Brent Council to contribute up to £11.23m to Wembley Housing Zone's community space and community centre

 

 

Wembley Matters contributor, Philip Grant, has been assiduous in following the proghress (or lack of it) of the Wembley Housing Zone in Wembley High Road/Cecil Avenue. The main theme is the lack of truly affordable housing with the amount diminishing over the years when Brent could have acquired much more. See LINK for one of the main articles and the adjacent search box for more. (Search for Wembley Housing Zone).

Now the mainly private development (and the developer through increased value of the development) will benefit from plans for a courtyard and community centre/centres on the site to be paid for by Brent Council.

 

There are very few details about the community centres (there are two options) in the documentation. The developer Wates would contribute Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy monies to Brent Council but Brent Council would use this to enhance the scheme through outside community space and a community centre. Additional monies woud be needed from SCIL  for the more expensive option:

The proposed capital contribution of up to £11.23m SCIL is necessary to deliver the infrastructure elements of the scheme. The Wembley Housing Zone development is itself estimated to generate £5.267m Brent CIL receipts and Wates are liable to pay this sum. Therefore the net additional SCIL ask to the Council to fund the infrastructure elements of the scheme for Option#1 is £2.6m and for Option#2 is £5.96m. The Council has sufficient Strategic CIL reserves to meet this request.

 

As reported to Cabinet in August 2021, the Council can retain and lease the commercial and community space on the WHZ scheme, or dispose of it for a one-off capital receipt. Requested costs at Appendix 1 present two options, both of which would deliver the publicly accessible courtyard. Option #1 at £7.87m would also designate one flexible community and commercial space for the new community centre. Option #2 at £11.23m would however designate both flexible community and commercial spaces for a larger new community centre. Marketing of the commercial and community spaces will determine the range of occupiers interested in the WHZ scheme, and on what terms. Whether or not it is in the Council’s best interest to pursue Option 1 or Option 2 will depend on market demand and the balance of socioeconomic and financial outputs that can be delivered.

This is a substantial sum of money from  SCIL but the Officers' report states there are sufficient funds in the account to cover the cost:

There is a foreword to the Officer's Report by Cllr Shama Tatler which in my view amounts to a Brent Council party political broadcast during an election period (or parliamentary candidate pitch)  but has been defended by the Brent Council CEO as clearly separate from the officers' contribution. See the Report and Foreword  HERE,

Extract from Shama Tatler's Foreword:

Working in partnership with Wates Construction and the Mayor of London,

Brent Council is delivering on its longstanding commitment to revitalise the

eastern stretch of Wembley High Road. This report sets out how we will embed

community use at the heart of our regeneration plans for the Wembley Housing

Zone, with a landmark £11.23m investment into a publicly accessible courtyard

garden, alongside new community facilities. A Labour pledge met to continue

using public assets for public good – balancing regeneration projects in the

interests of the many in search of a new home, not the few that decry change.

 

The economic regeneration of Wembley is clear for all to see, from the world-

class Stadium to the re-developed public realm – thousands more Londoners

now also call the area home, and the area is attracting more inward investment

than ever before. This has been made possible thanks to long-term public and

private partnership, leveraging resources, expertise and crucially, investment.

Through the Wembley Housing Zone we have another opportunity to create

another powerhouse, driving positive change along Wembley High Road.

 

The housing crisis did not begin yesterday, and it will not finish tomorrow. It is

therefore vital that we create plans which respond to the economic drivers as

they are not as we wish them to be. We have a moral imperative to do all in our

power to build more housing and communities that last long into the future. The

regeneration that underpins the Wembley Housing Zone, is exactly that – an

effort to build a better Brent, a place where home ownership is a reality, not just

a dream. Supply of housing, of all tenures is vital to this, after all in the United

Kingdom we have some of the lowest ratios in Europe for housing stock to

people. Taken together with the toxic headwinds of inflation, prices are being

pushed everywhere and house prices are now at their most unaffordable,

relative to earnings since 1876.

