Call for Brent Council to deliver more council homes for social tenants and end confusion over their use of the term 'affordable'

 

Wembley Matters has consistently raised the issue of Brent Council's obfuscation of the term 'affordable housing' and the need for clarity in the use of the term was highlighted recently by Cllr Rita Conneely, Chair of Scrutiny.

The issue has become more prominent as a result of the Council's intention to change the tenure of many of its planned infill housing on the council's own estates  to shared ownership and open market sale.  Brent Council's CEO, when denying that the council was building any shared ownership homes, has recently confirmed that shared ownership is not affordable for most Brent residents in need of housing.

Cllr Anton Georgiou (Alperton)  has tabled a motion for debate at Monday's Full Council Council meeting that seeks clarity on the use of terminology, but much more importantly a commitment that projects on estates should be  seeking to provide genuinely affordable social housing and not shared ownership or open market sale.

The Motion

Building the Homes our Community Needs

This Council notes:

The pressures on Council Housing stock are immense and will not ease in the coming months and years, rather they will grow even more.

The Cost of Living Crisis, coupled with the disastrous macroeconomic situation in the UK, means it is increasingly likely that more local residents will turn to the Council to assume responsibility for their housing needs. As an authority, we need to be prepared for this.

Whilst we are grateful that Brent has made progress in seeking to supply Council Homes we need to see greater, more urgent resolve to deliver more Council Homes for Social tenants.

The latest report to Cabinet, entitled, ‘Update on the supply of New Affordable Homes’, sets out where Brent is when it comes to the delivery of the New Council Homes Programme (NCHP).

On the 14th November, the Cabinet was asked to formalise a change of approach that would allow Brent Council to deliver only 50% of new stock at Council Rent and London Affordable Rent level in its own developments. While this approach will deliver some Social Housing on Council owned land, this will be at the expense of current Estate residents, reduction of amenity space, and will not achieve our overriding ambition to reduce the ever-growing housing waiting list in a meaningful way. Council Land will be de-facto used to build housing out of reach for most Brent residents.

There are also a growing number of local people in our area, who have been life-long residents of Brent and who are now being priced out of the borough, because housing is too expensive.

Developers, who are granted consent for their private schemes by Brent’s Planning Committee, are not providing our area with the type of housing our community desperately needs.

This Council believes:

 

1.    There needs to be greater clarity on terminology around housing, particularly what constitutes being ‘genuinely affordable housing’.

2. Targets and policy around house building, must be focused on seeking to reduce the housing waiting list and reduce the number of local people currently in temporary accommodation

3. Shared Ownership schemes are not a ‘genuinely affordable’ housing model and are not something that should be promoted by Brent

4. We need to be holding developers accountable and ensuring that a greater proportion of new stock built in our borough is genuinely affordable for local people

This Council resolves to:

1. Guarantee that the banner term ‘affordable housing’ is not used in communications, and instead council communications only refer to “genuinely affordable housing”.

2. Amend the Local Plan to ensure Affordable Housing is defined as being purely Council Rent, London Affordable Rent, London Living Rent, which would exclude Shared Ownership and Affordable Rent (below or equal to 80% of market value rent).

3. Ensure all new developments taking place on existing estates within our borough must be seeking to provide more Social Housing and not Shared Ownership or Market Sale units.

4. Increase the target of affordable units within private developments to match neighbouring Camden at 50%, with a split of 40% social rent and 60% others, in order to ensure we are building the homes our community really needs.

New London Councils cross-party Executive will work together across boroughs to deliver a shared agenda

 

The new London Councils Executive

There's a bit of a spat going on via Twitter this morning after Labour's Cllr Shama Tatler criticised Lib Dem Cllr Anton Georgiou for meeting with Tory Cllr Sunita for what Georgiou described as an attempt  'find ways to work together to improve our communities' despite being on 'different teams'.

 

The concept was clearly anathema to Cllr Tatler but the reality is that on many councils and similar bodies different political parties have worked together for the benefit of the community. London Councils is one such body bringing together mayors and council leaders from different parties across London.  Indeed, until yesterday's AGM, Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council was the London Councils Executive Member for Welfare, Empowerment and Inclusion.

