Showing posts with label TfL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TfL. Show all posts

Friday 15 December 2023

Brent Cyclists call for public support for Wembley Central - Harlesden cycling route: why and how

Guest post by Brent Cycling Campaign

 


 

TfL and Brent Council are currently consulting on walking, wheeling and cycling improvements between Wembley Central and Harlesden stations. At Brent Cycling Campaign we are really excited about this proposal which represents an important opportunity for Brent and North West London.You can read about the proposals here: haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/wembley-harles

 

New proposals to improve walking and cycling between Wembley Central and Harlesden are an important opportunity for Brent. Brent Cycling Campaign welcomes and supports plans by Transport for London and Brent Council for safer streets, new cycle lanes, and new pedestrian crossings.

 

After more than three years of planning and public engagement TfL published the new plans on 10th November. The plans connect Wembley Central to Harlesden with a cycle route on quiet roads and protected space between Sylvia Gardens and First Drive across the North Circular. The proposals, which do not reduce the number of lanes for drivers, follow an existing route from London Road onto Tokyngton Avenue, after crossing the North Circular people on bikes are diverted through quiet streets around Stonebridge Park to reach Harlesden Station on Acton Lane.

 

The junction of Harrow Road with the North Circular is the most dangerous junction for pedestrians in Brent. Between 2018 and 2022 there were over 90 collisions along Harrow Road, in January 2022 a person was killed crossing the road at the junction with the North Circular, and since 2018 there have been over 100 injuries and deaths on roads along the route. With quicker and safer pedestrian crossings, and a new protected cycle lane, the improvements to the A404 / A406 junction will be an example of how Brent can be transformed into a welcoming borough for active travel.

 


 

Throughout the plans new and improved pedestrian crossings and footpaths will help connect communities. Some side roads will have raised entrances, meaning people using mobility aids or with pushchairs do not need to go up and down steep kerbs. Extended bus lanes will mean faster, more reliable bus journeys. The new route will make it much easier to access Bridge Park Leisure Centre, with two new pedestrian crossings over the main road where people are not left stranded on pedestrian islands. TfL also plan to improve the lighting and CCTV in Tokyngton Recreation Ground and Stonebridge Park making these areas safer for people traveling alone and after dark.

 

The new proposals miss some important opportunities for better walking and cycling in Brent, for example by not continuing the improvements along Harrow Road to Wembley Triangle, and by not reducing the number of motor vehicles on residential roads. However, we at Brent Cycling Campaign welcome these plans, and hope they represent the start of significant investment in better active travel in Brent. If you would like to have your say and support the proposals please see the consultation on TfL’s website.

 

This article authored by Brent Cycling Campaign first appeared in the Brent and Kilburn Times.

 

Friday 17 November 2023

The Wembley bus that disappears on Event Days

 England play Malta tonight at Wembley Stadium so once again the 206 bus that runs between Kilburn Park and The Paddocks in Wembley Park will be curtailed at Bridge Park:


Kick-Off isn't until 7.45pm but the bus stops running at 2.45pm affecting secondary school pupils travelling towards Harlesden.

Stops affected:


Residents have been trying to get the Council to do something about this for decades and the need is now greater because of the increased number of events at the stadium. A local residents submitted a question to Krupa Sheth to try to pin down when the promised introduction of full working on event days will be implented:

 

Question from Peggy Wylie to Councillor Krupa Sheth (Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action)

 

The 206 bus route is for many living in the Kings Drive, The Paddocks, Salmon Street area a real necessity. However, when there is an event scheduled at Wembley Stadium no 206 service is provided to the area after 11.00/noon (or even earlier) because the service is curtailed at Brent Park.

 

The suspension of this service to the Wembley Park, Kings Drive, The Paddocks and Salmon Street area disproportionately affects our most vulnerable residents - the elderly, disabled, parents with small children and women travelling home alone at night. It also affects people needing to travel from this area to reach their place of employment and in particular those that work for Tesco, IKEA.

 

 

Brent's local plan for our area proposed the opening of North End Road to allow traffic to and from Bridge Road, Wembley Park, which would enable the 206 to serve our area on event days. The changes to the road layout have been completed and yet we are still deprived of our bus on event days.

