Plans for new SEND and Primary Study classrooms at Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre now open for comment

 

A little over a year ago I presented a petition to Brent Council, supported by Brent Friends of the Earth and Brent Parks Forum, calling for the continuation of primary environmental education provision at the new Post 16 Centre at the Welsh Harp. LINK 

I am pleased to say that the planning application now on the Brent Council Planning Portal incorporates the recommendations we made.

   

Application Number: 26/2156 LINK

 

Location: Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre & open space, Birchen Grove, London, NW9 8RY Comments by 16^th October 2026

 

“Demolition of all buildings and construction of a one-storey education and community centre, including improvements to access arrangements, provision of car and cycle parking, landscaping, play space, boundary treatments and ancillary works.”

The proposed building is larger  to make space for the SEND and the primary provision with separate classrooms and toilets as we  requested. In order to keep it at single storey it occupies a bigger footprint than currently with the loss of some trees. The current classrooms that has a temoporary repait to allow classes to continue and the toilet block will be demolished. The chapel that was erected as part of a plan for proposed lawn cemetery on the site, but later abandoned will remain. it is currently let out by the council as Planet House,

 Double classrooms in both the SEND and Primary sections of the building

  

Internal Images

 

EXTRACTS FROM PLANNING STATEMENT 

 

The Site is located in the administrative boundary of the London Borough of Brent (LBB).The Site measures 0.3 ha (hectares) in total.

 

The Site is comprised of two existing buildings, the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre, and a W/C block, both accessed off a private road (?), Birchen Grove. Hardstanding for informal car parking is located to the east of the W/C block. Green open space, including trees and grassed areas, are located to the west.

 

   

The Centre is currently used for education and community purposes, providing support for schools via an outdoor learning curriculum, providing experiential facilitated sessions. The Centre is also available for hire by the local community primarily for children’s birthday parties.

 

The Centre is currently owned by Brent Council and operated by Thames 21. Thames 21 is an environmental charity that works to clean and restore rivers and improve wildlife by mobilising volunteers and engaging communities to help adapt to the impacts of climate change. At Welsh Harp, Thames 21 provide a large range of nature activities for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) students. Currently over 70 schools work with Thames 21, attending the Centre for outdoor learning and activities for either half or a full day. Activities include habitat studies, water pollution studies, Stone Age studies (fire lighting and shelter building), bushcraft activities and understanding the role of nature and waterways in building climate resilience.

 

The Site is located in the Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) and designated as Open Space, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and a local nature reserve in line with the Brent Local Plan

 

Brent Council formally committed to providing a Post-16 Skills Resource Centre in 2019, with approval granted by Cabinet in November 2021 as part of the School Place Planning Strategy 2024- 2028. The post-16 Skills Resource Centre is to be provided in recognition of the lack of in-borough provision for young people with complex learning difficulties, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

 

The Centre will provide access to land-based education and training for students who may have completed school or college programmes, but whose level of need means that they require additional support to access the next step after formal education. The Centre will offer training in horticulture, work experience, periods of volunteering and employment and enterprise development within the horticultural industry.

 

The Centre will be owned and operated by Brent Council. Delivery of the Centre will be developed with partners including environmental organisations, education providers, council services, local employers and community groups. A number of the groups that will utilise the centre have been consulted in the development of the designs and proposals. Together, they will seek to create a joined-up pathway from engagement to skills development, work experience, supported internships and, where appropriate, sustained employment. The introduction of flexible space in the form of the multi-purpose rooms will also provide other community groups and members of the general public to use the centre, with benefit beyond the core user group.

      

To provide a clear strategy and operational plan of the centre, it is proposed to provide an Operation Management Plan once details of delivery have been further developed. As the operational delivery strategy for the centre is still under development, it will be more effective to present the operational details at a later date. The Applicant is willing to accept a suitable planning condition requiring an Operation Management Plan to be submitted to and approved by the Council, prior to the centre’s Occupation.

