International Reggae Day Sunday in Willesden

Still time to visit Brent Mencap Open House today

Roundwood cafe reopens in time for the Easter Weekend

The weather forecast isn't great but one bright spot for the weekend is the welcome news that the Roundwood Lodge Cafe will be open for business.  The cafe in Roundwood Park will be open 7 days a week from 8am until dusk.

'Chapel End', "Queen's Town' ? Hidden history of Willesden talk Feb 7th

How will we spend £3.1 million Community Infrastructure Levy in Wembley? What about other areas?

CIL available for distribution in each area

The Community Infrastructure Levy (a levy on development projects to provide support to the community) has yielded the following amounts for different areas of Brent:

Harlesden £206k
Kilburn & Kensal £471k
Kingsbury & Kenton £395k
Wembley £3.1m
Willesden £218k

Readers may have their own comments on the different amounts allocated to each area.

Each area has an agreed set of priorities on which the money can be spent:

Brent Council set out the application process:

A scheme will not be funded unless it meets all essential criteria. The shortlisting criteria for projects are as follows:

• Meets the terms of the CIL Regulations  (2010) as amended
• Has community backing
• Supports, and where possible mitigates the impact of, the development of the area
• Reflects the priorities of the Council & CIL Neighbourhood
• A one-off scheme that does not require additional revenue funding in its delivery or its operation ( or identifies how additional revenue funding may be met)
• Benefits the broadest section of the community
• Offers value for money 

The Head of Planning and Lead Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills, will rank all project proposals received for each CIL Neighbourhood by the submission deadline, according to how well they meet the shortlisting criteria, and a shortlist of projects to fund will be agreed. Projects that are not shortlisted will also receive notification and may request feedback on their proposals.

 Applications have to be in by December 1st 2017. The application form can be found HERE.

Have your say on how Community Infrastructure Levy is spent in Brent

From Brent Council

Brent Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Priorities 2017-2020

Title of consultation

Brent Neighbourhood CIL Priorities 2017-2020

Who is consulting?

Planning Policy & Projects

Why are we consulting?

When developers receive planning permission for some larger, new developments, they're required to make a payment to the council. This helps fund local infrastructure improvements. This payment is called Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Of this, between 15-25% of the funds has to be allocated by the Council as Neighbourhood CIL.

On the basis of feedback received from this consultation, the council will decide how to prioritise spending on particular Neighbourhood CIL funded projects. These projects could be delivered by the council if they relate to council assets, e.g. a park. The council could also deliver projects that are good ideas, but where no other body came forward to deliver them. Alternatively, the council could allocate funds to local community groups where it believes that these groups can deliver the projects themselves.

To streamline the running of Neighbourhood CIL in the borough, Brent has been divided into five local areas: Harlesden, Kilburn, Kingsbury and Kenton, Wembley and Willesden. These are large enough to generate funds that can deliver relatively big projects if this is what the community decides the funds should be spent on. The areas are, however, also  small enough to encourage communities to feel they are likely to benefit from the projects that are delivered. Ultimately, the decision on what to spend the funds on still rests with the council, but we will provide clear feedback on how we have come to any decisions.

Links

Consultation

CIL Cabinet report

CIL appendix

Residents return to their homes after Willesden bomb removed

Photo: Rupert Frere

 

The bomb was disposed of at the Shoeburyness Range near Southend

 From Brent Council

The 500Ib World War II bomb, which was discovered in Brondesbury Park yesterday (March 2nd), has been safely removed by bomb disposal experts, the army has confirmed.

The huge device was removed safely this evening (March 3) and hundreds of affected residents are returning to their homes within the 300 metre exclusion zone.

Police were called to The Avenue, near the junction of Willesden Lane, at around 11.30am on Thursday after builders unearthed the device while digging a basement car park for a new block of flats

Army bomb disposal experts were scrambled while hundreds of people, including school children and OAPs, were evacuated. Some were briefly allowed back into the exclusion zone to collect clothes, medicines and emergency supplies.

