£1000 available for Kensal to Kilburn community project ideas

 FROM TRANSITION TOWN KENSAL TO KILBURN

Transition Town Kensal to Kilburn (TTKK) is inviting local residents to take part in a competition this spring. 

 

 

Our volunteer organisation has created three grants - one £500 grant and two £250 grants.

 

 

To enter the competition, participants need to fulfill the following criteria :

 

-       live in the Kensal to Kilburn area,

-       submit an idea for a community project that would benefit residents living in the area,

-       be ready to turn the project into action this year.

 

 

The projects submitted need to bring people together and protect the environment. The grants will finance the material costs of the successful bids.

 

 

TTTKK, a local volunteer group created in 2009 and advocating a transition to an environmentally friendly way of life, is particularly keen to get some young people enter the competition. One of the £250 grants will be allocated to a resident under 25 years old. 

 

 

However, the group is generally looking for new people of all ages and origins to create a more resilient local community in the face of climate change. 

 

 

Inject new energy into the group by submitting project ideas

Over the last decade, TTKK volunteers have made a positive impact in the Kensal to Kilburn area by setting up community gardens, harvesting fruit every summer, planting trees and organising regular electric and electronic repair events etc.

 

 

Some TTKK members have also created their own separate organisations to take their project further. For example, Brent Pure Energy is a community benefit society that has been funding solar panels for local schools since 2016. 

 

 

Fruit tree harvesting in Kilburn last summer

 

 

 

“As we are coming out of lockdown, we would like to inject some new energy into our group of dedicated volunteers”, says Janey McAllester, one of the fruit picking group leaders. “Making the most of our local community and environment has brought us a lot of satisfaction and joy. We want to create more opportunities for fellow residents to enjoy the benefits of a life deeply rooted in our local area”, adds Amandine Alexandre, another TTKK volunteer. 

 

 

People attend our online Zoom meeting on Thursday April 22nd at 7pm (link here) and by submitting their idea by email before Monday June 7th  mail@ttkensaltokilburn.ning.com

 

 

Please apply with up to 100 words about your idea, yourself, the road you live in, how it would work, what help you would need or like and how long you think it will take for you to complete the project.

 

 

Projects that meet the criteria will be shortlisted by local people voting at a meeting on June 23rd in the evening and then Transition Town Kensal to Kilburn will select the three best projects. 

 

 

 

Restart party at The Library in Willesden in 2015

 

 

TTKK can help people find others interested in making their idea happen and help with advice. “We are happy to provide feedback and help develop and present the project”, underlines Michael Stuart, a founding member of TTKK. 

 

Expenses are reimbursed against receipts or we can pay for items directly so prize winners are not out of pocket. If your project costs less than the full amount the money will be reallocated to extra projects.  

 

Unfortunately, you can't apply if you are:

 

-       an organisation - individuals or small groups of individuals only please,

-       if your idea should be covered by statutory funding (as in health care and social care funded by the government and local authorities),

-       If you are promoting religion.

 

TTKK can be contacted via Michael Stuart. You can email him at: michael.stuart6@googlemail.com

 

You can visit our website here.

 

 

How will we spend £3.1 million Community Infrastructure Levy in Wembley? What about other areas?

CIL available for distribution in each area

The Community Infrastructure Levy (a levy on development projects to provide support to the community) has yielded the following amounts for different areas of Brent:

Harlesden £206k
Kilburn & Kensal £471k
Kingsbury & Kenton £395k
Wembley £3.1m
Willesden £218k

Readers may have their own comments on the different amounts allocated to each area.

Each area has an agreed set of priorities on which the money can be spent:

Brent Council set out the application process:

A scheme will not be funded unless it meets all essential criteria. The shortlisting criteria for projects are as follows:

• Meets the terms of the CIL Regulations  (2010) as amended
• Has community backing
• Supports, and where possible mitigates the impact of, the development of the area
• Reflects the priorities of the Council & CIL Neighbourhood
• A one-off scheme that does not require additional revenue funding in its delivery or its operation ( or identifies how additional revenue funding may be met)
• Benefits the broadest section of the community
• Offers value for money 

The Head of Planning and Lead Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills, will rank all project proposals received for each CIL Neighbourhood by the submission deadline, according to how well they meet the shortlisting criteria, and a shortlist of projects to fund will be agreed. Projects that are not shortlisted will also receive notification and may request feedback on their proposals.

 Applications have to be in by December 1st 2017. The application form can be found HERE.

Brent Connects Meetings in June and July

Cllr Dan Filson, Chair of Scrutiny, said he would be attending Brent Connects meetings to pick up the concerns of residents.  Here are details of the current round:

Willesden's local harvest yields fruit, wine, cider, chutney and crumbles!

Photo: Jonathan Goldberg

Brent's fruit picking groups have had a bumper harvest this year, saving almost three tons of fruit that would otherwise go to waste in local gardens. The three groups, “Kensal to Kilburn Fruit Harvesters”, “Willesden Fruit Harvesters” and “Mapesbury Residents' Association” (MapRA) have between them picked a record amount of fruit, which has been shared with local schools and community groups.

'Super primaries' behind 'village' free school proposal

Mary Seacole celebrated on a Jamaican stamp

 Another free school proposal is being pursued in the Queen's Park, Kensal, North Kensington area. This school, Seacole Primary Free  LINK, presumably named after the Jamaican nurse heroine of the Crimea War, is being marketed as a 'A Village School in the heart of London'.

Although the shortage of primary places in the area is cited as making a new school necessary there are links to parental criticism of the increasing number of very large primary schools, some of which will have more than 1,000 pupils:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17012972

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17273218

On this blog I have predicted that Brent Council's expansion of primary schools into much larger units could produce proposals for smaller primary schools where children feel secure in a family atmosphere and parents find staff readily accessible. My arguments against free schools are set out HERE but I have sympathy for those who find 'super primaries' alienating. The answer should be the building of more community local authority primary schools of a modest size but this is made almost impossible by Coalition policy.

The Seacole Primary proposal is set out below:

SEACOLE PRIMARY SCHOOL will strive for academic excellence and an all-round education that allows every child to flourish. Here’s how:

Class sizes: small classes – no more than 24 pupils – so that each child is supported to achieve their full potential.

Curriculum: a strong foundation in core subjects like maths and English complimented by art, music, drama and regular sport.

Collaboration: we believe that a good education is built on a partnership between teachers and parents. We will aim to assist working parents with breakfast and after-school clubs.

Community: each child should feel happy at school to instill a love of learning, confidence and good behaviour. We want to build a school that is a community.

In the Queen's Park, Kensal Rise and North Kensington area there is an acute shortfall of primary school places. A group of local parents are applying to open a mixed, 4 to 11 free school.
We are applying for permission to start with classes from Reception up to Year 4. If our application is approved the school will open in September 2014.