In the press release from London Councils below I have emphasised in bold a pertinent comment by the Chair of London Councils who is also leader of Camden Council:

Cllr Georgia Gould has been re-elected Chair of London Councils, promising to deliver on the boroughs’ shared agenda at this “important moment” for the capital.

 

At London Councils’ Leaders Committee AGM, held  yesterday borough Leaders and Directly Elected Mayors from across the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation met to agree leadership roles.

 

Cllr Georgia Gould, Chair of London Councils, said:

 

The next few years present huge challenges for London - tackling inequality in our city, supporting residents and businesses through the cost-of-living crisis and ensuring London’s voice is part of debates on levelling up.

 

Having stepped up to support our communities during the pandemic despite incredibly difficult circumstances for us all, London boroughs are committed to working together on our shared ambitions from tackling the climate crisis to supporting Londoners facing a cost-of-living crisis. Together we will make the case for London and make sure the voices of Londoners are heard.

 

I feel incredibly hopeful that at this important moment for our city, London boroughs will focus on delivering for communities across the capital.

 

The following Leaders and directly elected Mayors were elected to London Councils’ Executive:

Chair: Cllr Georgia Gould (Lab, Camden)

 

Deputy Chair and Executive member for Regeneration, Housing and Planning: Cllr Darren Rodwell (Lab, Barking and Dagenham)

 

Vice Chair: Cllr Teresa O’Neill OBE (Con, Bexley)

 

Vice Chair: Cllr Ruth Dombey OBE (Lib Dem, Sutton)

 

Vice Chair: Deputy Chris Hayward (Ind, City of London Corporation)

 

Climate Change, Transport and Environment Lead and Digital Lead: Mayor Philip Glanville (Lab, Hackney)

 

Executive member for London’s Future (Business, Economy and Culture): Cllr Elizabeth Campbell (Con, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)

 

Executive member for Communities (Welfare, Empowerment and Inclusion): Cllr Claire Holland (Lab, Lambeth)

 

Executive member for Children and Young People: Cllr Ian Edwards (Con, Hillingdon)

 

Executive member for Community Safety and Violence against Women and Girls: Cllr Jas Athwal (Lab, Redbridge)

 

Executive member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care: Cllr Nesil Caliskan (Lab, Enfield)

 

Executive member for Skills and Employment: Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE (Lab, Newham) 

 

 

Muhammed Butt's poll rating dives AFTER he speaks at Environment Hustings

It's not a scientific poll and just for fun but a poll of voting intentions was taken before candidates spoke at this evening's Friends of the Earth Environmental hustings and afterwards.

This was the result:

Candidate	Party	Before %	After %
David Stevens	Green	29	31
Anton Georgiou	Liberal Democrat	21	33
Sunita Hirani	Conservative	15	14
Muhammed Butt	Labour	35	17
	Undecided	9	6

 

But, Brent Council, who's the guy in yellow?

 

PHOTO: Local residents celebrating the launch of the new One Tree Hill community garden along with Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council (far right), Cllr Neil Nerva, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure (in fluorescent green), Cllr Krupa Sheth Cabinet Member for Environment and Ward Member for Wembley Central (in red) and Chirag Gir, Chairman of Wembley Central and Alperton Residents’ Association (far left).

A press release from Brent Council dropped into my in-box a short while ago, neatly reinforcing the point I made about social media in the last post.

The caption supplied by the Brent Council Press Office names the Labour Cabinet members present but ignores the man in yellow - who just happens to be a local Alperton councillor who works hard for the community but is a Liberal Democrat.

The 'non-person' is Cllr Anton Georgiou and he commented to Wembley Matters:

It was good to be with local residents and members of Wembley Central and Alperton Residents’ Association (WCARA) who have worked so hard on this project. 

I’m proud to have supported residents over the past two years, particularly keen local gardeners, who want to encourage even more people to get involved in growing flowers and vegetables in the area. 

We all know how important it is for mental health and well-being to be outdoors, enjoying nature and I’m hopeful Brent Council will commit to installing more planters as a way of encouraging even wider participation. This is particularly needed given the number of people in Alperton and Wembley who do not have access to their own gardens. 

