Who are these 'security' people people in Barham Park? Some questions.

Illustrative image - not an actual scene from Barham Park!

 

 

Dear Edtor,

In the past few weeks I have observed what  appears  to be security guards patrolling Barham Park.

 

They have been using high spec binoculars and questioning people in the park.

 

Could anyone answer  the following:

Why are they there?

Who are they?

Who is paying them?

Do they have the right to stop and question people?

Do they have the power to arrest or ban people from the park?

Also, surely this is a job for the community police  officers.

 

Be grateful if anyone can answer  the above?

 

Local (name supplied) 

Get the Vibe on Sunday at St Raph's Community Day - fun, food, stalls, music

 

Full List of Labour Party selections for Brent Council elections in 2026

 1. Alperton Delroy Morrison, Judith Forbes, Mansoor Akram

2. Barnhill Robert Johnson, Rhoda Ibrahim

3. Brondesbury Park  Ryan Hack, Tashi Thomas

4. Cricklewood and Mapesbury Gwen Grahl, Tariq Dar

5. Dollis Hill Liz Dixon, Parvez Ahmed, Arshad Mahmood

6. Harlesden and Kensal Green Matt Kelcher, Mili Patel, Tina Amadi

7. Kenton John Poole, Janice Long, Fiona Mulaisho

8. Kilburn Rita Conneely, Anthony Malloy, Leeta Holmes

9. Kingsbury Saqib Butt, Jas Bajwa

10. Northwick Park Narinder Bajwa, Shymala Rajan-Vince

11. Preston Daniel Kennelly, Orleen Hylton

12. Queen's Park Lesley Smith, Neil Nerva, Marc Harris 

13. Queensbury Omid Fadakar, Simon Cheng, Sabah Ibrahim

14. Roundwood Jake Rubin, Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, Samiah Anderson

15. StonebridgeTrevor Blackman, Promise Knight, Abdi Aden

16. Sudbury Teo Benea, Greg Innes

17. Tokyngton Muhammed Butt, Krupa Sheth

18. Welsh Harp Iftekhar Ahmed, Mary Mitchell, Amer Agha

19. Wembley Central Anita Thakkar, Sonia Shah, Ketan Sheth

20. Wembley Hill  Lloyd Mcleish, Ishma Moeen, Joyce De Souza

21. Wembley Park Ajmal Akram, Apurval Saral 

22. Willesden Green Saqlain Choudry, Prema Thakkar, George Burn 

 

 

Exclusion of current councillors from the above list does not necessarily mean they have been deselected by the recent process. Like Shama Tatler, above, they may have decided not to stand as did Steve Crabb. Cllr Kathleen Fraser was barred from selection following her suspension.

'Half of the left councillors have be deselected' - first reactions to London Region sponsored Brent Council selections for May 2026 council election

 Results and comments from reliable sources are coming in as the selection of Labour candidates for the May 2026 council election are announced in letters to candidates. One insider said, 'Half of the left councillors have been deselected'.  The selections were made by the London region of the Labour Party rather than local Labour Party members.

Two high-profile  de-selections were the Labour Group whip Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam and Cabinet meber Harbi Farah. Cllr Jumbo Chan, an NEU member and backer of anti-academisation campaigns is another casualty along with Cllr Tony Ethapemi (Stonebridge) and Cllr Erica Gbajum (Brondesbury Park).

One disappointed candidate commiserated with another saying, 'Don't tak it to heart. The selection process was as corrupt as it's ever been. A pity because it looked hopeful for an even playing field this time, but not to be.'

I will update this blog post as more results and reactions come in. 

Further deselections;

 Cllr Rita Begum

Cllr Rajan-Seelan

Cllr Diana Collymore 

 

Brent Cabinet to allocate £5m in Neighbourhood CIL Projects ahead of the 2026 local council election

 

The spending of Strategic and Neighbourhood Infrastructure Levy has been the subject of some controversy in Brent with the amount of unspent funds piling up over the years. The Lib Dems have urged wider use of the funds and having dismissed the proposal initially, the  Brent Labour Administration recently changed its mind and  approached the government to loosen up the rules.

From Brent Infrastructure Spending Statement December 2024
 

The Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL) has gone through a number of different processes to choose which projects benefit, including special  meetings where a public vote takes place. Cabinet recently decided on an officer led approach (see image ) which removes the public from detailed decision making.

The Officers' report going to Cabinet on September 8th lists projects above £100k in value that Cabinet has to approve, and those below £100k which the Lead member has already signed off after a Panel recommendation.

