tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post6307922484582235503..comments2024-03-28T19:20:52.408+00:00Comments on WEMBLEY MATTERS: Brent’s “secret” housing projects – the Council’s responseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-54810410454670063142021-09-24T09:32:42.384+01:002021-09-24T09:32:42.384+01:00https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-586...https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58667328Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-40731628735564020582021-09-23T19:06:35.480+01:002021-09-23T19:06:35.480+01:00If the figures from John Healy are accurate and 70...If the figures from John Healy are accurate and 700 Council homes will cost £411 million then each home will cost £587,142 and some might not be available for another 8 years.<br /><br />Paul Lorbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-85107080729688729782021-09-22T20:05:24.617+01:002021-09-22T20:05:24.617+01:00Thank You Phillip.
As far as I am aware no one in...Thank You Phillip.<br /><br />As far as I am aware no one in Gauntlett Court Sudbury has been consulted or informed about any proposals. The only options possible in this area are:<br /><br />1. Demolition of the 101 existing flats (plus 16 on the Harrow Road frontage) and building new higher density blocks of flats.<br /><br />2. Building on the grassed areas within the area of Gaunlett Court.<br /><br />3. Building on the remaining garages (relatively small area).<br /><br />4. Building more floors on the existing 3 and 4 storey blocks.<br /><br />Which ever option is being considered I am sure that local residents (leaseholders, tenants renting from leaseholders and the few remaining Council tenants) would like to know.<br /><br />The reply from the Lead Member uses expected buzz phrases without giving specific information which local people impacted by these possible developments on their doorstep would actually find useful.Paul Lorbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-19407453904882730212021-09-22T15:03:37.955+01:002021-09-22T15:03:37.955+01:00FOR INFORMATION:-
This is the full text of the em...FOR INFORMATION:-<br /><br />This is the full text of the email I sent to Cllr. Southwood (with copies to the senior Council Officers involved and Cllr. Tatler) on 19 September:<br /><br />Dear Councillor Southwood,<br /><br />Thank you for your email of 16 September, and full reply to my email of 31 August to yourself and Messrs Porter and Magness.<br /><br />I did say in my email that I would be happy to give you a "right of reply" to the blog article I had written about Brent's 'not yet in public domain' housing schemes, and I will ask Martin Francis to publish the full text of your reply. While I believe that residents should let Brent Council know about matters they feel strongly on, I also believe that it should be a two-way engagement. If we all listen to, and try to understand, each other's points of view, it should help to build a stronger community!<br /><br />I have seen your written reply to the question on Kilburn Square. The points you've made on the urgent priority for more Council homes, and that 'the most cost effective building occurs when the council is able to build on land that it owns', brings me back to the matter of the Wembley Housing Zone. I sent the text of another article, about that, to you and your Cabinet colleagues on 13 August, without any reply. I also had a letter about this issue published in last Thursday's Brent & Kilburn Times.<br /><br />The vacant former Copland School site, at Cecil Avenue / Wembley High Road, is land which Brent Council owns, and it has full planning consent for building 250 homes. I cannot understand why Council Officers would recommend, or why Brent's Cabinet would accept, that the majority of these homes should be offered to a private developer, rather than all 250 of them (including sixty-four 3 or 4-bedroom family sized homes) being built by Brent itself for letting at affordable (preferably social) rents to Council tenants.<br /><br />I expect that it has something to do with finance. But the Council can borrow at lower rates than those available to private developers, has access to larger grant funding from the GLA for social housing, could use some of the CIL directly to pay for any parts of the development which qualify as community infrastructure and could also potentially use i4B to assist if necessary. Surely a way can be found to deliver the whole scheme as Council housing?<br /><br />I am copying this email to your colleague, Shama Tatler, and to Alan Lunt, as they are both heavily involved with the Cecil Avenue scheme. I hope that you can persuade them to look again, promptly, at what they recommended to Cabinet on 16 August, and to come back with fresh proposals to make the whole of the former Copland School site development one that delivers the full 250 homes as much needed Council housing. The current proposal offers only 52 homes for affordable rent - with the other "affordable" housing proposed as shared ownership, which is now a "dead end" model, likely to remain vacant if that route is followed. <br /><br />I look forward to receiving a response to this email, either from yourself or one of the Council Officers involved. Thank you. Best wishes,<br /><br />Philip Grant.<br />Philip Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08216646114377430489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-65641532207947659132021-09-21T22:58:36.509+01:002021-09-21T22:58:36.509+01:00Tonight's council mtg. covered some of the iss...Tonight's council mtg. covered some of the issues you raised Philip. Hakeen, lead officer of Brent Housing reported that the council had added £300M. from it's own reserves and with the £111.4M. from the GLA making £411.4M. to build 700 new council homes by 2028/29. <br /><br />Also the mtg. reported on the need for the council to engage with residents without mentioning their new Engagement Framework. It seemed the housing officers and Executive officers were not aware of their own Framework but were happy to talk about their own 'customer reference panel'. "The key to everything we do will be down to having good communications with all our residents", said the officer who summed up the report covering the latest performance of Brent Housing.John Healyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09124115717936842385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-29287569943822956872021-09-21T22:13:43.371+01:002021-09-21T22:13:43.371+01:00They are obviously not building Formula Social Ren...They are obviously not building Formula Social Rent housing, it's all this stupid (un)affordable rubbish. Are they housing Brent Residents, doesn't look like it does it? <br /><br />Tell them what you think next May.<br /><br />PS, wasn't Tatler's resonse rubbish and patronising, with Southwood's close behind<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com