Brent councillor reveals enduring Tory prejudice

It used to be that Conservative politicians looked down their noses at council house tenants. The fact that in the 21st century that prejudice hasn't gone away has been revealed by Brent Tory councillor Michael Maurice.  In an email  seen by Wembley Matters he outlines reasons for his opposition to the redevelopment of the Preston Library site. They include a claim that  a four storey building will be out of keeping with the suburban neighbourhood and that the additional population will impact on parking (Maurice is a parking obsessive).

It appears however that what really gets his goat is that the flats will be 100% affordable and some or all may be social housing. He assumes that such tenants will automatically be trouble:

We also fear that the new flats may lead to an increase in anti social behaviour and whilst many of you do not live near the library, some of us do and this could seriously affect  us.

Cllr Maurice is a former member of Brent Planning Committee which has approved many extremely unaffordable housing applications...

Help ensure the future of Preston Community Library & comment on redevelopment proposals - consultation tomorrow at the library

Preston Library, Carlton Avenue East Redevelopment Proposal, Consultation Event

Tuesday September  18th 2018, 3pm – 8pm

Preston Library, Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8PL

Brent Council is consulting on the future of the site of the former  Preston Library, off Preston Road, Wembley.

 Following the Labour Council's announcement of the closure of the library a huge campaign was launched to keep it open, even if that meant it being run by volunteers. For a time the building, after modification, was used by 'bulge classes' for Preston Park Primary. When it was no longer needed for that purpose community volunteers, helped by a more sympathetic Labour adminstration, set up a community library at the site on a short term licence which has been very successful putting on classes and film nights in addition to the lending library.

This consultation is about plans to redevelop the site and about the potential for incorporating a social space that could house the library or other community activities.

Consultation ends at 5pm on October 5th 2018

The consultation document is embedded below. Click on bottomn right hand corner to see full size.

Preston Library Family Funday Sunday August 12th

Spanish Castles at Preston Community Library - Friday afternoon

Film: Great Grunwick Strike Saturday at Preston Library

The Great Grunwick Strike - Film & Guest Speaker Saturday October 8th

From Preston Library Campaign

Doors open at 7.15, and the programme will start at 7.30. Our films are free, but we ask for donations which help us to run the library. Preston Community Library is in Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8PL. The Great Grunwick Strike 1976 - 78: A History, is being shown as part of the commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the strike. The film will be introduced by Tessa van Gelderen, Treasurer of Grunwick40.

Learning lessons from 'Pride' see the film and join the discussion tonight

--> -->

It’s the summer of 1984 – Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike. At the Gay Pride March in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists decides to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. But there is a problem. The Union seems embarrassed to receive their support. But the activists are not deterred. They decide to ignore the Union and go direct to the miners. They identify a mining village in deepest Wales and set off in a mini bus to make their donation in person. And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities who form a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership.

 It's the winter of 2016 - David Cameron is in power and the trade union movement is fighting attempts to restrict trade union rights and solidarity action. Across the country local government cuts are biting deeply into the fabric of society  as social spaces including libraries are closed and basic services privatised. The Save Preston Library community campaign invites Jonathan Blake, veteran LGBT campaigner to lead a discussion after a screening of the film 'Pride' depicting the 80s events.

What lessons can we learn?

Come to Preston Park Primary School's new Conference Centre tonight to see the film and take part in the discussion. Doors open 6.30pm and film starts at 7.15pm. Raffle and refreshments.

Tickets £5 on the door.

College Road, Wembley HA9 8RJ Preston Road (Metropolitan Line)

'The Invisible Woman' tonight at Preston Library. Children's show tomorrow

Tonight's film at Preston Library, is The Invisible Woman, about the secret love affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan. Doors open at 7.15, and the film will start promptly at 7.30. Our films are free to members of the library, and you can join at the door. We will be collecting donations towards the work of the library.

 "This is an engrossing drama, with excellent performances." Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian

Preston Library urges support for Barham campaigners at this afternoon's meeting

FromPreston Library Campaign

From this Saturday, we'll be showing films in the library every Saturday night at 7.30. These films are free for members of the library (you can join at the door), and we will be taking donations towards the library's work.

Our next pub quiz is on Monday 26 October at 7.30 in The Preston. Unfortunately last month's quiz was on a cold and very wet evening - I hope to see lots more of you this month.
The library itself will continue to open and to offer the full range of library services from 11-5 on Saturdays and 1-5 on Sundays.

Finally, can I draw your attention to a meeting of the Barham Park Trust Committee at the Civic Centre this Thursday, 8 October, at 3pm. The trustees will be making a decision on Friends of Barham Library's bid to run a library in Barham Park. We at Preston Library have had a huge amount of help from library groups at Barham, Kensal Rise, Cricklewood and elsewhere, and we're looking forward to a time in the very near future when Brent will have a group of four mutually supportive volunteer-run libraries. The Barham Trust meeting is open to the public, and I'm sure Friends of Barham Library would welcome your support.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Preston Library Roald Dahl Day- Today Noon-3pm

Roald Dahl Day Sunday 13th at Preston Library- Film 'The BFG' plus activities

'The Great Gatsby' screened at Preston Library on Sunday amidst uncertainty about the future

Members of Preston Community Library are invited to a showing of The Great Gatsby at 6pm this Sunday August 16th. If you're not a member of the library, you can join on the day.

