Brent recommends Thames21 to take over Welsh Harp Education Centre

One of the Centre ponds that has become overgrown and dried out due to lack of maintenance over the summer

The Cabinet will consider a recommendation that the charity Thames21 takes over the lease of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre at its meeting on September 21st. They also recommend that Thames21 talk to the other bidder, Careys, about the possibility of forming a partnership to run the Centre.

Local schools have been uncertain about the future of the Centre and normally school visits would have been starting next week.  The report LINK suggests that visits will start again in October but that seems a little optimistic given what needs to be put in place before children attend.

The report bases its recommendation on the bid evaluation:

Based on the evaluation, the recommendation is to proceed with the Thames 21 application. Thames 21 is an experienced environmental education organisation with a strong track record of delivering effective, community volunteering, engagement and educational events and activities to local communities promoting environmental awareness. The charity delivers practical and engaging environmental activities that teach young people about the need to care for their natural environment. As well as the educational work, Thames 21 looks to connect local people and communities with their local environment enabling a stronger sense of community ownership. With an existing environmental education programme in place, in addition to an established centre at the WHEEC, Thames 21 will transform the way environmental education activities are already currently being delivered and will make a positive difference

 However there are risks involved:

.        It is noteworthy that there are risks associated with the Thames 21 application. Most prominent is the lack of a full business plan., The submitted application noted the following risks: 
       The current income is not sufficient to support the expenditure or running the service. 

       The risk of the education centre shutting down reduces demand next year.
       That Thames 21 is unsuccessful with various funding applications to 
develop the centre to its full potential. 

       The cost of upgrading the infrastructure of the centre is significantly higher 
then envisaged. 

       The running costs of the centre are significantly higher then envisaged. 


.        The following mitigation plan is proposed by Thames 21 with outcomes reviewed at the year end self assessment process as detailed in the CAT policy: 
       To inspect financial records for the centre. 

       To contact all schools who have used the centre previously to ensure they 
are aware that the centre will be remaining open. Use current staff knowledge and relationships to build links with schools/ users. Attend School Heads meetings within Brent and surrounding boroughs to promote the centre. 

       To use Thames 21 experience, expertise and contacts for successful funding applications.
       To undertake inspections of the site (infrastructure) and development of a costed business plan and to develop alternative funding sources. 

       To undertake inspections of the site (running costs) and develop a costed business plan and to develop alternative funding sources.    

Next steps 

A proposed programme is set out below (proposed dates may be subject to change):

1.     Welsh Harp was consecrated in the 1950’s as the original proposal was that the site would at some stage become a graveyard. This creates complexities that will need to be resolved before the letting can take place and expert advice is being sought. 


2.     Heads of terms have been issued – subject to Cabinet and contract - on 21 August 2015. 


3.     On receipt of the signed heads of terms the draft CAT lease will be issued by 1 September 2015 – subject to Cabinet approval. 


4.     Cabinet consideration - 21 September 2015. 


5.     Thames 21 to open the WHEEC by October 2015 


The consecrated land issue has  previously been highlighted on this blog:  Kingsbury Lawn Cemetery LINK

Update on Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre leasing

Over the weekend I heard from Brent Council that they were preparing a statement on the leasing of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

These were the questions that I had sent to the Council LINK :

I refer to the advertisement in the Brent and Kilburn Times Ref: JXH/609/121.

1. How long is it envisaged that the lease to land and premises, including the office in Planet House will last?
2. Is it envisaged that the use of the land and premises will remain for educational purposes?
3. Is the land in question consecrated land subject to any change of use being agreed by the Diocesan of London? (see http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/could-this-let-welsh-harp-rest-in-peace.html)
4. Is it intended that the building and land be leased to one of the following (or a combination): Careys' charity arm, Oakington Manor Primary School, Roe Green Junior School?


With a closing date for comments of Friday June 5th it is important that answers are seen as possible. Commenting without such information is of little value.

Welsh Harp Centre to be leased out by Brent Council

Readers will remember that as part of their cuts Brent Council proposed to close the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre and a campaign was mounted to keep it open. LINK

We were told that alternative sources of management and funding were being sought including a possible funding agreement with Careys, the parent company of  waste processing company Seneca, which is based behind Wembley Stadium. Careys has extensive property in the area and has its own charity arm. At present they fund an additional teacher at the Centre. Oakington Manor Primary and Roe Green Juniors were also mentioned as having an interest in the continuation of the Centre.

