Metropolitan Housing and Barratt Homes fail to rectify dangerous conditions in Wembley social housing block

Ex local councillor Alison Hopkins has decided to go public regarding dangerous conditions in new build social housing managed by Metropolitan Housing and built by Barratt Homes after Metropolitan Housing failed to respond to urgent concerns.

Hopkins said:

Residents  got in touch with me as I am their former local councillor. The flats are new build and have been plagued with faults since their first occupation.

 

Over the past months, they have had serious and dangerous issues with the power supply to the flats. Given the Grenfell event, they are extremely worried. Many of the families have special needs children. Some have no heating or only temporary and inadequate heating.

 

The following is a summary of issues raised so far: they have been collated today by a resident knocking on the doors of those at home.  These issues require urgent and immediate action from Metropolitan and Barratt's.

 

Archery Court HA9 0FR – issues to date. Each is a different flat

• communal  antenna not working.
• just temporary heating meaning they have no control on the heating, the ventilation system is not working, washing machine (with clothes still in it) so she has to foot the bill of buying school uniforms again, when she turns on the washing machine it blows the electricity in the entire flat. She has 5 children ages 15,13,10,6 and a 3 month old baby.
• this lady had an issue with her electricity since the end of November, she went without heating for 1 1/2 weeks her electric box trips out she calls them (metropolitan housing repairs) every time she has an issue an and they tell her that’s she’s always complaining and why is it her flat alone that have these issues... she has 3 children age 12, 9,and 6 The 12 year old is wheel chair bound with special needs and is home schoole
• washing machine, dryer, all mobile phone chargers are blown, internet box has blown and heating is not working along with the ventilation system too. She has 2 children age 5 and 6 months her son is also special needs. They have also told her that they will not reimburse her the money that she used to stay at a hotel in which I might add we were told to go to a hotel and we would be reimbursed!!
• heating is temporary ie. has not control over the heating other than turning it off completely if it gets too hot, has no ventilation system at all, expensive laptop charger and iPad charger too blown, sound system blown and coffee machine blown too 
• fridge not working and will be calling the insurance people today and just found out last night that have an electrical problem with my heating in the front room!!!!
• cooker timer not working children’s DVD player is blown.
• heating is temporary, no ventilation system.  
•  living room heating is not working and ventilation system not working. Her son was stuck in the lift for 20mins!!!
• ventilation not working but has terrible damp an mould in a cupboard also a leak in the bedroom however we all had a visit from our housing officer November 30th which she reported but metropolitan told her they have to wait on Barratt's permission to do some cut in the wall!!! And to investigate the other flat!!!

 

 

Dicing with death to recycle in Brent

Entrance

Dangerous bend

Bend on exiting

I took some small redundant electrical items to the Brent Re-use and Recycling Centre this morning, the sort of job you can catch up on in the dead days between Christmas and the New Year. Such items cannot be put in the blue bins or general waste.

Little did I realise that by doing so I was taking my life in my hands. The entrance to the depot is along along a bendy road with no footway for 200 yards.  The road is used by large trucks and vans as well as cars, and pedestrians are at risk, particularly on an icy morning as it was today.

If West London Waste Authority and Brent Council are serious about encouraging recycling then a safe pedestrian entrance for residents arriving by public transport is surely essential.  The Centre is easily accessible from Stonebridge Park station or the 112 bus.

As I left the entrance road, a couple with several bags of recycling arrived, hesitated, and then decided not to risk the trip to the Centre.

I wonder how many others have done that?

Petitions started to ban use of glyphosate pesticides in Brent and Harrow

Further to my article LINK on potential health dangers of the pesticide glyphosate marked under various names, including Roundup, by Monsanto petitions have been launched calling for its banning by Brent and Harrow Councils.

Brent petition HERE
Harrow petition HERE

Yellow box junction to be installed at Wembley Asda crossing

Asda junction at quiet time - in morning peak the junction is blocked with traffic (Google View)

In a twitter response to posts on Friday LINK and Tuesday LINK Brent Council has promised action on the Asda crossing (above).

Initially this will be installation of a yellow box junction and further proposals are being developed. These proposals should also cover the junction of Bridge Road/Forty Lane/ Forty Avenue where multiple pedestrian crossing places used by school children present a hazard.

Forty Lane, Bridge Road, Forty Avenue, Barn Hill junction

 Videos of the Asda junction danger are available HERE and HERE.

Forty Lane/Asda traffic contraventions and dangers

Local residents have writtent to Brent Council expressing concern about the dangers of the Asda/Forty Lane junction and the nearby Bridge Road/Forty Avenue/Barnhill junction. Pedestrian traffic has increased at both due to new schools and the expansion of existing ones. Vehicle traffic has also increased.

I made the vide above this morning to illustrate the dangers at the Asda junction.

Residents argue that dealing with this issue should be given priority,

Solution in sight for dangerous Harrow Road junction?

Guest blog from Kensal Triangle Residents' Association who appear closer to a solution that they began to campaign about in February 2008. (pic from Kilburn Times above) Six years on a solution may be in sight.
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On Friday 7th February representatives from Transport for London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Brent councils, West One ( the infrastructure management company employed by Westminster Council to manage its traffic planning) and Kensal Triangle Residents Association joined in a meeting kindly organised  and hosted by Fr David Ackerman for a meeting at St John's Vicarage to discuss the Harrow Road /Ladbroke Grove crossing. 

This brought together professionals and locals to address the need for immediate action. The campaign for the provision of safe pedestrian crossing facility has been going for nearly eight years now, and the meeting was arranged to give updates on plans formulated by West One as a result of the last round of surveys. 

The meeting proved to be positive on all counts.  It was agreed by all that the attempt to improve the situation by providing wider refuges in the middle of each arm of the junction had not worked at all. West One, in conjunction with TfL are now recommending to all parties that a system be installed with a phase where all vehicle traffic is stopped at the junction to allow a pedestrian crossing phase with the traditional ‘green man’light – an All Red Phase.  This will allow pedestrians enough time to cross any one arm of the junction.  (it was not proposed to encourage crossing diagonally over the junction as is the case at Oxford Circus)  

There will also be consideration of lane confusion, signage and the hold-ups on Kilburn Lane.

West One needs to consult with the two other councils to ensure that this solution us agreed by all parties, and further modelling needs to be done to ensure that congestion will not be increased by the new scheme, but the overall message was that positive and effective action is being taken  to make the junction safer for pedestrians and drivers. 

West One could not give a precise timetable for implementation for the plan, but hoped to finish the modelling by the end of March, and installation of the new lights by the end of 2014.

The meeting was also notable for its focus on a solution, and Fr David was glad to host a meeting that brought together the most important people who can affect change.  It was extremely helpful and positive to have a meeting so close to the junction concerned, where everyone could see the scale of the problem.

Email Navin Shah about traffic danger spots in Brent and Harrow

Navin Shah, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow is calling on local residents to name the most dangerous roads, junctions and roundabouts in Brent and Harrow. The appeal for information is in conjunction with National Road Safety Week (21 - 27 November 2011). Please email Navin  Shah at navin.shah@london.gov.uk if there are any areas you would like him to be aware of.

ASDA PROMISE ACTION ON TRAFFIC HAZARD

ASDA have said that it hopes to apply for planning permission soon to move its goods depot gates back so as to end the danger posed to pedestrians by parked lorries.

Brent Greens have been campaigning about the issue for some time raising it with Brent Council, the police and ASDA head office. The Greens met with the Wembley ASDA manager in December and presented photographic evidence of the hazard.

The issue is even more urgent now that young children and their parents cross the access road to go to the ARK Academy in Forty Lane.