Following concerns about the state of the children's playground in Preston Park and safety concerns LINK, Brent Council Parks Department yesterday decided to close the playground pending completion of repairs.
In a message to councillors the Head of the Parks Department wrote:
I
am writing to make you aware that we have made the decision today to
immediately close the children’s play area in Preston Park, due to
safety concerns.
I
appreciate that it is the summer holidays; however, the surfacing
underneath almost all pieces of equipment has now deteriorated to such a
condition that we consider it to be a risk for children using the
space. We do not take this decision lightly, but we have a
responsibility to provide safe places for play.
We
had identified some surfacing issues previously and had been obtaining
quotes for their repair. Unfortunately, contractors have advised us that
temporary repairs will not work and full scale resurfacing of the
safety surface is needed. This is not something that can be undertaken
immediately and we are therefore closing the playground today whilst we
get quotes for the works.
The closest alternative children’s playgrounds can be found at Northwick Park, John Billam Open Space and Woodcock Park.
The news comes after the local controversy over the proposals for a Multi Use Games Area on one of the park's tennis courts during which the state of the children's playground was raised and spending priorities questioned.
Clearly the closure is not ideal during an especially hot summer school holiday and last night it was reported that the playground was still in use, but questions are being asked about how it was allowed to deteriorate to this extent, and how it managed to achieve Green Flag status given the situation.
Presentations and Cabinet member response in full (Brent Council)
Monday's Cabinet was unusual in that there was almost a debate. Normal Cabinets usually rubber stamp decisions with a few remarks from members praising each other's proposals.
Members did not debate with each other on Monday but unusually permission was granted to a group of residents to respond to another group's petition presentation. Not a real debate as no interaction was allowed but there was at least presentation of differing points of view.
The focus was proposals for the improvement of Preston Park that arose as an NCIL (Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy) initiative, It had been discussed for several months and discussions continued perhaps ill-advisedly over the local election period.
The initial proposal was for a MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) on one of the tennis courts in the park (Red rectangle on map below).
The petitioners objected to the proposed site as it was close to nearby houses and gardens and would cause more noise than a tennis court. They proposed an alternative site (Yellow rectangle on map) next to the children's playground and away from back gardens and homes.
Angela Barrett, presenting the petition on behalf of residents, said the alternative site had the backing of Brent Parks Forum and the Preston Park Safer Neighbourhood team. The original site was in a secluded part of the park that attracts anti-social behaviour raising safety and inclusion issues. She said:
I
can begin with good news: since our petition was submitted, the Head of Parks
Kelly Eaton has confirmed that the tennis court site is no longer being
considered
A new location adjacent to the children's playground in the centre of the park would create a unified, safer family activity hub. It was more visible and easier to overlook, making it safer and more welcoming.
The meadow from the children's playground
The area was intended to be a meadow, but has not established successfully and remains grass of relatively low ecological value. There would be potential to incorporate a rain garden and pollinator planting.
Angela suggested that rather than a caged tarmac MUGA, which research shows can often not feel welcoming for girls and younger users, LINKLINK, a flexible grass-based alternative area or natural adventure playground could be provided. Positive proposals for better engagement have been put to Brent Council LINK.
She concluded by asking the Cabinet to support a new location and thoughtful design that will enhance the park for everyone. A facility that works well for all young people, feels safe and inclusive, fits into its surroundings and could even include a net ecological gain.
Soulla Kwong then spoke on behalf of Friends of Preston Park that began as a litter-picking group and developed as a group to improve the park, particularly for young children.
They had spoken to local children who had supported the idea of a MUGA and a chess table and table tennis table that have already been installed. However, I understand that the alternative ideas for youth provision outlined above by Angela have not been presented to local children yet.
Soulla said that the 'disused' tennis courts had been suggested as a MUGA site by children. As the court already had a firm foundation it would be less costly install a MUGA there. No floodlights would be installed that would disturb neighbours.
She said that building a MUGA on the meadow would amount to loss of green space that the Friends would oppose: 'We have a duty not to destroy what little we have. Should we leave behind a concrete jungle or something that future generations can enjoy?'
Soulla Kwong did not respond to Angela Barrett's suggestion of a lower impact grass football field and natural adventure playground instead of a MUGA.
It was a pity that there were no questions allowed from Cabinet members or interaction between the two groups that might have established some common ground.
It was left to Cllr Promise Knight to respond. She said that the proposal had started as part of the NCIL process with support from school children for a place where they could be active. She recognised residents' concerns over noise levels and the enjoyment of their homes and gardens.
Having considered the feedback received she could confirm that the Park Service would continue to review the improvement programme in more detail, weighing up all the options and what was possible:
I hope this provides reassurance to residents and demonstrates the council is listening carefully to both sides.
