Octavia to make 'Important and Compulsory' fire safety visits to Elizabeth House residents pending cladding removal

Elizabeth House, Wembley

Octavia Housing have written to residents of Elizabeth House, Wembley High Road,  informing them that they will make  'important and compulsory' fire visits to their properties pending the cladding being removed.  Elizabeth House, like Merle Court in South Kilburn, was built by Willmott Dixon.

Important and Compulsory Fire Safety Visits

You may remember from previous visits and correspondence that Octavia Housing is required to periodically visit every property in Elizabeth House to complete fire safety checks until the cladding has been replaced. 

The instruction from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is that we need to repeat these visits regularly and I am writing to inform you that Octavia Housing is required to visit you again now. 

These visits will enable us to: 

•      Check balconies and flat entrance doors to ensure they are safe and free from fire hazards and flammable materials.

•      Ensure all residents know how to check their smoke and heat alarms.

Each visit takes approximately 5 -10 minutes.  As this is an instruction from Government, we have no alternative but to advise that it is a condition of your lease or tenancy agreement to provide access for the visit.

Please be reminded that the Fire Safety procedure is a stay put policy.

We will be carrying out visits on the following dates and would require you to be available on one of the dates:

·         Tuesday 23rd April 2019 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm

·         Wednesday 24^th April 2019 from 1:00pm - 6:00pm

·         Thursday 25^th April 2019 from 8:30am - 1:00pm

·         Friday 26^th April 2019 from 8:30am - 1:00pm

If you are unable to be at home when we visit or would prefer to confirm an appointment with us, you can do so by contacting our Customer Contact Team on 020 8354 5608 or by email to sylvie.haman@octavia.org.uk

I do hope you understand the importance of the visit to you and/or members of your household.

Easter holiday children's outdoor activity at the Welsh Harp tomorrow (Wednesday 17th April)

From Thames21

Join us at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre for Holiday Activities! Hunt for mini-beasts to find what creatures live in the woodland and make a bug hotel. Come for a walk through our woodland to see how many different trees grow and build yourself a shelter in the woodland.

Wednesday 17th April:
10.30am – 12pm Woodland Mini-beast Hunt
1pm – 2.30pm Tree Walk and Shelter Building

Activities suitable for children aged 5-11 years.
£3 per child.
Limited spaces so book now!
  
To book, contact Marian Rastelli on:

Phone: 07905 848 510
Email: welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk

What you need to know for this activity:

An adult must attend & supervise children throughout activities.

Places are limited and booking is essential, please contact us to book and also let us know if you need to cancel your booking.

Please pay in cash on the day. £3 per child.

All activities are suitable for ages 5 and over. Children aged 4 and under who are not participating in activities are free of charge.

Children and adults should wear comfortable outdoor clothing that may get dirty.


The Centre is at the end of Birchen Grove, Kingsbury, NW9. Go through the big green gates and the Centre is the brown building on the left before you get to the Garden Centre

Cabinet approves most of Scrutiny recommendations on Carlton-Granville but activists fail to win more community space

Brent Cabinet tonight approved the Scrutiny's recommendations on the Carlton-Granville development with just one amendment. Cabinet agreed to alter 'ensure' to 'explore' in point 'a' about the provision of 3 or 4 bedroomed houses:

A series of speakers made the community's case for more community space in the development with the proposed housing built elsewhere. This would maximise the available space when tenants' halls have been closed and the population of the estate is increasing as the result of regeneration.

Their contributions were politely acknowledged but the new housing build on the site will go ahead and community space not increased.  Noise reduction will be addressed at the planning stage but local people are fearful that accommodating homes and a late night community venue on the site will lead to conflict.  There is likely to be some broadening of the Key Stakeholders Group but whether that will satisfy the community remains to be seen.

Matt Kelcher, chair of Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee was unable to attend Cabinet and no one else from the Committee came forward to replace him - so the voice of Scrutiny was missing apart from the written report.

This is a video of community representations made at the Cabinet meeting:

Reaction this morning from the South Kilburn Trust which was criticised last night for being undemocratic and representing the Council rather than the community:

VIDEO: Butt lashed over Brent Labour Council's decision to set up a Free School

Brent Cabinet faced angry criticism tonight when it approved the setting up of a Free School offering 'alternative provision' for children rejected by local secondary schools.

