MP and Assembly Member join battle against the Jubilee line screechers

Barry Gardiner MP and Navin Shah London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow have backed local campaigners whose lives have been blighted by a loud screech made by Jubilee line trains at a curve in the track in Kingsbury.

For over 2 years, houses that back onto the Jubilee Line’s Kingsbury Curve and farther afield have been affected by the increase in noise levels from the passing trains.

Residents are unable to socialise or relax in their gardens.  People cannot sleep.  Those working from home in the heat of the summer are unable to open their windows due to the noise disturbance.  The Jubilee Line is on the Night Time network so on Friday and Saturdays, when it starts running again, there will be no let-up through the night.

In desperation, two neighbours from either side of the tracks, Anne Bovett and Karen Flaum, met by chance and decided to take action.  Having written to TfL on a number of occasions and urging neighbours to do the same, they have now presented their MP Barry Gardiner with a petition of over 200 signatories asking him to take up their request for the speed limit on the Curve to be re-introduced, believing this will curb the noise.

Quotes from neighbours:

•  The noise is affecting my ability work from home as I can’t open the window.
•  We can hear the noise from our house 200m away
•  Cannot hear anybody in garden or hear TV or phone when train passe
•  We are long overdue for some peace
•  The frequency of the trains results in a continuous barrage of noise.
•  I cannot stay in the garden for any length of time.

Due to the pandemic, rather than go door-to-door with the petition, Anne Bovett and Karen Flaum posted individual copies into homes in Ravenscroft Avenue, Uxendon Hill and surrounding roads and hoped that neighbours would sign.  They did!

 The campaigners sent the petition to Barry Gardiner who wrote to Andy Byford, Commissioner at Transport for London asking that he:

• provides an update regarding the progress that has been made to investigate possible solutions and take readings at affected properties
• passes on the documents provided which sets out the concerns of residents so that they can be reviewed and assessed by the appropriate team when investigating the solutions available.
• ensures the request of the 205 signatories for a reduction in speed to 20mph on The Kingsbury Curve is appropriately considered as a possible measure to improve the noise pollution that residents are having to endure.
• ensures that affected residents are consulted throughout this process and they are provided with assurances that the necessary steps are being taken by TfL to address their concerns.

Navin Shah went as far as to threaten to pick up a banner and join the campaigners when he wrote to Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport:

Over two years TfL’s efforts at lowering noise levels at the above location(s) have failed and local residents are seeking renewed and urgent action to get their quality of life back from the persistent intrusive noise. I am writing to you to express my strong support to their concerns and help my constituents to regain the ‘quieter life’ as they put it.  

FYI in early June this year, grease output of the track lubricant on Kingsbury curve was increased to reduce the screeching of rails but this has failed. Recently Mr Barros the TfL Noise and Vibration engineer visited the locality and confirmed the noise levels had increased. His report is awaited to confirm the current situation 

I am hugely disappointed that despite so many investigations, inspections, email writings not a hint of the progress of equal to a tip of a pin can be presented to the residents of the area. I feel ashamed because this is the only task I have failed for residents. Please note I want to see demonstrable progress and want it as soon as possible otherwise I will have no alternative but to pick up the banners along with others and start campaigning with the local  residents without any ifs or buts. There must remain the urgent need and genuine desire for bringing back noise level to a bearable level for residents any further delay would be unacceptable for the goodwill and respect we have for each other.  TFL must act now, please.

The Director of Assets for London Underground told the Kilburn Times LINK that they were aware of the concerns of residents who lived around the Kingsbury Curve and had been told that recent work on the track had not reduced noise sufficiently.  They will investigate additional measures including alternative lubrication for train wheels. 

A wider solution which would require more fundamental change was suggested by Cedric Lynch who commenting on the story said:

Train wheel treads used to be machined to a slightly conical shape that allowed them to roll quietly round curves because the flanges did not have to touch the rails to make the wheels follow the curve. This wheel shape was found to cause "hunting" (a rapid oscillation) at high speeds on British Rail trains and was changed to a perfectly cylindrical shape that stopped the hunting but caused screeching on curves. Perhaps the solution is to go back to the conical shape on Underground trains, which do not go fast enough for hunting to be a problem.

Brent FoE meeting on air pollution - its impact and solutions

 From Brent Friends of the Earth

A panel of politicians and campaigners will be discussing air quality at Brent Friends of the Earth's (Brent FoE) monthly meeting at Watling Gardens Community Meeting Room in Kilburn on Tuesday April 12th at 7.30pm.

Brent FoE's meeting will discuss the situation with air pollution - which is a serious health threat for Londoners and is a major problem in Brent. It will be a chance to learn about how air pollution is affecting us and to discuss what we need to do to get cleaner air to breathe. The speakers will be: Cllr Eleanor Southwood - Lead member for the Environment at Brent Council, Navin Shah - Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Dawn Butler - MP for Brent Central (to be confirmed), Juhaina Junaid from the Pollution Control Services at Brent Council and Ollie Hayes - Campaigner from Friends of the Earth.