The licence from Brent Council for the group to  use the library building has been extended until August 16th when this film is being shown. The future beyond that is very uncertain according to the Community Library and Hub organisers. 

If Brent chooses to honour Labour's election pledge to support community-run libraries and to let them use the library building for a peppercorn rent, then the library will re-open on weekends from 29 August.

 Monday, 10 August,  pub quiz at 7.30 in The Preston off Preston Road, opposte the library building.

Brent Cabinet under pressure on three fronts

In the absence of Muhammed Butt, Cllr Michael Pavey presided over yesterday's Cabinet meeting with all the jaunty aplomb of the driver of the Dundee bound express as he approached the Bridge of Tay on 'the last Sabbath day of 1879, which will be remember'd for a very long time.'

The Cabinet was marked by a bitter exchange over the Preston Community Library,  an accusation that an officer's report had turned negative comments into positives in the Tudor Gardens consultation, and a warning that in the Bridge Park development Brent Council was dealing with a 'convicted fraudster'.

Even if Pavey was breezily unaware of what was happening the Brent Communications Team certainly were. No sooner had the meeting ended then the Brent and Kilburn Times reporter, seated in the front row of the public gallery, found three members of what appeared to be the Communications Team, looming over her.

They quickly whisked her off for a post-cabinet briefing in what appeared to be a damage limitation exercise.

As she disappeared with her escorts into the innards of the drum I called out, 'Publish and be damned!'

I hope she does but meanwhile keep an eye on Wembley Matters for more on last night's meeting.

Preston Community Library now operating temporarily from library site after 3 year closure

From the Preston Library Campaign

Last week Preston Community Library signed a licence to use the Preston Library building until the end of July, so after a gap of nearly four years there is again a public library in Carlton Avenue East. There are already books available to borrow. The creative writing and Scrabble groups which we've been running for some time will continue, and there will be an immediate expansion of our English classes. Other activities planned for the very near future include a film club and yoga and knitting classes.

For the moment we're opening from 12.30 - 7 on Mondays and from 11-5 on Saturdays. We hope to expand the opening hours very soon; to do that we need more volunteers to staff the building, so if you can spare some time please do get in touch. or.

We have a couple of events coming up very soon. This Thursday, 23 April is World Book Night 2015, and we will be giving away books in the library from 4 until 7; there will also be readings from Shakespeare, whose birthday it is. There are more details on the attached poster.

And on Monday week, 27 April, we have our next pub quiz at 7.30 in The Preston pub. We aim to start the quiz promptly at 8. This year's quizzes have been as enjoyable as ever and very well attended. Now that we're back in the library we need your support more than ever, so I hope to see as many of you as possible at both of these events.

Thanks for your continuing support.

 

Preston Library 'Bookaway' World Book Night April 23rd

Preston Library Fundraising Quiz Tonight

From Preston Library Campaign

We are now working hard on plans for a new library in Carlton Avenue East: these quizzes are currently our main source of funds, and we need your support more than ever. We hope to see lots of you this evening.

Preston Library Hustings Tonight

We want OUR library back!

From the Friends of Preston Library
 

Elections to Brent Council are less than a month away. We are holding a public meeting at 7.30 on Wednesday May 7 in St Erconwald's Church Hall, Carlton Avenue East HA9 8NB (flyer attached).  We have invited all the local candidates. In three of the four wards served by Preston Library, seats changed hands at the last election. They need your votes, and this is your chance to tell them what you think.

It's over two years since Brent closed six of the borough's libraries, and much of what we said would happen has happened. Brent's libraries are now, on almost every measure in the official statistics, amongst the poorest performers in London. We know that many people in the Preston area have been deprived of their library service - only yesterday someone who lives a few hundred yards from Preston Library was telling me that her daughter now struggles to find study space in the new Civic Centre Library.

The Preston Library building is still in public hands, and will be vactated by Preston Park School next year. Please come to St Erconwald's next week, and tell the politicians that we want our library back!

Library closures: how will you vote in May?

Preston Campaign celebrates National Libraries Day in style

My next and last stop was the old Preston Library closed by Brent Council and currently used as an annex for Preston Park Primary School. Once surrounded by similar hoardings to those erected at Kensal Rise the building was in use again to celebrate National Libraries Day. The Save Preston Library Campaign has been particularly imaginative in its campaigning and the range of events it organises from pub quizzes to literary celebrations. As well as using the Old Library building as a Community Hub they operate a Community Library on Preston Road,

New building is to take place on the school's main site to enable the school to expand and the school will vacate the annex.. As it still belongs to the Brent Council there are hopes that it could revert to its previous use.

Musician and writer Leon Rosselson took children on a 'Bear Hunt' before reading from his own books

 

Reading aloud to the audience

Book making

Finishing with a song

My visits to all three library campaigns, Kensal Rise, Barham and Preston, was a humbling experience. One cannot but be impressed by the resilience of Brent residents and their resistance to losing their cherished services.

I wish them all success in their campaigns as we approach the local elections.