Clement Close – how Council housing began here

 Guest post by local historian Philip Grant.

 

Clement Close was the subject of a recent blog, about residents’ opposition to Brent’s proposed in-fill scheme for this Council housing estate. But how did this estate come to be here, surrounded by suburban homes in Brondesbury Park? The answer lies in another time of acute housing shortage.

 

 

Some prefab homes in Clement Way, 1950s. (Photo courtesy of Brent Archives)

 

Even though they were in the middle of a major conflict in 1942, some members of the Churchill’s National Government were thinking ahead to how they would rebuild the country after the war. Housing people whose homes had been destroyed would be a major problem. One solution they came up with was the idea of temporary factory-made houses, and by 1944 local Councils were instructed to consider how many they would need, and where to put them.

 

One of the sites identified in the Borough Engineer’s report to Willesden Council on 15 January 1945 was the playing fields at Okehampton Road, where he thought there would be space for 135 “prefabs”, as they came to be known. The Council ‘noted’ the objections received by residents adjoining the playing fields, to the erection of emergency housing there, at its meeting on 19 February 1945. Despite this, at the end of May 1945 the Council applied for a loan of £31k from the Ministry of Health, for a period of ten years, and accepted tenders from two local companies to prepare a number of sites, including the Okehampton Road playing fields.

 

News of German P-o-Ws clearing a site for prefabs near Roundwood Park.
(From “Willesden Chronicle”, 22 June 1945 – Brent Archives local newspaper microfilms)

 

Because of the shortage of workers, German prisoners of war were used as additional labourers for preparing the sites, and work was underway at Okehampton Road by mid-June 1945. They would have been brought to work by lorry, probably from a large P-o-W camp near Watford. The concrete bases for prefab homes were laid out along a new street, called Clement Road (possibly after the new Labour Prime Minister!), linking Okehampton Road and Milverton Road, and a shorter road called Clement Way which came off of it.

 

The Clement Road prefab estate, from a 1959 O.S. map. (Source: Brent Archives maps collection)

 

There were several varieties of prefabs, and Willesden Council had expressed a preference for the Arcon design. But they had to take what was available, and what the Ministry of Works supplied for Clement Road was a “flat-pack” bungalow, made of timber and chipboard, supplied by America under the wartime Lend Lease agreement. While they had “all mod cons”, they’d been designed as married quarters accommodation for large U.S. Forces bases in the south of that country, so were not ideal for the British climate.

 

An American wooden prefab at 70 Clement Road in the 1960s. (Photo courtesy of Irene Ottaway)

 

 Despite this, the prefabs on the Clement Road estate provided popular homes for around 130 local families, for far more than the ten years they were originally expected to last. As they were made of timber, it’s surprising that only two (as far as I know) were destroyed in house fires – but when a fire took, hold the effects could be devastating. These photos from Clement Road in the 1960s were taken by a schoolboy who lived there. What he did not know at the time was that a baby had died inside this burning prefab.

 

Firemen tackling a blaze at a Clement Road prefab in the 1960s. (Courtesy of, and © Brian Aris)

 

Families on the estate were gradually being rehoused into permanent Council homes, but as late as 1962, some were being relet to other families in housing need. Eventually, the prefabs at the northern end of the site were cleared, and the permanent Council homes of what was to be called Clement Close were built in the 1960s.

 

 

Mrs Maisey, in the back garden of her Clement Road prefab in the late 1960s,
with Clement Close homes in the background. (Courtesy of Irene Ottaway)

 

The Clement Road and Clement Way prefabs were finally removed by the early 1970s. Most of the Okehampton Road playing fields, which Willesden Council had requisitioned for post-war emergency housing in 1945, returned to their original use, but this time as additional grounds for the adjacent secondary school (now Queens Park Community College). The northern end, accessed from Milverton Road, was kept for Council housing, as Clement Close.

 

Philip Grant.

 

(With thanks to the former residents of the Clement Road prefab estate, who shared their stories and photographs with the Brent Archives “Prefabs Project” in 2011.)

