Wembley Library, now home to a brand-new Resident
Hub, has officially reopened, unveiling a transformed space designed to better
serve the needs of residents and customers.
The upgraded facilities have created a space
dedicated to fostering knowledge, learning, and community connections in the
heart of Brent Civic Centre.
The improvements include a new accessible entrance
on Exhibition Way, an expanded library with a larger collection, a new
purpose-built children’s library, more study areas and quiet zones - all
integrated into a more spacious and versatile library space.
The new Resident Hub on the ground floor features a
dedicated customer service area with a digital zone to support residents in
accessing online services. Brent Hubs are also located here, along with a range
of private rooms for confidential conversations.
Councillor Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, Cabinet Member
for Resident Support and Culture, said:
Our award-winning Civic Centre has served
residents and the council well over the past decade but it’s essential for us
to adapt and keep pace with the evolving needs of our community.
This exciting new space will enable us to better
serve our residents, especially those with the most complex needs. With a
brand-new customer service area and an upgraded library, we’ve created a more
accessible, comfortable and confidential environment with enhanced facilities
for everyone to enjoy.
We look forward to you experiencing the new
facilities. Don’t forget to join us for a special event on Saturday 7 December
to celebrate the grand opening.
After the success of our Eco-Panto at two libraries
in Brent (see report here), it's
been agreed with Brent Council that we will perform the show again at the Civic Centre Atrium on
23rd October at 11:45am (during schools' half-term).
Visitors to Brent Civic Cente and Wembley Library will have become used to seeing homeless families, often accompanied by children and suitcases, waiting to be seen by council officers. It is a sobering daily reminder to councillor officers, councillors and the public of the borough's homelessness crisis.
At present the Families Homelessness Service sees an average of 61 families a week.
Now Brent Council is considering moving the Families Homelessness Service to the New Millennium Centre in Robson Avenue (there is also an entrance on Harlesden Road), Willesden, at a cost of c£400,000 for fitting out the allocated spaces. The aim is co-location of the service with other services that would help families in need of support.
However, the proposal comes on top of the £1.96 million being spent on reshaping the Civic Centre to improve Customer Services which involves moving the library and the main entrance. Brent Liberal Democrats strongly criticised that proposal, arguing that the money could be better spent in the borough LINK.
At the same time there are at least 2 office floors at the Civic Centre that are empty and Brent Council has appointed Avison Young to market them to high status clients. LINK
As you view the marketing video you cannot but think that families surrounded by suitcases with children running around do not fit in with the glossy image Brent Council is promoting for the Civic Centre. The New Millennium Centre appears shabby by comparison.
The marketing video stresses the accessibility of the Brent Civic Centre to public transport including the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. The paper going to Cabinet states that the New Millenium Centre is accessible by the 206 and 226 bus routes. Both are usually single deckers and not as frequent as other routes. The 206 is promoted as giving access from the Civic Centre. It is crowded at school start and finish times and is regularly curtailed at Bridge Park on Wembley Event Days. Taking your suitcases and children on the bus to Robson Avenue could be quite a headache.
Clearly there are advantages in co-location of services and the Council's proposal is set out below for fairness so that readers can make up their own minds. Will it be a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'?
Proposal
It is proposed the Families
Homelessness Service relocates from the Brent Civic Centre to the New Millennium Centre,
Roundwood. The proposed relocation offers several opportunities. The site is
located in the south of the borough, with high levels of homelessness demand
and is walking distance from the Single Homelessness Service at the Turning
Point, The Design Works, Park Parade, Harlesden,
NW10 4HT (10 minutes). It is also conveniently located a walking distance to the
Crisis Skylight building (15 minutes) and Job Centre Plus Harlesden (15 minutes),
both key partners in tackling the homelessness emergency.
The service would also
benefit from co-location with other complementary services based at the New
Millennium Centre. The site will be host to services designed to support
vulnerable adults and families. This includes the Community Wellbeing Service
which is targeted at families and as part of which a free, evening Community
Kitchen meal service will be available to all (including non-members). Families
accessing the families homelessness service may access elements of the food
support, as well as potential be eligible to join the wider scheme. Brent Hubs
will also be based on site, as well as Debt and Immigration advisors on a
timetable basis.