In the past it has been claimed that CIL should only be used for capital projects (such as a building or equipment), when bids have been put forward requiring, for example, a salary to be paid.  Revenue can be allocated to ensure the maintenance of the capital project.

Officers in this report, put forward a rather more nuanced interpretation of the rules that appear to allow for wider use (rather hesitantly it must be said):

 

Under the CIL Regulations, the neighbourhood portion of the community infrastructure levy is to be applied to: 

 

(a) the provision, improvement, replacement, operation, or maintenance of infrastructure (which is defined as set out in paragraph 9.1 above); or

 

(b) anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.

 

The issue that arises is whether the wording of the second ‘limb’ (‘anything else…’ etc) allows an authority to spend the neighbourhood portion on any projects that can be shown to address the demands arising from development in a particular area, or whether that spend has to be limited to projects with some form of physical outcome. The Planning Practice Guidance (the PPG, which is published by central government as guidance to local planningauthorities) suggests that the only requirement is whether the spend addresses the demands on an area caused by development. However, the PPG is guidance, not a statement of law. A number of local authorities have adopted an approach whereby the allocation of the neighbourhood element of CIL is limited to projects with some form of physical element.

 

Where possible projects for neighbourhood funding do not obviously have a physical element or outcome, consideration should be given on a case-by-case basis to whether the specific details of the proposed project might be said to fall outside the scope of the relevant part of the CIL Regulation.

 

This year's total NCIL allocation at £5,088,231  is much higher than the £1,297,445.18 spent in 2023-24. (22-23 £3,084,850.45, 2021-23 £4,505,237.36) and it has been suggested to me  that this was to allow a popular splurge before the local election in 8 months' time.  I couldn't possibly comment!

 

You might have fun deciding which of the many worthy projects listed 'have some form of physical outcome'. Some of the proposals are quite vague.

 

A. OVER £100k        B. UNDER £100k

 

Coldplay reschedules next weekend's shows at Wembley Stadium due to underground rail strike

From Coldplay

 

We’re sorry to announce that, due to planned industrial action on the London Underground, we’ve been forced to reschedule our final two concerts of the current Wembley Stadium run. Without a Tube service, it’s impossible to get 82,000 people to the concert and home again safely, and therefore no event licence can be granted for the nights of 7th and 8th September. 

 

To avoid cancelling the shows, our only option is to reschedule. The Sunday 7th September show will move to Saturday 6th September. The Monday 8th September show will move to Friday 12th September. All tickets will remain valid for their rescheduled date. 

 

If you’re able to attend the new date, you do not need to take any action to secure your ticket for the rescheduled show. Your existing ticket will be valid for entry. Any ticket holders who are unable to attend their rescheduled show can get a full refund on their ticket, and are requested to contact their point of purchase before 12noon BST on Tuesday 2nd September. 

 

Any returned tickets will be put on general sale at 11am BST on Wednesday 3rd September, exclusively via Ticketmaster. The shows on Saturday 30th August, Sunday 31st August, Wednesday 3rd September and Thursday 4th September will go ahead as scheduled. We're very sorry for the inevitable disappointment, frustration and inconvenience that this situation causes. 

 The RMT explained the causes of the strike on their website:

 

Tube union RMT, announced rolling strike action across the network beginning on Friday 5th September for seven days, with different grades taking industrial action at differing times.

The strikes come after management refused to engage seriously with union demands on pay, fatigue management, extreme shift patterns and a reduction in the working week, as well as failing to honour previous agreements made with staff.  

   

RMT says that management’s dismissive approach has fuelled widespread anger and distrust among the workforce, who voted in overwhelming numbers to take strike action.   

   

 

Some Wembley local history to enjoy in the next few weeks!

Guest post by local historian Philip Grant in a personal capacity 

 

Sir Arthur Elvin in 1948.

 

I have to declare an interest, as I am involved with most of the events featured in this guest post, but I hope that by sharing the details on “Wembley Matters”, more people who might be interested in one or two of them will have the opportunity to enjoy them.

 

An aerial view of Wembley Town Hall, nearing completion in 1939.
(Image from “Wembley” by Geoffrey Hewlett, 2002)

 

 As part of Open House weekend, the Lycée International Winston Churchill in Forty Lane is opening its doors to the public for guided tours on Saturday 13 September, from 10am to 2.30pm. Although it has been a French Lycée since 2015, many people still know the building as the former Brent Town Hall. It started life as Wembley Town Hall, designed by Clifford Strange and built between 1937 and 1940. The former Town Hall is Grade 2 listed, and this is a rare opportunity for residents to go inside, so if you want more details please “click” on this link.