78 people who were unable to stay with friends or family were put up in a local hotel by Brent Council overnight. The council also organised a rest centre at a nearby church, during the day on Thursday and Friday, where evacuees were looked after by council officers and volunteers from the Red Cross.

Local resident Carole Hutchinson, who attended the rest centre, said:

We got lots of help from the Red Cross and the people from Brent Council at the shelter. They have been keeping us well-fed and watered. My husband was evacuated during the war and was telling me to hurry up all the time to get out, as he knows how much damage a bomb can do. He came back for the blitz. He was evacuated at the start of the war and they thought it was all quiet and calm and they all came back and then he stayed in London.       
           
I actually met three or four neighbours who I've never met before which has been really nice. It's been a blitz spirit, definitely. Everyone has been very kind and generous with food and lots of cups of tea from the Red Cross, so it's been wonderful from that point of view.

The exclusion zone around the device was widened this morning while army experts dismantled the explosive.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said:

The blitz spirit of the community is alive and well in Brent and my thanks go to all of the residents who showed such great patience and humour in the face of adversity while the army experts did their job.

I would also like to thank our partners in the Army, Police, Fire Brigade and Red Cross as well as council colleagues who worked tirelessly throughout the night to help sort this out.

We’re a resilient lot in Brent and I am immensely proud of how everyone responded.

Unexploded bombs are still being found across London following the Blitz, which was the most intense bombing campaign Britain has ever seen.

School and road closures today as army tackles the Willesden bomb

Extended cordon area

The following schools will be closed all day today:

• Brondesbury College For Boys
• Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahra
• Christ Church CofE Primary School
• Islamia Primary School
• Malorees Infant School
• Malorees Junior School
• North West London Jewish Day School
• Marylebone Boys' School
• Salusbury Primary School
• Islamia Girls' Secondary School

This is the list of roads within the cordon that will be extended today.

• St. Hilda's close
• Manor House Drive south
• Christchurch Avenue between St Hilda's Close and Mowbray Road
• The Avenue between Tiverton Green and Mowbray Road
• Brondesbury Park between Coverdale Road and Chevening Road
• Wilesden Lane between Coverdale Road and Winchester
• Avenue Mowbray Road between Chevening Road and Willesden Lane
• Winchester Avenue between Chevening Road and Willesden Lane Dyne Road between
• Willesden Lane and Torbay Road Cavendish Road between The Avenue and Mowbray Road
• Mapesbury Road between Willesden Lane and Mowbury Road

The bomb  by torchlight (Brent MPS)

The Army bomb disposal squad will be continuing their work today and this will mean extending the cordon to around 300 metres. At the moment it looks likely that this will happen from around 9am this morning. The police will be knocking on the doors of those who will be affected.

Quamari Barnes Memorial Fund Appeal

A Memorial Fund has been set up to help Quamari Barnes' parents with funeral and burial expenses following his killing outside Capital City academy on Monday.  Dealing with sudden death is difficult enough without the added stress of money worries caused by funeral expenses that couldn't possible have been expected.

A Go Funding page has been set up by Quamari's God Parent Sasha Mitchell HERE:

This is what Sasha wrote about Quamari:

On January 23rd 2017, we unexpectedly lost Quamari Serunkuma Barnes in a horrific attack outside his school.

We send our children to school and trust that they are safe but Quamari was chased down outside his school gates and stabbed to death.

He was a respectful, loving good boy and it truly breaks my heart that we lost him in this way.

He wasn't in gangs, drugs or any crimes. He was just a beautiful boy who loved his friends and family.

Quamari was my Godson, and I have set up this account with the permission of his parents to support and assist them through this difficult time. They will be receiving all of the funds from this campaign.

We are asking for 20,000 to cover all funeral and burial expenses and other expenses they may incur.

Our family thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this horrendous time.

We would appreciate any donations.

Please help spread the word!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/-quamari-barnes-willesden-stabbing-london-9684433

#Justice4Quamari

#QdotzWorld

Four new constituencies proposed to cover Brent. What constituency would you be in?

