Dear Editor,
ACE Brent is a coalition of 13 groups who want to see more climate action in Brent. We started working together in November 2023. Can your readers support us or be involved?
So far we have :
- Agreed a set of our own priorities for climate action in Brent (on Transport/active travel, Insulation and retrofitting, Divestment, Planning and Regeneration, Renewable energy, Food/Plant based consumption, Trees/green space). We have an overarching priority of mechanisms for public participation in and scrutiny of climate action (most neighbouring councils have these). We have received responses to our priorities, and accept the arguments about lack of funds, but believe more ambition, creativity and transparency is needed when other councils are doing better. https://councilclimatescorecards.uk/#jump=london-borough-of-brent
We are currently working on actions we want to see in the party manifesto's for the May 2026 Council Elections:
- Increased discussion about climate action across the council; through delegations to Full Council and the Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, and by writing to all councillors with comments on key climate reports. One result is the current work of a Kerbside Management Task Group which is looking at actions for more climate and people friendly streets.
- Pushed for Monitoring the effectiveness of local climate measures, and benchmarking with relation to other London councils; resulting in a new monitoring dashboard (not yet publicised or available for public scrutiny)
- Influenced (maybe) the appointment of new climate roles : Cabinet member for Climate Action and Community Power (Cllr Jake Rubin), and Climate Champion (Cllr Mary Mitchell)
- Met regularly with Cllr Jake Rubin and Oliver Myers, Head of Environment Strategy and Climate Action. We have pushed for mechanisms for public participation, more frequent climate reporting to the Scrutiny Committee, and better information on the council website.
We were able to input to the Tree Strategy before it was written, and have had discussions about planning, active travel, food issues, use of NCIL and Strategic CIL etc.
The meetings are useful but not a substitute for full public participation. We now have agreement that the council will publicise future meetings with ACE Brent.
The next meeting is on Planning and the Climate, Nov 3rd, online at 7pm, and will be attended by the senior council members and officers.
We are aware that many Brent groups with environmental concerns are not yet aware of ACE Brent. We welcome all groups to get involved who want Brent Council to be doing more on the climate and bio-diversity. You do not need to agree with all of our suggestions so far. You can see work in progress at the moment here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-G0zJmmH8th96TrUf5dCQiSDwnqlyfRfBxEsAfHYFCk/edit?tab=t.0
Join in for news, to take part in working groups and participate in meetings with council.
You are welcome to :
1) Join us as a member group. The bigger our coalition the stronger our voice will be (see our current members below)
2) Join our mailing list as a group or individual. You will be updated on our activities, meetings - approx 6-weekly - meetings with the council and other key news (mailings max weekly, except when urgent matters)
3) Sign up for quarterly updates only
We look forward to hearing from you. And please let Elaine know Ace@brentfoe.com if you want the Microsoft Teams link for Nov 3rd at 7pm.
Best wishes,
Elaine Sheppard
on behalf of Action for the Climate Emergency Brent
4 comments:
Some of the anti-climate resilience developments of the last 20 years inside tenanted tower growth zones of Brent would be a good start point. The new Medieval model for these Feudal zones is in need of a re-think. 20 years of mitigations to 2050 perhaps?
Leasehold reform, so that tower families 'buying' do genuinely own their homes is key, if that is these population growths zoned are ever to be by the political consensus regarded as being neighbourhoods where human lives are lived rather than remaining as 'the worse the better' harsh extraction sites of permanent development.
Build a car-park below ground level under a tower in a known flood zone. When it does flood, some flat lease 'buyers' can't meet the service charges bill for this flood damage and are forced to abandon their homes. The freeholder tower developer refurbishes and re-sells these homes- that's permanent development and an example of the 'growth opportunity' for developers in bit-by-bit reducing climate resilience in tall building zones.
Climate change resilience building business opportunities and climate change fragility building business opportunities are zoned in Brent. Freehold family houses and tenanted towers zones- take a guess which is which.
Will ACE ace it for tenants or more of the same?
Sadly we have a local council that claims to understand climate concerns but doesn't and doesn't do anything to address those concerns.
Heavily polluting traffic nightmares in Wembley due to all the roadworks needed to boost water and gas supplies because of all the tower blocks being built.
The tower blocks themselves create pollution with the demolition of old buildings and the trucks needed to remove debris from the old buildings and then bring endless supplies of concrete and materials to build the tower blocks.
Pollution from fireworks during Diwali was so bad that we couldn't see across the road - all the tiny particles pollute your lungs yet nothing is done to lower the use of fireworks.
Fireworks were set off in our parks and local green spaces polluting them, with tiny particles polluting and scaring local wildlife but no enforcement officers or police officers anywhere in sight to stop this environmental damage and ASB.
Permission granted for more and more concerts at Wembley Stadium bringing more traffic and litter etc to our streets.
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