Football match tickets galore and a trip to India feature in latest Brent councillor gifts

 

The Quarter 4 Gifts and Hospital Return tabled for yesterday's  Audits and Standards Advisory Committee revealed the Brent Council leader had received match tickest to the total value of £720 from the Football Association.

He is topped by Cllr Bhagwanji Chohan with an £800 value gift to attend a Gujarati diaspora event. LINK  The entry states:

8.2.2024 to 11.2.2024 - Paid trip to Ahmedavad, India for Pravasi Gujarati Parv 2024 second edition - Guest speaker. Air Travel & hotel approximate value £800. Gift from Pravasi Gujerati Parv.

The event was sponsored by the controversial Adani company. SEE LINK

 

 Cllr Chohan (Chauhan) was one of many speakers, including the Mayor of Harrow.

Publicity for the event included a message from Indian Prime Minister Nahendra Modi

The controversy over Adani included questions about its alleged close relationship with Modi. LINK

Byron Court strikes against forced academisation continue on Friday and subsequent weeks

 From Brent National Education Union

 

NEU members at Byron Court Primary School are striking again in a fight to save their local community school which is threatened with a forced privatisation by the huge Harris Federation chain of academies. PICKET LINE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL FRIDAY 14^th JUNE 7.30-9.30am! [Subsequent dates: 18^th/19^th June, 25^th/27^th June and 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th July]

 

Staff at Byron Court Primary School in Wembley continue to strike to save their local community school from a forced “academy order” following an intimidating Ofsted inspection. They are striking  following their protest, alongside parents and the NASUWT outside the DfE last week in which a petition of over 2000 signatures was handed over, supported by Barry Gardiner, the constituency Labour Candidate.

 

THE NEU HAVE YESTERDAY LAUNCHED A “GO YELLOW” CAMPAIGN ACROSS ALL BRENT SCHOOLS in which staff are asked to wear yellow or black as an act of solidarity with striking members at Byron Court. Yellow and black are the current Byron Court uniform colours and the campaign is launched on the day that Harris Federation are forcing their way into the school to “consult” pupils on a new uniform.

 

Staff have today heard that the proposed TUPE consultation will not conclude until AFTER the general election, bringing real hope that the incoming Secretary of State will pause this forced academisation process.

 

Jenny Cooper of the NEU national executive has stated:

 

Forced academisation is a process opposed by most education unions and flies in the face of democracy; this should not happen in a civilised society. We call on all political parties to reverse this policy if elected and to start by intervening to save Byron Court

Tirzah House, Kingsbury and King Edward VII Park Pavilion developments both approved at Brent Planning Committee

The planning application for demolition of the existing pavilion building in King Edward VII park and its replacement by a building with a much larger footprint comprising facilities for Stonebridge Boxing Club was approved unanimously at tonight's Brent Planning Committee. Issues such as lighting in the park are still to be resolved as the Parks Department has no budget available to install lights.

The application for a much larger replacement building for 2 storey family house,  Tirzah Mansion, at 26 Salmon Street, Kingsbury, NW9 (on the corner of Queens Walk) was approved with two votes against. Cllr Saqib Butt opposed as there was a policy shortfall and the proposed building's bulk and massing. Cllr Robert Johnson was concerned that it had no affordabel housing and the developer's contribution of £41,000 towards affordable housing elsewhere was 'miniscule'. He also felt that the plans amounted to over-development.

 

Tweets from the Planning Committee as it progressed can be found @WembleyMatters 

 

 

LETTER: Wembley Stadium is a money grabbing monster sucking the life out of our community

 Dear Editor,

Our family has lived near Wembley Stadium since the late 1950s and it's now unbearable compared to how it used to be!!!

Wembley residents are now treated like second class citizens!!!

We can't get home from work on event days because trains are packed and buses are diverted or don't run at all or are stuck in endless traffic jams - how do the elderly, the disabled or those visiting relatives in local hospitals cope???

We can't have visitors on event days because the trains are packed, buses are diverted or don't run at all or are stuck in endless traffic jams and local pubs and restaurants are full or charging more for limited option event day menus. Some of the pubs near the stadium now even charge you £20 entry fee on event days.

