If you go down to Roundwood today, you're sure of a big surprise...

 Aerial view of the southern edge of Roundwood Park (Bowling Green in centre)

I certainly got a big surprise when I visited the Gardening Club and other activity areas on the edge of Roundwood Park on Thursday at the invitation of Katie Mills of social enterprise Forest and Family. Full of passion and energy Katie has a vision for this space that already includes an independent gardening club, a Nature Connection Centre where events, talks and half-term activities are held and a Forest School area in a woodland glade. Working with children and their families from diverse backgrounds they reconnect with nature in an era of keyboards and screens.

 

The Gardening Club, made up of volunteers, even have their own resident poet in the person of Susan Carberry and I arrived just in time for a tea break and Susan's reading of one of her poems from her booklet Eternal Ephemera. (On sale in the Roundwood Cafe to raise funds for the Gardening Club)

 Susan told me of the benefits of the Gardening Club. It combines physical hard work, poetry, and socialising and in the process opens up new horizons for participants. People with little previous exposure to poetry become interested in Susan's poetry and that of other poets that she shares with the group, leading to a developing interest in literature.  Susan said that being: 'It fires me up to write!'

The hard work was visible in the garden area with its recently planted orchard, herb and strawberry raised bed and other beds being prepared for planting.

A toddler investigates the orchard

Raised beds

Weeding the herb and strawberry bed

Getting out the compost for use in the potting shed

Seedlings were being hardened off outside

Also in the Cafe compound is the Nature Connection Centre that can be used for events, work with children and all sorts of other possibilities.

A woodland garden is being developed behind the cafe. 

Beyond the Cafe area, walking towards Longstone Avenue, a tall fence and shrubbery conceals a bowling green and pavilion. Like that at Edward VII Park in Wembley it has fallen into disuse. The green has recently been mown and I understand that the pavilion, although currently full of rubbish, has a kitchen, centre space, toilets and changing rooms attached. It clearly has great potential, and it is a pity to see, in a borough lacking in green space, that it is unused.

But there is hope. Brent Council intend to lease it out and a consortium consisting of Forest and Family, the Scouts and others are interested in making an application.

The Bowling Green

The Pavilion

Walking on from the bowling green you come upon an asphalt path which used to be a vehicle entrance to the bowling green and next to it the children's playground currently being refurbished with the rather garish equipment common to most Brent Parks.

However,there is another surprise at the end of the asphalt path. The rustic entrance to semi-woodland that is used as the Forest School with visits from local primary pupils, enabling them to get in touch with nature and immerse themselves in activities. Katie Mills has brought the previously abused area back into positive use and given the right arrangements with Brent Council it could have a fully sustainable future and contribute to the Council's Climate Emergency Strategy and engagement with young people.

What child would not be thrilled to enter through this gate?

Another of Katie's projects, which has become a national outdoor campaign but runs locally with the cooperation of Brent Libraries, is Stories by Moonlight. Participants get an outdoor story book sack of activities to do at home with parents and carers on summer evenings, but even better, a network of participants has been formed. Children can come in their pyjamas to a park or green space and take part in storytelling and read books surrounded by fairly lights or lanterns in a magical space as day becomes dusk and night.

Looking again at the aerial view,  you can see that taken together the area around the cafe with its edible woodland gardens and meeting space, could be linked with environmental projects on the disused bowling green, and linked on again to the Forest School woodland area. This would be a tremendous facility that could serve as a model for other Brent spaces as well as further afield.

It just needs people to match Katie's passion and vitality and get behind the vision to the benefit of all.

I'll leave the last word to Katie: 

This is a big vision project about how Nature connects us to better health, wellbeing, and each other. I wanted to show how parks can become dynamic and innovative centres for Nature connection, outdoor wellbeing, green prescribing, and community cohesion in Brent. 

 

With support from NCIL funding we're achieved that; we're impacted so many people through the project and create an ambitious template with huge potential to be scaled. We're shown a huge appetite alongst local residents, schools and families for what we're doing. 

 

This work is urgent and vital, especially in Brent, and it needs a joined up, strategic and multi-partner approach. The council's buy-in to this vision is critical and if we can get the right level of support and momentum the benefits for all are huge.