The above advertisement appeared in the Brent and Kilburn Times yesetrday and rang alarm bells.  I have therefore sent the following message to Brent Council:

I refer to the advertisement in the Brent and Kilburn Times Ref: JXH/609/121. (attached)

I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of the Drawing referred to in the notice plus a response to the following questions:

1. How long is it envisaged that the lease to land and premises, including the office in Planet House will last?
2. Is it envisaged that the use of the land and premises will remain for educational purposes?
3. Is the land in question consecrated land subject to any change of use being agreed by the Diocesan of London? (see http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/could-this-let-welsh-harp-rest-in-peace.html)
4. Is it intended that the building and land be leased to one of the following (or a combination): Carey's charity arm, Oakington Manor Primary School, Roe Green Junior School?

Many thanks,

Martin Francis

See below a copy of the drawing as requested above:

Brent Council wants to make money from recycled materials

Brent Executive is to consider a proposal to remove the processing of dry recyclable (blue bin materials and deposit banks) from Veolia's current contract in order to reduce costs and make money from the sale of the materials. An officers' report points to Harrow's success in this area but notes:

However, Brent is unlikely to be able to achieve financial outcomes as good as Harrow, because Harrow’s local circumstances give them particular advantages. Their collections are made ‘in-house’ and the waste is transferred to their own depot and handled by their own operatives. Although they incur costs in doing this which must be offset from the income received, they do not rely on the intervention of a ‘middle-man’ as Brent must do through Veolia. Veolia’s costs of handling the collected waste at their depot must still be met. 

Veolia have previously indicated this accounts for the greater part of the present gate fee. Nevertheless, each £1 reduction in this fee this represents a betterment to the Council of between £18,000 and £21,000 before any further benefit is generated from the sale of the material.

To enable this, officers must extract the processing element of the service from Veolia, i.e.make a switch from their MRF at Southwark and reach agreement with a separate third party for the receipt and processing of the waste they collect. Veolia have previously indicated they would not resist this approach, but this must be confirmed through consultation.

The council expects to collect a minimum of 18,500 tonnes of dry recyclable waste in 2012/13, rising to around 21,000 tonnes in 2013/14. At the present level of gate fee this will cost £407,000 rising to £462,000. The objective of this procurement exercise is to reduce that cost significantly.

To enable this, officers must extract the processing element of the service from Veolia, i.e. make a switch from their MRF at Southwark and reach agreement with a separate third party for the receipt and processing of the waste they collect. Veolia have previously indicated they would not resist this approach, but this must be confirmed through new negotiation.

There has been no comment from Brent Council on the collapse of the 4 borough public realm contract which include recycling and waste management but there are clear implications for this proposal. It is interesting to note the advantages that accrue to Harrow from having the service 'in house' and that is something Barnet has also decided to do.  There is already a local MRF in Brent, Seneca/Careys based between Wembley and Neasden who attracted criticism in the summer for the Neasden stink.The demand and price of recycled material is subject to extreme fluctuations and also subject to the extent of contamination from co-mingled collections.

Seneca chief apologises for Wembley stink

Part of the Seneca mural on its NeasdenMRF

John Carey Junior apologised at the Wembley Connects event this week for the stench that hung over the Wembley and Neasden area for more than a week over the summer, coinciding with the Olympic Games events at the Stadium and Arena.

Seneca,  which has an MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) in Hannah Close, was contrite. The company  has prided itself on its environmental credentials with parent company Careys part-funding the Welsh Harp Environmental Study Centre.

They admitted to management problems as well as technical ones and admitted that the incident led to 5,000 extra tonnes of waste going to landfill. The smell worsened when the pile of waste was disturbed to be shipped out to landfill by a fleet of lorries.

 They blamed the initial problem on the accumulation of organic waste from black bag collections in municipalities other than Brent, where there were not separate composting collections or where there were no facilities for these in flats. The manager responsible had been 'let go', and organic waste was now being turned around within a 24 hour period, rather than festering on site. Odour repressants had been fitted and the odour extracted from within the building.

In response to questions Seneca confirmed that they were seeking a rail connection to transport waste materials (the site is next to the Chiltern Line) and that plans for a biomass plant were planned to go ahead but had been delayed when Seneca's partner went into liquidation.

The Environment Agency in a  briefing dated October 12th and distributed at the meeting said:

We are currently considering our enforcement options. This is  a live investigation and because of legal sensitivities, we are not able to discuss how the investigation is progressing. We will of course keep in touch with people who contact us and ask to be kept informed when we can say more. 

