Kingsbury Mandir anniversary - a chance to enjoy Hindu culture this week

 Guest post by Philip Grant

 

Kingsbury Mandir, at the corner of Kingsbury Road and Townsend Lane. (Image from the internet)

 

The Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this month, and is inviting the local community to join them for a series of events over the next eight days. I know, from personal experience, that the people of this Mandir are very welcoming to anyone, from whatever background, who is interested to experience their culture, and that they are keen to be an integral part of Brent’s wonderfully diverse community.

 

One of the highlights of the week will be a grand procession along Kenton Road and Kingsbury Road next Saturday afternoon, 24 August. The procession will start from St Luke’s Hospice at 3.30pm – chosen because the Mandir has been supporting the hospice charity from the time that its environmentally friendly temple building was being constructed.

 

 

There was a similar colourful procession in 2014, when the Kingsbury Mandir opened, and I can give you a flavour of what you might see with these photos which I took then, as it passed near Kingsbury Library.

 

You may wonder, as I did at first, what a band in kilts, playing bagpipes, has to do with Hindu culture. I learned, from speaking later with a member of the band, that about fifty years ago their spiritual leader (Inspirator) came from India, to visit the relatively new community of this branch of the Swarminarayan faith. While in London, he saw and heard a Scottish military bagpipe band, and felt uplifted by its beautiful music. Wishing to please him, a group of his followers learned to play the bagpipes, and Kingsbury Mandir’s band now performs to an excellent standard. I suggest that you take the chance to hear them!

 

 

The stretch of Kingsbury Road near the Library, with its wide pavement on the less busy side of the shopping centre, would be a good place to watch the procession pass, probably between about 4 and 4,30pm. And if you are early, and have not already seen it, why not pop inside Kingsbury Library to view the small display about the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park in 1924!

Philip Grant.

An open letter to Brent councillors on safe cycling infrastructure

An open letter to Brent councillors from Charles Fernandes

Dear Councillors, 

I'm writing with regards to the urgent need for safe cycling infrastructure in Brent. 

PERSONAL STORY 

Today marks ten years since I first bought a bicycle as an adult. That was when I started on my journey from depending very heavily on public transport into a new world of empowerment, freedom and wellbeing. At the time I was emerging from a long difficult period of depression. Cycling transformed my life in so many ways for the better. 

COVID IMPACT ON BRENT

Brent is amongst the boroughs with the most cumulative cases of ​Covid-19​ infections and deaths. 

The public are told to avoid ​public transport​ as much as possible. However Brent has the most train connections and is the borough most dependent on public transport. 

There's a harsh disparity in how ​BAME​ communities are impacted from Covid-19. [01]. And Brent has amongst the largest and most diverse BAME communities in the country.
Brent is amongst the most ​polluted​ boroughs in the UK [02]. And there's growing evidence that pollution makes coronavirus worse [03]. 

Brent has the highest rates of ​obesity​ and ​diabetes​ [04] [05]. These amongst some other illnesses disproportionately affecting Brent closely correlate with inactivity. 

Partly from its demographic and geography, Brent seems to have a ​unique combination of circumstances​ that makes it very badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. It continues to be at risk from resurgent outbreaks and also from the ongoing climate crisis impacts on health.

URGENT AND MANDATORY 

The need to social distance has led to a sudden reduction in public transport capacity and a recommendation to avoid it where possible. A small transfer to cars leads to road gridlock. Both cycling and walking are now recognised as the favoured means of transport by far. These points are what has led to the Department for Transport issuing emergency statutory guidance on 9th May 2020, instructing local authorities to reallocate space to safely enable both cycling and walking. The mandate specified “Measures should be taken as swiftly as possible, and in any event within weeks, given the urgent need to change travel habits before the restart takes full effect.”​ [06] 

ACTION IN BRENT 

I recognise there has been important attention on care homes, with Brent Council apparently doing well to save lives there. This work must be complemented by enabling people to travel safely while minimising new infections. The aim of reducing infections is also to protect the same people Brent

Council protected at the peak of the pandemic. Otherwise while saving lives in one aspect, it risks taking lives in another. 

Most London boroughs have been taking action on active travel, with a mixture of low traffic neighbourhoods and pop-up protected cycle lanes appearing throughout April, May and June. To my knowledge, Brent has still not implemented any such measures. It appears that Brent is not appreciating the emergency, and may be at severe risk of breaching the DfT’s 9th May mandate. 