 

The proposed single-storey development comprises two rectangular blocks in a stepped configuration, containing four classrooms, a multi-purpose room, WCs, reception, office, and plant rooms. The layout provides distinct and separate spaces for different users, with school-aged students located in the southwest section and post-16 SEND students in the northwest section. Administration spaces, including reception and office, are clustered around the reception area to the building interior and the outdoor entrance area, enabling flexible use by school-aged students, post-16 SEND users, or the local community. The design ensures safeguarding between user groups, with shared spaces located centrally while each distinct area has access to dedicated WCs and circulation space.

 

   

Access

 

The Site is accessed from the south of the site via Birchen Grove. It is proposed to keep the existing access road off Birchen Grove that runs adjacent to Planet House to the west. The access road will provide a shared surface entrance to the drop-off area, the accessible car parking bay and main entrance to the centre.

 

A new pathway will be created off Birchen Grove adjacent to the existing zebra crossing which will allow pedestrians to access the site to the school-aged student classrooms through the secure fenceline, or alternatively via the main entrance on the southern elevation. The pathway will also provide access to the cycle parking.

 

Trees

 

A total of 18 trees, in addition to two groups of trees and a hedgerow, have been assessed as part of the accompanying Tree Survey prepared by Arbtech. It states that the majority of trees identified during the survey were of moderate quality.

 

The majority of the trees will be retained as part of the proposals. Three trees are proposed to be removed, in addition to one group of trees and the partial shrub clearance to the north of the site boundary. This is to enable the space required for development to construct the new centre. The layout of the proposals has been designed so as to minimise tree loss as much as possible.

 

Thirteen trees are proposed to be planted across the Site. Five trees will be added to the trees clustered towards the south of the Site adjacent to Birchen Grove (namely T04 and T07) and around the new parking area. The additional planting in this area will help shield the proposed building when viewing the Site from the south along Birchen Grove.

 

 

Morland Gardens – Why no progress? An Open Email to Brent Council

 Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

 

  

The photograph above, showing the secured entrance to the former Brent Start college at 1 Morland Gardens in Stonebridge, was taken on 30 October 2023, the day the planning consent for the flawed 2020 Brent Council redevelopment proposals for the site expired. In a guest post a month later, “Morland Gardens – now there is a real chance to save the Victorian villa!”, I wrote about the opportunity which the review of future plans for the site, which the Council had just begun, gave for Brent to come forward with much better proposals, learning from their mistakes in the past (which I also referred to in that article). 

 

Now, nearly three years later, the Council has yet to come up with any plans, other than an agreement by Cabinet in 2025 that the site should be redeveloped for affordable housing and youth facilities, both of which are much needed. After years of “reviewing the situation”, they have yet to disclose whether they still intend to seek the demolition of the beautiful and locally listed heritage building on the site (but if they do, “I think they better think it out again!”).

 

To try and get some answers on what is happening, I sent this open email to Brent’s Chief Executive and Head of Capital Projects (and copied to Stonebridge Ward councillors and the Cabinet Lead Member for Regeneration) on 15 September:

 

‘Request for update on plans for 1 Morland Gardens

 

This is an open email

Dear Ms Wright and Mr Martin,

 

It is a year since I presented the Willesden Local History Society petition to Full Council, calling for the heritage Victorian villa "Altamira" to be retained as part of Brent's redevelopment of 1 Morland Gardens. At that meeting, councillors from all three of the then parties on the Council spoke in support of the petition, and I had a positive conversation with the then Lead Member for Regeneration, Cllr. Teo Benea, straight after the meeting.

 

Council Officers started a review of future plans for the former Brent Start site in November 2023. A year later, that review was combined with the wider proposals for Bridge Park and the Hillside Corridor, and a consultation held during which I submitted detailed comments in December 2024, including this draft proposal showing how the heritage building could be retained as part of a youth/community facility, with a pocket park including the Harlesden City Challenge Community Garden outside the site, and still provide room for at least 27 affordable Council homes:

 

 

The Bridge Park report to the July 2026 Cabinet meeting still gave no details of what is proposed for the Morland Gardens site, so the public are still no wiser about the outline of "affordable housing + a youth facility" which was agreed by Cabinet a year earlier, and there is nothing in the Forward Plan to indicate when any further decision on the future of this vacant Council-owned asset will be made.