We have received a number of late reports of odour during recent weeks. We would ask that the local community immediately contact us on our 24 hour incident hotline telephone number 0800 80 70 60, if they smell odour which they believe is coming from Unit 2, Hannah Close.

In my contribution I reminded residents that there are a number of waste plants in the area and that Seneca was just across the railway lines from St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and Chalkhill Primary School. The proposed Wembley Stadium Primary would not be far away in Fulton Road. Brent Council had discussed the issue of the accumulation of such ' dirty neighbour' waste firms in the area in its Wembley Plan consultation. The consultation on the plan's preferred options closes on Monday October 8th. Residents who are concerned should go to Brent Council's consultation portal HERE to submit their views.

The consultation closes at 17.00 on Monday.

Now tube bosses kick up a stink about Wembley stench

The Brent and Kilburn Times reports that Jubilee Line bosses are now calling for action on the Wembley-Neasden Stink from Seneca's MRF , following complaints from passengers.

LINK

Seneca's publicity video below shows how close the Materials Recyclign Facility is to the railway line. Seneca hopes to build a biomass plant there in the future.

 

Stink over Wembley Olympics

We were warned  that clearing the problem at Seneca's Hannah Close Materials Recycling Facility may result in the smell worsening for a short time and that was certainly true this evening.

Olympic passengers on the Jubilee line train I was travelling on sniffed the air as we left Neasden and started giving each other surreptitious  funny looks.  Noses were screwed up, eye brows raised and faces pulled as it dawned on them that perhaps it wasn't a single anti-social individual causing the stink.

Perhaps the driver should have made a public announcement to pre-empt any misunderstandings!

Seneca and parent company were given until tomorrow (Friday) by the Environment Agency to deal with the source of the putrid smell.

Neasden stink source is Seneca

I can reveal that the stink reported over the weekend between Neasden and Wembley Park emanated from the Neasden recycling yard of Seneca. The Environment Agency has given Seneca until Friday to clear it up but there are warnings that the smell could get worse while this happens.

Seneca, a subsidiary of Careys, was given planning permission by Brent Council for a Materials Recycling Facility on the site, despite concerns about the number of waste facilities in the area. Latterly the Wembley Plan consultation mentioned the impact of 'bad neighbour' waste processing and handling firms in the area on potential redevelopment, including the possibility of a new primary school in Fulton Road.

Seneca is named after the Roman philosopher and politicam 5BC-65AD. One of his popular quotations is...

Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods.

...so I had better be careful. However it is worth pointing out that Seneca's parent company, Careys, was much praised by ex-Brent Council leader Ann John, when they stepped in to help save the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.



Next year the procurement process will start for a new Brent Waste Contract worth millions of pounds. The contract for waste collection and recycling and street cleaning is presently held by Veolia. The new contract may also include park maintenance.

The Environment Agency can only work if they get information/ complaints from local people . You can speak to them on 0800 807060.

Wembley's re-cycling graffiti wall ready for Olympics

Readers may be interested in this press release from Seneca, a subsidiary of Careys:

Waste management company Seneca has unveiled a 508-foot long recycling–inspired mural at its materials recycling facility (MRF) in Wembley, North West London, in a bid to tackle a graffiti problem at the site.

The company was approached by the Brent Graffiti Partnership, which includes Brent council, British Transport Police, Network Rail and the Brent Police, to address problems it had been having with vandals spray painting the side of its materials recycling facility (MRF), after it opened in May 2011.

A series of recycling-inspired images havebeen installed to tackle the graffiti problem at Seneca's Wembley MRF

The facility processes residual waste collected from the West London Waste Partnership, and produces refuse derived fuel that is exported to Europe.

Graffiti

On researching the issue Seneca discovered that graffiti artists consider it bad manners to tag or paint over someone else’s art, and so the idea of creating a street art mural was chosen as a suitable solution to the problem, with all the artwork created using spray paint and stencils.

Artists from across the globe as well as school children from from Harlesden Primary School, Barham Primary School, St. Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School, Roe Green Junior School, Gower House School and Vernon House School have contributed designs and artwork to the project, which includes a sculpture made entirely from material received at the MRF.

The mural overlooks the Jubilee and Metropolitan London underground lines running between Neasdon and Wembley Park and is created entirely from spray paint and recycled materials.

Unveiling the mural, Michael McLarnon, operations manager at the Seneca MRF, said: “The project was created after we had been approached by Brent council’s Graffiti Partnership. The MRF has been targeted by vandals and with the Wembley area highlighted because of the Olympics we thought it was appropriate to do something that engaged with the local community.