 

Editor's Note:

If you are interested in the extent of the bombing locally during the London Blitz (7th October 1940 to 6th June 1941) that led to the destruction of many homes go to this interactive site. The information goes to street level.

Clement Close residents set out the reasons they oppose Brent Council's in-fill proposal

 

 Cllr Promise Knight sets out the Council's case for in-fill

 

View of the estate currently

 

In-fill highlighted

Residents of the Clement Close estate in Brondesbury Park have set up this petition opposing the Council's development proposals put forward as as part of their estate in-fill programme. 

The consultation is due to close tomorrow, July 13th, 2022.

 

Re: New Council Homes Programme – Clement Close, Brondesbury Park (NW6 7AL)

 

Dear Cllr Promise Knight,

On Friday 24 June 2022, leaflets were distributed across Clement Close and neighbouring properties to inform residents of the proposed redevelopment of Clement Close. 

Although we understand the need for more affordable housing and agree with Brent’s Council aspiration to make the most of its under-used land and property assets, we argue that Clement Close is NOT under-used, nor is it suitable for the outlined development, and we strongly oppose this proposal. 

After careful review of your proposal, we the residents of Clement Close have put together the following summary of our concerns. The proposed development would result in:

1.    Substantial loss of privacy for many residents of Clement Close and neighbouring properties: The windows of the new buildings would be overlooking the windows and/or gardens of existing properties.

2.   Substantial overshadowing of adjoining buildings: The importance of natural light on physical and mental health has been well-established. Cramming 22 new family homes in “gaps” would have a severe impact on the wellbeing of all Clement Close residents.

3.   Loss of trees: Clement Close boasts many beautiful mature trees, which would need to be removed if the proposal goes ahead. The role of trees in a city cannot be underestimated. Not only do they absorb excess CO2 and slow down the rate of global warming, but they release oxygen, reduce wind speeds, cool the air, prevent flooding and boost wildlife. Removing these trees from the estate while increasing human occupancy by 25% would go against Brent Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy and Brent Corporate Environmental Policy Statement, which specifically state Brent’s commitment to “enhancing the ecological value of land for which the Council is responsible”, and “integrating environmental and sustainability considerations into all decision making considered to have significant environmental implications”.

4.   Adequacy of parking/loading/turning and concerns around access for emergency vehicles: With the proposal to narrow the road to a single lane to make space for a row of new houses on the eastern side of Clement Close, parking, turning and road access would be severely impacted. Access to the far end of the site by wide vehicles, such as emergency vehicles or refuse collection trucks would be seriously compromised. The Cabinet for Housing, Homelessness and Renters Security is probably aware that #1 Clement Close is a recently redeveloped, council-owned facility for adults with special needs, and that ambulances have been called to the site regularly. In addition, refuse collection trucks are already struggling with access.

5.    Increased road traffic: The increased vehicle traffic resulting from 25% more occupancy of Clement Close would result in increased congestion, noise, air pollution, directly contradicting Brent Healthy Neighbourhood scheme. It would also pose a threat to the numerous children, elderly and disabled currently living in Clement Close.

6.   Substantial impact on visual amenity resulting from the layout and density of building: the addition of new buildings, combined with the loss of green spaces, would turn Clement Close into a concrete jungle. The overcrowding would also result in higher levels of noises and disturbances, which would be detrimental to the wellbeing of all residents – current and new. This would again go against Brent’s commitment to “improving the quality of life”, as highlighted in Brent Corporate Environmental Policy Statement.

7.    Loss of existing services: the current plans appear to threaten existing amenities relied upon by many residents including: ground-floor storage cupboards for upper-floor flats, bicycle storage (some of which has only just been installed), recycling facilities. There is no clear plan for where these existing services would be rebuilt/moved to on the current plans. Most importantly for our youngest residents the plans seem to involve building over the existing climbing frame/slide and a bench which form a central part of community life for Clement Close children.