 

Although you have heard these arguments before, I will summarise them for the benefit of Councillors Blackman and Kelcher.

 

·      Brent's own Local Plan historic environment supporting document says this about the value of heritage assets:

 

 

·      In addition to Willesden Local History Society and many local residents, The Victorian Society also opposed the demolition of "Altamira" when Brent sought permission for that in 2020.

·      A Professor of Architecture, also opposing demolition in 2020, finished his detailed reasons by writing: ' 1 Morland Gardens is not just any nineteenth-century villa, but a characteristic work by an architect of genuine and lasting significance. Its destruction would be a terrible loss, not only to the local environment, but also to the architectural heritage of Victorian Britain.'

·      This beautiful 150 year-old landmark building is one of only two Locally Listed heritage assets in Stonebridge Ward, at the gateway to a small development which saw the birth of, and gave its name to, Stonebridge Park.

 

Council Officers have surely by now decided whether or not to recommend the retention of the Victorian villa as part of the Morland Gardens redevelopment. It is well past time that this decision should be made public, and real progress made on plans to make use of a vacant site which needs to be developed for affordable housing and a youth club. Please let me, and the people of Brent as a whole, know whether the Council proposes to retain "Altamira" as part of that development, or not.

 

If the proposal is to retain the heritage Victorian villa (which was sympathetically restored by the Council in the 1990s, to provide an inspiring home for its adult education college, now known as Brent Start), then please carry out the necessary work to make good the damaged slates around the roof, so that the condition of the building does not deteriorate.

 

I believe that I sent you, in the past, a copy of an article by architectural historian Mark Sabolch, about Italianate-style buildings, of which "Altamira" was an excellent example (and probably the best surviving one in our borough). Mark will be leading a tour in this country for the Historic Houses of Australia Association in May 2027, looking at heritage buildings here which inspired the designs of Australian architects in the 19th and 20th centuries. It would be great if he could include "Altamira" in the London leg of the tour, seeing it at its best, rather than in the state of neglect which the Council has sadly allowed to happen!

 

I look forward to receiving a positive response to this email (which I would ask that you make "reply all", please, so that the Lead Member and Ward councillors are kept informed), rather than another "no decision has been made yet", which is wearing thin after nearly three years since the start of the "urgent review" which was meant to take place. Thank you. Yours sincerely,

 

Philip Grant.’

 

    

“Altamira” in a 1907 Stonebridge Park postcard, and a similar view in 2023.

 

I have received a generic response email from Brent Council to “[My] Service Request”, and will ask Martin to share their “full response” with you once it is received, so that it is available to everyone who may be interested.

I fully believe that this landmark Victorian heritage building is too valuable for the past, present and future of Stonebridge Park to be destroyed through a lack of understanding and care by Brent Council. The sooner they bring it back into community use, and build genuinely affordable Council homes on the land behind it, the better!

 

Philip Grant.

Brent faces up to the urgency of the Climate Emergency

 

 

After the extreme heat and drought of the summer in England and extreme weather including overheating, and floods elsewhere with many lives lost it was appropriate that last night's Full Council had a dual focus on the Climate Emergency.

ACE Brent made a presentation on the need for the Council to involve councillors and residents in the challenge society now faces with an even hotter summer forecast next year and floods predicted this Autumn and Winter. They called for greater accountability through a Climate Emergency Scrutiny Committee and the restoration of  the Climate Champion role carried out by Cllr Mary Mitchell when she was a Labour councillor.

It was Cllr Mitchell who moved the Green Group's motion on  'Addressing Urban Heat and Climate Inequality in Brent'. An attempt to dilute the motion by the Conservatives was defeated, the Greens accepted a Liberal Democrat amendment and the resulting amended motion was supported by Labour.

The full presentation and debate can be viewed in the video above.