Pam Laurance, a Co-ordinator of Brent Friends of the Earth says, “Poor air quality in London has a significant effect in shortening the lives of many people. In 2010 almost 9,500 Londoners died prematurely from causes linked to air pollution. The main pollutant is nitrogen dioxide, plus in some areas it is particulate matter, particularly from diesel vehicles, that do most of the damage. The principal source of air pollution in Brent is road traffic emissions, though emissions from residential and commercial heating systems also contribute.”

The discussion will start at at 7.30pm till approximately 9pm, and will be followed by Brent FoE's AGM. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event, and stay for the rest of the group meeting. Light refreshments will be available.

The meeting will be at Watling Gardens Community Meeting Room, 97/135 Watling Gardens, Shoot Up Hill, NW2 3UB (5 mins. from Kilburn tube/buses on Shoot up Hill). For more information see http://www.brentfoe.com or email info@brentfoe.com.

NOTE FROM MARTIN

As the only political party represented at this meeting is Labour  you may want to read what the Green Mayoral candidate, Sian Berry, has to say about clean air for London HERE

Boris must act as water and utility companies squeeze Londoner's pockets

Guest Blog from Navin Shah (Labour), London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow
 

After months of campaigning, the water regulator Ofwat has announced it will order Thames Water to slash Londoners’ bills by 5% over the next 5 years.

For the many Londoners struggling to cope with years of stagnating wages and rising living costs that announcement will be a great relief. Water isn’t one of those bills you can avoid, nor do we have a choice about our supplier. For too long water companies have had customers over a barrel – there was nowhere to turn when prices rose.

The 5% reduction will, on average, mean a £17 cut to bills in Brent and Harrow. Whilst that’s encouraging, water companies are still allowed to increase their overall prices with inflation. That will mean people could quite quickly end up paying more. 

The Mayor of London has taken his eye off the ball in not taking on the utility companies that are squeezing Londoners’ pockets, we on the Assembly will continue to be vigilant to ensure Londoners get their very best value from their water and energy bills.

Thames Water was one of the only water companies in the country to propose price rises, in part it said to fund the new Thames Tideway Tunnel. Whilst the so called super-sewer is important, Ofwat rightly recognised that the project cannot be funded by squeezing yet more out of Londoners' pockets – something I totally endorse.

Navin Shah calls for Crossrail branch to Wembley Central and Harrow and Wealdstone

From Navin Shah's Office

 

Navin Shah AM today used his appearance at the planning inquiry into London Plan alterations to argue for a new branch of Crossrail 1 linking from Old Oak Common to Wembley, Harrow & Wealdstone, and beyond. Mr Shah argued that providing this important piece of transport infrastructure would unlock the expected development of these town centres.

The comments came at today’s session of the Examination in Public at City Hall, where the Mayor’s further alterations to the London Plan are being examined by an independent inspector.

Mr Shah also argued that the proposal to designate Harrow & Wealdstone as an Opportunity Area must not become an excuse to allow high-rise development that is inappropriate for the area. He said there must upfront funding for key infrastructure as well as genuine community involvement so that decisions about development reflect the concerns and hope of local people.

After attending the Examination in Public today, local London Assembly member Navin Shah said:

The new branch of Crossrail 1 extending from Old Oak must include stops at Wembley and at Harrow & Wealdstone, and the London Plan must be amended to reflect this. Connecting these important Opportunity Areas with the necessary transport infrastructure is vital to ensure that development is done in a way that benefits the local community, and reflects their concerns and their hopes for the area.

If Harrow & Wealdstone is going to be designated as an Opportunity Area, it must have upfront funding provision for key infrastructure works like step free access for Harrow On the Hill Station and Redevelopment of Bus Station.

The Examination in Public presents a significant opportunity to shape the London Plan, the Mayor’s strategic planning framework for London. I participated in order to stand up for the future of Brent and Harrow on key issues of concern like our need for homes and jobs, town centres, community facilities, and regeneration.

Navin Shah issues challenge on A&E pressures

From Navin Shah Labour Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

New figures have revealed the increasing strain London’s Accident and Emergency departments are facing. The increased pressure on A&Es follows the closure of wards across the capital. In the past year 199,693 people were forced to wait more than four hours at an A&E in London, this is an increase of 18% on the previous year when 168,604 people waited more than four hours.

The local A&E unit at Central Middlesex Hospital in Brent now operates at reduced hours with more suspected cuts to follow. Northwick Park Hospital in Brent, which is on the boundary of Harrow is the nearest A&E unit that is open for a twenty-four hour service. This will put so much pressure on Northwick Park Hospital with people waiting much longer hours at the A&E Department. Both Central Middlesex Hospital and Northwick Park Hospital fall under North West London, which has seen 12,778 people wait more than four hours over the past year.