Cllr Knight did not say explicitly that the tennis court site was no longer being considered.
Interestingly, in one of a series on access to play on BBC Radio 4, there was a discussion about another area of controversy, whether council tennis courts should be free and self-run or taken over on the council's behalf by the Lawn Tennis Association, with coded locks and charges. HEAR IT HERE
Soulla Kwong called the tennis courts 'disused', however I understand the courts are used for tennis and remain available to book via the LTA, although there are question marks about how well the current arrangement with the LTA is working. Angela also mentioned that occasional ASB occurs at the site. This may be a separate issue for the Parks Service to review.
The existing children's playground has safety and maintenance issues. What would be the maintenance programme for a MUGA and how would it be funded. LINK
Extract from a letter written on 27 September 1940.
I’m writing to
let “Wembley Matters” readers know about some forthcoming events in local
libraries, when I will sharing some local and social history which I hope may
be of interest. They are all free to attend, although for the first one, at
Preston Community Library on Sunday 19 April from 3 to 4pm, we hope that
you will make a donation to the volunteer-run library funds if you enjoy the
presentation.
Poster for the event at Preston Community Library on Sunday 19 April.
“Wartime letters from Preston Park” tells
the story of the Second World War in Wembley, as experienced by two local
housewives, and told in letters sent between 1940 and 1945 to their friend, and
former neighbour, Muriel Hall. Extracts from those letters will be read by two
of the Preston Library ladies, as “Nancie” and “Doris”, and I will be providing
the accompanying slide show.
The letters were saved by Muriel, and donated to Wembley History Society
by her daughter in 2020, as a valuable first-hand account of civilian life in
the Preston Park area during this important period in our history. We are excited
to be able to share their words with people living in the area now. The event
will be suitable for all ages from around 10 years upwards (Nancie and Doris
both had children at Peston Park Primary School), and you can find further
details on the Preston Community Library website.
Title slide for “Memoir from Mugsborough”.
2026 is the “National Year of Reading” (although reading books and
articles is something we can all enjoy every year!), and my first Brent
Libraries “coffee morning” talk of the year comes under that banner. Rather
than local Wembley history, it takes me back to my home town of Mugsborough
(not its real name), and a novel written in and about it in the first decade of
the 20th century. Because of its political content, this illustrated
talk had to be scheduled for after the local Council elections (!), and will
take place at Kingsbury Library on Tuesday 12 May from 11am to 12noon (but
arrive around 10.45am for free tea/coffee and a biscuit).
“Tressell” in 1908
“Memoir from Mugsborough” not only shares
stories from the book “The Ragged Trousered Philantropists” (using images from
printed pages, the original manuscript and a modern graphic novel version), but
also looks at the fascinating story of the author Robert Tressell (not his real
surname), and how the book he had put so much effort into writing, despite poor
health and hardship, came to be published after his death. You can get more
details and reserve your free place on the Brent Libraries Eventbrite website.
Title slide for
“Arthur Elvin” talk at Wembley Library.
My second “coffee morning” talk this year, “Arthur Elvin – Mister
Wembley”, will be at Wembley Library on Tuesday 9 June from 11am to
12noon. The story of the man who used to be called “Mister Wembley” is not
as well-known now as it deserves to be. Without him, Wembley Stadium would not
have become famous around the world, and Wembley Arena (originally called the
Empire Pool) would not have existed at all.
Arthur Elvin looking down the newly completed Olympic Way in 1948.
His early life, before he first came to Wembley as a young unemployed
ex-serviceman, to work in a cigarette kiosk in 1924, is equally fascinating -
so come along and discover more about this important local character if you are
free on the morning of 9 June. You can find further details and reserve your
free seat at this illustrated talk here.
Guest post by local historian Philip Grant in a personal capacity
Fanny Blankers-Kohn
winning the women’s 100m at Wembley in 1948.
As well as “Poetry in Wembley: The Language of Care” on 16 October, Brent Libraries are putting
on a range of free events this month as part of the nationwide Our
Freedom: Then and Now project.
This looks at what freedom means for us now, following on from the 80th
anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day. The local theme for this is ‘a creative
community project that invites local people to rediscover and reimagine Brent’s
wartime history, offering residents a chance to explore hidden stories from the
Second World War and connect them with their own lived experiences of freedom,
resilience, and community today.’
For those who are free during the day, there
will be four “coffee morning” events, each from 11am to 12noon (with free tea
and coffee available from around 10.45!). I will put “links” in the title of
each to the Eventbrite page where you can get more details, and reserve your
place if you would like to attend.