We can't even sit in our gardens in the summer because we have helicopters circling overhead for HOURS on event days!!!

Also we volunteer with lots of local groups and you can't plan vital fund raising events, many of which need major advance organisation and publicity, because of late notice of event days and the parking restrictions and bus diversions.

The current cap on the number of major Wembley Stadium events should not be increased!!!

We used to be proud to live near 'Wembley Stadium' but this new Wembley Stadium is just a money grabbing monster sucking the life out of our community here in Wembley.

Anon.

 

Note: This letter was first submitted as a comment on the previous article about the proposal and is reproduced as a letter with the permission of the author. As with all letters publication does not indicate agreement with its content but for discussion of the issues raised.

Tirzah Mansion, Salmon Street, 13 flats to replace family house - Brent Planning Committee tomorrow

 

Tirzah Mansion, 26 Salmon Street now (Krisha Court far left)

 Proposed flats

Tomorrow's Brent Council Planning Committee will consider a significant application for conversion of a large family home into flats LINK. The site is at the junction of Queens Walk and Salmon Street. Across Queens Walk is Krishna Court, a block of 9 flats that also replaced a family house. Thirteen flats are proposed for the Tirzah Mansion site.

The value of redevelopment into 13 flats is shown by the current valuation of the existing house.

Source

There are 27 individual objections to the plans based mainly on the size of the building and not fitting into the suburban landscape of Queens Walk. Objectors include St Nicholas Prep school on Salmon Street.

Queens Walk

 

However, the officers' report suggests its fits in well with the existing frontages along that side of Salmon Street.

No affordable housing is provided but as the viability assessment suggests a surplus, a contribution to affordable housing elsewhere is required subject to a late viability review.

Some changes have been made to the original plans with no habitable room windows overlooking 43 Queens Walk and moving the car park closer to Queens Walk.

Objectors point to the case of Krishna Court which was pitched to Planning Committee as increasing Brent's housing while in fact it has been operating as a short stay luxury apartments hotel LINK. Officers say this could not happen as a hotel would require specific planning permission. However, they have failed to take action over Krisha Court. See LINK

This passage in the officers' report is particularly significant (and not only for the fact that they got the name of Salom Street wrong!). See the last sentence:

As noted above, the application site is not located within a priority location for additional housing. In this regard, Policy BH4 requires greater weight to be placed upon the existing character of the area when determining the density of development appropriate. The area surrounding the property mainly comprises of traditional two storey detached and semi-detached properties with mid to large sized garden areas. A number of these properties benefit from loft conversions, with visible extensions to the roof such as dormer windows. Krishna Court to the opposite street corner on Queens Walk comprises three storeys, whilst Cherrylands Close to the north also comprises a taller development, with accommodation in the heightened roofspace (second floor level). The site is also located approximately 80m from the Salmon Lane Intensification Corridor to the south, whereby Policy BD2 identifies that up to 5 storeys could be acceptable. The policy accepts that the character of these streets will change and that heights of proposals do not necessarily have to reflect existing adjacent properties. The anticipation is that over time, if the policy is successful, those buildings are also likely to be replaced with more intense development.

 

The officer's conclude:

The proposal is considered to accord with the development plan, and, having regard to all material planning considerations, should be approved subject to conditions and obligations secured through a Section 106 Agreement. The proposal would result in the provision of 13 new homes, including 4 family sized homes, and would meet an identified need in the borough. The scheme would comply with affordable housing policy despite the absence of affordable housing on site as the relatively low surplus identified means that an off-site contribution would be appropriate.

The proposed development is slightly larger than the surrounding buildings both in terms of height and massing. As discussed, the Officer view is that the design responds well to its the context and is well composed. No harm is considered to result to the setting of the St. Andrew's Conservation Area. However, if one did conclude that a degree of harm resulted, the Officer's view is that the level of harm this would be "less than substantial" and significantly outweighed by the benefits of the scheme,

 

 

Full General Election candidate list for Queen's Park and Maida Vale consituency

This new constituency includes the Brent wards of Kilburn, Queen's Park and Harlesden and Kensal Green.