Overall, two A&E units in London have been closed, two are to be “downgraded”, three are set to be closed and a further three are under threat of closure. In the past year all but one of London’s Hospital Trusts with A&Es failed to meet the key waiting time target of 95% of patients seen with 4 hours. In 15 out of 22 trusts this target was missed for over half of the last year. Navin Shah, local Labour London Assembly Member, is calling on the Health Secretary to urgently review the situation, and for the Mayor to lobby government for the resources that London’s NHS needs.

Navin Shah, local Labour London Assembly Member, said:

We were told that closing A&Es wouldn’t lead to longer waiting times, but the evidence shows that Londoners are waiting longer to be seen. In the past 12 months nearly 200,000 people across London and 12,778 people in North West London have been forced to wait for more than four hours at A&E. These figures are a damning indictment of the failure to properly plan our NHS services. 15 out of 22 Hospital Trusts have failed to meet this key target.

Last year we all celebrated the NHS’ 65^th Birthday, one year on the government’s botched top down reorganisation is putting severe pressure on our local services. Continuing to either close or downgrade London’s A&Es will make the situation even worse. NHS staff work hard to look after us all when we are at our most vulnerable, but they need the resources to be able to deliver the service we all expect. Central Middlesex Hospital now operates an 11 hour A&E service, which adds further pressure to Northwick Park Hospital’s A&E service. I am deeply worried that following these A&E closures, waiting times will continue to be high and Londoners will continue to suffer as a result.

1.    Navin Shah is the Labour London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow.

Figures for 2013/14 taken from here: http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2013-14/ and for 2012/13 from here: http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2012-13/

Community, councillors, Assembly Member and MP rally behind Queensbury Pub campaign -decision tonight

Making community representations to the Planning Committee

Brent's Planning Committee will tonight decide whether to accept the officer's recommedation to approve Fairview's planning application, subject to Section 106 conditions*, to demolish the Queensbury Pub in Willesden Green, and replace with a 10 storey block, or to refuse planning permission.

At the time of writing campaigners have not yet heard how many of the public will be allowed to speak and it could be limited to just two. Local councillors are also likely to speak.

These are the most frequent obkections made by local residents (number of objections in brackets)

Loss of the Queensbury Pub and Busy Rascals which are both important local community facilities (140)

Height of replacement building too tall with surrounding area and modern design out of keeping the character of the area (105)

Replacement building is inappropriate and detracts from the character of the Mapesbury Conservation Area and setting of nearby heritage assets including Willesden Green Underground Station (69)

Demolition of existing building (68)

Designation of pub as Asset of Community Value should require its protection and be a material planning consideration (43)

Loss of existing pub will affect the wider regeneration of the area. Reference made to loss of the Deli on Walm Lane and loss of other community facilities including the Spotted Dog Pub and Willesden Library (41)

Replacement community space within the new building does not adequately compensate for the loss of the Queensbury Pub and Busy Rascals (33)

Lack of residential parking will lead to further congestion on surrounding roads (31)

The site is large enough to be redeveloped whilst retaining the existing building for use by The Queensbury public house and Busy Rascals. Housing can be provided elsewhere within the site.(26)

Lack of affordable housing within the scheme (26)

The Planning Committe is statutorily independent of the Council and therefore not whipped but these are representations made by councillors representing Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative parties and a Labour Assembly Member and a Liberal Democrat MP :

 

Councillor Krupesh Hirani (Dudden Hill Ward) - objection raised based on a representation received from a constituent that wishes not to see the site replaced by flats.

Councillor Christopher Leaman (Mapesbury Ward) - Objections raised on the grounds of the loss of the

community facility (The Queensbury public house and Busy Rascals) and the design is not in keeping with the area.

Councillor Carol Shaw (Brondesbury Park Ward) - Objections raised for the following reasons:- (1) The Queensbury Pub has been listed as an Asset of Community value and therefore needs to be protected and not demolished; (2) loss of public house which is a community facility; (3) loss of building in a conservation area; (4) replacement building does not fit in with its surroundings and will adversely impact on setting of other listed buildings in the area; and (5) increased traffic, noise and pollution.

Councillor Aslam Choudry (Dudden Hill Ward) - Objections raised to the planning application.

Councillor Alison Hopkins (Dollis Hill Ward) - Objections raised on the grounds of the loss of the community facility (The Queensbury public house and Busy Rascals) and the design plans are not in keeping with the area.

Navin Shah Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow - Objections raised for the following reasons:- (1) Loss of public house/community facility; (2) Loss of a building in a conservation area; (3) Design - to tall for conservation area; (4) Substandard accommodation - lack of affordable housing and family sized units; and (5) development too dense for this location.