We also condemn the way Brent Council delivered this information to Clement Close residents:

• The leaflets were unenveloped and not specifically addressed to the residents who will be severely impacted by the proposal. They were delivered by hand, through the letterbox, like advertising leaflets and flyers.
• The leaflet looks innocuous enough to be ignored. The front page gives a high-level description of Brent’s programme and makes no mention of Clement Close.
• The summary of proposed development, starting with “Landscape improvement for all residents”, is deceptive.
• The leaflet does not clearly describe where the newbuilds will be located. It only makes mention of one bungalow to be demolished (#54 Clement Close). The only way of understanding the proposal is by carefully examining a map with no caption.
• The residents of #54 Clement Close were unaware of the proposal to have their home demolished and heard about it from their neighbours. It is completely unacceptable for the family whose lives would be turned upside-down by eviction and demolition of their family home to have not been properly consulted and reassured of their security.
• The time frame of under 3 weeks until the closing of the consultation phase is inadequate for the magnitude of the changes proposed.
• The feedback form provided with the leaflet is not specific to Clement Close.
• The QR code and URL provided on the leaflet link to Brent’s Community Engagement Hub, and not to the consultation page. It is not straightforward to find the consultation page from the hub.
• The questionnaire is inappropriately structured and includes leading questions such as “do you agree with …?”, which could influence respondents’ views and comments on the proposal. Such bias goes against the standards of ethical conduct and reporting of survey research.
• There is no confirmation email or acknowledgement that the completed consultation form was received by Brent after submission.

We, the residents of Clement Close and neighbouring properties, are hereby firmly opposing the current development proposal.

 

LINK TO THE PETITION

LINK TO BRENT COUNCIL'S CONSULTATION ON THE PROPOSALS

Labour win Brondesbury Park by-election. Greens ahead of the Lib Dems.

 

Gwen Grahl, Labour Party, has been elected to Brent Council after winning a seat in the Brondesbury Park by-election that was held yesterday.

This follows the resignation of former councillor, Kieron Gill, earlier this year.

4,083 residents in Brondesbury Park ward cast their votes, marking a turnout of 42.5%.

Green candidate Sheila Simpson beat the Liberal Democrat to achieve third place in the poll with 11.7% of the vote. 

 

OFFICIAL: Brondesbury Park by-election announced after resignation of Cllr Gill - polling day May 6th

 From the Brent Council website LINK

A by-election for a vacant council position in the electoral ward of Brondesbury Park in the London Borough of Brent will be held on Thursday 6 May 2021.

This follows the resignation of former Councillor Kieron Gill who informed Carolyn Downs, Returning Officer and Chief Executive of Brent Council, of his decision to step down earlier this week.

The by-election will take place on the same day as the Mayor of London and London Assembly Elections on 6 May, meaning eligible voters in Brondesbury Park ward will be voting in four elections on the same day.

Apply early if you want to vote by post

Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot – in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote.

As with the London elections, Brondesbury Park residents are encouraged to apply early if they want to vote by post, which is the easiest and safest way to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To apply to vote by post, residents must download an application form, complete and sign it and then return it by email to Electoral.Services@brent.gov.uk or by post to Electoral Services, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ.

All applications to vote by post must be received by the council by 5pm on Tuesday 20 April.

Paper application forms can also be requested by emailing Electoral.Services@brent.gov.uk or by calling 020 8937 1372.

Find out more about voting by post.

Register to vote

In order to register to vote by post, residents must first be on the electoral register. The deadline to register to vote in time for the May elections is midnight on Monday 19 April.

It takes just five minutes to apply online.

This is particularly important for anyone who has recently turned 18 or moved address.

You can vote in local elections if you are:

• A British citizen - excluding overseas electors;
• A qualifying Commonwealth citizen (including Cyprus and Malta);
• From Ireland;
• A European Union citizen.

Nominations to stand in by-election

The deadline for nominations to stand in this by-election is 4pm on Thursday 8 April. View election notices.

Brondesbury Park Councillor Kieron Gill has resigned

 

Cllr Kieron Gill (Labour - Brondesbury Park)

Reliable sources confirmed tonight that Cllr Kieron Gill who represented Brondesbury Park  ward for Labour has resigned. As yet no reason has been given for the resignation.

Cllr Gill was one of the new cohort of councillors elected in May 2018. Labour made a clean sweep of the ward that previously had Conservative representation.

