Covid-19 closes Preston Community Library

Thanks to everyone at Preston Community Library for the above and wishing them well during this difficult time.

March 17th - Women and the First World War at Preston Community Library

From Preston Community Library

We would like to invite you to special event at the library.  This is an illustrated talk from Chris Coates.  She was librarian of the Trades Union Congress and has written on various aspects of women's and trade union history. Chris will show photos and documents to detail the situation of working women in the period leading up to the First World War, the political and economic changes it brought to their lives, and what happened in the aftermath of the War.  More information is on the poster below.

This is a free event, but donations to help support the library will be very welcome.

Preston Library Fundraiser Party Sunday December 1st - with the Silvertones

'Lonely Courage' film & guest author at Preston Library on Saturday

SAVE THE NHS! Free showing of 'Under the Knife' October 15th Preston Library

 PRESTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY 

TUESDAY OCTOBER 15TH 7.30pm

Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8PL (Preston Road tube)

This film is a weapon in our struggle to save the NHS. Armed with the evidence so eloquently provided here, we can win this battle." Ken Loach - Film Director 

Narrated by award-winning actress Alison Steadman, Under The Knife is a positive historical documentary unearthing how the NHS arrived at its modern-day crisis. From its stormy birth through seven decades of turmoil and political warfare, it has withstood almost everything that has confronted it, until now. 

Emmy award-winning director Susan Steinberg uncovers the covert, creeping privatisation of the NHS in the past three decades, culminating in a law which removed the legal duty of the government to provide universal health care. More than 200 MPs and Peers with vested interests voted for legislation which opened the floodgates to private companies. The democratic process had been subverted by the government.

Using interviews and archive footage, the film charts the history of the NHS which arose out of the ashes of post-war Britain to the turbulent times of today. From the influence of Neoliberal ideas on the NHS to the introduction of private finance initiatives, the film tells a ground-breaking story of complicity and survival.

Pam K Productions have partnered with Keep Our NHS Public and The Daily Mirror to host 50 nationwide FREE screenings between the 14th - 18th October. 

Register now for a free ticket! LINK

Climate Strikers invite you to Green New Deal workshop September 26th Preston Library

The youth climate strikers would like to invite you to attend a workshop about the Green New Deal on Thursday 26th September as part of their national week of climate action. The UK Student Climate Network are organising this workshop for local people and grassroots organisations in London in order to:

1. Explain what the basic principles of the Green New Deal are
2. Discuss how we can spread knowledge of a GND within our organisations and communities
3. Brainstorm ideas about what a GND could mean for us - both on a national and local level

The workshop will be taking place at Preston Community Library (Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8PL) from 6-8pm on Thursday 26th. If you would like to attend this workshop, please RSVP by purchasing a FREE ticket on our Eventbrite page below. We ask that tickets are limited to 2 per organisation, as we want to make sure we have a good variety of different groups.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/green-new-deal-workshop-brent-tickets-72784810327

Guest Author Event at Preston Community Library on Tuesday September 17th

'Change your body; change your mind; change your life' - Author event at Preston Community Library

By Kazuaki Obazaki; numbered limited edition shikishi card print

From Preston Community Library

 

GUEST AUTHOR EVENT AT PRESTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Tuesday 17 September 2019 at 7.30pm

Please join us for an evening with Julian Daizan Skinner Roshi, the first Englishman to go to Japan and become a Zen master in the rigorous Rinzai tradition, and artist and meditator Lazz. They will be talking about and reading from their new book, Rough Waking.

Daizan is also the teacher of Samantha Warrington, Preston Community Library's yoga and meditation teacher.

Rough Waking is a project to raise funds for and awareness of people who are homeless or in prison, and to provide them with yoga and meditation, under the motto:

CHANGE YOUR BODY; CHANGE YOUR MIND; CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Prize-winning photographer and meditator, Lazz, uses words and images and an intimate knowledge of homelessness to illustrate his path through brokenness to creativity.

Inspired by Zen Master Shinzan’s joke that Zen life combines prison and homelessness, “Autumn in the monastery and other poems,” by Julian Daizan Skinner depicts pains and joys arising through his three decades in the Zen world.