Sarah Teather MP for Brent Central- Objections raised for the following reasons:- (1) Out of character with surrounding area - too tall; (2) Loss of public amenity - building will overshadow area; (3) Substandard accommodation - lack of affordable housing and family sized units; and (4) loss of community asset, The Queensbury Pub - replacement ground floor use does not compensate for the loss of the pub and its status as an Asset of Community Value should be a material planning consideration.

The Save The Queensbury Campaign submitted a letter of objection and a petition with 4,011 signatures and objections were also made by the North london branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, Mapesbury Residents' Assocation and North West Two Residents' Association.
 
The meeting is at 7pm this evening at Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley.  Follow events on Twitter @QueensburySOS

* SECTION 106 DETAILS

The application requires a Section 106 Agreement, in order to secure the following benefits:-

(i) Payment of the Council's legal and other professional costs on completion of the deed in (a) preparing and completing the agreement and (b) monitoring its performance.

(ii) Notification of material start 28 days prior to commencement;

(iii) Affordable Housing - 10 shared ownership units (3 x one-bed, 3 x two-bed and 4 x three-bed) + £138,346 offsite contribution + financial review mechanism on an open book basis;

(iv)Community Access Plan - to secure a minimum of 18 hours per week for community use, requirement to find alternative accommodation for Busy Rascals (existing community use) during the construction period; and provision for the ancillary community space to continue to operate in the event that the A4 use is not occupied;

(v) Sustainability - submission and compliance with the Council's Sustainability check-list ensuring a minimum of 48.4% score is achieved. Compliance with Code for Sustainable Homes Code Level 3 and carbon reduction of 40% improvement on 2010 Building Regulation (with compensation should it not be delivered);

(vi) Notify Brent 2 Work of forthcoming job and training opportunities associated with the development;

(vii) Join and adhere to the Considerate Contractors scheme;

(viii) Provision of a Travel Plan for the site;

(ix) Enter into a permit free arrangement to remove the rights of future residents and visitors being able to apply for a permit to park on neighbouring streets

CIL DETAILS

This application is liable to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). The total amount is £1,382,214.75 of which £1,167,110.71 is Brent CIL and £215,104.04 is Mayoral CIL

Boris Johnson gives Barnet Council the go-ahead for destruction of Welsh Harp

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has ignored the concerns of local residents regarding Barnet Council’s West Hendon Planning Application, despite strong objections. The development launched by Barrett Homes is set to build 2000 new dwelling units, including four large tower blocks next door to Welsh Harp, one of London’s biggest and most significant nature reserves. Residents and campaigners are concerned that this development will destroy permanently the natural landscape which contains a wildfowl reserve and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

A cross party joint letter from Brent and Barnet campaigners was issued to the Mayor detailing their concerns regarding the planning application asking him to reject the application. 

The Mayor has decided that he is content to let Barnet Council decide the application, subject to any action the Secretary of State may take,  and does not want to exercise his right to refuse the application or take over as the planning authority.

Local London Assembly Navin Shah AM said:

‘’This is an outrageous decision by the Mayor of London which will obliterate the beautiful landscape, tranquility and ecological values of a site which should be protected for its special scientific interest. The Mayor has ignored the policies of his own London Plan and given Barnet Council the green light to vandalise this site of  great value.

‘’340 people have written to the Mayor asking him to refuse this application. Furthermore, there has also been a submission of two petitions that have been signed by 987 people. It is disgraceful that the Mayor has yet again refused to listen to local communities in Brent and Barnet. People will never forgive him for signing off the destruction of this site’’.  

 

Navin Shah: Home Office 'Propaganda' vans will cause harm and raise tension

The Labour London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow  condemned the 'racist van' campaign by the Home Office in Brent and five other London boroughs.

He said: 

I know that immigration in the UK needs to be tackled, but I am shocked to see plans to drive vans around Brent and five other boroughs in London. This will have a detrimental impact on the hugely diverse and harmonious community in Brent. The problem of illegal immigration has to be tackled properly and a campaign like this will only divide and discriminate communities.

We have worked very hard to have a borough which is an outstanding example of a multi-cultural community and this discriminatory propaganda by the Home Office will cause serious harm and raise tension in the community.

Barnet Council approve ruination of the Welsh Harp

Outside Hendon Towen Hall

Barnet Planning Committee tonight passed the planning application for the West Hendon Development on the banks of the Welsh Harp by 5 votes to 4 after a sometimes rancorous debate.

The presentation by a planning officer of his report on the development provoked protests from Andrew Dismore AM for Barnet and Camden who said that he had never heard such a biased officers' report in 30 years involvement in politics. He said the officer was acting as a advocate for the developers rather than as someone presenting a balanced view on which the Planning Committee could make a decision.

Dismore asked why there had not been a ballot of residents of the West Hendon Estate and presented his own findings (see posting below). He said the luxury tower blocks would be for Russian oligarchs rather than local people.