The Brent Hubs already work
directly with and alongside volunteer and charity organisations, such as Citizens Advice, Age
UK, Brent Mind, and many others, enabling much clearer referral pathways and
knowledge sharing.
Building works to prepare
the site ahead of the service launch offer an opportunity to expand the scope
of the works to include an area in the site for delivery of the Family Homeless
Service, which would provide purpose-built facilities for the service.
The primary goal of the
proposals in this report is to empower residents to become more independent, yet during
times of unprecedented crisis support will be available to help with immediate responses to
issues such as homelessness risk. Co-location with wider services including Brent Hubs, debt
and food support is expected to help vulnerable families with wider challenges
they may be facing. Proposals aim to prevent future rough sleeping, and to
prevent future homelessness main duty acceptances through the intervention of
support services.
The service is currently
based in the Brent Civic Centre and is responsible for assessing homelessness
applications from families with dependent children and pregnant women. The
service has been experiencing high demand for the past 2 years, due to the
national housing crisis and sees an average of 61 families per week. There has
also been a recent influx of larger families, many of whom come directly to the
Civic Centre at the point they become homeless.
Management responsibility
for the New Millennium Centre will transfer from Adult Social Care (ASC) to
Partnerships, Housing and Resident Services in-line with the 1st November 2024 phased
launch of the new service. ASC client groups that currently access a day
support offer from the site will continue to do so on a sessional basis under
new arrangements. This client group will also be able to access and benefit
from the new wider suite of services delivered from the site, with support
where required.
The New Millennium Centre is
accessible for residents including through 206 and 226 Bus Routes and is located in a
deprived area with low food accessibility (based on e-food desert index EFDI) and high levels
of RSF applications and Council Tax Arrears. It is also within walking distance of the
Willesden Centre for Health and Care (2 minutes) and both Harlesden and Willesden High Roads (15
minutes).
The report will be presented at Cabinet on Monday by Muhammed Butt, lead member for housing as well as council leader.
The redesign of Brent Civic Centre has met rising costs. The redesign 10 years on from the opening of the new £90m (£100m by some accounts) Civic Centre has been vigorously opposed by the Liberal Democrats who argued that the £2m could be better spent on more urgent issues affecting Brent residents. LINK
The cost has now gone up by £68,000 despite some efforts to find savings in the quality of fittings and fixtures.
The decision is made by council officers in consultation with the Cabinet Members who 'have been engaged throughout the project and are supportive.'
As such the decision is not subject to call-in.
The Decision
To approve the triggering of the second stage of
the design and build contract with Willmott Dixon Construction Limited for the
redesign and refurbishment works at Brent Civic Centre for a sum contract value
of £2,087,744.93 (an uplift of £67,744.93).
Reasons
for the decision:
The Council requires works to be undertaken to
customer-facing spaces in Brent Civic Centre following completion RIBA Stages 3
and 4 of the project, including the detailed technical design by Wilmott Dixon
Construction Ltd (WD), a single contractor appointed under Lot 2 of the Major
Projects Framework established by the Procurement Hub. The commencement of the
second stage of the contract by Wilmott Dixon Construction Ltd is recommended
as it will enable the Council to manage any potential risks, and will provide
efficient and consistent delivery of the works, as the redesign and associated
services were undertaken by Wilmott Dixon. This will ensure that the
anticipated improvement works are carried out to schedule, with completion by
autumn 2024.
Alternative
options considered:
Brent
Council has worked with Willmott Dixon Construction Limited since 2022 to
develop a feasibility study for the redesign works, followed by RIBA Stages 3
and 4 from 2023-24. Over the past two months, Brent Council has worked closely
with WDI to amend the design plans in order to bring the costings in line with
agreed budgets. Through a value engineering process, changes to fixtures and
fittings have been agreed to minimise costs. Key internal stakeholders have
suggested that further amendments to the design will compromise the benefits of
the project to residents and customers. It is therefore considered that the
increase in the contract value of around £67k is reasonable.
Brent Council outlined what they see as the necessity of a redesign in an earlier press release:
Work to revamp Brent Civic Centre and improve
access for residents gets underway.