On the starting line, at Kingsbury Library on Tuesday 7 October, is my illustrated talk
on “Wembley’s 1948 Olympic Games” (above). These “austerity games”, the first
summer Olympics for 12 years (since Berlin in 1936), were not just a sporting
event, but a chance to help rebuild a peaceful world, where nations could compete
in friendly rivalry, not fight each other. As well as the Games themselves, the
talk will show how the people of Wembley, and its Council, helped to make them
a success.
A British ladies’
football team in 1895.
Next in the programme, at Willesden Green Library on 14 October,
is Phil Vasili’s talk on “The History of Women’s Football in the UK”. Many of us will have celebrated the success
of England’s “Lionesses” in two European Championships in the past few years,
but I certainly didn’t know there had been a ladies’ football team in this
country as far back as 1895! (Did Queen Victoria know? If so, I suspect she
would not have been amused!)
An extract from one
of the wartime letters from Preston Park.
On Wednesday 22
October at Wembley Library, I am
involved again with the illustrated presentation of “Wartime letters from Preston Park”. Two ladies from the Brent Libraries team
will also be joining me, to read extracts from letters written by local
housewives, Nancie and Doris, to a former neighbour during the Second World War.
Having heard their first-hand experiences of living through a conflict, while
trying to give their children as normal an upbringing as possible, there will
be the chance for discussion. Many other wars have taken place since 1945, with
some still ongoing, and anyone who wishes to share their more recent
experiences, and how these compare with those in the letters, will be very
welcome at this event.
The Second World War is also the subject of
October’s final “coffee morning” event, at
Willesden Green Library on Tuesday 28 October. “Stepping Back in Time” is a WW2 object handling session hosted by
Brent Museum & Archives, where you can also share wartime stories handed
down through your family, as well as enjoying your tea/coffee and biscuits.
Brent Libraries, Culture and Heritage is also
partnering with the Jason Roberts Foundation to put on several events in the
Our Freedom: Then and Now programme. These include two early evening (from 6.30
to 8pm) “In Conversation” discussions with local sporting heroes this month,
which are free and open to people of all ages.
These events kick off at Harlesden Library on Wednesday 15 October, with “In Conversation with: Richard Langley &
Mark Stein”, when these
two former professional footballers will talk candidly about the changes they
have seen over the years, both on and off the field. This will be followed by a
Q&A session’
I hope these Our Freedom: Then and Now events
will include some you can come and enjoy this month. And there are more,
including Black History Month events, that you can find on the Brent Libraries,
Culture and Heritage Eventbrite page at:
Guest post by local historian Philip Grant in a personal capacity
Sir Arthur Elvin in 1948.
I have to declare an interest, as I am involved with most of the events
featured in this guest post, but I hope that by sharing the details on “Wembley
Matters”, more people who might be interested in one or two of them will have
the opportunity to enjoy them.
An aerial view of Wembley Town Hall, nearing completion in 1939. (Image from “Wembley” by Geoffrey Hewlett, 2002)
During his lifetime, Arthur Elvin became known as Mister Wembley, and
played an important part in making Wembley the world-famous destination it is
today. Yet many local people now don’t know much about him, or even why the
name Elvin has been given to a garden square behind the Civic Centre or a
school in the High Road. I felt that his story needed to be told, so I am
giving an illustrated talk about him at the Wembley History Society meeting at
St Andrew’s Church Hall, Kingsbury, on Friday 19 September at 7.30pm.
As the poster above says, visitors to the Society’s meetings are very
welcome, and the 83 and 302 buses, which stop close to the venue, should be
running along Church Lane again by the time of the meeting! So, please come
along, arriving between 7.15 and 7.25pm if possible, if you would be interested
in discovering more about “Mister Wembley” and his part in our local history.
Arthur Elvin played an important part in bringing the 1948 Olympic Games
to Wembley, and that famous sporting event, and the part the local community
played in making it a success, are the subject of a free “coffee morning” talk
at Kingsbury Library on Tuesday 7 October, from 11am to 12noon (with tea/coffee
and biscuits available from 10.45, so come early!). It is best to reserve your
place for these Brent Libraries events, and you can do that by “clicking” here.
Title slide for the “coffee morning” talk on Tuesday 7 October.
The pre-arranged 1948 Olympic Games talk has been included in the
programme for “Our Freedom – Then and Now”, a nationwide
project, with Brent Libraries as one of its participating cultural organisations,
building on the legacy of the VE Day and VJ Day 80th anniversary
commemorations. When I heard about this project, and that Brent’s aim was ‘an
opportunity for local people to creatively explore and share Brent’s hidden
wartime stories, connecting the past with their own experiences of community,
resilience, and freedom today,’ I knew that I had a resource which would fit
perfectly into that theme.