 

During his lifetime, Arthur Elvin became known as Mister Wembley, and played an important part in making Wembley the world-famous destination it is today. Yet many local people now don’t know much about him, or even why the name Elvin has been given to a garden square behind the Civic Centre or a school in the High Road. I felt that his story needed to be told, so I am giving an illustrated talk about him at the Wembley History Society meeting at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Kingsbury, on Friday 19 September at 7.30pm.

 

 

As the poster above says, visitors to the Society’s meetings are very welcome, and the 83 and 302 buses, which stop close to the venue, should be running along Church Lane again by the time of the meeting! So, please come along, arriving between 7.15 and 7.25pm if possible, if you would be interested in discovering more about “Mister Wembley” and his part in our local history.

 

Arthur Elvin played an important part in bringing the 1948 Olympic Games to Wembley, and that famous sporting event, and the part the local community played in making it a success, are the subject of a free “coffee morning” talk at Kingsbury Library on Tuesday 7 October, from 11am to 12noon (with tea/coffee and biscuits available from 10.45, so come early!). It is best to reserve your place for these Brent Libraries events, and you can do that by “clicking” here.

 

Title slide for the “coffee morning” talk on Tuesday 7 October.

 

The pre-arranged 1948 Olympic Games talk has been included in the programme for “Our Freedom – Then and Now”, a nationwide project, with Brent Libraries as one of its participating cultural organisations, building on the legacy of the VE Day and VJ Day 80^th anniversary commemorations. When I heard about this project, and that Brent’s aim was ‘an opportunity for local people to creatively explore and share Brent’s hidden wartime stories, connecting the past with their own experiences of community, resilience, and freedom today,’ I knew that I had a resource which would fit perfectly into that theme.

 

Title slide for the “coffee morning” event at Wembley Library on Wednesday 22 October

 

The result will be seen and heard at a Wembley Library “coffee morning” on Wednesday 22 October, from 11am to 12noon, when the first-hand Second World War experiences of two local housewives will be shared, through extracts from letters they wrote to a friend. Those letters were saved by their former neighbour, and eventually donated to Wembley History Society by her daughter in 2020, and they provide a fascinating insight into every-day life at that time. The extracts will be read by two ladies from Brent Libraries, while I will be providing the pictures which link their stories. You can reserve your seat for this event by “clicking” here.

 

Philip Grant.

Brent Cabinet to approve Islamia Primary School move to Brentfield Road site from 1st September 2027

 

It is more than 5 years since Yusuf Islam (AKA Cat Stevens) gave Islamia Primary School and Brent Council notice of eviction. The search has been on for a new site ever since with the South Kilburn site earmarked for a merged Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Junior rejected by Brent Council  and Strathcona vacated by Roe Green Primary, rejected by Islamia parents,

 

 

Following the decision to close the Leopold Primary Brentfield Road site I suggested in a Wembley Matters article LINK that this might be suitable for Islamia, the only state-funded Muslim School in the borough. 

 

 

In November 2024 Gwen Grahl, lead member for schools, responded to my question at Full Council pursuing that possibility by saying:

 

As set out in the refreshed School Place Planning Strategy 2024-2028, agreed by Cabinet on 12 November 2024, consideration will be given to opportunities to use any spare capacity within the primary school sector to expand provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, given the increasing need across the borough.

 

The Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School will continue to be used for mainstream primary provision until September 2027 and the Council has not determined the future use of the site, that could also include provision for SEND.

 

Now next week's Cabinet, after a formal consultation is set to approve a recommendation that Islamia Primary School transfer to Leopold's Gwenneth Rickus site from 1st September 2027. The Islam Yusuf Foundation (IYS) has extended the eviction period to enable this to happen. The Leopold site will be transferred to IYS, despite the eviction order:

 

[The IYS] would be required to hold the site for the benefit of the Islamia Primary School. Further details in terms of ownership would be set out in a Trust Deed. This would ensure that the primary school would be protected from eviction in future.

 

The Strathcona site would be used for SEND provision.

 

It appears likely that the present Islamia site in Queens Park will be used to expand IYF's private secondary schools. 

 

A majority of respondents rejected the Leopold proposal at the informal consultation stage, but Brent Council reports the result of the statutory consultation as the basis for going ahead with the move:

 

56 responses were submitted to the Brent Have Your Say consultation portal, 6 responses were submitted directly to the school and one response was handed in to the Civic Centre.

 

50 responses were fully supportive of the proposal. 13 respondents either opposed the relocation or raised concerns about it. Of these, 7 were explicitly opposed or objected to the proposal, while 6 were generally supportive but raised concerns regarding the relocation without explicitly opposing or objecting to the proposal.

