South Kilburn 'Carnivale' Saturday 15th July - 12-5pm - Carlton Vale

 

Brent Cabinet asked to approve a total allocation of over £10m of Strategtic CIL to eight Brent projects, plus unspecified amounts for Morland Gardens and Church End

 

 

Monday's Brent Cabinet will consider a request LINK  to allocate just over £10m of Strategic Infrastructure funds to eight projects. The amounts vary from £102k to £2.6m.  Most were considered by the Infrastructure Officer Working Group. (IOWG). Some money is allocated to community centres, a need for which has been a recent demand post-Covid. Other sums are due to budget shortfalls.

The officers' report provides more detail and a justification for using SCIL for these purposes as below.

However, apart from this direct approval of these sums there is also a request that the:

Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance, Resources & Reform to agree any additional SCIL allocations to the Morland Gardens project and any SCIL allocation to the Church End redevelopment project.

 'Any' is a very open-ended commitment to make without further Cabinet approval of the actual amounts involved.

 

· £0.9 million for use towards Wembley Transport Improvements

The North End Road Connector project provides a new access to North End Road from Bridge Road. This benefits residents and businesses by providing an alternative route across Wembley Park to access the North Circular Road, improving the traffic flow in the area. This route will provide an available vehicular route at all times - particularly useful for residents of North End Road who are impacted by the road closures on event days. This project complies with the CIL Regulations because it will help to support the growth in the area and improve traffic flow and connectivity through the area.

 

  · £413,000 for use towards Wembley Hostile Vehicle Measures

 

 

The HVM measures will support the proposed growth and development identified in the Wembley Growth Area. In addition they will provide a safe and secure environment, and enhance the attraction of the Stadium as a safe and secure environment to visit, in line with the Local Plan aspirations. The safe andsecure environment will help to encourage and maintain growth and development within the Wembley area.

 

  · £559,100 for use towards Harlesden Library

 

 

The project will future proof the facilities for an estimated further ten years and enable more flexible use, building in capacity for the service to adapt to changing community needs. These will be primarily community assets, developed to address social and cultural infrastructure challenges, build capacity in the local community and creative sector and develop new partnerships to enhance the service offer to residents.

 

In October 2021, the total cost of the project was £605,600 with a funding application to the ACE Libraries Improvement Fund for £285k already successful. A capital contribution ask of £320,600 from SCIL funds was required to make up this shortfall.

 

  · £1,951,162 for use towards the creation of Carlton Vale Boulevard

 

 

This significant request is the result of a short-fall in funding despite revisions to the scheme:

The total cost of the project is £6,669,900 following £1,166,000 of savings made to the original scheme, which has been reduced in scale and value engineered down. Funding of £305,273 from S106 obligations towards tree planting and £4,413,465 of Housing Infrastructure Funds (HIF) (agreed verbally, confirmation in writing still awaited) have been secured. HIF is to facilitate improvements and unlock housing growth. 

 

If the scheme is solely reliant on the HIF funding a place-making scheme would not be deliverable and it is likely that the HIF offer would be withdrawn. 

 

The total cost of the project includes contingency costs that have been included within the RIBA Stage 4 Cost Plan by the appointed cost consultant. The contingency costs, including inflation and risks, are considered standard considering the nature of the project. 

 

The funding gap at £1,951,162 is being sought from SCIL. This would be split between £1,722,162 to enable the project to go forward and £229,000 to the lifetime maintenance. It is expected that over a 25 year period, 40% of the maintenance spend would occur in the first 12.5 years and 60% of the maintenance spend in the remainder. 

 

Supporting Development & Growth 

 

The population of South Kilburn is set to double through the wider regeneration proposals. The CVB project provides a transformational piece of infrastructure connecting current and proposed developments with improved active travel through the improved cycle lanes and wider and more attractive pavements.

The project will help to increase footfall, providing support to current and future local businesses, public spaces and community facilities.

 

  · £102,427.26 for use towards the creation of a new community café and external amenity space as part of the Stonebridge redevelopment

 

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development there will be a need for new community and cultural facilities to ensure the provision of social infrastructure to meet the needs of our diverse community. The neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation are largely located in the south around the Harlesden, Neasden, Stonebridge and South Kilburn areas. This commercial space is a key piece of social infrastructure that will help both existing communities and new communities together in the Stonebridge area and will help complement future mixed developments such as the Bridge Park Masterplan.