Zen artist Kazuaki Okazaki who, after 18 years incarceration on death row was executed last summer, contributes a sequence of images depicting a spiritual journey from lostness and wandering, through the intense confinement of Zen training, and then onwards into a new homelessness – a vastly expanded realm of liberation and service.

The whole book underscores the Zen emphasis on direct confrontation with reality and how for all of us that alone leads to liberation

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Preston Library development supported by Planning Committee as community divisions revealed

One of the most positive things about the Preston Library Campaign is how the project to run a volunteer library and multiple activities, including the regular quiz night at The Preston pub, has been how it has built community cohesion and become a part of the social landscape.

That appeared to be under threat tonight at the Planning Committee where people from the campaign formed up on both sides, for and against the application for a 2 to 4 storey block on the library sites, incorporating a smaller community space earmarked for the library but subject to agreements currently being negotiated.

An early surprise was a statement from the Chair, Cllr Denselow, that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had requested the Planning Committee not to make a formal decision tonight as the department would want to consider calling the application in for their consideration.  In tonight's hearing the committee would declare its support or opposition to the application.

One notable aspect of the meeting was the lack of protection of officers by the chair when opponents of the scheme frequently interrupted officers' explanations with jeering and ironic laughter. Councillors are fair game and can respond, but officers are not in the same position. One member of the public held up a poster asking, 'Do you live in the area?'

Philip Bromberg, Chair of Preston Community Library, was both cheered and jeered at when he made his contribution in favour of the application.  He quoted the Bookseller magazine's commendation of the community library for its achievement's in 'hard times.'  It was hoped to agree a peppercorn rent for 49 years for the library space making it a permanent and sustainable library for the future. The library had successfully negotiated temporary accommodation at Ashley Garden while building took place. He told councillors he would not address issues over the design of the building. When a councillor asked him if the Library group has consulted residents, there were shouts of 'No' from the public gallery but Bromberg listed a series of events.

Michael Rushe, speaking against the development for the South Kenton and Preston Park Residents Association, claimed the application was unlawful because it did not follow the Local Plan guidelines and there were errors and misinformation in the application documents. He asked why it was that officers thought they could ignore such guidance when it came to Brent Council development proposals but enforced them with private developers. The residents had not been part of any discussion on alternatives to the plans.

Cllr Michael Maurice, who had been replaced by Cllr Kansagra for tonight's committee meeting, made a presentation as a local resident and councillor that centred on issues such as  the size of the development which he referred to as huge, 'a blot on the landscape and nothing short of a monstrosity' -which made me wonder if this was how he would describe a 2 - 4 storey building how he would describe the 28 storey 'Twin Towers' in Wembley High Road or the proposed 24 storey Argent House opposite Stonebridge Station (incidentally the latter was pulled from tonight's agenda and deferred to another meeting).  Maurice focused on the need for parking for library users, especially for the users of the Memory Lounge (provision for people with dementia) and their carers. He also accused council planners of double-standards regarding council and private development.

The three Preston ward councillors all made contributions and were clearly in a difficult position trying  to represent both sides. Cllr Kennelly, who is a Preston resident as well as ward councillor, said that everything he had to say was premised on the Council signing an agreement with the library and that it would occupy the new space.  He said no one in the community would 'support the library not being there.' However he was concerned about over-development and air pollution. He claimed that the community had been railroaded in 2010 resulting in deep mistrust in the community about how the issue had been handled from the beginning. They were not properly consulted until 2016. Overall he was in favour of the development if the issues he had raised were addressed.

Fellow Preston councillor Cllr Afzal raised residents' concerns that the housing in the development would be sub-standard (someone in the public gallery held up a poster saying 'Lavour voters Against Rabbit hitches) and there would be parking issues both during and after construction.  He identified concerns over 'leading questions' during the consultation and emphasised that residents must be listened to. He said he would support the development if it was car-free.  Cllr Thakkar acknowledged that residents were unhappy but said she was in favour of quality affordable housing and a library on the site.

Cllr Johnson elicited the information that the parking and traffic surveys were based on 2013 information and gently asked, to laughter, if it would not have been wiser to update the figures.