Local Labour Party member Graham Durham lambasted Cllr Muhammed Butt, Labour leader of Brent Council, for not following Labour Party policy which he claimed is against the creation of any more free schools.

Cllr Mili Patel read a statement in a barely audible voice about the proposal but rather than focusing on the creation of a free school focused on the youth provision that would be offered outside of school hours by the voluntary sector.  There will be no directly employed Brent Council youth workers but building maintance costs and school hours running  costs will be paid by the Free School.

Durham said that rather than a Free School the Council could have asked a local mainstream secondary school to run the facility for out of school children. All Brent former local authority secondary schools are now academies as are all but one special school. The majority of Brent's academies are stand-alone rather than part of a chain.

Guardian on Labour Party education policy LINK

Later Graham Durham claimed on Facebook that the Brent CEO left the meeting to accost him after the item was discussed:

What made the event unusual was that as I was outside and walking away from the meeting outside in a corridor,  I was cornered by the Chief Executive ( supposedly non-political) who called me ‘ a vile little man’. I had never met her before but she clearly does not like ‘her’ councillors receiving independent socialist advice. Odd.

The economic impact of Wembley Stadium events 2017-18 - locally, London-wide and nationally

Tonight's Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee will be discussing the following report on the economic impact of Wembley Stadium with a particular emphasis on Spurs' stay at the stadium. There is a short section about the views of local people on the impact of event days on their lives.

Click bottom right corner for full-page view.

Catalyst statement: All Merle Court residents will be rehoused over next 12-18 months, looking at possible financial payments

Merle Court, named after local activist and Granville Kitchen cook Merle Barriteau, was opened with great fanfare in 2012. LINK The block was built via a Catalyst Housing, Brent Council and Willmott Dixon partnership.  The block was used to decant residents from Brent Council properties that were being demolished. Tenancies were transferred from the council to Catalyst Housing.

After the Grenfell fire concerns were raised over the cladding of the block. The BBC reported the fears of resident Issa Kaingu whose flat in Merle Court os enclosed in a polyethylene-based shell. LINK

He said,

I am really worried. I have no idea what I'm going to do. I am at the top and if there's a fire it would be difficult to get down. I am really shaken and feel like I can't even stay here.

At the time Catalyst was advised that additional safety measures, including 24 hour wardens, would ensure it was safe for residents to continue living there until cladding was removed.

When fears were at their height post-Grenfell, a special meeting was convened in South Kilburn that included residents, councillors, the fire brigade and various housing associations. The absence of Catalyst Housing was noted at the time.

In December 2018 building regulations changed for walled systems over 18 metres high and were applied retrospectively. These applied to Merle Court but investigations by Catalyst Housing found other faults in the 7 year old building which will involve removal of brick work as well as cladding.

Now a considerable amount of work needs to be done which will involve Catalyst rehousing the residents and buying back leasehold properties in the block.

UPDATE:

A spokeperson for Catalyst Housing supplied the following statement to Wembley Matters:

We are unable to say what we expect the repairs to cost at the moment.

All Merle Court residents will need to be re-housed and Catalyst will support everyone throughout this process. We expect this will take between 12 and 18 months to complete. 

Outline of Residents’ Offer (April 2019)

Catalyst’s offer to residents is currently being developed for approval by Catalyst’s Board in May. Once it has been approved we’ll be able to share the full residents’ offer with those living at Merle Court. In the meantime, we felt it was important to let residents know that they will need to move out of Merle Court and share what we can with them now, in terms of the likely timescales and the support and financial payments they will receive. 

An outline of the offer is summarised below:

Assessing residents’ needs and developing individual packages of support

Catalyst will arrange one to one meetings with every household to discuss their individual circumstances and support needs, and where needed, develop individual packages of support. We want to understand each household’s needs and establish how we can help.

Our offer to tenants

Catalyst will offer tenants assistance and support throughout the re-housing process by providing a dedicated member of staff for Merle Court. We will spend time talking to every tenant to understand their housing needs and their preferences for a move. We will also offer additional support to older and vulnerable residents, and signpost to other support services, where needed.

Catalyst will make direct offers to tenants where we can, of properties that meet their housing need and take into account their preferences as far as possible (about location, type of property and so on).

If possible, Catalyst will give tenants the right to return to Merle Court, once the major works have been completed. This will be considered as part of the residents’ offer which we will share with them at the end of May.