I’m not surprised that the Leader of the Council and two Lead Members were free to attend the photo op yesterday morning. They love the camera. It is however, slightly concerning that my presence was ignored in the official Brent Council press release. With local elections around the corner, I’ve expressed disappointment at what seems to be repeat favouritism by the Council of a certain group of Councillors. This needs to stop.”

Lone Brent Lib Dem councillor resigns from Budget Scrutiny citing 'serious concerns about the way in which elected members’ wishes, actions and agreed work direction have been blocked ' by senior Brent officers

In a surprise announcement the only Liberal Democrat on Brent Council has resigned from the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce. Cllr Anton Georgiou said, " With regret, I have decided to resign [] following serious concerns about the way in which elected members’ wishes, actions and agreed work direction have been blocked by senior officers at Brent Council."

The resignation comes after last year's skirmishes with Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt over Georgiou's attempt to put forward alternative ideas for the 2020-21 budget which Butt denounced as ill-informed. LINK

It appeared that his inclusion in this year's Task Force would enable Cllr Georgiou to make a contribution early in the process but he now feels that the Task Force has been rendered powerless and the different roles of officers and councillors blurred.

Statement in full

In Local Authorities, where the governing party has such a large majority, it is crucial that there are ways in which councillors from different parties can come together to provide thorough and detailed scrutiny and that there is maximum transparency over decisions, spending and service delivery.

No one party, or group of people have a monopoly on good ideas and policy, which is why it is critical we hold decision makers to account at every step of the way - especially when it comes to decisions around spending taxpayers money.

With regret, I have decided to resign from the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce, following serious concerns about the way in which elected members’ wishes, actions and agreed work direction have been blocked by senior officers at Brent Council.

It is my view that democratic scrutiny in Brent is being curtailed and undermined by those who it exists to hold to account.

Recent actions by senior officers suggest a contempt for scrutiny which makes it hard for effective scrutiny to take place in our borough. I believe challenge, disagreement and independence of thought and action are discouraged by those who hold the most power within the organisation.

It is crucial to define the different roles elected members and officers should be playing in the scrutiny process. In Brent I have seen that lines are too often blurred which results in elected members not being able to carry out key parts of our responsibilities, that we are elected by residents to do.

My decision to resign from the Taskforce comes following interventions by senior officers, including the Chief Executive, which put pressure on elected members to redefine an already agreed to work programme of the Budget Scrutiny Taskforce. This work programme had been democratically agreed to by councillors, with officers present.

At the insistence of senior officers, public engagement with the Budget Scrutiny process has now been taken off the table completely - which makes me feel deeply uneasy and raises a number of serious questions.

The decision to redefine the remit of the group in this way will effectively render it powerless. The outcomes will likely be limited and recommendations made will make no difference to the budget that will ultimately be rubber stamped by Labour Councillors at Full Council early next year.

I will continue to work with others who share the view that effective and rigorous scrutiny is essential in our borough. I sadly believe that there is an endemic problem with the way scrutiny is understood and respected by those at the top of the organisation.

Brent Council consists of 59 Labour councillors (one who has the whip withdrawn), 3 Tories and one Liberal Democrat.

 

Alperton residents' trenchant views on the Alperton Bus Garage planning application fail to stop approval of the development

Brent Planning Committe this afternoon passed the planning application that will see three towers, 21 storeys, 25 storeys and 28 storeys, built on the Alperton Bus Depot site. (Ealing Road/Bridgewater Road) Planning offices said that the Alperton Masterplan policy of a limit of 14 storeys had been superseded by the Emerging Local Plan policy on tall buildings.

A planning officer said that the character of the area would change as a result of the cluster of tall buildings but that as this particular site was not next door to low buildings the usual step down of height did not apply.

None the less Cllr Maurice voted against the application on grounds of over-development, height and its destruction of the area's once pleasant suburban character.

