'One Boy's War' - growing up during the Second World War an illustrated talk: Sunday November 17th 3pm, Preston Community Library

 

This Sunday at Preston Community Library 3pm. Philip Grant on the British Empire Exhibition

 

'When Wembley welcomed the World' Sunday 27th October, Preston Community Library

 

New building on the Preston Road Library site – and a famous name!

 Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

The new building on 2 February 2024.

 

It was September 2016 when Brent’s Cabinet decided to redevelop the former Preston Road Library site in Carlton Avenue East for a block of flats, with space for a community library on the ground floor. In November 2022, a Council press release celebrated the topping-out ceremony, “New community library and 12 council homes rise up out of the ground”, attended by Cllr. Muhammed Butt, who ‘accepted an engraved trowel on behalf of Brent Council gifted to him by John Bolton, director of Kier Construction’, and some of his Cabinet colleagues.

 

Now it finally looks as if the building, which has a controversial history, is nearing completion! However, it is not that history, or the architectural merits (or otherwise?) of the new block in its 1930s suburban setting, which is the main point of this article. It is the name of the building that I want to share with you - Henry Cooper House.

 

Why name the building after a famous British boxer? I’m sure it must be because he lived in the Preston Road area for fifteen years from 1960 to 1975, a time which included the height of his boxing career. He is mentioned in Part 4 of The Preston Road Story (published on Wembley Matters in 2020), along with information about the library and Preston Community Library, which began with the support of the hundreds of local residents who had objected to Brent Council’s plans to close six of its twelve public libraries in 2011.

 

Henry Cooper in 1966. (Photo from “Henry Cooper – the authorised biography”)

 

Back in November 2018, Wembley Matters shared the news that a blue plaque to Sir Henry Cooper hand been unveiled above the shop at 4 Ealing Road, where he’d owned and run a greengrocer’s shop between 1965 and 1968.

 

Henry Cooper at his shop, and the blue plaque now above it.

 

As a result of Wembley History Society being asked to support the efforts of a local resident, who was successful in commemorating Sir Henry with this blue plaque, I researched and wrote about his life and local links, and also gave an illustrated talk about them last year, to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of his legendary boxing match against Cassius Clay (now better known as Muhammed Ali).

 

A ticket for the Clay v Cooper fight at Wembley Stadium in June 1963. (Image from the internet)

 

But Henry did not only live in Wembley, at 5 Ledway Drive, for fifteen years. With his wife, Albina, they raised a family here. I wonder whether they took their sons, Henry Marco and John Pietro to their local Preston Road Library, after it opened in 1964? 

 

Albina and Henry at home with their sons in, late 1960s. (Image from the internet)

 

The naming of the new building as Henry Cooper House was news to me. I only found out last week, when a local resident tipped me off about it, but it came as a pleasant surprise. I hope that all twelve of the new Council homes there will be let to local people in housing need at genuinely affordable rents!

 

And I wonder if Brent Council will invite Henry and John Cooper to the official opening of the building named after their father?

Philip Grant

Gareth Armstrong's award winning Shylock! Preston Community Library February 6th 7pm

 

Review from 'Frankly, My Dear' Waterside Arts performance

Who is Shylock? A caricature? A grotesque? A construction of two thousand years of persecution? All these questions are posed and answered in Gareth Armstrong’s one man tour de force, Shylock, where using the device of Tubal, an eight line and one scene associate of Shylock, he takes us on a tour of not only the play but the systematic antisemitism that informed the play, fuelled the play and ultimately continues to contribute towards the stereotype of the Jew money lender.

Even the word “shylock” has been taken to create an insult on somebody’s character; a mean spirited individual who regards the pursuit of wealth above all. But is this a misappropriation? As the play tells us usury was one of the very few professions open to Jews as they were expelled from country after country and regarded as evil. However a reading of the play with the added background context shows that Shylock is more a creature of his own circumstances than any negative stories Shakespeare had heard; there is doubt that Shakespeare had ever met a Jew so the character is drawn in stereotype but for all this there is pathos and despair under the veneer of the hard nosed businessman.