 

Of course community centres are much needed and more community space essential and welcome in the increasingly  dense Wembley High Road but could Brent Council have got a better deal from one of their favoured developers?

Exhibitions this week on Ujima House plans

 

Wates are putting on an exhibition aiming to improve the Ujima House outline planning consent at St John's the Evangelist Community Centre at 1 Crawford Avenuen, Wembley, on Thursday from 4pm to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 1pm.

For background see Philip Grant's guest post HERE

The '100% affordable housing' (which Brent's Cabinet agreed in August 2021 would be all London Affordable Rent) has now been amended to 32 flats at London Affordable Rent, and 22 "Intermediate" flats (either shared ownership or Intermediate rent, suitable for people / households with an annual income of around £60k).Brent Council has recently itself admitted that shared ownership is not affordable for most Brent residents.

After exhibition see ujimahouse.co.uk

Brent Housing Management challenged at Scrutiny

A presentation from Harlesden Area Action put Brent housing chiefs on the spot at yesterday's Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee meeting when the Council was accused of not fulfilling their responsibilities as owners of the Freehold at two properties.

They were told that the example  above was one of many in Harlesden and Kensal Green where Brent was not fulfilling its responsibility to 'keep in repair and proper working order the structure and exterior of residential properties it owns'.

The property with accumulated waste and evidence of rat infestation, was reported in August 2019 but the issue not resolved until January 17th this year.  This meant that Brent Council was not adhering to the duty cited in the Brent Housing Report that 'landlords are responsible to ensure premises are not in a state to be prejudicial to health or nuisance'.

Responding Cllr Southwood, lead member for Housing and Benefits, admitted that the Council needed to be more proactive. They were reliant to issues such as this being flagged up by councillors as a result of residents' complaints, as well as input from Veolia and Streetcare. Improvements were needed in future.

Presenting the Performance Report on Brent Housing Management Cllr Southwood focused on improvements since BHP was brought back in-house in 2017 and Wettons brought in-house later.

There had been an improvement in the speed of repairs and residents' satisfaction with them but more work needed to be done by closer monitoring of Wates, particularly on complex repairs (those that needed more than one trade). The Council hoped that its current review with Wates would result in an an improvement. Wates had been honest about shortcomings enabling things to move forward. There seemed little prospect of this service being brought back in-house.

The Council were introducing a mobile phone App which would enable residents to report repairs 24/7.  Customer satisfaction with routine repairs was currently 83% (72% in last full period of the Brent Housing Partnership) and the Council's aim was to increase this to 90%. Some members of the Committee suggested the target should be 100%.

A puzzling finding was that there was no correlation between 'customer satisfaction'  and  the amount invested in council housing maintenance and refurbishment.

The Committee discussed the importance of hearing residents' voices as part of the Asset Management Strategy.  A 'Customer Panel' had been formed. It was not elected but appointed from volunteers in order to cover a range of tenancies and experience.  They challenged performance and would be involved in considering any changes of policy.  Housing Management were going to suggest that panel members follow a repair through from hearing the initial phone call, going out on the job with Wates, and seeing the repair to completion.

Changes were proposed in broadening the customer survey with a wider range of possible responses and asking tenants and leaseholders how they feel about the service itself.

Councillors questioned progress on Fire Risk Assessments with personal Emergency Action Plans (PEEPs).  The Committee asked for a report back on the 12 week programme that is about to commence to identify needs and review any changes required in the blocks.

Brent Cabinet approves Knowles House, Harlesden, development

From a Brent Council Press Release

Brent Council's Cabinet has approved a £28 million project in Harlesden to create much-needed social housing together with a new community centre. 

The report to Cabinet laid out plans for Wates Residential to start work on redeveloping Knowles House in Longstone Avenue, with a completion date anticipated during the winter of 2021. 
The works will see the demolition of the existing buildings on the site and the construction of 149 new homes alongside a community centre. 