After the meeting Elaine Sheppard of ACE said:  

ACE Brent representatives are pleased that the climate emergency finally got more of a hearing in the council chamber last night, with our deputation with our deputation challenging 2 years absence of discussion in the Brent council chamber, and overall lack of accountability despite increasing climate breakdown, and the Green Party motion on urban heat and climate inequality.

 Cllr Mitchell said:

We did it! The first Green Party motion in Brent was carried yesterday, marking a significant step in the Council’s recognition of the climate crisis and the actions we must take to protect residents from extreme heat.

We were delighted to receive support from all parties in the chamber, and thank Brent Green Party members for their support, participation and belief that elected Greens make a difference, no matter how large the group! We also thank the Brent Liberal Democrat group for their amendments that strengthened the motion even further.

No resident in Brent should be put at risk because of where they live, how much access they have to green space or shade, or whether or not they can afford air conditioning.

We must act now.

Green Group Leader on Brent Council: The Labour Group were knowingly misled at last night's Council Meeting as part of a personal vendetta

 

Cllr Mitchell addresses Full Council yesterday evening

Statement by Cllr Mary Mitchell, leader of the Green Group on Brent Council,  after the debacle over selection of the chair of the new Housing Scrutiny Committee at yesterday's Full Council Meeting;

  

In the first Full Council of this administration the Green Group’s motion proposing a new housing scrutiny committee was unanimously accepted. In the same meeting we made the case that the natural and democratic way of approaching the three committees would be for each of the opposition parties, of a similar size with 11, 11, and 9 councillors to chair these committees. 

 

As part of the Labour Conservative deal that was made to keep Cllr Muhammed Butt as the leader of the council, two of the scrutiny chair positions, with remuneration of £15,299 were given to Conservative Councillors. 

 

The Green Group firmly believes in the principle of democracy and thus have consistently voiced the perspective that the Liberal Democrats should chair the third committee, the Housing Scrutiny Committee, as they are the second largest party, with a Green Party Vice-Chair. After two years we would bring back to Full Council with a request for the roles to switch, and for a Green Chair and Liberal Democrat Vice Chair.

 

I made this position clear in a conversation to the Leader of the Council earlier this week, and set it out in writing in an email to all Group Leaders on the morning of Full Council. The agreement made between officers and Group Leaders was that nominations could be made on the day in Full Council.

 

We were therefore surprised when the Deputy Leader of the Council told the Council that the Green nomination had been withdrawn the evening before, and that the Labour Group were therefore intending to run their own nomination. This is fundamentally untrue. Labour members in the meeting also confirmed that this is what they had been told.

 

Despite the fact that I clarified that this was not the case and put forward our own nomination, the Labour Group voted for a Labour candidate.

 

We now have three scrutiny committees in Brent – two chaired by the Conservatives, one by Labour. The Liberal Democrats and the Greens have been completely excluded.

 

The only conclusion we can draw from this series of events is that the Labour Group were knowingly misled to ensure that they would vote for a Labour candidate, purely on the basis of frustration that we stated our intention to vote first for a Liberal Democrat candidate.

 

This is deeply disappointing – personal vendettas should not have a place in politics. Upholding how Brent residents voted and the collaboration that they asked for should take priority.

 

Deliberately misleading Councillors by misrepresenting facts is also personally disappointing to me. We have seen the impact of misinformation on our democracy. It erodes trust, weakens debate, and pushes us into a divisive entrenched politics rather than towards the collaboration required as we face the most complex set of challenges that our nation, and Brent, has experienced.

 

I used to be part of the Labour Group. I know first hand where tribal loyalty and a lack of critical thinking can lead, and I’m disappointed in my former colleagues for their inability to question despite the facts being clearly outlined in the council chamber yesterday.

 

I am deeply disappointed that a personal grudge against the Liberal Democrats robbed Brent residents of the opportunity for a scrutiny committee chaired by an opposition party, as is standard practice across the country, and that individuals in Brent Labour misled the chamber in order to achieve this.