Gareth Armstrong is a total delight in his powerful and mesmerising one man retelling of the tale. Part history lecture, part dramatic performance there is not one moment that he does not hold the audience rapt, a pin could have dropped and sounded like a tolling bell. There are some laughs, not many and mainly at Tubal’s expense, but hard historical truths are delivered both recent and over hundreds of years in the making and even the bible gets used to illustrate the first instance of antisemitism. There is no pity, no “woe is me” but a simple “this is how it is” in the telling of such facts. Along with intertwining the key Shylock moments with the reflected views of the time is an effective and compelling device which takes the audience fully inside both the character and how he would have been perceived by the audience throughout various periods in history; from Shakespeare’s original up to Nazi Germany’s love of the play, no doubt to reinforce the views of their respective time.

The Merchant of Venice is seldom seen now in its original staging, no doubt due to the problematic nature of the character of Shylock but this should not be a reason for avoidance. In this work Gareth Armstrong unboxes the creation of the character as a reflection of the continued suspicion Jews found themselves under. The writing flows seamlessly and the performance is electric, moulding and guiding the audience throughout the tale. This should be a must see for anyone who thinks critically and has ever wondered why Shylock is cast as one of the great villains of Shakespeare, when in fact he is just a man trying to do his best in a world that is stacked against him.

The Silvertones at The Windermere Pub Sunday February 4th - Preston Library fundraiser

 

A talk with Shrabani Basu, local author of the book 'For King and Another Country' - Preston Library Tuesday 14th November

 

A talk with Shrabani Basu, local author of the book 'For King and Another Country' on Tuesday 14th November, 7pm

Dear Library supporter, We are delighted to welcome back our local author and historian Shrabani Basu, to talk about her book, 'For King and Another Country, Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 1914-18' .  We have heard Shrabani talk about her other books, and she is always very entertaining. She will read excerpts from it and tell us the stories of the soldiers involved. You will have the opportunity to ask her questions. All are welcome.  The event is free but donations are welcome and are needed to maintain the work of the library.   Pub Quizzes A reminder that our next Pub Quiz is this Monday, 6th November at the Preston Pub.  Come at 7.30pm for an 8pm start.  Tickets £5 on the day.  Raffle [donations of prizes always welcome].  All welcome. The quiz after that will be on Monday 4th December. How to find the library: We have moved to Ashley Gardens, which is off Preston Road.  Scroll down for a map.  We are at the end of the cul-de-sac through the gate on the left. There is no car park, so if you are driving, please park on Preston Road. For Wembley Stadium event days, parking restrictions apply.  We do have parking permits for event days, so email us before an event at the library to prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com  if you will need one, or just drop in to collect one.

 

CHILE: 'Cruel Separation' film and Q&A with Director Sarah Boston - 9th September Preston Community Library

 

Evening with authors Kamilla Shamsie and Caroline Smith - Monday 10th July - Preston Comunity Library

Evening with authors Kamilla Shamsie and Caroline Smith - Monday 10th July 7pm

Author Kamila Shamsie and poet Caroline Smith will be joining us at the library on the at 7pm to read from their books and poems.  Full details were in our last mailing, but the poster is attached again below.

Further information:  More tickets have been released.  To get a ticket click on the following link:  Eventbrite:  https://prestoncommunitylibrary.eventbrite.co.uk
 

If you have difficulties then email us at the address below. If after booking you find you can't come, please either go to Eventbrite and cancel or let us know by emailing us at prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com.  This means that we can give the ticket to someone else.

 

 

How you can hold the authorities to account. Effective FoIs with Martin Rosenbaum Preston Community Library Tuesday 7pm-9.30pm

 

 

It may seem a dry topic but this is a absolutely vital topic for anyone wanting to hold the authrities to account and ensure honesty and transparency. You may well be able to think of a number of issues locally where the effective use of FoIs may well be useful.

This is is the invitation from Preston Community Library

An Evening with Martin Rosenbaum Tuesday 27th June 7pm-9.30pm.