 

  

 · £1,015,684.77 for use towards the creation of a new community facilityas part of the Preston Community Library redevelopment

 

This community hub will help to support growth and development that is outlined in the Brent Local Plan particularly in the North West part of the borough. It is in proximity to Northwick Park Growth Area. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community hub that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

 

  · £2,643,445.04 for use towards the creation of a new community centre as part of Learie Constantine Centre redevelopment

 

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development in both Neasden Stations and Church End Growth Areas there will be a need for new community and cultural facilities to ensure the provision of social infrastructure to meet the needs of our diverse community. The Brent Local Plan emphasises the need to ensure that community facilities are not lost where they meet or could meet a potential need and ideally enhanced to address these needs. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community centre that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

  · £2,479,770.31 for use towards the creation of a new community centre as part of the Brent Indian Community Centre redevelopment

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development in both Neasden Stations and Church End Growth Areas there is a need for community facilities that will support development. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community centre that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

 

Morland Gardens Unspecified amount

 

Readers will be familiar with the controversy surrounding the Morland Gardens development which involves the demolition of the Altamira Victorian Villa. The delegation to Lead Member and officers appears to anticipate a rise in costs of the education and community facility.  Note that this section of the report does not mention the Lead member for Finance and Resources as part of the decison making, leaving it as a decion for the Coprorate Director of Finance and Resources. There does not seem to be an intention for a reference to the Infrastructure Officer Working Group.

 

In January 2020, Cabinet agreed an investment package of £43m to deliver the Morland Gardens development. The Morland Gardens development secured planning permission in October 2020 to deliver a state of the art adult education centre, 65 new affordable homes, 675 sqm of affordable workspace for start-up businesses from the local community, and a public facing café. A SCIL allocation of £15.2 million towards the education facility was agreed by Cabinet on 14 January 2020.

 

In August 2022, the Council appointed Hill Partnerships Ltd as the main contractor to deliver this scheme. Hill Partnerships Ltd is currently progressing delivery of RIBA Stage 4 – Technical Design in order to finalise the contractor’s proposals and final build cost.

 

Officers are therefore recommending delegated authority for the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources to agree any additional SCIL allocation to deliver the non-residential elements of the Morland Gardens scheme.

 

Support Growth & Development

As outlined above, the neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation are largely located in the south around the Harlesden, Neasden, Stonebridge and South Kilburn areas. A new state of the art centre is required to create an aspirational learning environment for the community, partners, learners and staff. Morland Gardens will be an asset to be utilised with and by the local communities of Stonebridge, which have some of the lowest average income, skills, and highest economic inactivity in Brent

This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a range of modern, replacement community facilities that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet and will help complement future mixed developments in the Stonebridge area such as the Bridge Park Masterplan.

 

Church End Unspecified amount

 

The Church End development comprises 99 affordable homes, a new market square to replace the existing market and commercial use space. In February 2022, the Council appointed Wates as the main contractor to deliver this scheme.

 

Wates is currently progressing delivery of RIBA Stage 4 – Technical Design in order to finalise the contractor’s proposals and final build cost. 

 

Officers are therefore recommending delegated authority for the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources to agree the appropriate SCIL allocation to deliver the non-residential elements of the Church End scheme such as the new market square for local traders, improvements to the town centre and new community/cultural infrastructure to help small and medium enterprises.

 

 

 

 

 

Kilburn Lane/Salusbury Road/Carlton Vale gyratory system to be replaced by lights following road closure

Brent General Purposes Committee will be asked at its next meeting LINK to approve the stopping up of the un-named road(hatched above) also known as Premier Corner which runs between Kilburn Lane and Salusbury Road, close to Queens Park Bakerloo/Overground station.

The stopping up is to enable the development taking place which involves the demolition of Keniston Press, Premier House, Cullen House and the Falcon pub.

The gyratory system will be replaced by a signalled junction at Kilburn Lane/Salusbury Road/Carlton Vale. Westminster City Council withdrew their initial objection based on safety concerns at Fernhead Road )bottom right on satellite view) after assurances from Brent Council. The report says that the council intends to 'retain' the service for cyclists using the Carlton Vale cycle route.

Brent Cyclists reveal possible cycling bridge over Neasden Underpass

Brent Cyclists have revealed tentative plans to build a new bridge over the North Circular to provide a safe cycling route between North and South Brent, long an impediment to cycling in the borough. They deserve recognition for their tireless campaigning backed by detailed research on behalf of local cyclists.

Why Scrutiny needed a Task Force on the South Kilburn Regeneration

The following letter was sent to members of Brent Scrutiny Committee and Cllr Conneely by Pete Firmin on January 28th.  None of the Committee have acknowledged receipt.  It was a follow up to the December Scrutiny Committee discussion of the South Kilburn Regeneration which is on the agenda of the Cabinet tonight:
 

Firstly, thank you for allowing me to express our concerns with regard to the regeneration of South Kilburn at the Scrutiny Committee meeting of 2^nd December, we often feel that residents of South Kilburn are not listened to. Thank you too for asking searching questions of the lead member and officer presenting the report.

There are a few issues which arose in your discussion which I would like to clarify or correct, and which may help you decide how to proceed:

* Councillor McLennan insisted that she had responded to the concerns raised by our TRA in its motion of July 2014 (which I attach again for your interest). Unfortunately this is not the case. The walkabout which Councillor McLennan referred to was about day-to-day issues rather than the more general issues we raised in the resolution. You do not have to take my word for this, if Councillor McLennan is correct that she has responded to those concerns, I’m sure she will gladly provided you with a copy of correspondence from her on the matter. This is not of minor importance; it goes to the heart of how our concerns have been ignored.