 

As a result, can the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action advise if the combined forces of the London Borough of Brent, Transport for London ("Every journey matters!") and Wembley Stadium Limited will listen and take note of residents' needs and finally commit to seeking an urgent and permanent solution allowing the 206 bus to run its full route to the Paddocks on Wembley Stadium event days?

 

Response:

 

Transport for London (TfL) are responsible for the provision of bus services in London and consult on route changes and frequencies to improve services and efficiency.

 

Brent liaises with TfL on the bus services provided in the borough and requests improvements to satisfy the needs of residents and businesses. Brent also liaises with TfL buses for Wembley Stadium events where it is necessary to curtail / divert services for security. However, the council is committed to implementing infrastructure improvements identified under the Wembley Area Action plan and

recently completed the North End Road connection and Wembley 2 Way working projects which will enable bus services to be provided via this route on stadium event days in the future.

 

TfL carried out a consultation earlier this year on proposed changes to bus routes 92, 206 and 440 through the Wembley Park area with a view to simplifying the bus network following the introduction of two-way working arrangements in the area and which would allow for services to continue to serve the area on event days. The plan below outlines the proposals for all three services.

 

 


 

Following the consultation and following subsequent route tests, TfL has advised that the proposed changes to routes 92 and 440 will now go ahead, but a revised change to route 206 is to be implemented. This is due to the need for further works to signalise the junction at Bridge Road/North End Road (which is planned) control parking, and to strengthen a culvert. The latter is now required in order to support the intention to introduce electric buses on the 206 route. As such, and for the immediate future at least, route 206 will continue to serve Fulton Road and Rutherford road (see plan below). It is intended that all these changes will be introduced during 2024.

 

 


 

 

The Council will continue to work with TfL to deliver improvements to bus services through the area on stadium event days and throughout the borough.

 

Editor's Note:

 

On event days I often find people at The Paddocks bus stop vainly waiting for a 206 bus. At the weekend this is often after they have been walking in Fryent Country Park. They have sometimes waited for an hour. Public tramsport acess to the Park should be enouraged.

At Brent Park you find confused passengers told to disembark, milling around trying to find an alternative  route home. Often quite young school pupils are stranded.

Friday 10 November 2023

AT LAST! TfL consultation opens on safer routes for cyclists between Wembley Central and Harlesden

 

 

I used to do a daily return trip by cycle for work between Harlesden (St Johns Avenue) and Park Lane, Wembley Central. To say it was more dangerous than going over the Berlin Wall would be an exaggeration, but I was often surprised to still be alive at the end of the day.

Next year it will be 5 years since Brent Council and TfL began working on safer cycling and pedestrian routes for the Wembley Centra to Harlesden journey and the long-awaited TfL consultation opens today and closes just before Christmas on December 21st.

 

 

TfL say: 

We have been working closely with Brent Council since April 2019 to develop a project that would make it safer and easier for local people to walk and cycle between Wembley and Willesden Junction.

We are developing the project in phases, and the first phase will focus on the area between Wembley Central and Harlesden stations, where we propose to provide a new high-quality Cycleway and improvements for pedestrians.

The changes would make streets in the area safer and more pleasant by enabling people to walk and cycle more and drive less.

The proposals include a protected two-way cycle lane on the A404 Harrow Road and Brentfield, new and improved cycle and pedestrian crossings over Harrow Road, better street lighting to help make the area feel safer and more trees and plants more welcoming.

This would help us to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, which could improve local people’s health. It would also address congestion, and help support new developments(External link) (External link) planned across the wider area by providing better walking and cycling links to local businesses and stations.

The changes we would like to make are:

  • Introducing a new protected two-way cycle lane on the A404 Harrow Road and Brentfield between Sylvia Gardens and First Drive, with separate low level cycle signals at junctions, new cycle crossings and better connections to other local cycle routes
  • Introducing bus stop bypasses for cyclists at bus stops C and K, with the two-way cycle lane behind the bus stop island for cyclist safety
  • Improving the quiet road cycle connections to Wembley Central and Harlesden stations
  • Improving the route for pedestrians by adding a new crossing over Brentfield near Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre and making existing crossings at the A406 junction more direct, which will reduce crossing times
  • We’ll add measures to slow traffic speeds, add better street lighting and drainage, and new areas of planting and trees where space allows along the route
  • Improving the service for bus passengers by extending bus stop D so two buses can stop here at a time, and moving stop B in line with the traffic lane so that buses can pull away easily after passengers board
  • Other changes to allow us to make these improvements include closing the left turn filter lanes from the A406 onto Harrow Road and Brentfield, making Sylvia Gardens exit only for motor vehicles (currently entrance only), shortening a parking bay on Harrow Road and reviewing parking restrictions on the quiet road connections. We would also move bus stop ‘Sunny Crescent’ 90m to the eastern side of Wyborne Way to make space for the new cycle lanes