Dear All, We would like to invite you to join us for an evening with journalist Martin Rosenbaum, who will be talking about his new book Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook. Until recently Martin was an executive producer in the BBC's political programmes department, and for sixteen years was BBC News's leading specialist in freedom of information. The book is a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the UK's freedom of information legislation, and will be an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to be better informed about the activities of government, councils and the public sector.  Refreshments available. Parking and Finding Us:  It is not an event day , but it is better to park along Preston Road, on the left as you go uphill towards Wembley.  A map of where we are is below, with directions and details of buses. With Regards, Philip Bromberg, Preston Community Library

 

 

GREAT JUNE EVENTS AT PRESTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY THIS JUNE - Learn Spanish, avoid being scammed & a guide to making effective FoI requests

 

Victoria and Abdul. A Film Night special with author Shrabani Basu. Saturday at Preston Library

 

Author Shrabani Basu wrote the book 'Victoria & Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant', which was made into an award winning film starring Judy Dench.  She was present during the making of the film, and is coming to tell us both about her book and the film.  After her introduction we will screen the film, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Preston Community Library Fundraiser at The Windermere on Sunday 29th January

 

Author talk: Hashi Mohamed on 'A Home of One's Own' October 25th, Preston Community Library

 

Brent Cabinet asked to approve a total allocation of over £10m of Strategtic CIL to eight Brent projects, plus unspecified amounts for Morland Gardens and Church End

 

 

Monday's Brent Cabinet will consider a request LINK  to allocate just over £10m of Strategic Infrastructure funds to eight projects. The amounts vary from £102k to £2.6m.  Most were considered by the Infrastructure Officer Working Group. (IOWG). Some money is allocated to community centres, a need for which has been a recent demand post-Covid. Other sums are due to budget shortfalls.

The officers' report provides more detail and a justification for using SCIL for these purposes as below.

However, apart from this direct approval of these sums there is also a request that the:

Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance, Resources & Reform to agree any additional SCIL allocations to the Morland Gardens project and any SCIL allocation to the Church End redevelopment project.

 'Any' is a very open-ended commitment to make without further Cabinet approval of the actual amounts involved.

 

· £0.9 million for use towards Wembley Transport Improvements

The North End Road Connector project provides a new access to North End Road from Bridge Road. This benefits residents and businesses by providing an alternative route across Wembley Park to access the North Circular Road, improving the traffic flow in the area. This route will provide an available vehicular route at all times - particularly useful for residents of North End Road who are impacted by the road closures on event days. This project complies with the CIL Regulations because it will help to support the growth in the area and improve traffic flow and connectivity through the area.

 

  · £413,000 for use towards Wembley Hostile Vehicle Measures

 

 

The HVM measures will support the proposed growth and development identified in the Wembley Growth Area. In addition they will provide a safe and secure environment, and enhance the attraction of the Stadium as a safe and secure environment to visit, in line with the Local Plan aspirations. The safe andsecure environment will help to encourage and maintain growth and development within the Wembley area.

 

  · £559,100 for use towards Harlesden Library

 

 

The project will future proof the facilities for an estimated further ten years and enable more flexible use, building in capacity for the service to adapt to changing community needs. These will be primarily community assets, developed to address social and cultural infrastructure challenges, build capacity in the local community and creative sector and develop new partnerships to enhance the service offer to residents.

 

In October 2021, the total cost of the project was £605,600 with a funding application to the ACE Libraries Improvement Fund for £285k already successful. A capital contribution ask of £320,600 from SCIL funds was required to make up this shortfall.

 

  · £1,951,162 for use towards the creation of Carlton Vale Boulevard

 

 

This significant request is the result of a short-fall in funding despite revisions to the scheme:

The total cost of the project is £6,669,900 following £1,166,000 of savings made to the original scheme, which has been reduced in scale and value engineered down. Funding of £305,273 from S106 obligations towards tree planting and £4,413,465 of Housing Infrastructure Funds (HIF) (agreed verbally, confirmation in writing still awaited) have been secured. HIF is to facilitate improvements and unlock housing growth. 

 

If the scheme is solely reliant on the HIF funding a place-making scheme would not be deliverable and it is likely that the HIF offer would be withdrawn. 

 

The total cost of the project includes contingency costs that have been included within the RIBA Stage 4 Cost Plan by the appointed cost consultant. The contingency costs, including inflation and risks, are considered standard considering the nature of the project. 

 

The funding gap at £1,951,162 is being sought from SCIL. This would be split between £1,722,162 to enable the project to go forward and £229,000 to the lifetime maintenance. It is expected that over a 25 year period, 40% of the maintenance spend would occur in the first 12.5 years and 60% of the maintenance spend in the remainder. 

