Wembley Matters top 10 stories in 2024 - a review

These are the stories on Wembley Matters that gained the most views during 2024 and represent a cross-section of the issues covered by the blog. Remember if you have a story you wish to share that you don't think has received the attention it deserves contact Wembley Matters at wembleymatters@virginmedia.com

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Thanks you to readers and contributors who have supported Wembley Matters with number of page views since the start of the blog approaching 7,000,000.
 

Brent councillor Shama Tatler moves into national spotlight as she is parachuted into sacked candidate Faiza Shaheen's seat 

 

Cllr Shama Tatler came under fire from local members of the Labour Party in Chingford and Woodford Green when she became their centrally imposed General Election candidate. They pointed to her record as 'Towerblock Tatler' in Brent as well as accusing her of opportunism. Towerblocks seems to over-shadow her career because they also caused problems in Watford when she sought that nomination. Labour there were campaiging against the Lib Dem Mayor and calling him 'Tower Taylor'. 

Faiza Shaheen stood as an Independent and the split vote enabled Tory Ian Duncan-Smith to retain the seat. Cllr Tatler moved to a new job in the Labour Office of the Local Government Association and resigned as Brent Council lead member for planning, regeneration and growth buts remains a councillor. She wished her succesor well: 'Thank you to all my Cabinet colleagues, past and present and I wish my successor all the best in continuing to deliver progressive Regeneration and Planning for Brent's residents.' Her successor? None other than the Leader of Brent Council, Muhammed Butt who awarded himself the portfolio.

Is Muhammed Butt's attempt at increasing the number of councillors required to call decisions in for scrutiny an abuse of democracy?

Muhammed Butt himself ran into difficulties when he tried to make changes in the rules regarding 'Call-In' when backbenchers can refer a Cabinet decision for further consideration by the council's Scrutiny Committee. In a move to reduce the number of call-ins, whether for financial or political reasons, he wanted any call-in to be valid only if it was signed by some Labour members in addition to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. (10 signatories would be required and the total opposition councillors is 8) Observers noted that with Labour members whipped this was very unlikely and there was an outcry that this undermined democracy and reinforced Butt's tendency to want to gather more and more power to himself.

The proposal was watered down but still means that without support from councillors from  other parties that the Liberal Democrat Group cannot call-in a decison on their own.

UPDATED: Organising in process to defend Harrow from right-wing disruption 

The country was rocked in the summer by far right rioting mainly organised over social media.

The riots followed misinformation spread about the identity of the person responsible for the terrible murder of young children in Southport.

Rumours spread about plans for an attack on a Muslim Centre in North Harrow and as in other areas of the country a community counter-demonstration  was rapidly organised. In the event the far right did not turn up, or if they did rapidly retreated when they saw the size of the resistance.

Concerned by the anti-Muslim nature of the far right attacks a group of young Muslims, wrote a guest post on Wembley Matters about their concern that Brent Council was not doing enough to combat Islamophobia: 'The community want to meet the council leadership, speak to them and hold them to account. They want to know what are their short and long term aims in fighting Islamophobia.'

 

Village Mews: A story of neglect, lack of maintenance and poor communication by a series of housing associations that leaves residents in a desperate situation 

  

 The case of neglect by the housing association at Village Mews was just one of many cases covered by Wembley Matters which highlighted poor conditions in both housing association and council properties.

Failing to get satisfaction from the managers of their properties they have turned to Wembley Matters in desperation. Concerns are not just about old properties but new build by groups such as L&Q with failing heating systems and fire safety issues. 

Temporary accommodation in private rentals for homeless families continues to be a source of some appalling conditions particularly affecting the physical and mental health of children,

Letter: Brent Council is using heavily biased language in its Paddington Old Cemetery dog PSPO consultation - what are their real plans?

Wembley Matters publishes the occasional letter from individuals or groups that want to bring an issue to the attention of readers.

Paddington Old Cemetery is a much appreciated green space that has long been championed by local people and many will remember the campaign by Cllr John Duffy about asbestos that was dumped there.

The Cemetery is used by dog walkers to exercise their animals but the Council is seeking to end an exemption that allowed them to be walked off leash.

There are a range of opinions on the proposal as can be seen from the many comments on the story, but a major contention was the wording of the consultation that campaignrs claimed was biased.

 

Northwick Park's development into a small town begins 

 

One of the reasons I started the Wembley Matters blog was that I realised many people were not aware of what was happening in the borough as it underwent rapid change. There used to be three local newspapers that covered the borough but only one, reduced in size, remains and a local TV channel was shorted lived.

The Northwick Park 'One Public Estate' development involvedsBrent Council, NW London NHS, University of Westminster and Network Housing is a project that seems to have crept up on people. Some have been puzzled, shocked or intrigued when visting Northwick  Park to see the beginning of a major development that will see tall blocks on the perimeter of the site and the area undegoing substantial change. 

An emerging issue is the financial viability of the project by Countryside pictured in its early stages above. Vistry the parent company has issued three profit warnings recently and is reviewing its portfolio. This may mean that to ensure profitability the tenure of developments may change in favour of private sales.

 

BREAKING: Application for 3 day Korean Pop Music Festival in Northwick Park summer 2025

 

Wembley Matters broke this story just before the holiday and comments are still open on the Licensing application. Up to 15,000 might attend. There are concerns about possible issues around congested access to the site from Northwick Park and South Kenton tube stations as well as loss of a major part of the park to the public during the summer.  Others of course welcome something to entertain us during the summer holiday.

A previous application for a different festival in Fryent Country Park in the summer was withdrawn twice - first because it coincided with a Wembley Event Day and when changed to a different day due to the large number of objections.  Brent Council has a policy to earn money from its parks due to its financial crisis so this issue may continue on a number of fronts in the future.

 

Dreams and Nightmares on the South Kilburn Estate 

 

Wembley Matters regularly hears from both long-term and new residents on the South Kilburn estate as the major regeneration continues.  The original residents are experiencing the joys of living long-term on a building site, with noise, dust and disruption part of daily life as well as an increase in anti-social behaviour with some blocks broken into by squatters who light fires or sleep in the public areas.

New residents battle with what they see as flats that have been built quickly with corners cuts and resulting issues over  heating, condensation  and unsafe balaconies and windows amongst others. 

 

Bobby Moore Bridge – formal complaint submitted over advertising lease award 

 

Philip Grant is a regular contributor to Wembey Matters as a local historian and in his private capacity. Philip has no party political affiliation but in his private capacity is a passionate believer in adherence to the Nolan Principles of public life. 

He is committed to ensuring that Brent Council sticks to these principles and demonstrates transparency and integrity. 

The Bobby Moore Bridge mural has featured in many of his posts, most recently concerned the procurement of advertising that replaces part of the mural and the use of the funds earned from that advertising. He has also taken up the lack of social housing on the Cecil Avenue site and the future of the Altimira Victorian Villa in Stonebridge.

I would like to publicly thank Philip for all his contributions and for his painstaking work as a proactive Brent Citizen.

 

Another South Kilburn disaster revealed - £15m claim on Swift House and George House goes to mediation 

 

This is a fairly typical story from South Kilburn illustrating the building problems outlined above and the problems with deciding who is responsible for remediation of building defects. The problem is particularly complex when a building changes hands and new owners are faced with defects that they claim are the responsibility of earlier owners.

Granville New Homes was an early example when Brent Council purchased the buildings but later found that the cost of remediation was more than they paid for them.  Changes in the law could mean that Brent Council, given the will, could claim compensation on behalf of Brent council tax payers.