 

The maps below will give you a more detailed idea of the proposals:

 




Two drop-in events are planned to discuss the proposals:

Public drop-in event 9th December

Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre, Brentfield, Harrow Road, London NW10 ORG (10:00 - 14:00)

 

Public drop-in event 12th December

Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre, Brentfield, Harrow Road, London NW10 ORG (15:00 - 19:00)

 

You can find the full online consultation here including further information: 

https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/wembley-harlesden

 

I have embedded the consultation form below in case you would like to preview it before responding or perhaps  prefer to answer offline.

 

 

Friday 11 August 2023

Changes to 79 and 83 bus routes from August 26th

From TfL

 From Saturday 26 August, we are making some changes to our services on bus routes 79 and 83 around Alperton.

Route 79 will no longer serve stops between Alperton station and Alperton, Sainsbury's. Instead, it will be extended to Stonebridge Park station via Mount Pleasant and Beresford Avenue.

Buses on this route will continue to run every 12 minutes during the daytime Monday to Saturdays, and every 15 minutes during the evenings and all day on Sundays.

Route 83 will be extended from Alperton station to Alperton, Sainsbury's.

Buses on this route will continue to run every eight minutes during the daytime Monday to Saturdays, every 10 minutes during the daytime on Sundays and every 12 minutes during the evening on all days.

For travel between Alperton station and Alperton, Sainsbury's, use newly extended route 83 or existing route 224.

We will keep these changes under review to ensure we continue to offer the best service we can. For more information on these and other service changes, visit our bus changes page.

Wednesday 3 May 2023

Alperton councillor calls on Network Rail to meet with him and residents over decaying railway footbridge concerns

 



Following my story on the poor condition of the brdige over the main line and local line in Wembley LINK, Cllr Anton Georgiou has asked Network Rail to meet with him and residents to discuss action on the issue.

He wrote:

Dear Network Rail,

RE: Railway bridge from London Road to Lyon Park Avenue

I am writing regarding the railway bridge used by many residents in Alperton and surrounding wards in the Wembley area.

For many years, the state of this bridge has been a concern for local people. We do not deem it to be structurally safe, nor do we feel it is an inviting space to walk. The bridge stretches from London Road in Wembley Central, all the way across to Lyon Park Avenue. It should be a convenient route for pedestrians who want to avoid the longer journey into Wembley via the Ealing Road and down Wembley High Road. Sadly, many choose to avoid walking across this bridge as it has been left in a state of disrepair.

I have previously engaged with Brent Council Officers, who have been in touch with Network Rail directly. This has not resulted in the level of maintenance work needed to significantly improve the bridge. The local authority has said it is not their responsibility and have effectively washed their hands of further involvement.

Therefore, I would like to arrange a meeting in Brent with yourselves and local residents so that you can better understand our concerns and devise an action plan to make needed improvements to the bridge.

We are also keen to help clean up the land on either side of the bridge, which is full of rubbish. I am happy to take a lead on arranging community litter pick days, if you grant us access to this land.

Ultimately, we want to ensure that this asset is well used and made safe for all. I look forward to hearing from you soon and getting a plan in place.