 

 

 

South Kilburn residents call on Brent Council to act after their community room is taken over - immediate enforcement action demanded

 

The Chair of William Saville and William Dunbar House Residents' Association has written urgently and in some desperation to Brent Council officers and others asking for help following the takeover of their community room by homeless individuals.

 They write:

Our concerns are follows  Homeless individuals have broken into the community room and are refusing to leave despite  a Brent council officer told us a court injunction reportedly being applied for by the Building Manager
 

Progress has been very slow and the individuals remain on site, He now invited his friends and other homeless people into the community room 
 

Residents, including children and elderly, are scared to go out in the evenings
 

Parents do not feel safe allowing children to play outside near the community garden area
 

There is a serious risk the community room will be used for drug dealing 
 

The community room is now unusable. We have nowhere else to hold our Saturday coffee morning and other resident  important meetings
 

Residents have contacted the Police and a Crime Reference Number has been issued

We urgently request:

Immediate enforcement action to remove the individual/s

We request An update on the court injunction and expected timeline 

Emergency security measures such as boarding up the room until resolved

Confirmation of steps to prevent future break-ins

Please treat this as a high-priority ASB and safeguarding matter.
 

I look forward to a response within 5 working days. If no action is taken we will escalate to our local Councillors and the Housing Ombudsman.

Kind regards,

Chair of William Saville Willliam Dunbar resident association.

Trains, homes and heat: motions for Brent Council meeting on Monday September 14th

 The new political structure of Brent Council with four party groups is gradually getting into a new more constructive way of working and motions from Labour, Conservatives and Greens tabled for Monday's meeting might produce some cross-party consensus. Liberal Democrats do not have a motion slot this time round.

  

Labour Group Motion

 

All Aboard the West London Orbital

 

This Council notes:

 

 The West London Orbital (WLO) would bring under-used freight railway into passenger use as part of the London Overground, with an 18.5km route spanning Hounslow, Ealing, Brent and Barnet.

 New stations at Harlesden and Neasden, with up to six trains per hour, would give Brent residents direct connections to Old Oak Common, Brent Cross and West London’s Golden Mile Tech District. Journey times would be transformed, with Harlesden to Brent Cross West falling from 39 to 13 minutes and Neasden to Old Oak Common from 44 to 11 minutes.

 The WLO is projected to support more than 15,000 new homes, 11,500 new jobs and nearly £500 million in wider economic benefits. In Brent alone, it could support around 4,100 homes and widen access to jobs.

 More than 1.3 million car kilometres a year could be removed from Brent’s roads through a shift to WLO services.

 

This Council believes:

 

 The new Government’s focus on transport, housing and growth provides an opportunity for Brent to renew its efforts to secure support for the WLO.

 London must remain central to the national conversation on transport and growth. West London alone is a nearly £70 billion economy, while Brent residents paid £1.58 billion in income tax in 2023/24 – as much as Glasgow and more than Manchester. Investment in London also supports skilled jobs and supply chains across the UK, including rail manufacturing at Alstom’s factory in Derby. Investment that unlocks further growth in London is of benefit to the whole country.

 Brent is not immune from the challenges facing communities elsewhere in the country. Brent contains some of the most deprived communities nationally, including along the proposed WLO route. 37% of the travel-time savings for journeys originating in Brent would accrue in areas among the 20% most deprived nationally.

 By connecting with the Elizabeth line and HS2 at Old Oak Common, the WLO would help maximise the benefits of national rail investment while improving access to employment, education and opportunity across London.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

 

(1) To reaffirm its strong support for the West London Orbital and renew its engagement with the Government to ensure Brent and London’s voice is heard in decisions on future transport investment.

(2) To write to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, setting out the economic, social and national case for the WLO and calling on Government to work with the Mayor of London, TfL and West London boroughs towards a credible funding pathway for delivery.

(3) To continue working with the Mayor of London, TfL, the West London Alliance and neighbouring boroughs to progress the WLO and maximise its benefits for Brent residents.

(4) To work with TfL and other partners to safeguard land and protect future options for additional WLO stations in Brent, particularly where public transport accessibility is currently limited.

