also dealt with by Council planning officers (although not until 2017!).
In neither of the reports on which these decisions were based was there any mention of the existence of the tile murals on the walls which would be covered with adverts.
Quintain and Brent Council quietly ignored the existence of the tile mural scenes until after Wembley History Society sent copies to them of a motion passed unanimously at its AGM in April 2018:
‘Wembley History Society calls upon Brent Council and Quintain to return the tile murals, on the walls of the Bobby Moore Bridge subway, to permanent public view, as part of the current public realm enhancements for Olympic Way.
The Society’s members feel strongly that these murals, depicting scenes from famous sports and entertainment events at Wembley Stadium and Arena, are an important part of the heritage of Wembley Park, and add to its sense of place.
The tile murals should be uncovered, and displayed again for both residents and visitors to see and enjoy, not hidden behind advertisements as they have been in recent years.’
This did lead to meetings and discussions, as a result of which Quintain agreed to at least put the "footballers" mural back on permanent public display in 2019.
This was as part of the Quintain / Brent Council "improvements" to Olympic Way, which included larger LED advertising screens on the parapets of the Bobby Moore Bridge, and "light boxes" on which adverts could be displayed on the walls of the subway, apart from over the "footballers" mural.
Moving the murals to another location was one of the options discussed between the Society and Quintain, but it was rejected as the tiles could be badly damaged in the process, and the murals where specially commissioned to be in the Bobby Moore Bridge subway, as part of welcoming visitors going to events at Wembley Stadium and Arena.
Having "won" at least the concession that the "footballers" mural would be put back on permanent display, I find it appalling that Brent Council Officers should now be trying to maintain that there is consent to cover that mural with adverts for the Euros football tournament, and other large stadium events (such as summer concerts and autumn NFL matches).
Rest assured, I have not given up the fight!
I think this is so disgraceful the way Brent Council is behaving. They have absolutely no regard for the wishes and desires of the residents of Brent especially Wembley. As a fifty year resident of Wembley I have seen things deteriorate from bad to worse. Now they have decided to go forward with their agenda to instal horrible neon advertising in place of great murals that depict the achievements of our great footballers especially Bobby Moore!!! I hope they will reconsider and do the right thing.
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