 

LINKS

 

https://www.katiemills.co.uk/business/stories-by-moonlight/

 

 

https://www.katiemills.co.uk/business/forestandfamily/

 

 

 

Divest Brent calls on the Pension Sub-Committee to seize the opportunity and play its part in divesting from fossil fuels to ensure a planet habitable by humans

 

The Divest Brent delegation arrives at Brent Civic Centre

A delegation from campaign group Divest Brent made a presentation to the Brent Pension Fund Sub-Committee tonight to urge them to speed up the fund's divestment from fossil fuel copanies in the face of the climate emergency.

 

Glenis Scadding presented on behalf of the delegation and said:

 

Climate breakdown is gathering at shocking, unanticipated speed, with disasters occurring at 1.2 degrees of heating that scientists did not expect until we hit 2 or 3 degrees. If we are to save the planet from increasingly intense heatwaves, wildfires, droughts – and indeed keep it habitable by humans – we have to tackle the problem of fossil fuels NOW. 89% of CO2 emissions come from industry and from burning fossil fuels. You, the Pension Fund Sub-committee have a significant opportunity to play your part.

 

The International Energy Agency has warned that no new oil and gas exploration should take place, if we are to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Yet there are currently around 200 fossil fuel development projects, each expected to eventually emit over a billion tons of CO2. This alone would use up the entire global carbon budget and trigger runaway climate change – and ultimately, in all probability, the extinction of the entire human race.

 

 

The current high cost of fossil fuels means that projects to develop more of them, such as Jackdaw and fracking, are being given the go – ahead by Government. This is misguided short – termism since the time courses involved are too long to rescue us from our current energy plight. Much better to invest in new renewables, even Dr Chris Cornelius, the geologist who founded Cuadrilla in 2007, said recently that ministers would do better to look at geothermal energy and tidal power.

 

 

The only way to avoid the worst scenario is to reduce our fossil fuel consumption as soon as possible – and by divesting its Pension Fund from fossil fuel companies Brent Council would be doing its bit to send a signal that promotes investment into new renewable energy projects, not fossil fuels.

 

 

The primary purpose of the Pension Fund is to maximise investment returns to provide pensions to retired Council staff. Fortunately, just as the cost of renewable energy is now significantly lower than fossil fuels, so the outlook for renewable investments is much better than fossil fuels. The investment value of the fossil fuel companies are set to crash as petrol vehicles give way to electric ones (with the UK phasing out sales of new petrol vehicles by 2030) and hard economics persuades utility companies to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Greenwashing by companies such as BP and Shell should not persuade you otherwise. Sub-committee members will not want to emulate their colleagues in local authority pension funds which lost up to £683 million in 2015 through failed investments in coal companies.

 

By divesting from fossil fuels Brent would be treading a well-worn path – 7 London boroughs have already committed to divest. The Islington Pension Fund chair has offered to talk to Sub-committee members and could answer queries.

 

We warmly welcome Brent Council’s Net zero roadmap but the measure used to identify the carbon intensity of an investee company or fund suffers from a major shortcoming: failure to consider scope 3 emissions. Fossil fuel companies are scored based on the carbon emissions of their offices, travel and power used in fuel extraction, but not on the emissions generated by burning them.

 

We do not underestimate the effort involved in Pension Fund divestment. Fossil fuel investments form part of an investment portfolio. In order to divest particular stocks and shares, the Fund will need to sell the entire holding in the investment fund in which they are held.  This is where Brent could benefit from the experience of those Boroughs that have already made the commitment to divest.

 

 

Brent Labour Party is already committed to divest – its 2022 manifesto promised to “redouble our efforts [to reach carbon neutrality] and call upon our partners to divest our Pension Fund of organisations that extract fossil fuels” All that is needed now is action.

 

 

Cllr Robert Johnson, chair of the committee, urged the delegation to hear the item updating the Council's  Net Zero Roadmap. The item is embedded below:

LETTER: ‘The pollution of the Wealdstone Brook with untreated human sewage is a clear and present danger.’

 Dear Editor,

‘A clear and present danger’ said President Biden recently with regards to the Climate Emergency,.

 

A clear and present danger says the various Brent Council documents and press releases with regards to the Climate Emergency.

 

So why is the presence of untreated human sewage in the Wealdstone Brook as it runs through Brent on its way to the River Brent and then onto the River Thames not declared Code Red for the local residents? Why was a ‘Major Incident’ not declared by Brent Council using its Formal Executive Powers?

 

The presence of untreated human sewage along with unknown toxic gases vaporising at low temperatures from the water surface would surely be regarded as a ‘clear and present danger’ to all but the ignorant.