The Boundary Commission has published far-reaching proposals on the borough's parliamentary constituencies.  In today's proposals they aim to reduce the total number of seats in England and Wales by 50, evening out the numbers in each constituency. London would be reduced by 5 constituencies.

 Brent wards would be spread over no less than four constituencies: Kenton, Wembley & Harrow on the Hill, Willesden, Queen's Park and Regent's Park.

These would replace the present Brent North, Brent Central and Hampstead and Kilburn constituencies.

The Brent ward constituencies would be as follows:

Ward		Proposed Constituency	Current Cllrs
Alperton (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the Hill	3 Lab
Barnhill (3)		Kenton	3 Lab
Brondesbury Park (3)		Willesden	3 Con
Dollis Hill (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Dudden Hill (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Fryent (3)		Kenton	3 Lab
Harlesden (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Kensal Green (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Kenton (3)		Kenton	3 Con
Kilburn (3)		Queen's Park & Regent's Park	3 Lab
Mapesbury (3)		Willesden	2 Lab 1 Lib
Northwick Park (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the Hill	3 Lab
Preston (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the Hill	3 Lab
Queens Park (3)		Queen's Park & Regent's Park	3 Lab
Queensbury (3)		Kenton	3 Lab
Stonebridge (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Sudbury (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the Hill	3 Lab
Tokyngton (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the hill	3 Lab
Welsh Harp (3)		Willesden	3 Lab
Wembley Central (3)		Wembley & Harrow on the Hill	3 Lab
Willesden Green (3		Willesden	3 Lab

Kenton Constituency

Wembley and Harrow on the Hill

Queen's Park and Regent's Park

In its commentary the Boundary Commission states:

-->

In the borough of Brent, we propose
a Willesden constituency, which includes eight wards from the existing Brent Central constituency, and the Hammersmith borough ward of College Park and Old Oak from the existing Hammersmith constituency, and Brondesbury Park ward from the existing Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.

We propose two further constituencies that include wards from the borough of Brent. We propose a Kenton constituency, which includes four wards from the existing Brent North constituency, and five Harrow borough wards – Kenton
East, Kenton West, Queensbury, Belmont, and Edgware – from the existing Harrow East constituency. (It should be noted
that there is already a Queensbury ward from the borough of Brent in the Brent North constituency, making two in the proposed Kenton constituency.) 

We also propose a Wembley and Harrow on the Hill constituency, which includes three Harrow borough wards from the existing Harrow West constituency, five wards from the existing Brent North constituency, and Tokyngton ward from the existing Brent Central constituency.

The electorate of the existing Westminster North constituency is currently below the electoral quota. To bring this constituency within range, we propose including the Brent borough wards of Queens Park and Kilburn from the existing Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. (It should be noted that there is already a Queen’s Park ward from Westminster in the existing constituency, making two in the proposed constituency.) To reflect the change we propose this constituency is called Queen’s Park and Regent’s Park.

The consultation on the proposals is HERE

'Trade unions are not just for white men' - Grunwick film and panel at TUC on Friday

Friday April 15th at Trade Union Congress 23-28 Great Russell Street WC1B 3LS 7pm

The TUC Race Relations Committee in association with the SERTUC Film Club presents a screening of ‘The Great Grunwick Strike 1976-1978: A History’, followed by a panel discussion on the lessons that can be learnt from the dispute.

This documentary film takes a look at the Grunwick dispute which erupted at a photo processing plant in Willesden, London, in the summer of 1976 and lasted two years. A predominately East African and South Asian female workforce went on strike over appalling working conditions and the issue of trade union recognition.  The dispute is remembered as one of the most significant in the history of the British labour movement.

The following panel debate will be chaired by Kamaljeet Jandu and participants will include Chris Thomson (Filmmaker), Dr Sundari Anitha (Striking Women) and Sujata Aurora (Grunwick 40).

ORDER YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

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The Grunwick 40 campaign is raising funds to install a huge mural close to the factory site in Willesden as a permanent public reminder of the unity that the Grunwick strike represented.