Title slide for the “coffee morning” event at Wembley Library on
Wednesday 22 October
The result will be seen and heard at a Wembley Library “coffee morning”
on Wednesday 22 October, from 11am to 12noon, when the first-hand Second World
War experiences of two local housewives will be shared, through extracts from
letters they wrote to a friend. Those letters were saved by their former
neighbour, and eventually donated to Wembley History Society by her daughter in
2020, and they provide a fascinating insight into every-day life at that time. The
extracts will be read by two ladies from Brent Libraries, while I will be providing
the pictures which link their stories. You can reserve your seat for this event
by “clicking” here.
This tree planting event on Saturday 1st December in Preston Park and Northwick Park is part of the neighbourhood-wide tree planting weekend, initiated by the Mayor of London.
Due to the size of the community tree packs (50 trees in each) and type of trees offered, the Council has also included Northwick Park ias well as Preston Park n the planting scope . The map of the confirmed locations for the trees in both parks is due to be shared by the Council shortly.
The tree planting schedule is as follows for Saturday 1st December:
- Preston Park: 9.30am - 11am - meet in the car park (College Road entrance to the park, opposite Preston Park Primary School) - HA9 8RJ
- Northwick Park: 11.30am - 1pm - meet in front of the Northwick Park Pavilion - HA0 3TQ
Brent Council and Veolia colleagues will support the planting. Volunteers are advised to bring spades/ forks/ trowels and gloves and wear suitable protective footwear on the day.
As the Scrutiny Committee discussed setting up a Task Group to investigate how the Pupil Premium, ear-marked funds for disadvantaged children, are used in Brent schools last night, they were leafleted by staff who care passionately for an arguably even more disadvantaged group who are about to be shipped out of the borough.
The Primary Pupil Referral Unit currently housed at Ashley Gardens is for children excluded from mainstream school. The classrooms were previously used as temporary accommodation for the primary unit of Preston Manor All-through School.
The Primary Unit came about after the Key Stage 2 (7-11 year olds) PRU in Stonebridge was closed down at the end of Spring Term 2014 as no longer necessary. Within weeks, there were already 6 excluded children at Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds) and Key Stage 2 in need of education. The Ashley Gardens facility was set up for them and high quality, experienced staff were recruited on the understanding that the unit would continue through the current academic year.
Brent's Primary EBD(Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties) school, Vernon House, closed some time ago and a new school opened in its place for chidlren on the autistic spectrum.
The authority has said that the classrooms are needed for children without a school place, despite Preston Park Primary having expanded, the new primary school at Preston Manor and a four form entry primary school being built at Wembley High.
Most of the Ashley Gardens children will be placed at the Family School London, in Kings Cross. This is a free school being opened by the Anna Freud Centre, with home to school transport provided for each child.
On Thursday of last week Ashley Gardens staff were told that the Unit would close by the end of this month.
Staff have major concerns about the closure decision and the way it is being implemented. This is what they said:
1. The time scale for closure is extremely rushed and risks causing unnecessary distress to children and their families.
These are amongst the most vulnerable and emotionally challenged children within our education system. Three weeks does not give us proper time to prepare them for this major change. we have an excellent team who have worked very hard to build up relationships of trust with the children and their families and the children are now settled and beginning to thrive in the unit.
We are concerned that this hasty decision, driven it seems more by the borough's need for our accommodation than by the needs of the children, will cause unnecessary emotional trauma to children who have already had more than their fair share.
2. There has been no consultation on this decision with the staff of the unit, including the Teacher-In-Charge, nor more senior staff within the Inclusion Service, and no individual case-by-case review to assess whether the provision at the Anna Freud Family School is appropriate for all the children who will be placed there.
3. We understand the longer term policy is to provide support for chidlren at risk of exclusion with the Brent School's Partnership, with the aim of preventing exclusions. This provision is still not in place. Where will any excluded chidlren be taught and supported in the meantime? This is exactly the situation that led to the formation of the unit at Ashley Gardens.
4. What about children who are excluded in spite of all the best efforts of the new provision? The Family School has only 4 places available this year in each key stage, and 4 more available next year and demand could come from anywhere across London.
The Ashley Gardens staff make a strong and professional case which clearly has the interests of vulnerable chidlren at its heart.
Brent Council's commitment to social inclusion means that there should be proper consultation with teachers, parents and professional agencies in such a situation, and at the very least a thorough Equalities Impact Assessment should be carried out.
None of this has happened and until it does, and the resulting report has been discussed and adopted by Cabinet, the closure should be suspended.
I would add a further concern about children being bussed out of the borough. They are already excluded from mainstream schools and will be further excluded by being educated far away from their home community.
