Cats threaten to take over Willesden Green

The 'Cat Walk' mosaic abovewas unveiled on the bridge opposite Willesden Green station yesterday.  It is the first of a series of cat-motif mosaics inspired by the illustrations of Louis Wain, an early 20th century Brent artist.

Community involvement is encouraged through attending participatory workshops to complete the mosaics. Residents are encouraged to say where they would like to see future mosaics installed in the area.

Contact: contact@createmosaic.com

The Willesden Green Town Team are working on a number of projects in Willesden Green and Dudden Hill  to 'develop a thriving, vibrant and economically sustainable and uplifting environment for us to live and work in'. 

I am tempted to annouce a similar project but with a rat-motif and a rather different 'vision' to be installed around Brent Civic Centre but will resist. Miaow.

Willesden Green residents and shops targeted by UKBA

Giving out 'bust cards' at Willesden Green station today

Brent Council may have targeted Willesden Green this week for probably (I hope!) good reasons, but I didn't expect the UK Border Agency's officers to join in.

UKBA officers were spotted in a Willesden Green cafe this lunchtime. They told a customer they were due to do an 'intelligence led' stop operation in cooperation with local police at the station later. They disappeared into the SNT 'shop' which is close to Sarah Teather's office.

Immediately Brent anti-racists organised a group to give out 'bust cards' which advise people of their rights if stopped by the immigration police.

It soon became clear that this was not the first UKBA visit this week. We were told by local shopkeepers of a raid two days ago when shops were the target. Officers blocked shop doorways while officers went inside to question staff on their immigration status and take photographs. Customers were put off by the heavily built officers with their all black uniforms and taciturn manner. Shopkeepers found their presence threatening and one said that he had lost 2 hours of custom as result of the raid.  We were told that there had been at least one arrest.

A young man, seeing what we were doing,  hovered near us and eventually plucked up the courage to speak to us.

He told us about a 6am raid, at his nearby address, by what sounded like combined a UKBA/local police unit. He and his friends were woken by police who had come through the front door and were battering on their door. The police said if the door was not opened they would break it down and then proceeded to do so.

The flatmates, all Italian and in their early 20s, were terrified as anyone would be in such circumstances. Their papers were demanded and checked.  They were told that intelligence had suggested there were illegal  immigrants in the flat.  The tenants are hoping that the landlord will repair the smashed door. Meanwhile they are extremely nervous and shocked by the experience.

As we were giving out the cards several people came up to express concern about what they saw as 'police state' tactics.

In the event, perhaps because of our presence, by 5pm no UKBA officers had turned but instead carried out an operation in Willesden Lane.

Motorists were stopped by the police using the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system and then handed over to immigration officers to have their identities checked. The legality of this is questionable - immigration officers MUST have intelligence indicating an immigration crime has been committed otherwise they do not have the power make anyone answer questions - people have the right to walk away and not answer their questions. Were the people being questioned told that they were not required to answer questions?

On speaking to some of the shopkeepers in Willesden today it appears that some Council officials were present during these operations. After Councillor Butt's outspoken (and welcome) criticism of the racist van a few months ago it would be very disappointing to hear that Brent Council is colluding with the Home Office in these highly dubious and possibly illegal activities.

Is this all part of Brent Council's Willesden Week of Action? If so, it is far more sinister than we thought.

Shahrar Ali, the Green's 2010 parliamentary candidate for Brent Central said:

This is the week when a sign stationed in Willesden Green read, 'How safe is your home or business, Think burglar,'

To the contrary, local residents and shopkeepers have suffered the shocking tactics of random interrogation and smashed in doors:

'Think UKBA'

The people of Brent will not stand for it.

North End Road reconnection controversy returns to Wembley Park

Controversial plans to reconnect North End Road in Wembley with Bridge Road at the Bobby Moore Bridge, beside Wembley Park Station, (see plan above) remain in the revised Wembley Plan which the Brent Executive will approve for consultation  this evening.

A quiet haven at present

When the original plans for reconnection were published four years ago LINK they attracted opposition from the Wembley Community Association which wanted to keep the low traffic levels of North End Road which serves the quiet residential area of  Empire Court and Danes Court.  At present the road ends in pedestrian and cyclist ramps at Olympic Way between Arena House (soon to be a secondary free school) and 1 Olympic Way. Since 2009 the Victoria Hall student accommodation has been built on North End Road.

North End Road leading to Victoria Hall

Brent Council say that 'a new road link at North End Road is a key component of the overall strategy enabling the promotion of highway access into Wembley (and beyond) from the North Circular'.  They claim that the new connection will benefit the development area during stadium events and reduce traffic along Neasden Lane and Forty Lane 'allowing prioritisation for non-car modes. The connection may also facilitate improvements to bus services, depending on results of the bus strategy'.

Henry Lancashire in his submission to Brent Council says that the proposed link will conflict with the popular bus stop opposite Wembley Park Station and increase the danger of pedestrian access to the bus stop. He states that the current access enables cyclists to take a safe route from the Brent River Park and can only increase in popularity if the proposed cycling/pedestrian bridge across the Chiltern Line from St David's Close is built. Brent Cyclists also express a preference for the link from North End Road to Bridge Road to be for cycling only. They state 'This would be far cheaper to implement than a connection for motor vehicles, and, with work and highway adoption or land-take in the Atlas Way/Fourth Way/Fifth Way area, could provide a viable, high-quality corridor for walking and cycling via the Brent River Path all the way from Stonebridge Park to Bridge Road.

Lancashire suggest that the required land acquisition for the link will be a) costly and b) damaging and in particular that the green space associated with the river opposite Victoria Hall will be lost: 'This is a valuable wildlife corridor used by species including wrens, robins, blackbirds and pipistrelle bats'.

Brent Council respond that the bus stop will be moved 'slightly to the south' and will be accessed via the Olympic Way underpass (people  dash across the road at present and I don't really see that changing).  They say negotiations are still going on for land acquisition and they are trying to keep the costs down: 'The scheme has been revised to remove the need for land from Victoria Hall'.

In their submission to the Council Quintain Estates and Developments state:

We do not consider this connection to be justified to mitigate the impacts of development and instead it appears mainly top be based on a need to provide circulation to and from the Industrial Estate on Stadium Event Days. In any event,  it is not required to mitigate the impacts of development currently consented in the regeneration areas.

 I am currently trying to find the likely cost of the proposal which in 2009 was put at £20m.