Support their appeal by donating or asking your union branch to donate via www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40, or via www.paypal.me/grunwick40, or send a cheque payable to Brent Trades Council c/o 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR.

Message from Grunwick 40

We need your donations to commemorate the heroes of the Grunwick Strike

40 years ago a group of Asian women asked for the right to join a union and were sacked by their employer. Their bosses thought that Asian women were passive and obedient and wouldn't fight back.
But that group of workers gained the support of thousands and went on to wage one of the longest and most important disputes in post-war British history.

They changed the idea that trade unions were only for white men. They shattered stereotypes. And at a time of enormous racial prejudice they brought people together in unity and solidarity.
40 years on we want to celebrate them.

We have ambitious plans to install a big mural close to the original factory site in Willesden, as well as stage an historical exhibition and a conference. But we need money to make it happen.
Please give whatever you can afford.

We have some exclusive rewards for people who donate including badges, posters, DVDs and rare artwork from the 1970s so please consider making a personal donation or asking your union branch to make one. Every £ helps to ensure that the legacy of the brave Grunwick strikers is not lost.

Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40 to donate.

Book now for Grunwick commemoration mural workshops

Click on image to enlarge

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

This is your chance to partipate in designing a mural which will be installed on a prominent wall in Willesden in Autumn 2016. 

In 1976, six workers walked out of Grunwick Film Processing Laboratory in Willesden and ignited an historic two-year dispute which united thousands to demand better rights for poorly treated workers. 23rd August 2016 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Grunwick Strike, and offers a moment to remember, to commemorate, to celebrate and to learn.

Now the high street that saw 20,000 people come down in a single day to support the strike is looking pretty drab. As you arrive at Dollis Hill tube station and walk past the former Grunwick site to the main road, you’ll see plenty of plain, bare walls and unloved spaces.

We will be installing a mural close to the original site of the Grunwick factory to brighten up our high street with a permanent reminder of the power of our community; and to inspire future generations to come together to challenge injustice.

The workshops will be run by an experienced mural artist who will lead us in looking at a range of archive materials, including photographs and film. Using a variety of materials and printing techniques we will then create our own images of Grunwick which will eventually will be digitally combined to produce a design for the final mural.

Everyone aged 13 and above is welcome. You don't need any artistic ability as full guidance will be given, but if you have any photographs, press cuttings or memories of the dispute then please bring them along to share.

The workshops will run from 10.30am-3.30pm including a lunch break.

We are also running shorter workshops over three weeks on different dates at the Dudden Hill Centre, click here for details.

If you would like to contribute to the Crowdfunder which is riasing money for this project click HERE 

At time of writing £1,600 of the target £12,000 has been raised

Brent Connects Meetings in June and July

Cllr Dan Filson, Chair of Scrutiny, said he would be attending Brent Connects meetings to pick up the concerns of residents.  Here are details of the current round:

Anti forced academisation strike well supported

Parents and support  staff joined teachers on a strike picket line on Wednesday at St Andrew and St Francis C of E Primary School in Willesden.

Teachers from the NUT and ATL were striking against  the Interim Executive Board's plan to academise the school following a criticval Ofsted report. Staff and parents argue that this is unnecessary as improvements are already in progress.

Willesden C of E Primary School consulting on academisation

St Andrew and St Francis Church of England Primary School in Willesden is consulting on converting to academy status.

The long established schoool was put into 'special measures' after an Ofsted report at this time last year found that Achievement of Pupils, the Quality of Teaching and Leadership and Management were all Grade 4 Inadequate.

An Interim Executive Board replaced the previous governing body and an interim headteacher was appointed.

The latest Ofsted monitoring report published last week concludes that the school is making 'reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures' LINK:

The interim headteacher has added much needed capacity to the senior leadership team. Senior and middle leadership has been restructured to better match leaders’ skills and expertise to areas of the school. Staff and parents appreciate the greater clarity of communication which this has brought about. Staff morale has improved and staff express renewed confidence in leaders’ capacity to offer the support and development they need. Teachers and middle leaders feel increasingly empowered to develop new approaches in their work.