Cllr Roxanne Mashari (Labour -Welsh Harp)  told the chair of the Committee that she would be writing to Barnet Council to record her concerns about the officer's presentation which amounted to a 'hard sell'. The length and veracity of the presentation had not been used for any other application.

Cllr Mashari said that when she visited the developers they had not even be aware of Brent Council's objections. She spoke about growing up near the Welsh Harp and what a much loved and  valued resource it was.  The 29 storey buildings would be an imposing and inappropriate presence looming over the reservoir.

Navin Shah AM for Brent and Harrow told the committee that the Welsh Harp was an exceptional site of tremendous value. The enormous scale of the development and its density was unsustainable.  The amount of affordable housing should have been at the target of 40% rather than the 25% in the application.

Cllr Javaid Ashraf (Liberal Democrat - Dollis Hill) told the committee that he was a former chair of the Welsh Harp JCC), He had three main concerns: density, damage to the SSSI and traffic congestion. He said he was not against redevelopment. He was supportive of 'a' scheme but not 'this' scheme.

The public loudly supported this last point. The officer's presentation had implied that the scheme should be supported because it was better than a previous scheme that had been agreed by the Planning Committee and that no other scheme was viable as it would not provide enough of a return to the developer to enable the social housing to be redeveloped.

Objectors will continue their campaign at the London Mayoral level.

Brent unites against Barratt Homes' 'vandalism' of the Welsh Harp

This was first published on the Save Our Welsh Harp' blog LINK

Shahrar Ali, Muhammed Butt, Roxanne Mishari and Navin Shah

The audience

A meeting held at short notice about the regeneration of the West Hendon Estate on the banks of the Welsh Harp was well attended this afternoon.

Cllr Roxanne Mishari, Labour councillor for Welsh Harp,  introducing the meeting,  outlined the main aspects of the scheme, its height, high density, its closeness to the wildfowl reserve, lack of infrastructure and impact on Brent.

Navin Shah,Labour London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow spoke about the planning aspects and the role of the Major of London. He said he had arranged a delegation to the Barnet Planning Committee which would consider the application which breached the Council's own planning guidelines. He described the plans as 'no more than vandalism of a critical site. Only 20 of the 2,000 homes would be 3 or 4 bedrooms when the need was for family housing. Only 25% would be social housing.

Shahrar Ali of Brent Green Party and a local resident showed a video taken this morning at Barratt's marketing office for the 'Hendon Waterside' development. The sales team clearly expected the development to go ahead and described it as a partnership with Barnet Council. The remaining 8th floor two bedroom property in the recently completed 12 storey development was offered at £340,000 plus £1,700 service charge and an agreement with the water and energy supplier of Barratt's choice. It was clear that the private flats were on the waterfront and the social housing behind close to the A5.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Labour leader of Brent Council, said that he was 100% behind the campaign which he described as 'over-excessive'. He read out the main objections submitted by the Brent Council planners and said these would be made available on this site. The proposed 2 form entry primary school would not be big enough and Barnet Council was riding rough-shod over its own planning policies which stated that buildings should be no more than between 8 and 20 storeys high.. School provision, wildlife and transport would all be affected with repercussions for Brent residents.

Cllr Alison Hopkins and her fellow Lib Dem councillor Javaid Ashraf sent the message which Martin Francis conveyed to the meeting, which appears on the Welsh Harp blog in full.  LINK They  particularly drew attention to the social housing tenants being placed alongside the traffic pollution of the A5. They had opposed the development in their roles on the Welsh Harp Joint Consultative Committee which includes Barnet representatives. Attempts to arrange a site visit had not been successful.

There were many contributions from the floor and among the issues raised were:

1, Why does Barnet keep developing on the borders with Brent which affects our own infrastructure (while they collect the Council Tax from the developments)
2. A youth officer from the West Hendon Estate said they had collected 500residents'  signatures on a petition against the development and the loss of their green space andwere going to protest at the planning meeting.
3. Barnet Council should declare their relationship with Barratt Homes.
4. We should see if Euoropean legislation can be used to oppose the development.
5. We should examine the public health repercussions for people, and particularly children, in the area.
6. The high-cost luxury flats gained a beautiful view across the Welsh Harp to the opposite bank but people on that bank would see a hideous new high-rise development.
7. The West Hendon Estate had been run down for years but the tenants would be unlikely to be able to afford the rents in the new development.
8. We should get someone like Bill Oddie to champion our cause for the bird life, the waterfowl refuge and the SSSI.

The human cost of out-sourcing: Justice for the 33

Some of the 33 sacked workers outside Wembley Central today

A demonstration was held today outside Wembley Central station for 33 agency workers employed by Railpeople who were given notice of the termination of their contracts just before Christmas. The agency deployed them in the Wembley Central Group on various duties for London Underground.  The workers had achieved  7 100% consecutive Customer Service marks during the Olympics and now their Olympic 'legacy' is loss of their jobs.