Helen Baxter, Liberal Democrat

Angela Carter-Begbie, Reform UK

Abdulla Dharami, Independent

Georgia Gould, Labour

Samia Hersi, Conservative Party candidate

Vivien Lichtenstein, Green Party

Irakli Menabde, Workers Party

Stonebridge Box Club application for new building in King Edward VII Park, Wembley, at Planning Committee tomorrow

 

The replacement building on the site of the King Edward VII Park pavilion goes to Brent Planning Committee tomorrow. The application has been covered previously on Wembley Matters HERE.

There have been 23 objections and 66 supporters, the latter often from further afield as supporters of the Stonebridge Boxing Club and its activities. There is one neutral comment that supports the use but is critical of the proposed building.

The building occupies a larger footprint that the current building or the initial proposal resulting in the loss of some green space and trees.

Unusually the planning consent relates solely to its use by Stonebridge Boxing Club that also has a building earmarked at the Stonebridge Station development LINK.

Many practical issues to do with the use of the facility are left to negotiations with the Parks Department,

Planners argue that the benefits of the club facility, toilets, cafe etc outweigh the loss and will enhance the open space LINK:

 

The proposed development would replace a currently vacant, unused building with a modern, purpose-built facility. Whilst the proposed footprint of the building would be larger than the existing by 318.8sqm, it is considered that the proposal would bring animation, activity and natural surveillance to the park, contributing to its amenity value and providing community benefits including supporting the operation of Stonebridge Boxing Club which provides a number of benefits for the local community.

 

With regard to Policy G4, the proposed footprint of the building would be 576.8sqm, an increase of 318.8sqm over the existing footprint of 285sqm. The surrounding hardstanding would also be increased.

 

While the café use would serve the open space, indoor sports and fitness are not typically seen to be open space uses and the proposal is therefore seen to be the loss of protected open space. This space in question would not be suitable for use as sports pitches, as there is a significant fall in ground levels within it and it is in close proximity to a number of mature trees. The total area of open space within the park is approximately 10.5 hectares and the amount of open space lost would equate to circa 0.5% of the total park space. It is considered that the harm caused by the relatively minor increase in the loss of open space in this instance would be very limited and this harm must be weighed against the benefits of the proposal.

 

To summarise, the proposed development would result in the provision of indoor sports and fitness which is not considered to be an open space use and therefore would be seen to result in the loss of protected open space. However, it would also result in benefits, including the provision of the café and toilet and the fitness and community benefits associated with Stonebridge Boxing Club. The benefits associated with the development are considered to outweigh the limited amount of harm associated with the loss of the open space. Given that the harm is being weighed against benefits associated in part with the work that is done by Stonebridge Boxing Club, it is considered necessary to secure the consent as relating solely to use by Stonebridge Boxing Club . It should be noted that the building in itself would be acceptable had it been proposed solely for uses to support the park.

 

Those interested can attend the meeting at Brent Civic Centre tomorrow at 6pm or follow the live feed HERE

Committee members are briefed beforehand at 12 noon.

Community skips skipped due to General Election

 

We are all familiar with the publicity shots of Brent councillors with 'community skips' and smiling, albeit slightly embarrassed Veolia staff, but a ruling that purdah rules means that they cannot take place during a General Election suggests that these have always been a party political event rather than a council service. Community skips were in the Labour Party council election manifesto.

The rules state:

 Local authorities in Great Britain have a statutory responsibility not to publish any material which appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. The Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity is issued under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986, as amended, and local authorities must have regard to it. Publicity is “any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public." This guidance applies at all times but during the pre-election period greater care is generally taken and goes beyond just publicity. Use of council facilities and resources should not be used for party political campaigning.

The fact that the guidance 'applies at all times' does raise the issue of previous publicity put out by the Council's public relations department on the council's official twitter feed. 

 

If councillor presence was just for party publicity could the skips have continued quietly without them?