Despite this progress the IEB is consulting with parents on becoming part of an academy trust:

The Interim Executive Board believes that the best way to make sure that St Andrew and St Francis C of E Primary School continues to improve is for the school to become an academy, sponsored by the London Diocesan Board of Schools (LDBS) Academies Trust on 1 April 2015. The school would remain as a Church of England school, and the current staff and pupils would transfer to the academy.

We believe that becoming an LDBS academy is the best way forward for our pupils and staff, and will ensure that the St Andrew and St Francis quickly becomes a good school again whilst retaining its strong Christian ethos.  The LDBS Academies Trust is a charity which already runs six primary schools in north London. Of the six LDBS academies which have been inspected by Ofsted, all have been judged good.  Some of the Christian values which the Trust thinks are important and should underpin the work of all of its schools are: Reverence, Thankfulness, Humility, Endurance, Service, Trust, Peace, Forgiveness, Friendship, Justice, Hope, Creation, Koinonia (Partnership).

Although St Andrew and St Francis would be a standalone school, it would benefit from strong links with other academies in the LDBS network. For instance:

·       Staff would be able to share resources and ideas with staff in other LDBS Academies Trust schools.

·       The school will benefit from links with Grow Education Partners which offer an extensive range of educational support services to Trust academies.

To find out how the LDBS Academies Trust schools work, visit: ldbsact.org

The members of the IEB have researched what the LDBS Academies Trust can do for our pupils and staff.  This included visiting an LDBS academy which had been in similar circumstances to St Andrew and St Francis.  The school has rapidly improved as part of a federation with two other Trust academies. We were able to see the improvements first hand and talk to staff including the headteacher.  We have also met with LDBS Academies Trust staff to find out about the support that is provided by the Trust to its schools. This research, along with our consideration of the Trust’s track record, has led us to make our proposal.

The proposal is that if it goes ahead the school would become an academy on April 1st 2015. The LDBS Academies Trust would enter into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State. The deadline for responses is Monday February 23rd.

Wembley & Willesden Observer closure a blow to local democracy

This week's edition of the newspaper

Trinity Mirror today announced the closure of 7 of its regional titles including the Harrow Observer and thus its offshoot the Wembley and Willesden Observer (WW0).

The WWO recently lost its well-regarded Brent reporter Tara Brady and the Brent brief was subsumed into the role of an existing Harrow Observer reporter, John Shammas.

For some time the WWO has mainly had one main Brent front page story and perhaps a handful of others in a paper dominated by Harrow news and Harrow letters. Its 90p price tag, where sold, thus represented poor value for money.

At the same time Trinity Mirror developed its Get West London website for digitial news and Wembley became just one of a long list of links on its news page. The Wembley link takes you to the page below which as you can see in no way replaces what a local newspaper can offer.

 

 Trinity Mirror said:

A radical new structure is being implemented across the west London titles in Uxbridge, Ealing and Hounslow that focuses on driving more traffic to the getwestlondon website. The newsrooms are being restructured to support a revised print portfolio while concentrating on accelerated digital growth.

We intend to withdraw from the Harrow market and the Harrow Observer will close.

The Press Gazaette, covering this story, publishes an extract from an article by Mike Lockley, who by coincidence write it to mark his 25th year as editor of the Chase Post which is now to close:

Occasionally, the national newspapers will be intrigued enough by a tale to write ABOUT the people of my patch - I write FOR them. Their reporters can get the facts wrong, ruffle feathers, then disappear into the distance. I can’t because there’s always someone in the street ready to loudly broadcast the inaccuracies.

I still can’t believe I get paid for spreading stories. You might call it gossip, but one man’s tittle-tattle is another’s key local information....