(5) To support and promote the forthcoming public consultation, encouraging residents, businesses and community organisations to help shape the proposals.

 

Councillor George Burn

Willesden Green Ward

 

Conservative Group Motion

 

Temporary Accommodation: Better Value and Greater Accountability

 

This Council notes:

 

 Brent faces severe pressure from rising homelessness, constrained housing supply and the increasing cost of temporary accommodation. In April 2026, the Council reported approximately 2,450 households in temporary accommodation, with around 60% in nightly paid arrangements.

 Brent’s Housing Needs service was forecast to overspend by £4.5 million in 2025/26, while expenditure on nightly paid temporary accommodation was expected to reach approximately £38 million. The Council has allocated a further £8 million of budget growth to Housing Needs to address existing and anticipated demand pressures.

 The Council has acknowledged that reliance on nightly paid accommodation creates financial volatility, increasing caseloads, limited affordable options and variable accommodation quality. It has also identified longer-term leasing to provide greater stability and better value, with around 367 units anticipated to deliver approximately £4.8 million a year in savings or cost avoidance compared with equivalent nightly paid accommodation.

 

This Council believes:

 

 

 Families who become homeless deserve safe, suitable and stable accommodation, while Brent taxpayers are entitled to expect that scarce resources are managed effectively.

 Nightly paid accommodation will sometimes be unavoidable, but it should not become a long-term substitute for developing more stable and better value housing supply.

 The success of Brent’s temporary accommodation strategy should therefore be judged by whether reliance on costly nightly accommodation is falling, properties are being brought into use quickly, families move into more stable homes and forecast savings are achieved.

 

This Council therefore calls on Cabinet to:

 

(1) Set and publish measurable targets for reducing Brent’s reliance on nightly paid and other high-cost temporary accommodation, together with a clear trajectory for achieving those reductions.

(2) Review the process for bringing newly acquired and leased properties into occupation, identifying avoidable delays and establishing clear performance targets for the time between a property becoming available to the Council and a household moving in.

(3) Continue to pursue longer-term leasing, acquisition and other supply options where these provide demonstrably better value and greater stability, while regularly assessing whether the savings and cost avoidance anticipated in business cases are being achieved.

(4) Introduce and publish a monthly Temporary Accommodation Performance Dashboard, reporting where possible:

 The total number of households in temporary accommodation;

 The number in nightly paid accommodation and B&Bs;

 Expenditure on temporary accommodation and the cost of nightly paid provision;

 The number of households moved into more stable accommodation;

 The number of acquired or leased properties awaiting occupation and the average time taken to bring them into use;

 The number of households placed outside Brent;

 Progress against the Council’s published reduction and savings targets.

(5) Use the Council’s new Temporary Accommodation and Private Sector Leasing Digital Management Platform to improve management information, performance monitoring and scrutiny.

(6) Report progress to the relevant scrutiny committee, including actual savings achieved, progress in reducing nightly paid accommodation and any barriers preventing the Council from moving families into more stable housing more quickly.

 

Councillor Anup Patel

Kenton Ward

 

Green Group Motion

 

Addressing Urban Heat and Climate Inequality in Brent

 

This Council Notes:

 

 Extreme heat is an increasing public health risk, with an estimated 2,877 heat-associated deaths in England during the May and June 2026 heatwaves.

 The risk of extreme heat in Brent is acute. Brent and London Risk Registers identify heatwaves as a major risk requiring local adaptation.

 That social and environmental justice go hand in hand. Extreme heat disproportionately affects communities already experiencing social, economic and health inequalities.

 Brent's Heat Vulnerability Index identifies Park Royal as a hotspot alongside other areas where existing and pipeline data centres are located.

 Tree equity mapping demonstrates a need for increased tree canopy and urban greening across central and southern Brent.

 In June and July following investment of £1.14m the newly refurbished Kilburn Library had to close due to inadequate heat mitigation measures.

 Brent published a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Framework in December 2025 and is strengthening climate adaptation measures across the borough.