The transformation follows an extensive review into
the evolving needs of residents and customers and aims to create a more
accessible, welcoming and functional space for all visitors to the building.
The redesign will see changes to Wembley Library,
the Community Hub, the Customer Services Centre and the Registration and Nationality
space.
The benefits for residents include:
Improved accessibility: A new welcoming main
entrance on Exhibition Way (next to Sainsbury’s). The building will be
more accessible for visitors with wheelchairs, pushchairs, and complex
needs, ensuring inclusivity for all
Dedicated customer area: The ground floor will
have a brand-new customer area, including a digital hub for support with
accessing online services
Community hub: The Wembley Hub will have a new
space on the ground floor equipped with meeting rooms for private and
confidential conversations
Enhanced library: A new purpose-built and
enclosed children’s library, a repurposed mezzanine floor with flexible
library spaces and increased study areas
Registration and Nationality space: A new
flexible space that customers can hire to Work is now underway with
completion expected in autumn 2024. Throughout this period, all services
will remain operational. A temporary library service will be available on
the first floor of the civic centre. All library services will be
available, but events will take place at other library locations.
As with many changes in Brent, members of the public talking to Wembley Matters on a recent visit appear to have been taken by surprise by the changes. Often the first they knew was when they visited the Civic Centre to change their library books and found the library had been moved from the ground floor to temporary accommodation alongside the Wembley Hub on the first floor. The temporary library has only a few shelving units and no electronic return and borrowing machines.
Jaws dropped when they were told the new main entrance would be situation between the pasty shop and Sainsbury's: 'But wasn't the current entrance designed to lead to the impressive atrium and wide wooden staircase?'
Some questioned how a modern purpose-built building could have proved inadequate for purpose 10 years on but that doesn't take into account the huge increased resident demand for face to face meetings with council officers as a result of austerity, the pandemic and rising homelessness. Now most of the ground floor will be given over to customer services.
The ground floor Wembley Library at the Brent Civic Centre is closed at present as the redesign of the Civic Centre goes ahead. The library will eventually me on the mezzanine floor but will be temporarily housed on the first floor for several months.
I opened the door on to a huge hubbub when I visited today. The small room is shared with the Civic Centre Hub, also moved from downstairs. There were crowds of people waiting to be seen by Brent staff and use the computer terminals for advice and support. Not a room where anyone could study.
The are no terminals for returning or borrowing books, just one customer counter. There is a much diminished range of book available for borrowing.
Staff are doing their best but I would recommend library users go to Ealing Road Library or Willesden Green Library for Brent library books. Alternatively to borrow books, use IT or study in a peaceful environment Preston Community Library is available on Wednesday's (3.30pm-5.30pm) and Saturday (11am-3pm).
From Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Supporters of an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza will gather in front of Brent Civic Centre this evening
between 5pm and 6pm to give local people a chance to come together to
demonstrate what an urgent and important issue this is for Brent’s diverse
citizens.
Brent councillors arriving
at the Civic Centre for the 6pm Council meeting will be invited to join the
gathering in solidarity with their community.
The gathering will be
followed by a candlelit vigil nearby to remember the Israeli and Palestinian
children who have been killed in the current conflict. Their names and ages
will be read out so that they are remembered as real human beings, robbed of
their future - not just another number added to the mounting casualty list. The
naming will be interspersed with poetry readings and will finish with a
minute’s reflection.
There will be a Rally to support the workers at the St Mungo's homelessness charity on Friday June 16th outside Brent Civic Centre at noon.
The main speakers at the Rally, organised by Brent Trades Council, will be local MPs Dawn Butler and Barry Gardiner.
Take along your union banners and placards so that that we make a big declaration of solidarity with workers struggling for a decent wage when executives earn tens of thousands.
Nearest tube Wembley Park but also accessible from Wembley Central station and multiple bus routes.
The rally will be preceeded by a short picket outside St Mungo's facility in Pound Lane, Willesden, opposite the bus garage at 9am.
