The meeting at the Rec
We hosted councillors from across the political spectrum, bringing together representatives from both Camden and Brent at the Granville Rec to amplify the #SaveTheRec campaign.Leslie Barson met with Cllr Amer Agha (the Mayor of Brent), Cllr Matt Kelcher (Cabinet Member for Regeneration), and several Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, and Green councillors.Leslie highlighted why plans to demolish the Rec as part of the Hereford & Exeter regeneration project in South Kilburn must be urgently reconsidered.*Loss of Public Space & Essential Amenities:*Regeneration continues to erode crucial public and open spaces, leaving the Kilburn community with fewer vital local amenities.*A History of Broken Trust:*Decades of Brent Council failings in South Kilburn have severely damaged community trust, making transparent and genuinely accountable decision-making essential.*Inadequate Replacement Site:*The proposed replacement site is simply not an equivalent alternative for a whole host of reasons.*Lack of Community Participation:*Meaningful consultation and true community participation have been consistently sidelined throughout this process.Environmental & Wellbeing Impact:🌱 *Community & Food Sovereignty*: It is an active community garden run by Granville Community Kitchen, providing local food growing, City & Guilds horticultural training, and educational workshops.*🧠 Mental Health & Wellbeing:* It offers a calm, essential green sanctuary for local school pupils, young people, and residents.🐝 *Vital Biodiversity:* It is a mature, irreplaceable urban ecosystem, not a space that can simply be replaced by concrete or artificial landscaping.⚠️ WHAT YOU CAN DO
There is a Brent Councillors’ Members Briefing tomorrow.We are calling on *all* local residents concerned about the loss and overdevelopment of our green spaces to take action NOW:1️⃣ Email your Ward Councillors: Ask them directly to attend tomorrow’s briefing and stand up for South Kilburn’s green infrastructure.2️⃣ Send an Email / Message: If you believe in saving the Rec, contact:Cllr Rubin (Cabinet Member for Action on Climate)Cllr Kelcher (Cabinet Member for Regeneration)
Useful Links & Petitions:
📌 Sign the Petition & Read More: https://granvillecommunitykitchen.org.uk/community/save-the-rec/📌 Brent Green Party Campaigns: https://brent.greenparty.org.uk/campaigns/Please share this message with your local Kilburn and Brent networks, street groups, and neighbours! 💚✊
In case anyone wonders, those campaigning to save the rec are not arguing against the building of 16 new social rent family homes in South Kilburn. We are arguing for those homes to be built somewhere other than on the rec in this next phase of regeneration. Developers are sympathetic to that, but the Council's regeneration team has told them they have to be built on the rec. We are not NIMBYS opposed to the building of social rent homes. On the contrary, may of us have been arguing the regeneration should be about building a much higher proportion of social/Council homes than the Council is doing, and less of the expensive homes which the Council itself says there is no market for.
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