Cllr Anton Georgiou (LD Alperton) having opposed several applications with similar speeches on ground of height, unaffordability and lack of infrastructure, took a different approach this time. Taking a leaf out of the technique used by Jeremy Corbyn, when opposition leader,  Georgio quoted the views of ordinary residents.  He said he was certain that none of the Committe had actually been to, or spoke to anyone in Alperton so he would bring their voices to them. He read out their statements:

Kit and Mai of Crabtree Avenue say:

“Our local community feels abandoned and unloved with the constant addiction of this Council to approving massive tower blocks, whilst no tangible investments are made in infrastructure and facilities.”

Bob from Vicars Bridge Close says:

“Having lived in Alperton for nearly a quarter of a century now, I have seen it change massively, and not for the better. The emphasis seems to have been on changing the nature and the character of the area forever and not at the behest of the people who live and work here. Enough is enough.”

Mel from Bridgewater Road says:

“This is/ was a residential area. More developments are also planned in this small area which adds nothings to the community and residential streets that surround it. Just more congestion, more people, more high rise monstrous ugly buildings with no infrastructure to cope built in – enough!”

Hiren and Anita from the Abbey Estate say:

“The scale of this development is ridiculous. The Alperton master plan claimed that no new development would be over 17 storeys. Why should this development be any different? The height of these towers will block sunlight for existing residents nearby, as well as overlooking Alperton Community School - a safeguarding issue.”

Donnamarie from Lyon Park Avenue says:

“Loss of the skyline - we already can’t see it, and when I look out of my windows, whether the front or the back all I can see are tall cranes and high rise flats that have already been built, yet more eyesores.”

Frances from the Abbey Estate says:

“I am against any more tower blocks. They block out the light and there is no parking people who will be living in the blocks will be parking in the Abbey Estate as they are at the moment from the last two Tower blocks that went up! We have lost our front gardens because the majority of us could no longer park outside our front doors!”

Ingrid from Bridgewater Road says:

“We need to call a halt to the ever increasing number of tower blocks in what is principally a low rise residential area. They do absolutely nothing for the area in terms of infrastructure, aesthetics and wellbeing. They serve only those who want to make money. Alperton has been blighted enough with the current construction - dark and oppressive. Just for once, try thinking about those of us who live here on a permanent basis.”

Sammy from Heather Park Drive says:

“It looks like Hong Kong / New York not Alperton! The essence of Alperton is gone.

As a result, my family who live on Bridgewater Road are so fed up that they’re moving out of Wembley soon. Not everyone can do that.”

Mrs Jani from Stanley Close says:

“I have lived in Alperton for the last 35 years and the way it has developed in recent years is creating lots of problems with overcrowding and traffic congestion. The multi-storey complexes are not what we need here.”

Ravi from Longley Avenue says:

“I have been a resident in Longley Avenue since 1983, day by day our living conditions are becoming worse. We cannot get GP appointments, parking issues, since Covid, we need more health supporting services (Alperton Station lift).”

Chirag, Chair of the Wembley Central and Alperton Residents’ Association says:

“Representing residents of Alperton and neighbouring residents on Bridgewater Road, Carlyon Road, Ealing Road, Burnside Crescent and Clifford Road, the proposed development is over-bearing, out-of-scale and out of character in terms of its appearance compared with existing developments in the vicinity.

The development does not take into account the burden it will place on existing neighbouring properties and the infrastructure required to accommodate such a large scale development. The development would also adversely affect highway safety, and the convenience of existing road users as there are no plans to mitigate the increased number of cars owned by residents of this new development. WCARA objects to this development.”

Gabi from 243 Ealing Road says:

“Many of us who moved here to 243 six years ago have done our research and were aware the area was up for development. But we are in shock and disbelief about the density and the overall lack of long term structure/ planning of how are all these people supposed to coexist together without healthcare/education/travel provision. In the meantime from our complex many people are desperate to leave due to extortionate service charges that no one can really afford...”

Lucie Gutfreund, End our Cladding Scandal campaigner and Brent resident says:

“As the buildings safety crisis unfolds across the UK and with the Government still not ensuring that new build homes are built safely or guaranteeing residents’ physical financial protection from defects, I would strongly oppose the new high-rise development in Alperton. I would also particularly also like to raise concerns about Telford Homes; the developer is known to refuse to take responsibility for their existing unsafe homes or to even respond to MPs, having been named and shamed in the House of Commons on 27th April.”