We are looking at what financial payments we can give residents as well as covering reasonable “disturbance” costs for moving home.

Our offer to shared owners’ and home owners

Catalyst will meet all home owners to discuss their individual circumstances and the options available. We will have a dedicated member of staff for home owners to speak to throughout the process. 

Catalyst will offer to buy back of all the shared/home owners’ homes. This will include the option to buy another Catalyst property (with an equity loan depending on financial circumstances). 

We will buy back properties at the current market value and residents may also qualify for additional financial payments and a disturbance allowance. More information will be available towards the end of May, once our Board approves the residents’ offer for Merle Court. In the meantime, we would like to meet everyone to understand their individual circumstances and discuss options and next steps.

Council restricts number of speakers at Monday's Cabinet meeting considering Scrutiny Report on Carlton-Granville proposals

The Scrutiny Committee's recommendations on the Carlton-Granville issue will be considered by the Cabinet on Monday April 15th. The controversial proposals inspired a record number of speakers from the community at Scrutiny but the Council has moved to restrict the number allowed at Cabinet.

In an email to applicants Brent Governance Services said:

Please be advised that due to the high number of requests to speak received so far, the number of speakers has had to be limited on a first come first served basis.

There have been two previous opportunities for members of the public to express their views on the Carlton and Granville Centre Sites proposal - one at the recently held Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny call-in meeting on 3rd April and one at the original Cabinet meeting on 11th March 2019.

A further representation will be made by the Chair of the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Matt Kelcher, who will also be in attendance on Monday to relay the Committee’s stance on the proposals. For more details on the views expressed at the call-in meeting, you may wish to refer to the minutes of that meeting.*

In light of the above, therefore, your request to speak could not be accepted.

*Editor's note:Minutes of April 3rd Scrutiny Meeting can be found HERE

The Cabinet Meeting is at 4pm (when most people are working!) on Monday April 15th in Boardrooms 3-5 at Brent Civic Centre. The meeting is open to the press and public.

UPDATE: Carlton-Granville back at Brent Council Cabinet on Monday. Will they listen to the community?

The Cabinet is due to consider the Scrutiny Committee's recommendations on the Carlton-Granville development at its meeting on Monday April 15th, 4pm Brent Civic Centre. The Scrutiny Committee report was only published on the Council website Cabinet Agenda this afternoon which gives only a limited time for campaigners to prepare their representations.

A crucial point is that the Scrutiny report refers to 'social' housing without any reference to rent levels. At the meeting councillors referred to affordable, council and  social housing without further definition.

This is the key extract from the officers' report for Cabinet:

Recommendation 


That as required under the call-in procedure, Cabinet reconsider its original decision on the Carlton & Granville Centres Site – South Kilburn, taking into account the comments made by the committee (set out ibelow) and agree one of the following outcomes:

.        To amend the decision, having taken account of the comments made; or 


.        To confirm the original decision made, enabling it to take immediate effect. 


Background 


At the meeting held on 11 March 2019, Cabinet considered the report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment, “Carlton and Granville Centres Site – South Kilburn” where it was RESOLVED:

a.     To approve the continuation of Phase 2 of the project at the Carlton and Granville Site to planning submission, on the basis of design Option 3 presented in the report; 


b.     To engage with South Kilburn Trust regarding possible future management arrangements of the Carlton/Granville Centres; 


c.      To note that Property Services would immediately engage with ULFA as set out in the report and to trigger the break clause as set out in the lease; 


d.     To approve in principle that funding will come from different sources as set out in Appendix 2 of the report, with the intention to seek Cabinet approval to enter into any necessary agreements with the Greater London Authority or South Kilburn Trust in due course. 


.   

The Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 3 April 2019 to consider the call- in. The Committee heard from the Lead Member for Regeneration, Highways and Planning as well as a number of representations from local residents and stakeholders. As a result of this process the committee agreed to refer the original decision back to Cabinet (as the original decision-maker) for reconsideration. 


In referring the decision back, the Scrutiny Committee insisted that Cabinet only proceeds with the scheme if clear written promises are provided on the following four issues: 


.        In terms of the recommended design option, the 23 units of housing being sought must all be provided as social housing. Whilst recognising the need to address issues in relation to viability, committee were also keen to ensure a predominance of three or four bedroom ‘family-sized’ accommodation.