 

Supporting Development & Growth 

 

The population of South Kilburn is set to double through the wider regeneration proposals. The CVB project provides a transformational piece of infrastructure connecting current and proposed developments with improved active travel through the improved cycle lanes and wider and more attractive pavements.

The project will help to increase footfall, providing support to current and future local businesses, public spaces and community facilities.

 

  · £102,427.26 for use towards the creation of a new community café and external amenity space as part of the Stonebridge redevelopment

 

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development there will be a need for new community and cultural facilities to ensure the provision of social infrastructure to meet the needs of our diverse community. The neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation are largely located in the south around the Harlesden, Neasden, Stonebridge and South Kilburn areas. This commercial space is a key piece of social infrastructure that will help both existing communities and new communities together in the Stonebridge area and will help complement future mixed developments such as the Bridge Park Masterplan.

 

  

 · £1,015,684.77 for use towards the creation of a new community facilityas part of the Preston Community Library redevelopment

 

This community hub will help to support growth and development that is outlined in the Brent Local Plan particularly in the North West part of the borough. It is in proximity to Northwick Park Growth Area. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community hub that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

 

  · £2,643,445.04 for use towards the creation of a new community centre as part of Learie Constantine Centre redevelopment

 

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development in both Neasden Stations and Church End Growth Areas there will be a need for new community and cultural facilities to ensure the provision of social infrastructure to meet the needs of our diverse community. The Brent Local Plan emphasises the need to ensure that community facilities are not lost where they meet or could meet a potential need and ideally enhanced to address these needs. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community centre that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

  · £2,479,770.31 for use towards the creation of a new community centre as part of the Brent Indian Community Centre redevelopment

 

Due to high levels of population growth owing to new development in both Neasden Stations and Church End Growth Areas there is a need for community facilities that will support development. This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a modern, replacement community centre that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet.

 

Morland Gardens Unspecified amount

 

Readers will be familiar with the controversy surrounding the Morland Gardens development which involves the demolition of the Altamira Victorian Villa. The delegation to Lead Member and officers appears to anticipate a rise in costs of the education and community facility.  Note that this section of the report does not mention the Lead member for Finance and Resources as part of the decison making, leaving it as a decion for the Coprorate Director of Finance and Resources. There does not seem to be an intention for a reference to the Infrastructure Officer Working Group.

 

In January 2020, Cabinet agreed an investment package of £43m to deliver the Morland Gardens development. The Morland Gardens development secured planning permission in October 2020 to deliver a state of the art adult education centre, 65 new affordable homes, 675 sqm of affordable workspace for start-up businesses from the local community, and a public facing café. A SCIL allocation of £15.2 million towards the education facility was agreed by Cabinet on 14 January 2020.

 

In August 2022, the Council appointed Hill Partnerships Ltd as the main contractor to deliver this scheme. Hill Partnerships Ltd is currently progressing delivery of RIBA Stage 4 – Technical Design in order to finalise the contractor’s proposals and final build cost.

 

Officers are therefore recommending delegated authority for the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources to agree any additional SCIL allocation to deliver the non-residential elements of the Morland Gardens scheme.

 

Support Growth & Development

As outlined above, the neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation are largely located in the south around the Harlesden, Neasden, Stonebridge and South Kilburn areas. A new state of the art centre is required to create an aspirational learning environment for the community, partners, learners and staff. Morland Gardens will be an asset to be utilised with and by the local communities of Stonebridge, which have some of the lowest average income, skills, and highest economic inactivity in Brent

This SCIL funding investment will help deliver a range of modern, replacement community facilities that will strengthen the existing sense of community by celebrating Brent’s diversity, heritage and culture, and creating places where Brent’s communities can meet and will help complement future mixed developments in the Stonebridge area such as the Bridge Park Masterplan.

 

Church End Unspecified amount

 

The Church End development comprises 99 affordable homes, a new market square to replace the existing market and commercial use space. In February 2022, the Council appointed Wates as the main contractor to deliver this scheme.

 

Wates is currently progressing delivery of RIBA Stage 4 – Technical Design in order to finalise the contractor’s proposals and final build cost. 

 

Officers are therefore recommending delegated authority for the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources to agree the appropriate SCIL allocation to deliver the non-residential elements of the Church End scheme such as the new market square for local traders, improvements to the town centre and new community/cultural infrastructure to help small and medium enterprises.