Cllr Gill made a number of interventions beginning in 2018 moving a motion in Council condemning the deaths of 130 unarmed Gazans at the hands of the Israeli forces. LINK

In 2019 Gill seconded the motion declaring a Climate Emergency in Brent which continues to make an impact on council policy. LINK

In 2020 Cllr Gill hit the headlines when he resigned from the Labour Group's Task Force on Democracy  and went public with his criticism of the Chair of the Task Force, Cllr Thomas Stephens (now in the Cabinet) for producing a 'soft report' and urging his fellow councillors to reject the 'weak offer.' LINK

Finally in February of this year Cllr Gill abstained on the Labour budget. LINK

It appears that another councillor with a streak of independence has gone.

It is likely that the by-election caused by the resignation will be held on May 6th which is the polling day for the GLA and Mayoral election.

The contest is likely to be close as it was in Barnhill and Alperton. 

 

Brondesbury Park oak tree petition taken down after Brent Council clarifies the situation

The petition that was launched over the weekend to try and stop the felling of two oak trees in Brondesbury Park (advertised on Wembley matters yesterday) has been taken down after Brent Council clarified the situation.

Brent Council said:

In response to a petition concerning two oak trees in Brondesbury (since closed):

Brent Council does not own the two oak trees in question. They are on Housing Association land and therefore privately owned. We do care greatly about trees in Brent which is why we placed a Tree Preservation Order on the two oaks in 2006. This requires the owners to seek the council’s permission to carry out any works on them.

An insurance company has provided robust evidence that work is needed on these trees to stabilise a nearby property that has subsidence issues. They have applied to remove one of the oak tree which is believed to be causing the issues. 

In adjudicating these decisions, we always balance the important contribution of trees with the serious damage they can cause to people’s homes. It is simply not true to say that the council is destroying these trees – we are reviewing the evidence that has been presented to us by a third party.

We believe that there is evidence to suggest that the tree is causing subsidence and if we refuse the application we could be asked to pay significant compensation. This is not in the best interests of residents, at a time when budgets are tight and money is needed for the maintenance of other trees around the borough.

We have committed to working with residents to improve the information we share about upcoming tree works. However, as these trees are on private land, it is for the owner to keep nearby residents updated.

The author of the petition told Wembley Matters this morning:

I understand there are some mistakes in my understanding of the situation pointed out to me by the Tree Protection Officer, Lawrence Usherwood, who has worked hard to protect these trees, within the framework of options he has available to him.  

Naming the Council as the sole decision maker was erroneous.   

My hope had been to highlight that the current way that subsidence claims are dealt with mean we are limited in how we can adapt to new priorities of ecological emergency.  I did not want to cast blame on any individuals within the council – which is how it has been seen.  And do not have a good understanding of the details of the case.

The news of the threat to the trees spread like wildfire over the weekend with many rushing to support the petition on social media. In this case a mistake was made and I apologise for a misleading post but the degree of passion that Brent residents demonstrated for protecting their trees is truly heartening.

 

Marylebone Boys' Free School to continue wandering around North West London

The itinerant Marylebone Boys' Free School is moving again and further away from Marylebone. It is currently sharing a site in the former College of North West London building in Kilburn with Kilburn Grange Primary Free School and will now move to a second site in Brondesbury Park. It will eventually (possibly?) go on to its final site in 2018. Not that the planning application has been submitted and has not yet been approved.

We are delighted to announce that a planning application has been submitted for our second site which will be a brand new, purpose-built modular school building in Brondesbury Park. It’s on the site of the former Swiss Cottage Special School located on Brondesbury Park between The Avenue and Christchurch Avenue.



Although the location is not as close to our final site as we might have wished, we are delighted that it is on a plot which allows for modular construction (which is quick) and that there is good outside space on site and nearby.



There are good transport links via buses 98 (bus stop Christchurch) and 206 (bus stops N and S, Brondesbury Park/The Avenue), Queens Park station on the Bakerloo Line, and Brondesbury Park station on the London Overground.



This site has been planned so that if there are delays to our permanent site – which now looks certain not to be ready in time for September 2017 but will be completed during the school year 2017-18 – four year groups can be accommodated at Brondesbury Park.