Back in November 2018, I wrote a short post about a blue plaque which had been unveiled in Ealing Road, to commemorate Sir Henry
Cooper. The greengrocers business that he ran there, for three years in the
1960s, was called “Henry Cooper of Wembley”, and that is the name of a free
illustrated talk which I will be giving at Brent Civic Centre on the morning of
Saturday 17 June. I’m writing this article, so that as many local people as
possible, who might wish to come along to my talk, are aware of it.
The talk has been arranged for that weekend, and that venue, because it
will be the 60th anniversary of Henry Cooper’s famous boxing match
at Wembley Stadium (a final eliminator, with the winner fighting for the Heavyweight
Championship of the World) against Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali.
The talk is not just about boxing, but also about Henry Cooper the man,
who lived in Wembley with his family for fifteen years, at the height of his
career. Although it is advertised as being at the Civic Centre's Wembley Library, the talk will
actually take place in Boardrooms 4&5 as students will be revising for
exams in the library itself. Because of this, if you are coming to the talk,
please arrive between 10.15 and 10.25am, at the library entrance in the main
Civic Centre atrium, so that a member of staff can take you up to the third
floor in the lift.
Although this is a free talk, you need to book online, at the Brent
Culture Service Eventbrite website, to reserve your place. To see more details,
and to do that, please click HERE. I look forward to sharing Henry’s story with you, in words and
pictures!
The anti-ULEZ protest that was to take place at the Brent Council AGM but was knocked on the head by Conservative councillors is now taking place tomorrow, Wednesday 24th May 5-7pm.
The only event taking place tomorrow in the Civic Centre, apart from the library, is a 6pm training session for members of the Planning Committee. This will mean that Cllr Michael Maurice will be missing for the second half of the 2 hour protest.
Some of the protesters may be late as they are likely to having difficulty in finding a place to park their cars.
I do not have any firm news of a counter-demonstration by clean air campaigners yet.
Cash-strapped Brent Council is advertising some 19,309 square feet of space at the Brent Civic Centre at £32.50 a square foot to realise a planned income of £680k in 2024-25. If the Council fail to let the space it will mean further cuts.
At the same time the Council is reviewing existing commercial contracts. Earlier this year Cabinet approved a £2m remodelling claiming it would improve 'customer experience' and also make the building more attractive to commercial tenants.
The planned lets include the first floor restaurant space that closed during the pandemic and has since been used by voluntary organisations as a commnity kitchen.
The space has been freed up via a 'restack' operation that moves existing staff around to maximise space for letting out.
As well as seeking commercial companies the Council is also looking at letting to a 'flex-operator', an organisation that lets flexible space to start ups and other small companies. LINK
Delegated authority is
being sought to enter into new leases with the following:
· A new lease at an agreed market rent with
the Valuation Office Agency (VOA to relocate from
the 8th Floor North to the 8th Floor West that was recently vacated by Air
France.
· A new lease at an agreed market rent with
the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation
for their current demise on the 1st Floor West - or a suitable alternative
space.
· A new
lease at an agreed market rent with the NHS to co-locate them with Brent’s Adult Social
Care and Health department on the 2nd Floor.
· A new lease at an agreed market rent with
Warren Bakery who occupy a retail unit on the
ground floor.
· Any other existing tenants as appropriate in
line with the re-stack project and any new prospective
tenants seeking space within the Civic Centre
I am not sure about the status of Starbucks which is not mentioned in the Cabinet Report.
This is the brochure already available to potential clients:
'Reach for the book' - the 'concept' plan to replace the spiral straircase
The
Liberal Democrat Group on Brent Council have expressed doubts about the Council’s
decision to spend £2m on the £100m 10 years old Brent Civic Centre.
They
said:
The
Cabinet decision to spend an excessive sum of £1.96 million on upgrades to
Brent Civic Centre, at a time when services provided by the local authority
continue to be reduced, is wrong and unjustified.
As a
service-based organisation, Brent Council should always be putting the needs of
residents first and we do not believe that committing this large amount of
money on ‘Improving the Customer Experience’ at the Civic Centre is a priority
for our residents. Most residents are concerned about crumbling and dangerous
local roads and pavements, increased rubbish being dumped in our area, and most
significantly the huge financial pressures faced due to the Cost-of-Living
crisis, compounded by upcoming additional pressures like the increase in
Council Tax and other charges.