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Lead Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said: "Our Knowles House redevelopment will help homeless residents move away from bed and breakfast accommodation and into more settled and secure homes." 

The new development will also include homes designed for independent living. 

Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: "This project will see more homes for people with care needs being housed under Brent's New Accommodation for Independent Living (NAIL) scheme. We aim to support people to live independently for longer and NAIL gives people that freedom and choice." 

This project will attract around £5.7 million in funding from the GLA affordable housing programme. The grant is part of a wider allocation of £65 million awarded to Brent in order to increase the supply of affordable housing in the borough.

UPDATE: Disabled man's 'bitter experience' as he has to don wellies to enter flooded kitchen following Brent Council's failure to act

 UPDATE SEPTEMBER 12TH

Since this article was published a Brent housing officer has been in contact with John regarding his situation and has said she wants to arrange an appointment to restore power to his flat. No date yet. It has emerged that the flooding source is a different flat to the one first suspected.

John Healy, a Brent Council tenant in South Kilburn, has been left having to put on wellies to wade through his flooded kitchen after Wates, Brent Council Housing's out-sourced repair service, deemed the flat that was the source of the flooding unsafe for their employees to enter as the tenant is 'too dangerous.'

John has been waiting for action since last Wednesday. He told Wembley Matters:

Because of the flood in my kitchen, I have been left with no lights, heating, hot water microwave and worst of all having to throw out all of the from my full fridge that has gone off, as there is no power for it along with everything else. I have to put on wellies to enter the kitchen because there is so much water on the floor.

I informed them that I am a disabled 67 year old man with a mobility impairment and I was worried about slipping on my saturated carpets. This did happen but fortunately I was not injured.

Brent Council Housing's mission statement says 'A better experience for residents' unfortunately for be it is ' a bitter experience'. They say they are 'taking a holistic experience with Wates', for me it is more like 'taking the **** approach.'

John visited the South Kilburn repair office yesterday and was told they were dealing with source of the leak but in the evening Wates called in on John with a security officer and told him they could not enter the flat which is the source of the flat. His power cannot be restored because of the flooding.

The Wates officer suggested John  was entitled to be accommodated in bed and breakfast by Brent Council until the issue has been dealt with but the Council has not offered this option. He has submitted a complaint to the Council but this could take up to 20 days to be dealt with.

Wembley Matters has requested a comment from Brent Council.

Brent Council to lease out two floors of Civic Centre as staff numbers reduce

Tonight's Cabinet will consider a proposal to lease out the 7th and 8th floor of the Civic Centre to an unnamed commercial organisation. LINK

This follows a review of the accomodation. The proposed 'Partner Village space' has attracted no partners who could afford it and parts of the first floor are empty. 

The proposals will see increased density of workstations on floors 2-6 with the Council anticipating some staff transferring out of the Centre when Veolia takes over the Public Realm contract and Wates takes over Brent Housing Partnership maintenance. 120 extra workstations will be added to floors 2-6.

The report also anticipates further Brent Council staffing cuts as out-sourcing continues and reductions in staff are made as a result of budgetary constraints. Revenue from the lease will be used to supplement the budget.

The report notes:

The security aspects of having a third party commercial occupier will need to be carefully considered. Therefore the Council should not and will not accept any tenant unless deemed acceptable to the image of the Council and the Civic Centre; the one under current consideration is well known to the Council and is reputable with an International standing. However in regard to security issues it should be noted that the Civic Centre already has other 3rd parties using the building: Capita, Serco, Metropolitan Police, Europa, Wates Living Space and Brent Housing Partnership. 

Along with contractual conditions and appropriate management controls it is envisaged that as part of a HR refresh about working in the Civic Centre staff can be reminded again about the need to ensure a clear desk policy is operated and that confidential discussions should take place only in appropriate settings. Therefore at this stage it is suggested that the current physical security arrangements remain in place.