Thursday 16 March 2023

TfL consults on bus route changes in Wembley Park/Stadium area: 92, 206, 440

 From TfL 'Have Your Say' website. Go to the website for full details and to fill in the consultation

Proposals - Bus route 92 

 

Route 92 operates between Ealing Hospital and St Raphael’s, Drury Way. Our proposals relate to the section of its route between Engineers Way and Great Central Way only. On this part of its route, the 92 currently operates one-way:

  • eastbound, towards St Raphael’s via Engineers Way, Fifth Way, Fourth Way and Great Central Way; and
  • westbound, towards Ealing Hospital via Great Central Way, South Way, First Way and Engineers Way

 

We propose to reroute the 92 and change it to two-way operation in the Wembley Stadium area

  • It would serve Fifth Way and Fourth Way in both directions
  • It would no longer serve bus stop C13 on Third Way and bus stop 36584 on First Way

 

How this may change your route 92 bus journey

 

We would like to make you aware of the following expected impacts if we were to change route 92 as proposed. Read the Initial Equalities Impact Assessment document for full details:

  • Current users of route 92 would benefit from a common, two-way routing in the Wembley area, simplifying the bus network
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at the Third Way bus stop C13 (which would not be served) would need to travel up to 300 metres and cross the road to a proposed new bus stop on Fourth Way. There is not a traffic signal operated crossing point between Third Way and Fourth Way
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at the First Way bus stop 36584 (which would not be served) would need to travel around the corner for 250 metres to the existing ‘Olympic Way’ bus stop (36581) on Engineers Way.
  • The proposed Third Way and First Way bus stop changes may impact between 200-300 passengers of route 92

 


 

Proposals – Bus route 206

 

Route 206 operates between Wembley, The Paddocks and Kilburn Park Station. Our proposals relate to the section of its route between Bridge Road and Great Central Way only. On this part of its route, the 206 currently operates one-way:

  • south-east bound, towards Kilburn Park Station via Bridge Road, Wembley Park Drive, Empire Way, Fulton Road, Rutherford Way, Engineers Way, Fifth Way, Fourth Way and Great Central Way
  • north-west bound, towards Wembley Park via Great Central Way, South Way, First Way, Engineers Way, Rutherford Way, Fulton Road, Empire Way, Wembley Park Drive and Bridge Road

 

We propose to reroute the 206 and change it to two-way operation in the Wembley area

  • It would serve Great Central Way, Fourth Way, Fifth Way, Fulton Road, Albion Way, North End Road and Bridge Road in both directions

 

It would no longer serve bus stops on Empire Way, Fulton Road, Rutherford Way, Engineers Way, First Way and South Way

 

How this may change your route 206 bus journey

 

We would like to make you aware of the following expected impacts if we were to change route 206 as proposed. Read the Initial Equalities Impact Assessment document for full details:

  • Current users of route 206 would benefit from a common, two-way routing in the Wembley area, simplifying the bus network
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at stop the Olympic Way bus stop (36582) on Fulton Way (which would not be served) would need to travel 300 metres to or from an existing stop on Fifth Way (CW43). To access Fifth Way, a walk across Fulton Road and the entrance to Yellow Car Park on Engineers Way would be required
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at stop the Olympic Way bus stop (36581) on Fulton Way (which would not be served) would need to travel 400 metres to a proposed new bus stop on Fulton Road. To access Fulton Road, people would need to cross the road at Engineers Way. There are not pedestrian crossing facilities at this location, and it may be preferable to cross the road twice to access wider pavements away from car park entrances
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at Rutherford Way bus stops BP820 and BP819 (which would not be served) would need to travel 300 metres to proposed new bus stops on either Fulton Road or North End Road. To access Fulton Road or North End Road people would need to cross over roads where there are not pedestrian crossing facilities
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at Fulton Road bus stops BP822 and BP821 would need to travel 400 metres to proposed new bus stops on North End Road or 420 metres to proposed new bus stops at the eastern end of Fulton Road. To access Fulton Road or North End Road people would need to cross over roads where there are not pedestrian crossing facilities
  • Passengers currently boarding or alighting at Empire Way bus 20944 (which would not be served) would need to travel 250 metres to existing bus stop 20992 at Wembley Park Station. To access this bus stop people would need to cross the road at Brook Avenue, where there is not a traffic signal operated crossing point
  • Passengers travelling on routes 83, 182, 223 and 297 wishing to interchange to route 206 and vice versa would need to ride an additional 250 metres and change bus Wembley Park Station (stop 20992)
  • The proposed bus stop changes described above may impact approximately 700 passengers of route 206

 

 


 

Proposals - Bus route 440

 

Route 440 operates between Turnham Green Church and Wembley, First Way. Our proposals relate to the section of its route between Engineers Way and Great Central Way only. On this part of the route, the 440 currently operates one-way:

  • westbound towards Turnham Green Church via Engineers Way, Fifth Way, Fourth Way, Great Central Way, South Way and First Way to its bus stand
  • eastbound, towards Wembley, First Way to its bus stand via Engineers Way

 

We propose to reroute the 440 and change it to two-way operation:

  • westbound towards Turnham Green Church the 440 would operate from Great Central Way to Fourth Way, Fifth Way and Engineers way to line of route
  • eastbound towards Wembley the 440 would operate via Engineers Way, Fifth Way, Atlas Road, Hannah Close and Great Central Way to its relocated bus stand
  • As a result of this proposal, route 440 would serve proposed new bus stops on Fifth Way, Fourth Way, Hannah Close and Great Central Way
  • It would no longer serve bus stops on Third Way, First Way, Atlas Road and Carey Way

 

 

How this may change your route 440 bus journey

We would like to make you aware of the following expected impacts if we were to change route 440 as proposed. Read the Initial Equalities Impact Assessment document for full details:

  • Current users of route 440 between The Paddocks and Wembley Park Station would benefit from faster bus journeys between these places
  • People currently boarding or alighting at the First Way bus stop 36584 (which would not be served) would need to travel around the corner for 250 metres to the existing ‘Olympic Way’ bus stop (36581) on Engineers Way
  • People currently boarding or alighting at Third Way bus stop C13 would need travel up to 300 metres to a proposed new stop on Fourth Way. To access Fourth Way, people would need to cross the road at Third Way and Fourth Way and there are not pedestrian crossing facilities at this location
  • People currently boarding or alighting at Atlas Road bus stop CW44 and Carey Way bus stop CW45 on Fourth Way would need to cross Fourth Way and travel around 100m to a proposed new bus stop on Fourth Way. There are not pedestrian crossing facilities at this location
  • The proposed bus stop changes described above may impact approximately 150 passengers of route 440


 

As part of redevelopment plans, Brent Council is holding a separate public consultation that proposes to reconnect North End Road with Wembley Park Drive with access for vehicles, including buses. It is also proposing to move First Way from one-way to two-way operation. This would include moving the bus stand currently sited on First Way, to a new location on Great Central Way. Read more about Brent Council’s two-way working consultation on its website.


Monday 30 January 2023

1 Morland Gardens – How many more times can they get it wrong?

 Guest Post by Philip Grant in a person capacity

 

 

1 Morland Gardens, behind locked Heras fencing, 26 January 2023
 

 

It is almost three years since I first wrote about Brent Council’s plans to demolish “Altamira”, the locally listed Victorian villa at 1 Morland Gardens, and build a new adult education facility and 65 homes there. Ever since the project for an updated Brent Start college, intending to retain this beautiful heritage building, was “hijacked” at the end of 2018, to provide a large number of new Council homes, there have been mistakes and delays. Now there are more.

 

Brent Council does now have a vacant building, as the six month stay by Live-in Guardians has ended, and a barrier of Heras fencing now surrounds the outer wall of the grounds. They also have a contractor in place for their project, Hill Partnerships Ltd, under a two-stage Design & Build contract awarded last July. The first stage, a Pre-Construction Service Agreement, is underway, and as part of that the contractor submitted a Construction Logistics Plan (“the Plan”), as required by one of the conditions of the planning consent (given in October 2020!).

 

Condition 20, for a construction logistics plan, from the 1 Morland Gardens planning consent.

 

The submission of the Plan, in December 2022, was treated as a separate planning application (22/4082), but it was not advertised. I only discovered it online last week. It may not sound like a very interesting document, but when I read it, I found a number of things to comment on, pointing out in my objections how Brent, and their contractor, have got it wrong again.

 

The Plan treats the development site as a single plot of land, when it is actually two. Brent Council owns the public realm and highway outside the boundary of 1 Morland Gardens, which its proposed new building would partly cover. But it does not have any legal right to build on that piece of land. It first needs to obtain a Stopping-up Order for a section of the highway, and if it gets that order, the Council would need to appropriate that land for planning purposes. 

 

There are objections to the proposed Stopping-up Order, and Brent has yet to submit its request for an Inquiry by an independent Inspector. As far back as May 2021, Brent’s Development Management Manager confirmed that an order would need to be: ‘approved prior to any development taking place on the areas that are currently adopted highway. Until the stopping-up process has been completed under S247 of the Town & Country Act 1990, works will not be able to start on the development insofar as it affects highway land.’