I’m something of a dinosaur. I know this because the exasperated IT expert who spent a week trying to teach me computer skills called me a dinosaur, or was it a fossil?
I may not have the new technology skills, but I have a contact book crammed with 'curtain twitchers' and devoid of numbers for gushing PR gals, usually called Gemima, Hannah or Suzi. Poor 'Hannah' rang, close to hysteria, this morning to proclaim: 'My client’s done something reeeeally exciting with milk.'

He hadn’t. It’s still white and hasn’t started coming out of cows’ noses.

And I, like every other weekly journalist, can play a part in the community I work in. I’ve helped save schools, stopped telecommunication towers being erected and even put pink custard back on a school menu.

Times and technology change, people’s desire to know what’s happening in their community doesn’t. A town without its own weekly newspaper is a town without a heart.

I have written before on this blog about the importance of local newspapers for ensuring accountability of local councils, particularly at a time when the council has an overwhelming majorority, an ineffective opposition and poor scrutiny.

In its heyday, which for me was during the libraries campaign, the Willesden and Wembley Observer did a terrific jon in supporting the local community. The Kilburn Times is currently backing the fight to keep the much loived Stonebridge Adventure Playground open.

The Wembley and Willesden Observer at its best

Now the Kilburn Times is left to do the job on its own but it too isn't unscathed in the present climate. News Editor Lorraine King's role has been changed with much more of it devoted to digital content and last week its most recent reporter, Myron Jobson, left for Financial Times feature writing. Nathalie Raffray from the Ham and High, another Archant newspaper, is filling in at present.

The Kilburn Times has seen a reduction in the number of its pages, as well as the number of reporters, and advertising takes precedence over editorial space affecting the number of stories carred as well as whether there is room for a Letters Page. The latter is again an essential ingredient of local democracy.

Down to one and a half people to produce the editorial content, the Kilburn Times, is only slightly over the staffing level of this blog!

Aside from the impact on our local community let's remember the 50 or so people who will lose their jobs as a result of this closure. I'd like to express my sympathy to them and their families as they face a dismal weekend.

Sponsor Willesden to Wales cycle ride for Gaza medical aid funds

As the news from Gaza becomes every grimmer, a group of cyclists from Willesden have got together to organise a sponsored cycle ride from Willesden to Wales to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestine.

Sponsorship is welcome from anyone who wishes to help those in Gaza injured by daily bombings and mortar fire. Hospitals are struggling with insufficient equipment and medical supplies, now often without power following the attacks.

Go to http://www.redmagic.co.uk/content/cycling-wales or give directly at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/cyclemap

Willesden's local harvest yields fruit, wine, cider, chutney and crumbles!

Photo: Jonathan Goldberg

Brent's fruit picking groups have had a bumper harvest this year, saving almost three tons of fruit that would otherwise go to waste in local gardens. The three groups, “Kensal to Kilburn Fruit Harvesters”, “Willesden Fruit Harvesters” and “Mapesbury Residents' Association” (MapRA) have between them picked a record amount of fruit, which has been shared with local schools and community groups.

Harlesden Incinerator: Residents ready for Round 2 of battle for clean air

If Clean Power and Ealing Council thought local residents would forget about the plans for an incinerator at Willesden Junction on the borders of Harlesden and Park Royal, this morning's demonstration should give them pause for thought.Cllr Zaffar van Kalwala and Cllr Claudia Hectors joined residents, cancer patients and environmental protesters to give notice that they were up for a fight to defeat the plans.

It is hoped that 500 people will turn up to line Channel Gate Road next Saturday, November 2nd at 10am  the morning when the Ealing Planning Committee pays a 10.30am site visit.  A huge turnout is needed for the Planning Committee meeting itself on November 6th. Details on this blog when available or follow @NOincineratorNO  and @NoNW10dump on Twitter.

Harlesden Incinerator: Open letter to Ealing Council leader

Guest post by Mark Walker

Open letter to Julian Bell, leader, Ealing Council

Mr Julian Bell

Leader

Ealing Council

Town Hall
New Broadway
Ealing W5 2BY

Dear Mr. Bell

I am writing to ask that you take account of the serious health and pollution risks to the North Acton ‘island triangle’ community from Clean Power Properties Ltd’s proposed energy recovery plant and withdraw your council’s consideration of it.