* Richard Barrett referred to the proposal to site the HS2 vent shaft at Canterbury Works as a success. He did not even acknowledge the concerns of residents about another heavy construction project being sited next to a junior school and in the middle of a residential area. Local residents and parents of children at the school feel much betrayed by Brent in pushing for the vent shaft to be sited there. There has been no serious attempt to engage with them over the issue, even though our objections are known. It is very hard to find a local resident not appalled by this, as evidenced by the fact that several petitions of hundreds of signatures are now with parliament spelling out those concerns. Even if you believe that LBB has been right to argue for the vent shaft to be sited at Canterbury Works, I would hope that you realise that the way it has gone about it can only serve to alienate residents.

* Richard Barrett said that Coventry Close is not within the area of the regeneration. This after having said that regeneration reaches as far as Kilburn High Road. Part of the Catalyst site is on Coventry Close, and one of their site entrances which caused many problems, is on Coventry Close. Yet no-one seems to believe they have any responsibility for a road which is badly in need of work.

* Asked about additional capacity at the proposed health Centre, we are told that, at least in the immediate term, this will merely bring 3 existing GP practices under the same roof. Yet, although Cllr McLennan and Mr Barrett could not provide figures, the population of South Kilburn is increasing considerably with regeneration (possibly doubling). While it was said that the new centre will `have scope’ for additional GPs, there appeared to be no real push for that, leaving it up to whether NHS England decide to act. Yet I can say from personal experience that existing practices are already having difficulty coping.

* When asked about a pharmacy for the health centre, Richard Barrett mentioned the one at Queens Park station and said the next was Boots on the Kilburn High Road. I had to point out that there is a pharmacy at Kilburn Park tube station, in fact the only one actually in South Kilburn. Mr Barrett said one of the two he mentioned should be approached to run the pharmacy in the new health centre, yet the one at Kilburn park should possibly be given first refusal, since it is likely to lose all its trade when the new centre is built, being currently opposite Kilburn Park Medical Centre,  the largest of those due to go into the Peel precinct centre.

* Again on infrastructure, it was clear from Mr Barrett’s response that the suggested amalgamation of Carlton Vale Infant  and Kilburn Park Junior schools is going nowhere, but no plan B is forthcoming to cope with the increased population.

* Councillor McLennan claimed we were in the masterplan but chose not to be. In actual fact, though we had objections to the masterplan, we were eventually excluded through lack of finance, not primarily because of our objections (we also objected to the destruction of some other entirely sound low rise blocks, to no avail). The implication here is that the problems we have suffered with regeneration are self-inflicted. But surely, even if it were the case that we were left out of regeneration because of our protests, that would not excuse the treatment we have had at the hands of Wilmott Dixon/catalyst.

* Richard Barrett said that he had had regular meetings with the developers at Kilburn Park and raised problems of their behaviour towards us with them. All we can say is that if that is the case Wilmott Dixon/Catalyst have ignored such admonishments. The catalogue of problems which I distributed to you at the scrutiny committee meeting (and attached again here) is only a summary, but should give you a strong indication of those problems. They are continuing right up until the end of the development (now more than a year overrun). A recent Freedom of Information request got the response that, actually, Mr Barrett has passed on very few of our complaints to other relevant parts of the Council. Problems are now continuing way beyond the “completion” of construction in the Kilburn Park. Wilmott Dixon/Catalyst have made various commitments about things they will do at completion, none of which has yet been done. As an example, I cite the fact that on many occasions they promised our windows would be cleaned on completion of the site. We are still waiting.

* On the regeneration more generally, Richard Barrett said that part of the success story of regeneration is that property values in the area have increased. What an amazing statement! We would see that as more of a problem than a “success”. Unfortunately, SK regeneration has not provided any additional social housing in the area to what existed, only unaffordable properties.

* Again on the issue of involvement/engagement, Mr Barrett said that he regularly attends meetings of the Tenant s Steering Group. Those not in the know will not realise that this is a body only for those being moved with regeneration, not for all SK tenants. Rather, when 2 members of our TRA went to a meeting of the TSG they were told they were not supposed to be there but could stay as long as they did not say anything. Similarly, South Kilburn Trust is repeatedly said to work across all the SK area. It does not. The only issue on which we have managed to get SK Trust to work with us is on the hoped-for access to St Mary’s school MUGA (an issue which has now dragged on for 10 years or more). When, for instance, the SK Trust expressed its view on the siting of the HS2 vent shaft in South Kilburn, they made no attempt at all to find out the views of those living close to the proposed site.

There is much more I could say, but will stop there. We would hope that these comments, together with your views expressed at the scrutiny committee meeting, would encourage you to urgently establish a task force to look closer at the regeneration of South Kilburn and the problems it has thrown up. As an organisation of residents, we would be more than happy to assist with, even serve on, such a task force.

Pete Firmin

Chair, on behalf of Alpha, Gorefield and Canterbury Tenants and Residents Association.