They were turned down for alternative permanent jobs with London Underground (doing the same kind of thing they were doing on short-term, zero hours, no pension contracts). Instead they employed people who hadn't doen the jobs before.  HT apparently told them that although they were good enough to do the jobs as agency staff they weren't good enough to work directly for London Underground.

When London Underground took control of the stations north of Queens Park in 2008 that the casualisation of the job, particularly the use of agency workers, lead to a dispute as a result of which LU assured the RMT that the use of agency staff would be temporary, lasting a maximum of six months. Some of the workers have been with Trainpeople agency for five years!

The RMT has taken up their case and are demanding that all LU trained station staff working for Trainpeople agency should be transferred over to LU without having to apply for the job,

Bob Crow of the RMT made an impassioned speech putting the sackings in the context of privatisation and austerity, Navin Shah AM  cited equality (all the 33 are members of ethnic minorities) as the big issue and promised to take the case up with London Underground, TfL and the Major, and Councillor Nana Asante from Harrow pledged her support.

However the speech that stayed with me was from one of the workers who spoke movingly about the real impact on her and the sense of bewilderment she felt.

"Police! Fire!! Ambulance!" - not in Willesden...

 Muhammed Butt's office has released the following press statement:

Brent Council Leader Muhammed Butt has urged the government to reconsider its plans to close Willesden Police Station as part of a dramatic programme of cuts as Cllr Butt has grave concerns that this will endanger thousands of residents.

The station, which is one of only four in the borough, will be sold off as part of the government’s 12% cut to The Metropolitan Police, which has already seen 1,777 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs lost across the capital in the past two years.

The news of the station closure was announced despite figures that show that burglaries in the borough have already increased by almost 15% since the beginning of this year despite a reported average fall across the capital.

Metropolitan Police figures also reveal that over the last 12 months, there has been more than double the number of crimes in Brent than in the neighbouring borough of Harrow. 

Cllr Butt criticised the government’s reckless approach to cutting the emergency services back too far and too fast, noting that the announcement about the police station closure comes less than a week after leaked documents revealed that two of the three fire stations in the borough could face closure as result of a severe 25% budget cut to fire services.

This is in addition to the swiftly announced plans in 2010 to close a quarter of London’s 24 A&Es, forcing each of those remaining to cater for an average of 120,000 extra residents with little time to plan how to implement the changes without endangering lives.

Cllr Butt said, ‘Thousands of people requiring the vital help of the emergency services are having their safety compromised and lives endangered. The closure of Willesden Police Station, one of the busiest in the capital, will have devastating consequences for a community that still suffers from high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. The fact that Sarah Teather and Nick Clegg are supporting this is a disgrace. Brent residents deserve to have their local MP on their side.’

Brent North MP Barry Gardiner said, ‘This is just one more example of the strain this government is placing on local services. Police numbers have declined and our Neighbourhood teams in Brent have lost 60 officers and PCSOs. Our police do a great job. We should be supporting them not cutting off all support.’

Navin Shah, Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, said: “We’re seeing the unacceptable and dangerous face of deep cuts. The Mayor has tried to duck and dive when questioned directly about cuts to the NHS but he has direct responsibility for the fire and police services so has to take responsibility for the closure of fire and police stations.’

Butt and Shah condemn Brent fire station cuts

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, has strongly condemned Government plans leaked from the London Fire Brigade that reveal that two of Brent’s three fire stations could be forced to close to meet drastic savings targets.

The leaked document shows that only Wembley fire station is included on the ‘safe’ list of stations that will not be considered for closure. The borough’s other two fire stations in Harlesden and Willesden are not listed and are now in jeopardy. Butt has expressed anger that he was not consulted about the future and it took a leaked document for him to find out  the closure plans.

Cllr Butt said, “These plans are absolutely disgusting.  If two of our three fire stations are closed, this will seriously endanger thousands of our residents. Everyone understands that times are tough, but you cannot put a price on a person’s life, which is exactly what the Government is doing.

“This is yet another disgraceful example of the Coalition’s clear disregard for people’s basic needs and rights. I am appalled that Brent MP Sarah Teather would allow her own residents to be subjected to such a high level of risk by endorsing the closure of frontline services that are vital to keeping a huge number of people safe.”

Navin Shah, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow and Labour's lead member on the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority said, “We understand that savings have to be made, but the level of cuts forced on the London Fire Brigade by the Mayor and government are truly reckless. 

“They are cutting too far, too fast. They are hitting front-line services and putting public safety at risk. The Mayor needs to come clean on fire brigade cuts and tell Londoners what he is planning to close.”