“We came up with the idea to create the mural and we are honoured to have artists come from all over the world to take part in this worthwhile project.”

Mural

The mural has taken over 6 months to create, and is thought to be one of the largest outdoor art installations in Europe.

Simon Egbor, Brent council community safety project officer and member of the Graffiti Partnership Board said: “Over three years ago graffiti crime was costing the council in excess of £400,000. This was a real problem and the formation of the Graffiti Partnership Board has managed to focus both council and external partners in not only cleaning graffiti but setting up operations to identify graffiti vandals and enforce action.

“We approached Seneca with this idea as the use of murals in graffiti hot spots has proven to be a successful deterrent. This is illustrated by past murals that we have commissioned including one on Harley Road, Harlesden.”

Plans for new waste sites in Brent dropped

The draft West London Waste  Plan in October 2010 proposed 4 new possible sites in Brent for redevelopment for processing residual waste, as well as two existing ones . The revised list, following consultation, only includes the two existing sites: Twyford Waste Transfer Station and Veolia Transfer Station, Marsh Road. The site in Hannah Close.Great Central Way is now occupied and so is no longer proposed. Careys. the waste management company, who are contributing to the running of the Welsh Harp Outdoor Education Centre, now have an MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) in Hannah Close.  Brent Council says that the other three sites are now 'for one reason or another, considered too difficult to deliver'.  The sites were at Asia Sky, Abbey Road; rail sidings, Premier Park Road, and Alperton Lane industrial area, Marsh Road.

This will be a relief for Brent residents but Ealing does not fare so well and some of their sites are close to the Brent border.   Three existing sites are listed including one at Quattro in Victoria Road, Park Royal as well as two new ones in Park Royal (see below).

The Brent Executive will be asked to approved a revised WLWP for publication at its meeting on December 12th. Once the document has been approved by all 6 WLWA boroughs it will be made available for a further six weeks consultation in February 2012. Authority will then be sought from each borough to submit the Plan to the Secretary of State for Examination in Public. This is likely to take place in late 2012 and the plan adopted in early 2012.

In tandem with this the WLWA will be completing the selection of the new contractor for the multi-million 25 year residual waste contract. As posted previously this includes controversial Veolia who run the Marsh Road Transfer Station in Brent.

No technology has yet been put forward for the new sites, this will be done at the planning station, and environmental groups will be monitoring for any incineration or other potentially harmful processes.

A look at Hannah Close, possible new waste site

My curiosity led me this afternoon to have a stroll around  the back of the stadium to see where a possible recycling plant might be sited in Hannah Close. Careys, the local company who helped save the Welsh Harp Environmental Centre, has a lot of property in the area along with their waste management subsidiary Seneca.

Seneca's  security guards were worried about me taking photographs and denied that the company had anything to do with Careys. The Jubilee and Metropolitan lines run behind the site and on the other side is St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and residential streets which include Quainton, Verney, Aylesbury Chesham and Village Way.

Hannah Close, and Atlas Road which it joins, already have several recycling sites:

The River Brent runs flows to Hannah Close and runs beneath the railway line. Wembley Brook is also close by. Campaigners in Ealing have been concerned about possible contamination of the River Brent if new waste processing facilities are built and there must be similar concerns in Wembley.

The following photograph was taken today with waste fluid apparently flowing from Harringtons in Fourth Way.

A further concern is the proposal, in the Wembley Masterplan, to open up North End Road and join it again to Bridge Road in Wembley. At present North End Road is closed where it meets Atlas Road. If it was opened up and joined to Bridge Road a route would be established to the recycling facilities in Hannah Close, via Atlas Road, increasing lorry traffic past the Danes Court and  Empire Court flats, which at present are a peaceful haven despite their proximity to the railway.

Proposed Park Royal Waste Sites Under Attack

The West London Waste Authority has published the results of its consultation on the West London Waste Plan. Perhaps the most important thing to note is the low number of responses: 374. This for a Plan covering six West London boroughs including Brent with a combined  population of one and a half million. In addition a petition against Park Royal waste management sites was signed by  193 people and 2237 signed one against the Tavistock Road site in West Drayton.

Click on image to enlarge

 The main issues in the Park Royal objections were: the unfairness of locating so many sites in the area; the cumulative impact of new sites when added to existing waste and industrial facilities; proximity to housing; increased traffic; air pollution and the health impacts of pollution.

