Ahead of tonight's Call-in at Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Paul Lorber has provided a background paper for members of the Committee. The meeting can be attended in person or on-line HERE:
Where
is the pond and viewing platform in Barham Park?
I ask this question for a good
reason.
Over the past 12 years or so various
Trustees (Brent Councillors) have taken officer advice and spent large sums of
money – in each case well over £10,000 – on Consultants “Visions” and condition
surveys into Barham Park.
Over 10 years ago officers proudly
presented one of these visions with a Pond and a viewing platform in one of
these expensive documents. The drawing showing this were quite appealing, and
the Trustees approved this plan.
THERE
IS NO POND AND NO VIEWING PLATFORM!
Subsequent reports highlighted the
condition of the Barham Buildings and stressed the need to carry out works.
These works were all costed, and a program timeline was produced. Much was to
be done over the next 3 year. In reality very little was actually done to
protect and preserve the exterior of the buildings. The outside has not been
painted for at least 15 years.
Why – there is no Champion for Barham
Park within the Trustees or the Officer Team. Barham Park is not a priority –
it is a nuisance to be brushed under the carpet.
This LINK link takes you to pictures
highlighting current disrepair and neglect in Barham Park.
Those of us who care for Barham Park
want the time wasting and the neglect to stop.
BACKGROUND
– WHY DOES IT MATTER
Once upon a time the whole of Sudbury
was part of the Sudbury Common which stretched from long way down in Wembley
all the way to Harrow on the Hill.
An Archbishop Canterbury was the Lord
of the Manor of much of the land here a few hundreds of years ago.
The oldest part of the buildings in
Barham Park dates back to between 1760 and 1780 (say 250 years ago).
In 1801 John Copland – a Purser
(Accountant/Officer Manager) – on Royal Navy Ships who once served on one of
Lord Horacio Nelson’s vessels at the 1805 battle of the Nile bough Crabs House
in what is now Barham Park.
He prospered over the years and
acquired more land so that by the time of his death in 1843 he owned over 350
acres of land which stretched from The Triangle in Wembley all the way to
bottom of Harrow on the Hill. He built a new house on his land called Sudbury
Lodge. John Copland bought a crypt in the newly opened Kensal Green Cemetery
where he is buried.
His only son also joined the Royal
Navy too but died very young. John Copland was survived by two daughters. They
never married and became great local benefactors paying for the building of St
John’s Church, a cottage hospital. School rooms and much more – even a small
reference library.
On their death in early 1870s General
Robert Fitzgerald Crawford took over on condition he changed his name to
Crawford-Copland. His two sons played football for Scotland in the very first
official game against England.
On his passing in 1895 the land was
acquired by George Barham the owner of Express Dairies. Most of the land in
Sudbury was still farmland, with the area opposite (Chaplin Road/Farm Avenue) a
large farm. Sir George as he became later is famous for building up the Express
Dairy Company and also for cleaning up the milk industry.
On his death n 1913 his two sons took
over, but it was the older one also George – but always known as Titus – who
lived here and developed his home and gardens. He too was a major benefactor
and was involved in almost everything that went on locally. He donated part of
his farmland for the site of Wembley Hospital (subject to new plans shortly),
he contributed to the local Tennis Club, Barham Primary Scholl stands on his
land and much more.
In 1937 when Wembley received its
Charter to become a Borough he was due to become Wembley’s Charter Mayor. Sadly,
he died on the very day this was due to be celebrated.
Anticipating death, he had the good
vision to enter into agreement with the new Wembley Council to accept the gift
of his home and gardens for the “enjoyment of the public”. He was a modest man
and did not want any fuss. There is no statue of him and until recently he is
remembered by the existence of Barham Park, Barham Primary School, Barham Close
and Barham Court.
His portrait hands in the Brent
Museum which was in fact created in 1965 with many of his gifted possessions as
the initial core of the collection – including a coat of armour.
A few months ago, volunteers from
Friends of Barham Park organised a public collection and erected a Blue Plaque
in his memory.
DOES
HISTORY MATTER?
For some the Barham buildings are
just an old pile of bricks and even a nuisance. For the lovers of Barham Park,
they are however much more. They tell a story of local people who made a
contribution to our community.
This is why some of us despair at the
neglect, and the waste of money and opportunities to improve things.
WHAT
ARE THE BARHAM PARK BUILDINGS FOR?