The 'Tale of Two Tory groups' continues at next Brent Council Meeting

The sllocation of opposition committee places is on the agenda for the next Full Council meeting on June 22nd.

In addition to the 8th Scrutiny Committee place the other positions are:

At the AGM the Council voted to recognise the Conservative Group (three Kenton Conservatiev councillors) as the principal opposition group. They now have to allocate committee places between that group and the Brent Conservative Group (recognised as the official opposition by Conservative HQ and consisting of three Brondesbury Park Conservative councillors).

The Liberal Democrats are not recognised as a group because that requotes two or more councillors and they have only one.

Clearly these 6 places can be divided equally between the two groups giving each councillor a role. It will be interesting to see the distribution of 'compliant' and 'awkward squad' places.

Brent Conservatives: splits, leaders and ultimatums

The split between the two Conservative groupings on Brent Council has widened following intervention of Conservative Campaign Head Quarters.

A Brent Conservatives' AGM was held recently attended by CCHQ and SE England officials at which Cllr John Warren was elected leader.

However the meeting was attended by only the three 'Brondesbury Park' Conservatives with the three 'Kenton Conservatives' absent.   I understand that the Kenton Conservatives had already held their own AGM of their 'official' group (recognised as such at the last Brent Council AGM) to which the Brondesbury Park Tories were not invited as they are not part of the group.

They elected Cllr Suresh Kansagra leader.

Conservative Campaign Head Quarters have now issued an ultimatum to the Kenton Group which expires at 1pm on Monday to accept Cllr Warren as leader following what they consider the constitutionally valid election, or forfeit their right to be considered Conservative Party councillors and to stand as Conservatives at the next local election.

Cllr Joel Davidson told me today that Brent residents had been 'ill-served by the weak opposition to Labour provided up to now by Cllr Suresh Kansagra and the Kenton Conservatives.'  He said that a stronger Conservative opposition would seek to represent not just Conservative voters but everyone who had not voted Labour.

Davidson went on to say that the failure of the Kenton Conservatives to vote for the Brondesbury Park no confidence motion in Muhammed Butt and the alternative budget proposals Kenton had put forward proved their cosy relationship with Brent Labour.

The results of the most recent AGM have been communicated to Brent Council officials ahead of the vote due to be held at the Council AGM on May 20th on who to recognise as the Principal Opposition Party.

Will Labour vote for Cllr Kansagra's group or the rather more militant Bondesbury Group?

Brent Labour slams down the shutters over Council Tax debate

My grandad, brought up in the Victorian era, had a rich collection of' 'naughty' sayings and rhymes.   Apparently innocuous when said slowly, they were rude when spoken quickly. He delighted in encouraging his grandchildren to utter them at speed and would then gleefully accuse us of swearing.

One was 'I chased a bug around the room, I'll have his blood, he knows I will.'

Another, which came to mind today after I heard about last night's meeting of the Brent Labour Group, was:

'She shuts the shutters and sits in the shop.'

Well the shutters have come down on last night's meeting as the hunt for the leakers intensifies and I expect some councillors have been accused of s*itting in the shop!

The meeting was called at short notice to discuss the controversial issue of the possibility of a Council Tax increase before Monday's Full Meeting of the Council.

Cllr John Duffy had challenged the decision of Michael Pavey and Muhammed Butt to ignore the Group's vote in favour of a council tax increase  at the previous group meeting and wrote a letter of complaint to  the Constitutional Officer of the Labour Party at this affront to democracy.

Whether the short notice group meeting was a result of a ruling by the Labour Party authorities or the Cabinet trying to head off a public revolt is not clear.

There was clearly a possibility that there would be a split when it came to voting on the Council tax rise and even the potential for an amendment to raise the tax. Elsewhere on this blog I have listed some of the services that could be saved even with the comparative small sum of £1.4m over two years. This could include Energy Solutions, School Crossing Patrols,  Stonebridge Adventure Playground and the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

Anyway, with a little bit of what used to be called Kremlinology in the old days of the Soviet Empire (when I worked at Reuters, TASS the Soviet Union's news agency was in the same building so I am used to interpreting nudges and cryptic silences about totalitarian regimes) I guess that a formal vote on a Council Tax rise was taken and that it reversed the previous vote in favour of a rise.