 

Cllr Kennelly asked if Telford Homes was a fit and proper developer for Brent in the light of this but the agent addressing the Committee said she did not know about the Hansard mention and that they had no outstanding cladding issues.

The Green's Emma Wallace tops GLA Hustings straw poll after Brent Friends of the Earth hustings

 

Emma Wallace of Harrow Green Party, and out GLA constituency candidate for Brent and Harrow, convinced many environmentalists yesterday evening at the hustings organised by Brent Friends of the Earth.

Labour's Krupesh Hirani slumped to 26% after the hustings compared with 54% before he had spoken.  Emma Wallace gained 11% to take the lead and  Liberal Democrat Anton Georgiou quadrapled his vote from a meagre 4% to 17%.

The Conservative  candidate was invited but did not attend.

Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council, demonstrates the dignity of office

Cllr Anton Georgiou wrote to Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, three weeks ago to express concern over the impact of the Council Tax rise on low income families. Cllr Butt responded (click on image to enlarge):

 

This is Cllr Georgiou's letter:

 

Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council,  posted this on Twitter this evening:

 

UPDATED with Cllr Georgiou's reply - Asda responds to complaints that their Wembley store is not Covid safe

 

Cllr Anton Georgiou has received a response to his complaint that its Wembley store is not safe in terms of enforcing Covid safety measures such as mask wearing and social distancing. Cllr Georgiou said that the store was putting its customer and staff at significant risk. LINK

I leave readers to decide whether the answer is satisfactory and will publish any reply that Cllr Georgiou passes on to Wembley Matters,

 

Hello Councillor Georgiou

 

Thank you for speaking with me on New Years Eve, I hope you were able to celebrate the new year safely.

 

Since the start of the crisis, our highest priority has been keeping our customers and colleagues as safe as possible in line with the latest Government guidance.

 

All colleagues were encouraged to wear face coverings when in our stores and were provided with masks. With the new update all colleagues will be wearing a face covering, who are able to do so. 

 

We have also implemented Marshals at the entry to our stores to offer face masks for customers to use if they have forgotten theirs and they are also monitoring the volume of customers entering our stores to ensure the volume of customers entering the store is not near the maximum total.

 

By asking colleagues to confront members of the public who are not wearing a face covering, it can lead to situations where they are subject to verbal and physical abuse. We have a responsibility to protect the welfare of our colleagues, so encourage them to intervene only when they feel it is safe to do so.

 

I should emphasise we are continuing to maintain our other social distancing measures, including limiting the number of customers in store (well below the usual occupancy level) and having regular reminders on the need to maintain distance. This is done via extensive signage and colleagues wearing t-shirts emphasising the need to distance. There is also hand sanitiser and disinfectant available to all customers. Our social distancing measures are monitored by store leadership and our regional compliance teams. If government guidance changes, we are able to adapt quickly to it.

 

We have put in place increased cleaning protocols, further reduced the customer limits and have supported our vulnerable colleagues by moving them to roles in the store with less customer contact.

 

I have also raised yours and your constituents concerns to the General Store Manager to ensure customers are abiding to the guidelines, whilst in our stores and any abusive behaviour from customers will not be tolerated.

 

If there is anything in the future I can assist with, please feel free to contact me directly. 

 

Many Thanks and Stay Safe

 

Elliott

 

Asda Executive Relations

 

Today (January 7th), Cllr Georgiou replied:

Whilst I am pleased to read about the safety measures that are supposedly in place at present, I am unconvinced these are being strictly followed in the Wembley store, hence my initial complaint to you. Following my report and posting on social media about the experience I had in the store, several Brent residents have responded to outline similar concerns and worries. The latest being yesterday.

 

In our phone call, I requested that you outline what specific changes Asda will be making to guarantee safety for customers and staff at the Wembley store. Could you please let me know what changes you plan to make, as I fear that the current strategy simply is not working.

 

I look forward to hearing from you. Keep safe.

 

Anton

 

Cllr Anton Georgiou

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Alperton