BENEFITS
Extract from Forbes article: 

“A DfT report found in 2014 that investing in cycling brings huge economic, social, and health benefits, with some cycling schemes having a ​benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of up to 35 to 1​. That is, for every pound spent, the U.K. gets back £35 in social benefits.

The DfT’s “Value for Money” guidance says an infrastructure project will generally be regarded as “medium” if the BCR is between 1.5 and 2; “high” if it is above 2. 35 to 1 is, therefore, off the scale”​ [07] [08]

Amongst other reasons, such an incredible benefit-to-cost ratio should be sufficient alone for a local
authority to fast-track cycle infrastructure, without waiting for external funding. 

People may lack the time or motivation to incorporate ​exercise​ into their daily routines. Cycling as transport can integrate exercise seamlessly into an individual’s way of life. 

Compared with the ​financial costs for individuals​ of using public transport and driving, the financial costs of cycling are minimal and very quickly recouped [09]. 

There are countless studies showing that pedestrian- and cycle-friendly realms benefit local ​business​. [10] 

OBSTACLES 

Resistance from some should be expected. The council should put efforts into educating people of the benefits, combating misconceived fallacies, informing that people who need to drive will still be able to do so, etc. 

PROGRESSIVE 

Cycling as transport is progressive. It’s a mode for people of all incomes. 

Disabled people, as well as elderly people, are often disabled by the environment not being made inclusive; many are only too willing to use adapted or mobility cycles such as tricycles or handcycles. A Guide to Inclusive Cycling by Wheels for Wellbeing: wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FINAL-v3.pdf 

Parents want to cycle with, or to allow their children to cycle to school. Children who cycle to school have measurably better concentration than those who don't. [11] 

There are political rewards too as demonstrated by Anne Hidalgo being re-elected as Mayor of Paris with her plans to reallocate road space to cycling and walking. [12] 

HOW? 

A ​Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN)​ by means of modal filters such as bollards or planters, restrict rat-running through traffic, while opening up a neighbourhood to a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly realm. Living Streets and London Cycling Campaign have published an introduction livingstreets.org.uk/media/3843/lcc021-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-intro-v8.pdf​ and the more detailed guide ​livingstreets.org.uk/media/3844/lcc021-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-detail-v9.pdf 

A ​School Street​ is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. Find out more at ​schoolstreets.org.uk 

Pop-up cycle lanes​ are a reallocation of road space on main routes to provide a protected, safe and inviting space for cycling. These provide the connectors between LTNs and School Streets. 

We often hear ​contrary arguments​ that it cannot be done from people theorising about potential problems. Yet a cycle-friendly environment is not theory. The Netherlands over four decades ago began changing from a car-centric society – just like ours – into a cycle-friendly society. In London, Waltham Forest has become a beacon and is continuing to make a substantial transformation. 

I urge Brent Council to learn from good real-world examples, including how they managed to overcome local obstacles. 

Brent Cycling Campaign provide some ​FAQs​ in their blog posts: * Emergency Measures? What Does This Mean? 

brentcyclists.org.uk/2020/06/14/what-are-covid19-emergency-measures 

* Wembley To Willesden Junction Healthy Streets
brentcyclists.org.uk/2020/03/10/wembley-to-willesden-junction-healthy-streets 

SCRUTINY AND LIAISING WITH PARTNERS 

I'm pleased to learn of announcements of funding for emergency cycle infrastructure in Brent. However, in recent cycle route infrastructure schemes Brent received funding for, it has implemented the schemes very poorly, that in no way meet the aims of enabling new people to cycle. 

This is most notable with Kingsbury Road and Quietway 3. So I urge for a willingness to be open to scrutiny, to liaise with partners such as Brent Cycling Campaign, London Cycling Campaign, Clean Air for Brent and others. 