Harlesden leads the march to Save Central Middlesex Hospital

More than 200 people joined yesterday's march to Save the NHS and Save Central Middlesex Accident and Emergency ward. They marched from Harlesden's Jubilee Clock to Central Middlesex Hospital where a rally was held which included speeches from trade unionists, patients, community activists, Navin Shah AM; Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council; and Cllr Krupesh Hirani, lead member of Brent Council for health and adult care.

Warning: Navin Shah's email account hacked in scam

Navin Shah's office has sent an urgent message after his contacts received an e-mail purporting to be from him asking for money after he had been held up by armed robbers  in Spain. This is a version of a fairly common scam that is sent out to all the people in the victim's address book after the account has been hacked.

IGNORE NAVIN SHAH'S E-MAIL

Dear all,

Navin Shah's personal account has been hacked so please delete it and take no action if you received it. Navin is currently in India, in case you have tried to contact him to tell him about the fraudulent.

Apologies for this.

Kind regards,

Sophie

Sophie Kimber
PA to Navin Shah AM
London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow
London Assembly Labour Group
City Hall
The Queen's Walk
London SE1 2AA

Full report into allegations against Ann John published

The report of the investigation into allegations that Ann John illegally intervened in a planning application, which exonerated her has now been published and is available below.

Apart from the findings the report gives insight into the relationships within the Labour group, concern over the the way the Planning Committee operates and the conduct of the chair, and includes walk-on parts from Navin Shah AM and Barry Gardiner MP. (Read from para 4.40)

It is possible to conclude that although she was cleared of wrong-doing the report's contents did not help Ann John in her bid to retain the leadership of Brent Council.

Brent and Harrow GLA Election Result

Lab Maj: 29796 (20.54%)

Navin Shah	Labour	70,400 (48.53%)
Sachin Rajput	Conservative	40,604 (27.99%)
Charlotte Henry	Liberal Democrat	15,690 (10.82%)
Shahrar Ali	Green	10,546 (7.27%)
Mick McGough	UK Independence Party	7,830 (5.40%)

Turnout: 37.06% (change: -5.09%)
2008

Navin Shah	Lab	57,716 (37.27%)
Bob Blackman	C	56,067 (36.21%)
James Allie	LD	19,299 (12.46%)
Shahrar Ali	Green	10,129 (6.54%)
Zena Sherman	CPA	4,180 (2.70%)
Sunita Webb	UKIP	3,021 (1.95%)
Pat McManus	Left List	2,287 (1.48%)
Arvind Tailor	Eng Dem	2,150 (1.39%)

Navin Shah backs retention of Old Willesden Library

Close behind Ken Livingstone's distancing from Brent Labour's library closures the Labour AM for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah, has told a constituent that he favours the retention of the Old Willesden Library on local heritage grounds:

With regards to Willesden Green Library, as an architect by trade I feel preserving Willesden Green Library is extremely important. In Harrow, I have fought long campaigns to keep locally listed buildings and am on the board of Harrow Heritage Trust, which take matters such as these extremely seriously. I want to keep Willesden Green Library building and am actively pursuing this issue.

Shah's full statement can be read on the Keep Willesden Green blog HERE

Lib Dems select Brent and Harrow GLA candidate

The Liberal Democrats have selected a young business woman and former vice-chairman of Liberal Youth as their candidate for the 2012 GLA Elections in Brent and Harrow. Charlotte Henry joins Sachin Rajput (Conservative) a barrister and former martial arts instructor and Shahrar Ali (Green Party) philosophy lecturer and community activist in challenging the Labour incumbent Navin Shah. More minority party candidates are likely to stand.

The election will take place on May 3rd 2012

The 2008 Result was as follows:

ALI, Shahrar, Green Party 10,129 6.54%
ALLIE, James Liberal Democrats 19,299 12.46%
BLACKMAN, Bob Conservative Party 56,067 36.21%
MCManus,Pat The Left List 2,287 1.48%
SHAH, Navin The Labour Party Candidate 57,716 37.27%
SHERMAN, Zena Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party 4,180 2.70%
TAILOR,Arvind English Democrats “Matt O’Connor for Mayor! 2,150 1.39%
WEBB, Sunita UK Independence Party 3,021 1.95%

Stark impact of government 'social cleansing' housing policy in Brent

Post eviction scene?

Brent Council expects 512 families to lose their homes through being unable to afford their rent in private accommodation as a result of  the Housing Benefit cap in January 2012, a further 714 in February and 799 in March. 

The weekly loss of benefit will be:
1 bedroomed accommodation £7.69
2 bedroomed £34.40
3 bedroomed £98.74
4 bedroomed £200
5 bedroomed £282.24

Clearly the cuts will affect people with large families disproportionally.

Jacky Peacock, Executive Director of Brent Private Tenants Group, in quietly setting out the figures at today's meeting organised by Barry Gardiner at Brent Town Hall. did more to bring home the seriousness of the situation than any passionate politician's speech could have done.