I would conjecture that this was the result of pressure from the leadership and a bigger turnout from the 56 strong group than the 30 or so who had attended the previous meeting. I also assume that the leadership offered no crumbs in return.

I could be wrong and that really the meeting was about whether to support the Lib Dem amendment to reduce Council Tax for cat owners and aroma therapists,  or the Brondesbury Park Conservative's motion to reduce  Council Tax by 2.5% to be paid for by closing the Civic Centre's Melting Pot restaurant and replacing it with a Super Casino.

All will be revealed on Monday - or, more likely - all will be concealed on Monday.

You can watch the live streaming of the meeting on Monday from 7pm HERE

Kenton by-election to be held on Thursday March 5th

There will be a Brent  by-election in Kenton ward on Thurday March 5th following the death of Conservative councillor Bhiku Patel.

The Kenton ward result in the  May 2014 local elections was:

Suresh Laxmidas Kansagra	Conservative	1798	19%	Elected
Reg Colwill	Conservative	1796	19%	Elected
Bhiku Mani Patel	Conservative	1669	18%	Elected
Syed Alam	Labour	1139	12%	Not elected
Lewis Hodgetts	Labour	1040	11%	Not elected
Nadhim Ahmed	Labour	946	10%	Not elected
Graham Allen	Green Party	348	4%	Not elected
Violet Margaret Steele	Liberal Democrats	221	2%	Not elected
Vivienne Rosamond Williamson	Liberal Democrats	153	2%	Not elected
Ieva Tomsone	Liberal Democrats	125	1%	Not elected

Anyone wishing to stand as a candidate at the election may submit their nomination between Thursday 29 January and 4.00pm on Friday 6 February.
Nomination forms and assistance can be provided by emailing Electoral Services or call 020 8937 1372

Rumours are circulating that Brondesbury Conservatives may stand a candidate so that in the event of beating a Kenton Conservative  they could claim recognition as the Official Opposition. Cllr John Warren of Brondesbury Conservatives has not responded to Twitter requests for clarification.

'Divorced' Tory Groups bicker at Brent Council as Labour continues to subvert democracy

The importance of effective opposition and scrutiny when Labour has a huge majority on Brent Council has been stressed repeatedly on this blog. Following my gagging last night things took an even more ludiucrous turn with Labour using its majority to determine which of the two rival factions of Conservatives would be the 'official opposition'.

Deputy Labour Leader Michael Pavey said on Twitter that the Council had been trying to get the two groups to decide between themselves which of them would take that role for three months without success.

In the event it was the 'old timers' of Kenton who Labour chose much to the anger of John Warren 'leader' of the Brondesbury Park faction.  Warren had done most of the opposing during the meeting - including opposing the Kenton faction.

Warren spoke despairingly about what the Conservatives had been reduced to in Brent and denounced as 'woolly' a motion on the Garden Tax proposed by the Kenton Tories.

The Kenton Tories joined Labour in voting for the 25% allowance increase and the Brondesbury Tories and Helen Carr voted against.

A number of Labour councillors were absent and some of those absences may have been to avoid publicly voting against their party line on allowances. We will wait and see how many donate the increase to charities.

Muhammed Butt accused of tricking Labour councillors on Scrutiny

James Powney, ex Brent Labour councillor, has returned to the matter of the changes in Scrutiny voted through by the Full Council on June 4th with no comments or questions from Labour backbenchers.

Here is an extract from his hard-hitting posting about the Labour Group meeting LINK:

Neither Cllr Butt nor anyone else chose to mention the drastic changes to the Council Constitution which he at least must have known about.

Why therefore did the entire Labour Group simply nod them through?  I asked a councillor this, and was told that no one in the Labour Group had chosen to read the changes and therefore they did not really know what they were voting on.  If true, that statement is a fairly damning comment on the thoroughness with which councillors prepare for meetings.  When the Tories pointed out the content of the rule changes, the inevitable partisan instincts kicked in and the Labour councillors all voted for them.