It is
difficult to justify spending £1.96 on the Civic Centre building, when there
are so many other areas the Council should be prioritising at this time.
The
Report makes no mention of the number of visitors to the Civic Centre, what the
numbers the current arrangements can cope with and what the numbers the
redesign will be able to accommodate, after spending £1.96 million. Why?
The
Report also makes claims about savings without specifying
what these savings will be.
Brent
Civic Centre is barely 10 years old. We find it incredible that the Cabinet
have been able to identify such a large amount of money for a redesign, whilst
simultaneously claiming shortfalls in the budget exist, which impact the
delivery of services and upkeep of our wards.
It is
accepted by many that, particularly post pandemic, the Civic Centre is not
being used to full capacity. Much of the vast space available for use is not
being utilised as intended, as many Council Officers are able to do their work
remotely and from home. Whilst the Report refers mostly to the customer areas
of the Civic Centre, we believe that a discussion now needs to also begin about
the continued use of the Civic Centre as a whole, given the costs involved for
its upkeep, and the potential for considerable revenue to be generated if it is
used in different ways.
The
Report focuses on the face-to-face public spaces in the Civic Centre as being
in need of a redesign. We do not believe that enough effort has been made to
adapt, at much lesser cost, the existing spaces for ‘customers’ who come to the
building seeking support.
We
believe that further work needs to take place to understand alternative, less
costly action to ensure a better ‘Customer Experience’ at Brent Civic Centre.
We acknowledge that some consultation has been done that has led to the
decision to produce this Report, however we are sceptical that enough people’s
views were taken into account and that a wide range of views were considered in
preparation for this Report.
As
Councillors often in the Civic Centre, we recognise the waste of space in the
mezzanine area. This space should be used more efficiently, as noted in the
Report, however, we see no need for expansive works to improve it.
The
Report refers to the need to create private more secluded areas for ‘customers’
(residents) to have meetings and discussions with Council Officers. There is a
great deal of empty space on the ground floor and the first floor that could
quite easily be turned into private spaces, as is required.
There is
also an opportunity to create a secondary reception area on the left side of
the ground floor, where currently ‘Registrations’ take place. We see no problem
in dual purpose use of that side of the ground floor.
As to the
issues with heating in the building, the current plan seems extravagant and
unnecessary. We want to see officers explore alternative options to regulate
the heat in the Civic Centre, possibly by installation of additional artificial
walls.
Our view
is that better use can be made of existing Hub centres across the borough, in
order to provide a service to our residents out in the community. The money
agreed by Cabinet to spend on redesign of the Civic Centre, can be better used
to improve existing services that are more likely to directly assist residents
with their needs.
Fundamentally,
we believe it is impossible to justify the £1.96 million spend as agreed by
Cabinet. It is the wrong time, the wrong look and could bring this Council into
disrepute if this goes ahead.
Our
residents want to see their Council focus on the issues that matter to them and
for the vast majority that will never step foot in the Civic Centre, this
decision will have no positive impact.
Brent Cabinet last week approved a major reconfiguration of part of Brent Civic Centre under the low key title 'Improving Customer Experience at Brent Civic Centre'. In fact these are major works costing £2m to the 'state of the art' building which is just 10 years old. The Cabinet report recognised problems that have been there since the building opened. At the planning stage Brent Green Party were the only local political party that opposed the grandiose project as expensive (c£100m) and a vanity project when councils were facing funding cuts. By 2011 Labour had reviewed their support and decided to go ahead, Liberal Democrats wanted the library reduced in size as other libraries were being closed and Tories wrote to the local press, 'We don't need a new sparkling civic centre at the detriment of people's jobs and front-line services'. LINK
The initial aim was to centralise the many Brent Council buildings in Wembley. There was even a proposal from the then Brent CEO to rename the borough the London Borough of Wembley. Soon it became apparent that not everyone in the boroughwas prepared to go to Wembley for services and 'hubs' were set up in other areas. The complaint that the Council is 'Wembley-centric' is still common.