 

Three local primary schools had raised concerns that the relocation would put further pressure on them at a time of falling schools rolls. 

 

Concerns were raised about journey times, lack of public transport and other issues that are dealt with in the full Cabinet paper HERE.

 

The Equality Impact Assessment LINK  addresses areas likely to be of interest to readers. Here are some key points:

 

AGE

 

The relocation of Islamia Primary School to the Brentfield Road site would ensure that children are taught in a suitable provision setting which will benefit all pupils in the school. Currently pupils are taught in split-site accommodation on the Salusbury Road site and in classrooms in Winkworth Hall, a building leased from the Council.

 

The proposed site would offer improved indoor and outdoor facilities on a single site which would enhance the children’s learning experience and would support the school to sustain a good quality of education for pupils. Being on one site will also allow for improved use of resources, ensuring budgets are used effectively to enhance learning opportunities and experiences for all children.

 

Information will be provided in the Council’s Starting Primary School September 2027 brochure (published September 2026) to advise potential applicants of the planned relocation of the school so that parents are aware before they apply for a school place.

 

DISABILITY

 

The proportion of children at Islamia Primary School with an EHCP is 2.4% compared to 4.0% across schools in Primary Planning Area 4, the planning area within which the school is proposed to be located.

 

The proportion of children at Islamia Primary School receiving SEN Support is 16.5% compared to 18.6% across Planning Area 4.

 

The proposal will not disproportionately impact any person on the basis of special education need or disability. The new site will provide better facilities for all pupils, including those with SEND. It will allow all pupils to be educated together on one site (rather than the current split-site arrangement), supporting the school’s inclusive ethos.

 

Children with an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) who transfer to the new site will be able to make an application for transport assistance if they meet the eligibility criteria.

 

RACE

 

The top ethnic groups attending Islamia Primary School (Black African 38.8%, Any other ethnic group 30.6%, and Pakistani 13.4%) are similar to those of schools in Primary Planning Area 4 (Black – African 27.1%, Any other ethnic group 18.9%).

 

It is not considered that relocating the school would have a negative impact on the basis of race

 

RELIGION

 

Islamia Primary School is the only Muslim faith school in Brent. Relocation to the proposed site will ensure the long-term future of the school, ensuring diversity of provision across the Brent educational landscape.

 

There are both denominational and non-denominational schools with spare places in Primary Planning Area 4 where the new site is located, so relocating the school to the area will not impact on local choice for parents and carers.

 

Consideration has been given to community cohesion concerns in the context of moving Islamia Primary School to a site near to the Neasden Temple. The area where the site is located is diverse, reflecting Brent’s mixed communities. Within the context of Brent’s diversity, the Local Authority works proactively with communities to address any community cohesion concerns. Supported by the Council, the Brent Multi-faith Forum also works to develop understanding and shared belonging through bringing communities together.

 

The YIF, and its schools, have a track record of interfaith work, including representation at the former London Interfaith Centre for a number of years, working with the former Three Faiths Forum (now called, The Faith and Belief Forum), hosting the launch of Nisa-Nashim, a Jewish and Muslim women’s network, some recent discussions with representatives of the Brent Multi-Faith Forum, participating in borough-wide interfaith walks and other activities.

 

If the relocation to the Gwenneth Rickus site proceeds, the YIF has indicated it would be supportive of working with the local community to ensure that local considerations are reflected in the school’s decision-making processes. This might include, for example, exploring options for local representation on the Governing Board and, through its broader activities, creating space for dialogue via a forum that brings together faith representatives, community groups, residents and council members to consider inclusive engagement and to explore, with the Governing Board, how the site might also support wider community benefit.

Cllr Tariq Dar circulated a jubilant message that assumed (rightly given the rubber-stamping role of Cabinet) that Brent Cabinet would approve the recommendation:

Fantastic News – Islamia School Brent is Saved
Cllr Tariq Dar MBE

Islamia Primary School, founded in 1983 by Brother Yusuf Islam, grew from a small nursery into the first Muslim school in Britain to receive state funding, following the Parents’ Campaign for Voluntary Aided Status in 1984.

After years of uncertainty, Alhamdulillah, the school has been saved and will relocate to the Gwenneth Rickus building (formerly Leopold Primary School), 242–250 Brentfield Road, London, NW10 8HE.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Leader of Brent, Cllr Muhammad Butt, Cllr Grahl (Cabinet Member), council officers, councillors, staff, governors, parents, and the community for their tireless efforts.

Massive thanks all around — Alhamdulillah, Islamia’s future is secured.

Cllr Tariq Dar MBE
Chairman, Islamia School Parents Campaign for Voluntary Aided Status 1984