Planning Committee Chair, Cllr Denselow, asked officers why a 2008 application had been opposed by officers but this one supported. He was told that this application was being made in a different context and that the former design had been of poor quality and out of keeping with the local area. He was confident that it would be turned down if resubmitted. In further responses the committee were told that Brent objected to the London Mayor's 'small site' target of a 1,000 new  homes annually because it was thought to be unrealistic for the borough. However the major target for all homes was not opposed.  When Denselow pursued claims over the allegations of illegality with the legal advisor he was told a decision could be appealed through judicial review.  Clearly this would be a very costly strategy for residents.

In  response to another challenge officers said that in their opinion they had met all planning guidance. Condition 4 protects the D1 space for community use and any deviation would require a new planning application. the library's Asset of Community Value (ACV) status would be lost with redevelopment but officers expected it to be reapplied for. If the application was rejected it would be a matter for the Council to decide the next steps, not planning officers.

Cllr Hirani, lead Cabinet member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure, argued that following the library closures made by a previous Labour administration the proposed development retaining a library marked a new chapter in the relationship between Brent Council and the community.  He claimed that changes had been made to the development proposal as a result of feedback from the community. Preston Library would be playing a part in the Brent Borough of Culture 2020 along with other libraries.

The Planning Committee voted 6 in favour of the application, one against and one abstention. We must now wait and see what, if any, intervention comes from the Secretary of State.

Preston Community Library 'highly commended' in prestigious Library of the Year Award

From Preston Community Library Campaign

Preston Community Library has been “highly commended” in this year’s Bookseller's Library of the Year award.

The judges said that “For the first time, The Bookseller’s Library of the Year shortlist also includes a commendation for a volunteer-run library, Preston Community Library in Brent. Although the award supports professionally-run libraries with paid and qualified staff, this year we felt there should also be some recognition of the commitment and hard work shown by volunteers who keep a form of library provision in their community against the odds.”

Congratulations to all of our volunteers who work tirelessly to keep the library open. Above all, this award recognises the vital importance of local libraries to their communities, which is why thousands of people fought to keep Preston Library open, and continued to fight for several years to re-open it.

All of us at Preston Community Library agree that public libraries should be publicly funded, and run by paid professional staff. But, as custodians - for the time being - of Preston Library we are extremely proud of what we’ve achieved, and honoured to have been recognised in this year’s Library of the Year awards.

On its website LINK the Bookseller commented further:

In fact, Brent Library Service—hearing that the library has been attracting large audiences for its events—has asked Preston Community Library to bring two of its author events to its own libraries: one was held around Susie Boyt’s My Judy Garland Life (Virago), and the other, a Second World War memorial event with Elisa Segrave, was about her book The Girl from Station X (Ebury).

Open four days a week, the library is run by some 80 volunteers, the eldest being 97. The children’s library is “a well-stocked and animated environment”, and membership is around 1,400.

“This shortlisting couldn’t come at a more pressing time,” says literary event lead Geraldine Cook, who adds that the accolade is a “much-needed boost” for the management team (made up of the former library campaigners) who are determined to carry on running the library with all its activities, even when they may have to move the library temporarily, while the council develops the current site for flats.

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'Socially Useful Work' - the Lucas Plan and its current relevance - film & discussion Monday 17th June

Preston Community Library issues statement on redevelopment of the site

The proposed new building

As of this morning there are 70 comments on the Brent Council Planning Portal for this development all of which object to the proposed new building which contains a community library space as well as 12 'affordable' flats in a 2 to 4 storey building.

A wider question is whether the community library can survive if the plans do not go through. Brent Council has a policy of realising the value of its property through development but in this case has not chosen to build flats at market prices but instead to address the need for more local housing at affordable levels.

Comments objecting or supporting the application can be made HERE

Preston Library site planning comments close on May 21st - details of the plans here

The frontage of the new Preston Library building on Carlton Avenue East

Consultation on the planning application for the Preston Library building on Carlton Avenue East, Wembley,  officially closes on Tuesday May 21st, although I understand that in practice comments may still be sent in up to the Planning Committee hearing which may not be until July.