As you will know, Clean Power plans a combined anaerobic digestion (AD) & advanced conversion technology (ACT) plant at the Willesden Freight Terminal, which facility would handle 198,000 tonnes of commercial & industrial waste annually. Food waste in tanks will be turned via AD into biogas while the ACT process chars non-food waste also to produce gas which is likewise burned for energy.

The plant is wholly unsuitable for our residential area of 200 homes as it will generate low level gases like sulphur dioxide and benzene for many years. Your council’s own environmental health department advised in August that the application be rejected since the developer cannot prove that it will not harm the local community.

It’s well-known that AD plants cause pollution, as DEFRA itself admits in its recent research. ACT plants have never been successful operated within communities and those in construction are large scale and well away from people’s homes. Some of ACT’s pressurised autoclaving operations carry particular risks, as the fatality at the Sterecycle plant in 2011 and subsequent collapse of the operating company has tragically shown. These are not technologies to be located next to local families’ homes.

Clean Power’s waste site will be fed by an average of 67 lorries every day, using the narrow Channel Gate Road, passing only 3-4 metres from local people’s small Victorian houses. Residents have for years been troubled by day and night noise, vibration and lorry pollution from the freight yard’s operations. Approving this proposal would lock local families into 16-hours-a-day vehicle pollution for a generation.

The North Acton community has already been plagued by odours of rubbish from the Powerday materials recovery site on the other side of Old Oak Lane - for almost a decade. Local people know, far better than your planners or an offshore developer’s paid advisers, the stupidity of siting waste plants by people’s homes – where the quality of life is frequently spoiled by simple (to an outsider) matters like a lorry that isn’t cleaned or a containment building not being correctly sealed during a shift.  Powerday’s operations have generated over 300 telephone complaints to the Environment Agency in the last three years alone. For Clean Power to now propose another waste plant - only 300 metres away from an existing one - is highly inappropriate, as East Acton ward local councillors and our local Ealing MP Angie Bray have stated already. The Powerday experience shows beyond any doubt that where waste sites are located in the midst of residential areas, unpleasant odours and other polluting impacts cannot be mitigated by planning conditions or environmental regulations.

You more than anyone will also be aware of this application’s non-compliance with the West London Waste Plan, the ongoing strategy for the area’s waste processing that comes under your direct remit. The WLWP has identified possible waste sites but Clean Power’s chosen site never made the study’s shortlist.  This application is thus based on a discredited site and goes against your own council’s three-year investment in strategic waste options, consultations and expert conclusions.

Clean Power talks repeatedly of its clean, green technologies but offered the planning committee no evidence whatsoever of safely working sites among residential areas, in Britain or anywhere else.  Your members’ bemusement at the lack of any plant performance data or site approvals from the developer was plain to see.

TITRA residents’ group has repeatedly asked your planning officers for Clean Power site certificates or fact-finding site visits and received nothing – not one sheet of paper or one working waste site address. What person, still less a responsible London borough, would buy goods from a tradesman without industry approvals and proper references?  Clean Power appears to be a salesman without any proper goods, let alone any satisfied customers.

Your council’s approval of this ill-advised energy recovery plant would be to condemn local people to a risky experiment in ‘green’ energy that will harm residents’ health and degrade the area with polluting activity. The pragmatic option would be to site a waste processing plant on an industrial estate next to food producers and other manufacturers’ operations – not in the middle of an existing residential area.

I urge you to seek safer and more practical alternatives to Clean Power’s unproven waste processing technologies. Approval of this high risk development would be a disaster for the already-blighted North Acton triangle. And it would demonstrate beyond doubt that you and your council have abandoned our community and your own principles of giving people a decent hearing and looking after their well-being.

Yours sincerely

  

Mark Walker

Member of Island Triangle Residents’ Association committee

North Acton

Ealing

London NW10