 

As a retired Brent Secondary School teacher I will have a worksheet available for every Brent Councillor at the next full Brent Council meeting (absentees will be set it as homework).

 

Write out 100 times;

 

‘The pollution of the Wealdstone Brook with untreated human sewage is a clear and present danger.’

 

John Poole

Progress and set-backs in Brent's Climate Strategy on the Cabinet Agenda tomorrow

 Tomorrow's Cabinet will be discussing progress and plans for Brent's Climate Strategy. It is a mixed bag with progress in some areas, with many small projects that contribute to change, but some major areas at a near standstill.

 

As a former 'daily cyclist' I was disappointed by the lack of any plans for an improvement in the borough's cycling infrastructure. There is a promise of more cycle hangars and projects for cargo bike deliveries for town centres and pilot projects for Neighbourhood Sustainability Schemes.  However that does not answer the need for joined up safe cycle routes for commuting and leisure needed across the borough to encourage more cars off the road and reduce pollution. In particular the north-south barrier of the North Circular Road remains to be tackled.

 

The report notes:

 

The council’s delivery of Healthy Neighbourhood schemes in the borough encountered public opposition, which was reported to the council’s Cabinet in January 2022. As a result, one Healthy Neighbourhood in the Stonebridge/Harlesden area has been implemented.

 

The remaining four schemes which were being trialled at Olive Road, Dollis Hill, Preston Road and Tokyngton and Wembley area schemes have been removed. It is acknowledged that collaborative design with the community would help to engender public support for future measures, and these will need to be effective in preventing through traffic and trialled for a longer period, potentially 12 months.

 

This action is therefore being rolled over into the 2022-24 delivery plan, with officers preparing a report for consideration by the Council’s Cabinet on the future approach to developing and delivering Healthy Neighbourhood schemes.

 

The development and implementation of future schemes will depend on future funding being made available for that purpose

 

School Streets have been relatively successful and there are plans for three 'place led' sustainability pilot projects. Two are 'Neighbourhood led' and one 'Development led':

 

Perhaps the most innovative and efficient way of demonstrating greater focus,pace, visibility and impact on the climate and ecological emergency agenda is through the designation and implementation of a new place-based approach.

This would be delivered through piloting ‘Sustainable Neighbourhoods’ in a number of areas within the borough in which the council would seek to target a dedicated proportion of its sustainability investment and activity.

Part of the rationale for this is to forge a strong partnership with local communities within these localities, demonstrating how tackling the climate and ecological emergency relates to local areas in Brent and showcasing the holistic benefits it can bring. Another benefit of this approach is that it would provide the opportunity to learn lessons for delivery in order to replicate the actions undertaken in these pilots in other areas of the borough beyond 2023.

 

There are two key differential elements within Brent’s approach to selecting suitable locations. The first is that we propose to undertake two ‘Neighbourhood-led’ pilots, that would be delivered and completed by the end of 2023, and the second is to undertake one ‘Development-led’ pilot, that would be longer-term and focused around the new development pipeline, aiming to complete by the end of 2025/26.

 

 Selecting 'Neighbourhood led' Pilot

 

Considering the north of the borough, an area around Kingsbury/Roe Green is considered to be a highly suitable area to undertake a neighbourhood- led pilot. The area selected would encompass parts of Queensbury and Kingsbury wards.

When considering the south of the borough, a locality in and around Church End/ Roundwood is a strong candidate for a neighbourhood-led pilot. The area selected would encompass parts of the Roundwood and Harlesden & Kensal Green wards.

 

Selecting a ‘Development-led’ Pilot

The process of selecting a ‘development-led’ pilot area was more dependent on the milestones within the development pipeline and in particular, the timing of the design stages and opportunities to integrate new sustainability considerations. The best opportunities to embed environmental sustainability and potential for net zero new builds is felt to be through incorporating these objectives into the New Council Homes Programme, in particular those schemes which are currently being considered for feasibility.

 

Following review of eight schemes within the council’s New Council Homes development pipeline, South Kilburn was identified as the most suitable area for undertaking a development-led pilot. It is also proposed that an increased emphasis on sustainability is placed on the regeneration plans for St Raphael’s Estate.

I found it difficult to pinpoint exactly what was involved in these pilots and hope that more detail will emerge later.