 

.        Appropriate noise-reduction safeguards be provided for tenants within the new housing units in order to manage the relationship between the mixed residential and community use on the site. Such a provision is to ensure that noise concerns do not limit the use of the facility by the community. 


.        A minimum level of local social enterprise provision is guaranteed within the Enterprise Hub. 


.        Community governance options being developed in terms of future management of the site must be based around the Key Stakeholder Group and involve a broader local community membership. Such governance options must have open membership to locals, with democratic processes for the selection of people and positions.

 The Scrutiny Committee have also requested a further report back in 3 months’ time enabling them to continue monitoring progress in development of the scheme.

 [End of extract]

It is likely that the community will again be present at the meeting to ensure that their voices are heard and that the Cabinet give serious consideration to the recommendations.

You can support the community's demands by signing their petition HERE

Meanwhile this is  the submission made by the Kilburn Housng Co-op to Scrutiny:

Kilburn Housing Co-op is a fully mutual housing co-operative, founded in 1978.  For nearly forty years we have provided high quality well maintained secure and decent housing on low rents, only possible when profit is not the motivating factor.  We now have 37 flats in Kilburn, including several on Princess Rd, near the Granville and Carlton centres.  Our tenant members represent a diversity of ages, ethnic and social backgrounds, household types and situations.

As a self-managed co-op, we know how vital community input is, and that community spaces run in co-operation and with the good will of local people, are the most likely to succeed in meeting community needs. 

In the 80s our office was in the Carlton Centre, and we used the hall for our General Meetings.  Our current office is at the OK Club, around the corner.  Our members and their children are long-standing users of the facilities in both Centres: nursery school, cafes and community kitchen, youth clubs and activities, social and meetings spaces.  It is the only non-denominational community space in our area, and is treasured by many. This why there has been such strong and consistent opposition to the Council’s very damaging plans.

The local area needs an extension of community space, not cuts

·       We strongly oppose the Council’s proposal for a devastating reduction to community services, facilities and space that the planned development would involve. We note that this strength of community feeling has already succeeded in considerably scaling back the original plan which involved demolition of all the community buildings. This is welcome but not enough.

·       Community space has already been reduced as South Kilburn Trust which manages them favours enterprise space over community facilities.  We do not believe enterprise space should be a priority in the Granville.

·       Local people were not widely and fully consulted by the Council and South Kilburn Trust about these changes; many of us who live nearby have heard nothing about it.  And those who opposed the plans have been ignored.

·       With cuts and austerity it is  even more urgent to preserve community spaces like the Granville and its garden where people can meet, get information, services, run projects and generally come together to decide and act on improving our living conditions and the quality of our and our families’ lives.

·       It is a priority that the beautiful hall in the Granville, which has been ruined, be fully restored to its full size and community purpose.  Finding spaces to hold meetings, celebrations and other activities has been a growing problem for years now.  Many in the area complain about this lack. 

   

We oppose any housing being built on the Granville/Carlton site

·       We strongly support building council houses, which are desperately needed. But  Brent’s 11 March 2019 Report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration & Environment gave no guarantee that any of the 23 units planned for the site would be council housing. Indeed the opposite is indicated: introducing “shared ownership and/or private housing elements”.  

·       Many other housing developments are completed, underway or planned all over South Kilburn.   None of it has solved or is solving the escalating housing crisis. For example, at Peel Precinct just metres away, of the 308 homes already planned, only 42 would be “social” and are earmarked for existing Council tenants being moved out by other development.  That means in effect no new Council housing, while over 250 homes are likely to be sold or leased - more gentrification, more housing for those on high salaries, and nothing for low income families.  We suggest that those units be converted to Council housing.

·       We are told there is little public land left in Brent on which to build housing and therefore, it must be built on the Granville & Carlton Centres’ site.  Brent Council has created this crisis: between 2015 -2018, Brent Council sold 13 public spaces for about £30 million. Those sites could have been used develop Council homes. Further the Peel Precinct development and others in the area shows the Council’s low priority for Council housing.

·       We understand that the government aims to cut a further £21 million to Brent’s next budget.  These cuts which always hit the most disadvantaged communities hardest, combined with the housing crisis (homelessness, overcrowding and sub-standard unsafe homes) will only lead to more mental ill health, violence and deaths. We don’t believe the Council should accept implementing these cuts and plan around them without consulting the public who elected them.