 The application is for a 2-4 storey building with a library/community space on the ground floor and 12 self-contained flats (6 one bedroom, 2 two bedrooms and 4 three bedrooms). The housing would be 100% affordable and used for people and families currently in temporary accommodation.  The documentation does not give a definition of 'affordable' - as readers will know there are several definitions.

The library space is reduced from 250 square metres to 206 square metres but the developer claims it will be a more flexible space suited to the activities currently carried out by volunteers at the community library.  It will have a 'live' frontage with toilets etc at the back:

The proposed ground floor plan

 The planning documentation uses the following opening hours although the library may choose to increase these in the future:

The Council has promised that the community library could operate temporarily from the Ashley Gardens building, which is no longer required for education, during the building period.

So far there has been only one comment on the Council's planning portal with none in favour and nothing recorded from local councillors.

The objection reads:

How is it that Brent Council can flout it's own planning regulations by putting a building of this many floors in a primarily residential area? 6 parking spaces are proposed in the development. The likely number of vehicles on the site will be substantially more than this.......and they will park where exactly?

They will make an already busy junction more so. As residents here suspected all along, the "consultation" we were invited to was nothing more than an attempt to convince us that things were at an early stage, whereas, in fact, that was far from the truth.

I expect that this will get bulldozed through, and us residents will just have to put up with the building works, followed by the extra traffic. I hope the replacement library will do as good a job as the existing one.....but wonder if the volunteers who run it will still be willing and able!

All in all another example of Brent's arrogant supreme indifference to the very people it's supposed to serve.

To make a comment go to LINK

Full details below (click bottom right corner for full view):

 

Book Give Away at Preston Library on April 23rd

NEW DATE: FEB 21st Love, Fame & Showbusiness with Susie Boyt

'See you at the Ace!' - hear about the iconic cafe's revival February 8th Preston Community Library

Opposite the Preston Pub which is on Preston Road/Carlton Avenue East

My late brother David, more than 50 years a motorcycle fanatic, would have loved this. I still remember (with terror) riding pillion with him on the mountain roads of Northern Thailand where he lived his last years.

'The Girl from Station X' - An evening with the author October 30th at Preston Library

From Preston Community Library

 

AUTHOR EVENT - TUESDAY 0CTOBER 30, 6.30PM, PRESTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY, CARLTON AVENUE EAST, HA9 8PL.  FREE.

The next  in our successful series of literary events at Preston Community Library is this Tuesday coming and we welcome the writer Elisa Segrave with her well reviewed book  'The Girl From Station X' - My Mother's Hidden Life..

When her mother died aged only 42, the author was astounded to discover  12 passports in different names: what could this mean?  

She sets about reading  brilliantly written diaries and letters which reveal that her mother was one of  the first women to enlist in 1939,  was one of the highest ranking women at Bletchley Park,  the secret home of the WW2 Codebreakers, had served in Bomber Command and had been part of the reconstruction team to wartorn Germany. She had also received over 20 proposals of marriage. As the author writes,'my own life seemed dull in comparison'.

As is now realised, all personnel had signed the Official Secrets Act and never spoke about what they did. The book poignantly uncovers the woman behind the mask and paints an unforgettable picture of  young lives caught up in the turbulence of their times.  It is also a searing memoir of a mother Segrave might have loved if things had turned out differently.

Preston Community Library new building consultation

From Preston Community Library

Council plans for new building: Consultation event on 18th September and Questionnaire

Dear library subscriber,   Two years ago Brent Council made a decision to demolish the current library building and replace it with a development that includes both a library and housing. Since then Preston Community Library has worked with the Council on the details of the library section of the building, and successfully applied for funding to fit the new library out when it is completed. The Council has now issued a consultation about the whole project, and has scheduled an event in the Library where local residents can talk to them and express their views on any aspect of the project.  You can also fill in the questionnaire and send it to them directly.  We will have paper copies available in the library for those who want them. Preston Community Library would strongly encourage residents to submit their views on any aspect of these proposals, and to come to the event on 18th September.  Further details are below. with regards, Philip Bromberg, Chair, Preston Community Library

Preston Library Funday -Sunday's programme

Fun and Buns at Preston Community Library August 12th

Family Funday 12 noon to 4pm Sunday August 12th at Preston Community Library, nearest tube Preston Road (Metropolitan line)