 

An area where there has been a great focus nationally is the retrofitting of existing properties to make them energy efficient, particularly in the face of the cost of energy crisis. It is an enormous task needing national funding and so local efforts appear quite insignificant and somewhat vague in terms of timelines:

 

The first year of the tower block works programme was due to see work begin on three tower blocks – Kilburn Square, Manor Court and Lodge Court. Unfortunately there has been limited progress on this action in 2021-22 due to a delay in the procurement of the supply chain due to construction market conditions; and due to the need for a more extensive consultation with tenants and leaseholders. This action will therefore be rolled over as a specific action into the new 2022-24 delivery plan.

 

The assessment of the council’s own housing stock has completed and will provide a valuable basis for both the development of a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy for our own stock, and strengthen the evidence base for the council to submit bids for external funding to undertake retrofitting work.

 

We have undertaken three pioneering retrofit pilots on void street properties within our own stock. The properties were fitted with thermal efficient internal and external insulation, energy efficient windows, energy saving heating and power source with photovoltaic panels on the roof. Smart House Measures will also be included to ensure monitoring of energy efficiency after the tenant has moved in. We will apply the learning of the retrofit work undertaken on these building archetypes to similar sites across our stock wherever possible.

 

 

When the regeneration of the Wembley Stadium  area began more than a decade ago Brent Green Party advocated the setting up of a Green Enterprise zone where small innovative green business start-ups would be encouraged by initial business rate concessions and links made with the College of North West London in providing apprenticeships and training in green technologies, retrofitting etc.  LINK Criticism was made of over-reliance on retail in the area to provide jobs.

 

 

Brent Council in a welcome initiative is now engaged in something along those lines in terms of the education aspect but it would make sense to link this with SME business support:

Over the course of this year we have established a strong partnership with United Colleges to deliver a new Green Skills Centre at the Willesden Campus of College of North West London. Scheduled to open in summer 2022, the hub will offer a range of green skills courses for students in the local area and from across the city. The courses available at the new hub will focus on the green agenda and a wide range of construction and engineering subjects. Students will be able to learn about air source heat pumps, electrical vehicle charging, internal and external wall insulation, and a variety of other sustainable technologies. The exciting and forward-thinking new hub will enable educators, employers, and other organisations to work in partnership to develop a programme that promotes employability, learning, and skills.

 

It is hard to do justice to all the documentation in a short blog post so do check out the Delivery Plan and the  Progress Report.

 

 

Additional documents:

• 08a. Appendix A - Climate Strategy 2022-24 Delivery Plan PDF 690 KB
• 08b. Appendix B - Place-based Approach Recommended Sustainable Neighbourhoods pilots (Neighbourhood-Led) PDF 2 MB
• 08c. Appendix C - Place-based Approach Recommended Sustainable Neighbourhoods pilot (Development-led) PDF 806 KB
• 08d. Appendix D - Place-based Approach Enhanced sustainability focus as part of regeneration plans PDF 642 KB
• 08e. Appendix E - Brent Carbon Offset Fund (CO2GO) Allocations PDF 623 KB
• 08f. Appendix F - Climate and Ecological Emergency 2021-22 Delivery Plan Progress Report PDF 663 KB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brent Climate Festival kicks off tomorrow - Monday November 1st

 

 

From Brent Council (The curtain raiser event, Brent Climate Question Time, attracted around 50 people but unfortunately was not  recorded). 

Brent’s Climate Festival (1-12 November) is an exciting two-week long programme of activities and events which aims to raise awareness and inspire action on climate change.

 

The festival is a local reflection of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, which is taking place over the same time period.

Brent Council is committed to tackling the climate emergency, and we are working together with residents to make Brent a carbon neutral borough by 2030.

Climate change affects every single one of us, and we need to take action as a community. Many of the changes we must make will not only protect our planet, they can also save you money, improve air quality and help you feel healthier.

We are bringing communities together to learn about climate change, provide helpful tips on reducing our carbon emissions and showcase the good work already happening.

 

We can all start making a difference by taking a pledge for climate change. Make your voice heard via the ‘Count us in’ pledge pages. LINK

 

Programme of events

 

We have a variety of in-person and online activities which everyone can take part in.

 

As well as council-led events, we are working alongside local groups, businesses, libraries and other partners.

 

 

Get involved

If you have any questions about the Brent Climate Festival or the Climate Emergency in Brent, you can contact us:

Email: climateemergency@brent.gov.uk