Yours sincerely, 

Charlie Fernandes
Resident in London Borough of Brent (address supplied) 

REFERENCES
[01] Covid-19: understanding the impact on BAME communities (PHE, June 2020)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-understanding-the-impact-on-bame-communities

[02] Brent listed three times in top 10 of worst air pollution breaches across the UK (Brent & Kilburn Times, 2019) https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/environment/toxic-air-in-brent-worst-in-the-country-1-5975064
[03] Air pollution likely to make coronavirus worse, say UK government advisers (The Guardian, July 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/01/air-pollution-likely-to-make-coronavirus-worse-sa y-uk-experts
[04] Brent named as the ‘fattest borough’ in London (Brent & Kilburn Times, 2016)
https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/brent-named-as-the-fattest-borough-in-london-1-4523843
[05] Brent 'worst borough for diabetes' (BBC, 2013)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24331891
[06] Statutory guidance: Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to Covid-19 (DfT, published 9 May 2020, updated 23 May 2020) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory- guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid- 19
[07] UK Government Dangles £100 Billion For Green-Recovery Infrastructure (Forbes, 2020)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/06/13/uk-government-dangles-100-billion-for-green-recov ery-infrastructure-deadline-june-18/
[08] Value for Money Assessment for Cycling Grants (DfT, 2014)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3489 43/vfm-assessment-of-cycling-grants.pdf
[09] Is cycling to work really cheaper than public transport? (BBC, 2016)
bbc.com/worklife/article/20161206-is-cycling-to-work-really-cheaper-than-public-transport
[10] The Complete Business Case for Converting Street Parking Into Bike Lanes – An annotated, chart-filled review of 12 studies from around the world (Bloomberg, 2015) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-13/every-study-ever-conducted-on-the-impact-conv erting-street-parking-into-bike-lanes-has-on-businesses
[11] Children who cycle to school have measurably better concentration than those who don't (Road.cc, 2013) https://road.cc/content/news/75965-children-who-cycle-school-have-measurably-better-concentration-th ose-who-dont
[12] Anne Hidalgo Reelected As Mayor Of Paris Vowing To Remove Cars And Boost Bicycling And Walking (Forbes, 2020) https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/06/28/anne-hidalgo-reelected-as-mayor-of-paris-vowing-t o-remove-cars-and-boost-bicycling-and-walking/

Local history on show in Kingsbury Road

Guest post by local historian Philip Grant

If you don’t live in Kingsbury, or visit Kingsbury Road, you may not know that for the past 18 months the Council has been carrying out “town centre improvements” there (funded mainly by the GLA). These include new paving, new trees, new cycle lanes on both sides of the road and extra cycle parking stands for the station and shopping centre.

As part of the consultation exercise for the improvements, I suggested that local history panels (which I offered to design, free of charge) could be provided as part of the new seating areas. I received no response to this suggestion, until I mentioned it, several months later, to one of my ward councillors. Then, as if by magic, it was welcomed as a good idea.

Earlier this month, after a lot of input and “chasing” on my part since the summer of 2018, four illustrated panels, telling “The Kingsbury Road Story” were fitted to bench seats along the north side of the road. This document tells you where you can find them, and gives a taste of what you will discover on each panel.

Click bottom right to enlarge to full size

Does Kingsbury Road have much of a story? After all, it is just a suburban local shopping centre, isn’t it? 

Well, most of the buildings you see there today appeared in the 1930’s, and there are interesting stories behind some of them, but the history of this thoroughfare goes back a lot further to Kingsbury’s Saxon origins. Its name means “a place belonging to the King”, and was first recorded in the reign of King Eadwig. (Never heard of him? He was only King from AD955 to 959!)

You can see Kingsbury Road on an extract from a map drawn in 1597, shortly after a wealthy local farmer, John Lyon (founder of Harrow School), gave money to provide £2 a year for the upkeep of the road – labour (at tuppence a day) was cheaper then. Putting gravel on the surface during the summer was meant to stop the road from becoming too muddy during the wetter winter months, and the same method was still being used by the local Council in 1910, when this photograph (by a farm near today’s Kingsbury Station) was taken.

The local history panels bring the story of Kingsbury Road right up to the rich cultural mix of shops you will find in Kingsbury Road today. The heritage trail they provide will hopefully guide visitors along the road, from the Kingsbury Station bus stop to the library (closed for refurbishment from 11 November to 15 December inclusive), which will be one of the venues for the LBOC 2020 “Museum of All Brent Life”.

I hope that readers will enjoy “The Kingsbury Road Story”. If so, perhaps they can suggest other locations in Brent where similar history panels might be appreciated, and get their local councillors on board, to make the idea a reality.

Philip Grant.