 

This Council Believes:

 

 Whilst Brent has taken important steps towards climate adaptation the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat requires further action.

 Natural green spaces act as heat sinks and should be protected and developed to reduce urban surface temperatures, including partnership with residents.

 The Council has a responsibility to ensure that public spaces are accessible and safe during periods of extreme heat and council housing tenants are protected from heat impacts.

 Existing guidance does not provide sufficiently specific or consistent guidance for assessing the cumulative local heat impacts of data centres, particularly where multiple facilities are concentrated within a small area.

 

This Council therefore:

 

(1) Requests the necessary action be taken to:

 

(a) Expand the network of Cool Spaces across Brent, update the GLA water refill map to reflect all the stations in Brent and explore all options for increasing the number of refill stations across the borough.

(b) Integrate natural materials, shading and strategic planting in new playground designs to reduce heat exposure.

(c) Begin a dialogue with the NEU about mitigation for over-heating in local authority schools, and review protections for council workers and contractors during periods of extreme heat.

(d) Conduct a review of heat risk in public buildings, mapping buildings at high-risk and developing an action plan.

(e) Commission a feasibility study into community-public partnerships for the greening and maintenance of spaces such as pocket parks, derelict land and larger areas of hard surfacing to reduce heat and increase access to shade.

(f) Ensure that the Local Plan is informed by future climate risks and that future developments assess urban heat and incorporate heat resilience measures

 

(2) Request the Leader of the Council write to the Mayor of London seeking clearer guidance on how local authorities should assess overheating risks and cumulative impacts arising from clusters of data centres.

 

(3) Invites the relevant Cabinet Member to set out the Council’s approach to managing overheating risks in council housing including responsibilities under Awaab’s Law.

 

Councillor Mary Mitchell

Willesden Green Ward

 

DEPUTATIONS TO THE FULL COUNCIL (ITEM 6)

 

a)      Progress towards divestment (requested by Sheila Guhadasan representing the Brent & Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

 

(b)     Engagement of council members in monitoring progress on the delivery of the Council’s climate and biodiversity commitments and in setting future priorities in relation to Brents Climate & Ecological Strategy and delivery plan (requested by Elaine Sheppard, representing Action on the Climate and Ecological Emergency (ACE) Brent)

Brent Greens Raise Deep Concerns Over Independence of Board Appointment to £20m St Raphael’s "Pride in Place" project

 

 

Community celebration on St Raph's

 

Brent Green Party councillors have expressed serious concern regarding the appointment of the Independent Chair to the St Raphael’s Estate Neighbourhood Board, following growing public disquiet and formal governance inquiries over the recruitment process.

 

The £20 million government-backed "Pride in Place" initiative is intended to deliver long-term, community-led investment to support St Raphael’s Estate. However, the recent announcement of Priyesh Patel as the board’s "Independent Chair" has sparked concern from local residents, grassroots community advocates, and commentators.

 

Brent Green councillors share the concerns raised by the local community regarding whether this crucial appointment can genuinely be considered independent. Public records indicate that Mr Patel was employed directly within the Council Leader’s office until August 2025 and has actively engaged in political campaigning alongside Brent Labour candidates. Furthermore, community advocates have raised serious questions over reports that an advertised resident stakeholder interview panel was omitted from the final selection process.

 

The Leader of the Green Group Cllr Mary Mitchell said:

 

We share the deep concerns voiced by local residents and community advocates. Appointing someone who was employed directly in the Council Leader’s political office only twelve months ago and who has been actively on the campaign trail with Brent Labour severely undermines public trust in what is designated as an 'independent' role.

 

I am calling for full transparency about the appointment, the selection process and the safeguards in place to ensure that the role is genuinely independent, including through a conflict of interest and independence review.

 

A non-partisan community role must be open to scrutiny and must command confidence across the political spectrum, and, most importantly among local residents. Residents deserve concrete commitments to guarantee that St Raphael’s residents, and grassroots organisations are independently represented in choices about how the £20m fund is spent.