One part is occupied by Barham
Veterans Club formed in 1947 by Wembley and Middlesex County Council to provide
a place for elderly men to socialise as part of tackling loneliness. In the
early days the Club paid no rent and received a generous grant from the
Council. The grant was stopped many years ago and the Club is charged rent and
service charges.
Officer let the lease lapse and now
recommend a new lease on market value terms for a short period of time until
2031. The Bronze drawings do not show the Barham Veterans Club so presumably
the idea or expectations is that it will not exist beyond 2031.
The wooden building (former Card
Room) is occupied by Tamu Samaj UK and ex Gurkha Nepalese Group. They run a
wide range of activities for their members of all ages and also hire out the
space to other small groups.
Their Lease has just expired, and
they also face a short lease at market rent.
The Public Library was closed by the
Labour Administration in 2011. Friends of Barham Library opened a Community Library
in another part. The library acts as a hub for many community activities,
knitting, art, book club groups. Yoga and Pilates and many others and most
importantly is the home of the Memory Lounge – a growing group providing
activities, support and advice for people with dementia and their carers.
The Bronze option drawing approved by
the Trustees have wiped the library from existence. The children library would
be a shop and the rest of the space is a bit unclear.
The former Children Centre closed
many years ago. The Lease is between the Barham Park Trust and the Council, and
the Council is desperate to keep up the pretence of ‘children centre’ use to
avoid clawback of Sure Start Grant.
The rest of the building is leased to
ACAVA – an out of Brent organisation who converted their space into 29 smaller
units which they let to artists – most of whom are also outside of Brent.
When this decision was made in 2013
Officers and Councillors were convinced that this would benefit the local area.
Current Councillors can judge this for themselves. The artists contribute very
little to Brent art, they are not local and most if not all of the rent owed
(over £60,000 according to recent reports) is owed by ACAVA.
HERE
WE ARE TODAY
After tens of thousands of pounds spent on surveys and consultants most
of whose reports collect dust in some forgotten draw and the pictures tell
their own story.
Opportunities to extract large sums of money from the heritage Lottery
Fund and others have been missed.
The buildings are neglected.
Community Groups who provide local services to local people face the
threat of being kicked out as consultants think and Brent Officers and Trustees
concur with this – that shops or hotel rooms that no one asked for and the area
does not need are more important than a Community Library, a Club for elderly
residents and a base for a group of loyal and hard working ex Gurkhas – without
whom the annual Remembrance March would be rather short of any marchers!
2nd
CHANCE TO SET A BETTER DIRECTION
Decisions by Barham Park Trustees were called in last year. They have
been called in again this time.
The Barham Park Trust 2022/23 Accounts were challenged and had to be
withdrawn for corrections. Officers persuaded you that nothing was wrong. A
year later the 2023/24 Accounts were withdrawn right at the beginning of the
Barham Park Trust Meeting.
To get it wrong once is unfortunate. To get it wrong the 2nd
time should set the ALARM bells ringing.
The accounts are wrong and misleading. The way the Barham Trust is
managed is wrong and very damaging. Wrong Accounts and misleading information lead
to wrong and bad decisions.
If there is any point to Scrutiny than the Members of Scrutiny need to
take their responsibilities seriously and grab an opportunity to challenge the
poor decisions and poor actions for the sake of ensuring a future for the
Barham Park Charity and Barham Park and its buildings.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO?
Ask your self a few
simple questions:
If Barham Park was
YOUR home and gardens and you depended on it being well managed, would you:
1.
Waste tens of
thousands of pounds on surveys and consultants reports which collect dust and
cannot and will not ever be implemented?
2.
Ignore legal
agreements (Leases) and not bother to revise rents when due?
3.
Allow the building
up of rental debt of over £60,000?
4.
Fail to charge
interest on the rent debt in line with the Lease terms?
5.
Spend over £20,000
on consultants’ fees on proposals which you could not start working on for 8
years and which are at major risk of economic and other factors?
6.
Allow your
subordinates not to recharge costs that you have incurred without being
informed and without your agreement?
7.
Spend large sums of
money on valuations and legal fees without knowing what you might get in
return?
If your answer to
any of these questions is NO than you agree that something is badly wrong, and
change is needed.
As a starting point
you will then agree with the grounds for the Call-in and agree to refer the
decisions back to the Barham Park Trust with clear instructions that all the issues raised are fully
investigated and honest and full answers provided to enable the Trustees to
make decisions based on facts, that meet their fiduciary duties to the Barham
Park Charity and which meet the expectations of and wishes of Titus Barham who
gifted his Home and Gardens for everyone’s enjoyment.