Well we got a 'sparkling civic centre' that one critic described as a building fit to house the parliament of a small European state , with an imposing atrium and staircase (not actually used as a staircase) occupying a huge amount of space. The steps were handy for wedding photographs, post-election photo ops and demonstrations. It was a huge area of empty space with office space for concil workers on one side and large and small IKEA style meeting rooms for councillors on the other.
Strathcona closure demonstration
As with any new building there were teething problems but some of those were a product of the sesign itself. The building was cold in winter and hot in summer despite the green credentials, acoustics were so bad in meeting rooms that microphones had to be used even for fairly small rooms, and people had wave their arms in the air to operate the movement activated lighting. One of the worse issues early on was the telephony system which failed to the extent that staff hads to operate mobile phones on not very good lines. When you rang you could hear other staff bellowing down their phones in the background in an effort to be heard.
Cuts in funding led to a reduction in staff with some floors emptied and attempts were made to let them out to commercial organisations to raise funds. The Melting Pot restaurant featuring in the public relations video closed.
Wembley Matters early on drew attention to the inflation of library visitor figures because staff chose to walk in and out of the Centre via the library entrance which was convenient to Olympic Way and the station.
That entrance, next to Sainsbury's will now be the new main entrance for residents, rather than the one opposite the Arena which opens on to the atrium and its staircase.
Extract from the report:
New entrance: With the improved
layout, residents will enter the building through a new main entrance on
Exhibition Way by Sainsbury’s. This follows feedback from residents that the
current entrance is overwhelming, unwelcoming, intimidating and very cold in
the winter months. Instead, residents will now enter into a dedicated space
where they can immediately be triaged and directed to the service that they
need. Customers will now have a clear journey through the building.
Temperature: The new layout will
resolve current issues with the temperature of the atrium. The atrium’s
temperature is similar to outside which means that, during the winter,
conditions are extremely uncomfortable for customers and staff. A Health and
Safety concern has been raised for staff who spend hours meeting customers in
this space. It also creates an unwelcoming and hostile environment for
residents visiting the building. The improved layout will see residents enter
through a new ground floor entrance, into a vestibule, that will help to
maintain heat in the building. This layout will help to ensure that the Civic
Centre provides a warm space for residents, which is increasingly critical
given the current economic and energy crisis.
Welcome Desk: Currently, residents
seeking support and business visitors to the Civic Centre queue together at the
Welcome Desk. This contributes to delays and confusion for both customers and
visitors. Potential businesses looking to hire floors in the Civic Centre have
expressed concerns about the current setup as visitors, including those
arriving for interviews, meetings and conferences, are often delayed at the
Welcome Desk. The new layout will mean that the smaller Welcome Desk is
dedicated to business visitors. This will ensure that the Civic Centre
represents a more appealing location for businesses and/or organisations
wanting to rent office space. This pressure on the Welcome Desk to triage
visitors will only increase with the restacking of the building. Without these
changes, there is a risk that the forecasted additional income of almost
£750,000 per annum, generated by renting out further floors, could be
jeopardised. (Not quite 'poor doors' but resident and business separation.)
The changes will cost £1.96m which will be borowed over the course of 10 years at £242k per annum with a potential National Lottery Heritage Fund for enhancement of the library. Rather ominously the report notes that the scheme will be partly funded through savings to be identified 'primarily' in Customer Services; Libraries, Arts and Heritage, and Revenue and Development. I am not sure the Lottery will buy that.
Customer Services Area 'Concept' (Willmott Dixon Interiors)
There can be no doubt that the atrium space is rather overwhelming for visitors to the centre, especially if you are a homeless family with small children dragging your suitcases to find help. The contrast to the surroundings serves to intimidate and make you feel small and insignicant.
I am struggling to work out what is going to happen to the atrium. The presentation below gives few clues.
Overall the proposals raise questions about the original 'grand design' and its suitability, rather similar to those that the GLA experienced at the 'glass testicle' (now abandoned) - a building where architects neglected effective function. LINK
Watkin's Folly was the ill-fated attempt to build a tower at Wembley Park to rival the Eiffel Tower. If history deems Brent Civic Centre a 'folly', I wonder who it will be named after?