 

The Plan has been submitted because it needs to be approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority (Brent Council) ‘prior to commencement of the development’. If or when the legal hurdles I’ve just mentioned have been overcome, and the contractor has a site it can start work on, there are still plenty of problems.

 

The Key Site Constraints page from the Construction Logistics Plan.

 

As this early page from the Plan shows, there are a number of “constraints” involved in developing the site. Some of these are the result of the project’s designers trying to squeeze too many new homes into an unsuitable site, and ignoring the practical “constraints”. (Does that sound familiar? Newland Court and Kilburn Square come to mind, among others!)

 

One of the “constraints” listed is the single access/egress point to the site during construction, along the residential cul-de-sac of Morland Gardens itself, which would restrict the size of delivery vehicles. The Plan deals with this by saying that deliveries by articulated lorries will be unloaded from the lay-by, or “pit-lane”, on Hillside. What lay-by? 

 

Page showing where vehicles would deliver materials to the site, from the Logistics Plan.

 

Someone involved in Brent’s project has made a major mistake here. The lay-by on Hillside for deliveries and refuse collections was part of the original plans submitted in February 2020. Those plans had to be revised, because both TfL and Brent’s Transportation Unit objected that a lay-by there would be unacceptable. Hillside is a London distributor road and bus route, with no waiting allowed at any time along its frontage with 1 Morland Gardens because of the proximity to traffic signals. A lay-by there would also be too close to the bus stop, and make the footpath too narrow for safe use by pedestrians. It appears that the contractor has been given the original, and incorrect, plans! 

 

The site diagram above shows all deliveries by “rigid vehicles” coming through a gate from Morland Gardens, and then using the existing “turning head” to drive into and then reverse, so that they can exit forwards once they have been unloaded. But that “turning head” would no longer be available for vehicles making deliveries to, or collecting refuse from, the other properties in Morland Gardens. This, again, would ‘unduly prejudice the free and safe flow of local highways’, something the Plan should not be allowed to do, if it is to be acceptable to Brent’s planners.

 

Access for deliveries to Brent’s proposed Morland Gardens development is not an unforeseen problem. I raised it in an objection comment in July 2020 (see the “Transport and Access” section of a guest post I wrote before the Planning Committee meeting), after the revised plan removing the lay-by had been submitted in June 2020. However, Planning Officers dismissed my objection by saying it would be dealt with by a condition requiring a Delivery and Servicing Management Plan for the new college (ignoring the fact that there would also be deliveries and servicing for 65 homes!).

 

The other page from the Plan which has caused me to make an objection comment is the one labelled “Proposed Sales & Marketing Area”. 

 

The “Sales & Marketing” page from the Construction Logistics Plan.

 

Sales and Marketing? The 65 homes in this planned Brent Council development are all meant to be “genuinely affordable” homes. Condition 3 of the planning consent confirms that, stating: ‘The development hereby approved shall be implemented and maintained for the lifetime of the development as 100% London Affordable Rent.’ Yet the diagram above shows a 2-bedroom, 3 person “show apartment”, available for viewing in the first section of the development (due for completion in week 64), to be used for sales and marketing purposes.

 

The 1 Morland Gardens planning application went totally against both Brent and London planning policies on the protection of heritage assets, and Planning Officers admitted that. The justification for doing so was the “public benefits” of the development, particularly the provision of 65 homes which would all be “genuinely affordable”. If some of the homes are to be sold, not let to Council tenants who urgently need them, that shifts the balance more towards scrapping the demolition, and keeping the Victorian villa as part of a more sensible scheme.

 

The Report to November 2022’s Cabinet meeting about the conversion of some LAR homes to shared ownership did include a paragraph on Morland Gardens, which suggested “value engineering” the project (without giving details). Martin published a guest post from me, including my open email to the Council Leader and Lead Member for Housing. I suggested, not for the first time, an alternative solution, but Cabinet members and Brent’s New Council Homes team seem determined to carry on with a project which is unviable and impractical.

 

How many more times can they get it wrong, before they realise they’re just throwing good money (our money!) after bad?

 

Philip Grant.