The WLWA says that these comments will be taken into consideration when considering the Park Royal sites. of the existing sites they say these are safeguarded by the London Plan for  waste management use 'but the deliverability assessment will consider whether they will be highlighted in the final Plan, as having potential for redevelopment'.

Wembley residents should note that no objections or comments were received about the site in Hannah Close, Great Central Way, Wembley, where Careys recently opened a new waste management plant. LINK This plant adds to other industrial sites on the Neasden/Wembley border which have given rise to community concerns about pollution and poor air quality. St Margaret Clitherow Primary School is just across the Metropolitan and Jubilee railway tracks from Hannah Close.

Ealing Civic Society object to expansion of  Veolia's Marsh Road, Alperton site on the grounds that the River Brent already suffers from pollution and because access is limited by congestion. The powerful Park Royal Partnership objects to the same site on the grounds of loss of employment land and existing business premises.

The consultation report includes a key submission on the thinking behind the plan:

 and another states:

All the comments will be considered during the next stage of the Plan which will be published later this year with a revised list of sites. Meanwhile the procurement process to select the company to implement the Plan through a new 25 year contract is continuing.

PDF of the full report is available HERE

There's money in muck

With landfill sites rapidly being filled and the tax on landfill rising to £72 per tonne in 2013 local authorities are desperately looking for solutions. Rather than action on reducing waste in the first place, which many local authorities see as the responsibility of government, the emphasis is instead on recycling which is where big business enters the picture. There is a central contradiction here because the more that can be recycled the more money the waste contractors makes, while the more the overall amount of residual waste can be reduced the less they will make.

Presently the West London Waste Authority, covering Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond is in the process of awarding a 25 year contract for waste management which could be worth up to £485m (the estimated cost of continuing landfill at present rate). The bidding process is under way and the preferred bidder will be selected in 2013.  There has been controversy over because during public consultation potential waste processing sites were selected, many in Park Royal, without any details of the processes that would take place, raising fears about possible pollution from incinerators. There have been public protest meetings in Ealing about this issue but little action in Brent.  Cllr James Powney is our borough representative on the WLWA.

A similar process for long-term contracts has taken place in South London and North London Waste Authority selected the following bidders in April 2011:

• FCC Skanska (Formento de Construcciones y Contratas SA and Skanska Infrastructure Development UK Ltd) (consortium)
• SITA/ Lend Lease (SITA UK Ltd and Catalyst Lend Lease) (consortium)
• Veolia ES Aurora Ltd. 

The North London proposals have run into  trouble over a proposed plant at Pinkham Way in Haringey, on the border with Barnet and Enfield, with residents concerned about noise, congestion and pollution as well as the building itself. LINK  In South London, Croydon Green Party has been involved in a campaign against a proposed plant which they believe is really an incinerator:


In Brent itself the waste management contract with Veolia has been amended with some difficulty ahead of the new waste management strategy that starts in October 2011. Brent Council's contract with Veolia ends in 2014 and there will be a new bidding process to ensure best value. This process will be overseen by Cllr James Powney.

Veolia, a likely bidder for both contracts, is French multinational with a wide spread of interests including water (in north Brent it previously went under the names of Three Valleys Water), waste management and transport. It has been embroiled in controversy over its activities in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel which include a light rail system and waste management. Campaigners argue that Veolia is complicit in human rights violations. LINK

Despite this Veolia is seen to be in a favourable position for both contracts because of its possession of a depot in Alperton and a potential site for waste processing.  However,  Careys, a local company, set up an 'environmental solutions' company in February and named it after the Roman philosopher, Seneca, who is famous as a Stoic. The company newsletter even quotes Seneca: 'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end'. Brent Council granted Careys planning permission for a 'super materials recycling facility' at Hannah Close in Neasden (below) in October 2010 with very little publicity and no response from environmental groups including the Green Party. The plant will process 1.1m tonnes of construction and demolition, business and household waste each year. By 2013 an energy producing 'wood biomass facility' will be operational which clearly raises issues over potential pollution.

The Seneca (Careys) plant in Neasden

In March 2011 Careys secured a public relations coup by agreeing to save the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre which had been threatened with closure due to local government cuts. They will pay half the revenue costs for the next two years which I understand is about £50,000. Brent Council leader Cllr Ann John took part in a photocall with John Carey at the Centre. LINK

Further information on these issues:
West London Waste Monitor
 UK Without Incineration Network
Brent Friends of the Earth