She reported that in 2009 there were 22,281 privately rented homes in Brent, representing about 84,000 people. There were more children in privately rented housing than in social housing.  Tenants were young and not so young professionals often having to stay in rented accommodation into their 40s or 50s, half of all  renters were on housing benefit. There were students, migrant workers and older tenants with regulated tenancies.

She said that in 2010/11 Brent Council had to find private lettings for 548 families and between April and October another 173. Anyone moving into 'temporary accommodation' as a result of losing their home could expect to be in it for 10-11 years. Many rents in the cheapest third of rental accommodation were already above the capped amounts.

Rents had already increased by 5.7% this year and landlords were expecting another 6% over the next 12 months. One third of privately rented homes fall below Decent Homes Standards and 15% have serious damp problems compared with 8% owner occupied and 10% social housing. Private tenants were four times more likely to live in a cold home with resultant health problems. May were forced to go to bed to keep room rather than  try to keep warm sitting in their room.

Jacky said we had never seen a situation like this before: families would be forced to move out of London to find affordable accommodation with the resultant dislocation of support from friends and families and disruption of children's education.

Cllr Janice Long, Brent lead member for housing, told the full hall that she had nothing but doom to convey.  She said she could see no light at the end of the tunnel. She told tenants that the worse thing they could do was to not pay the rent and get into debt - it would  be better to move, She said that if they got accepted as homeless by the Council that was not the end of the problem as there was no spare bed and breakfast accommodation - it would be provided outside of Brent. She said that making the argument that children's education would be disrupted if the family moved far away wouldn't wash - they would have to find a school elsewhere.

Looking forward to the future Janice said that 'affordable' housing wasn't the answer as the Coalition government had changed the definition of 'affordable' to 80% of the market rent - making it not affordable to Brent residents on the average Brent wage. In addition the government would cut housing benefit to those without a job whom they deemed able to work.

She said, 'The Council is not to blame. It's the government that has decided on the social cleansing of London."

Contributing from the floor Shahrar Ali admired Cllr Long's honesty but wondered if rather than merely manage the consequences of the cuts ('You sometimes sounded like a member of the Coalition') the Council should be doing more to engage in the fight against them.  We heard about landlords harassing 80 year olds to get them out of property, landlords giving tenants notice to quiet who tried to get the landlord to improve insulation through the Green deal, a 25 year teacher who could not afford to move out of her mother's home, people who had the income:price ratios to get a mortgage but not the hefty deposits now required, a woman who been forced to move six times in rapid succession losing deposits and fees with each move.

The social cost in terms of health problems, disrupted education and temporary accommodation costs would outweigh the 'savings' made by the government through their benefit cap, according to several contributors. However, as I murmured to my neighbour, most of those costs would be shifted to already hard-pressed local authorities and away from central government budgets.

In my contribution I told the meeting that my experience at Chalkhill School was that families were already being evicted as tenancies came to an end and there were already increased numbers in temporary accommodation. Families were being offered accommodation as far away as Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Sometime ago I met a Nepalese family who had moved to Milton Keynes who had to move again because of racial harassment from local youth there.Brent families, used to living in a multiracial environment, might face similar problems.

I noted that the recent consultation on the Wembley Plan stated that developers were not currently willing to build affordable housing because of low profits. Plans had been put on the back burner and they were instead investing in private student accommodation. The Council needed to negotiate with Quintain, the main developer, to ensure the housing was built. Cllr Janice Long confirmed that the Wembley Plan's definition of affordable was the old one, rather than the new 80% of affordable rent definition.

When  I asked that more be done about locating and taking over empty housing, Janice Long at first said that often such housing had a story attached to it, but later said that the present Compulsory Purchase of Empty Properties policy inherited from the last Brent administration was gummy (lacked teeth) and could do with strengthening. Jacky Peacock said that despite problems her experience was that if the local authority had a robust CPO policy on empty properties and implemented it, for every one property compulsorily purchased owners would put anothet100 on the market.  Jacky also agreed that with Sarah Cox that other empty property in Brent could be purchased and converted to housing where appropriate.

Chris Williamson, Labour MP a member of the shadow housing team, said that the previous Labour government hadn't got everything right on housing but would learn from its mistakes. The Labour Party wanted to bring the private rented sector up to standard but accepted its role in society. He stressed that the Labour Party was in 'listening mode'. He said that the supply of affordable housing needed government intervention and investment in it would provide a stimulus to the economy.

The meeting ended with a call for a big campaign on the issue and requests for people to join the Brent Private Tenants' Rights Group. LINK Navin Shah, Labour AM for Brent and Harrow, reminded the audience that they would have a chance to express their views electorally in next year's Mayoral and London Assembly election.

Find out more from  Brent Private Tenants' Rights Group 36-38 Willesden Lane, Kilburn, London NW6 7ST Tel: 020 7624 4327 info@bptrg.org   Website: www.bptrg.org