Had I been there I would have argued for deferral on the grounds that most of the councillors didn't understand what they were being asked to vote for because parts (eg describing scrutiny arrangements) are just obscure, and parts have sersious implicationms which new councillors simply won't understand until they are given some sort of grounding in Council governance.

Cllr Butt has effectively tricked his colleagues.  I hope they return to the issue at a later date, when they have had time to think about it.

The claim that 'no one in the Labour Group had chosen to read the changes' is interesting. The day before the Full Council I emailed a selection of councillors from all parties with the following message:

Dear Councillor,

First of all congratulations on your election as a Councillor for 2014-18.  With a Council returned with a large majority it is important that there is effective scrutiny in place with backbenchers playing a full part. Effective scrutiny protects against bad decision making and also protects against the damage to the Council's reputation that could be caused by poor decision making.

There has been extensive coverage on Wembley Matters of the proposed changes tabled for Wednesday which have not had full discussion, tabled as they are just two weeks after the election and with many new councillors elected.

Effective scrutiny is a matter for all political parties on the Council and I suggest that you read the pieces below and consider referring back the proposals to allow for the provision of more details and to allow for proper discussion.

Martin Francis

http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/powney-calls-for-councillors-to-give.html

http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/powney-blasts-scrutiny-proposals.html

http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/brent-scrutiny-proposals-elaborated.html

http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/scrutinising-brents-scrutiny-proposals.html

The only councillor who really questioned the changes and pointed out the issues was John Warren, leader of the Brondesbury Park Conservative Group.

I understand that disquiet is now developing in the Labour Group with newly elected councillors complaining about the lack of discussion beforehand. A source suggests that there is a possibility of a review although there may be some constitutional impediment to the reversal of a policy recently adopted by Full Council.

How the Greens performed in the Brent local elections

The Green Party stood one candidate in every Brent ward except for Willesden Green, which was where we put in most of our campaigning, where we stood two candidates. We left the third slot free so as to make space for Alex Colas the independent Make Willesden Green candidate.  In the event many voters voted two Green plus MWG . MWG were the single choice of some voters and shared with parties other than the Green Party  in other cases.

The combined percentage vote of the three candidates in Willesden Green was 21%: Make Willesden Green 9%, Sharara Ali 6% and Martin Francis 6%.

The Greens beat both Tory and Lib Dem candidates in Harlesden, Kensal Green and Kilburn. We beat all the Lib Dems in Dudden Hill, Fryent, Kenton, Northwick Park, Preston, Queen's Park, Queensbury and Welsh Harp. We beat all the Tories in Mapesbury and Willesden Green.

Greens were ahead of two out of the three Lib Dem candidates in Barnhill, Brondesbury  Park and Willesden Green and two out of three Tories in Queen's Park.

Our highest percentage votes were in Brondesbury Park, Kensal Green, Mapesbury, Queen's Park and Willesden Green.

Brent Green Party has limited financial and human resources compared with the other parties and therefore had to concentrate on a few wards. However, it is clear that there are many potential Green voters in the borough if only we can reach them through leafleting and personal contact. Our aim must be to substantially increase our active membership and network of supporters while at the same time maintaining and improving our campaigning record.

The Euro election results later today should give us further indications of our potential support.

Looking forward to the General Election in 2015 the 'Vote for Policies' website  LINK shows Greens ahead of the other parties in Brent Central. People vote purely on policies without knowing which party they emanate from until completion:

Green Party 25.95%
Labour 23.07%
Liberal Democrats: 17.47%
Conservative 14.77%
UKIP 10.51%
BNP 8.23%

The figures for Brent North also put the Greens ahead LINK

Green Party 24.01%
Labour 22.74%
Liberal Democrats 16.13%
Conservative 15.12%
UKIP 12.48%
BNP 9.52%

Meanwhile, for any individual their political party  affiliation is a matter of 'best fit'  rather than 'I agree with every item in the manifesto'. I hope that some Wembley Matters readers will take note of this election result and come and join us.

More than ever, we are the alternative.