Fairtrade stall at Brent Civic Centre Friday March 10th

From Brent Fairtrade Network 

 

CELEBRATING FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

FAIRTRADE STALL AT BRENT CIVIC CENTRE

ON FRIDAY 10 MARCH - AND A NEW FILM

By the kind permission of the Borough Council, Brent Fairtrade Network is holding a stall at Brent Civic Centre 10.00-14.00 on Friday 10 March.  We shall be encouraging library users, Council staff and others passing by to buy Fairtrade goods at local shops and cafes. Do look in if you are nearby. Here is how to get there: www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/brent-civic-centre/your-visit-to-the-civic-centre/

The Fairtrade Foundation has produced a film to bring home the shocking reality that Fairtrade is tackling.  Watch this. 

Fairtrade Fortnight ends on Saturday 11 March. Remember to look out for Fairtrade products in your shopping this week. 

DOES FAIRTRADE HAVE A FUTURE?

PUBLIC DEBATE ON 17 NOVEMBER

We had an excellent debate at St Martin's Church, Kensal Rise, on 17 November, jointly hosted with Fairtrade groups in Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston. Our speakers were Anne Cooper of Oxfam, Barbara Crowther of the Fairtrade Foundation, Stuart Singleton-White of the Rainforest Alliance and Vidya Rangan of ISEAL, the global movement of sustainability standards. Points that emerged included the following:

•   Is the Fairtrade model still a good one? Yes - but it will continue to change, as illustrated by the Cocoa Life partnership announced that day with Cadbury's.

•   Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade are complementary - but the scope for collaboration is shown by the fact that 80% of their standards are the same. There are now some 450 ethical labels, hence the need for ISEAL's work to clarify which can be trusted. 

•   The new Fairtrade Sourcing Programme enables products to be sold with a new Fairtrade logo when only the cocoa, sugar or cotton involved is Fairtrade. This will increase sales of Fairtrade products. 

•   Only 1% of world agricultural trade is ethically certified so there is huge potential for growth.

Feedback after the event was very positive. The consensus seemed to be that it was an excellent event with very good speakers. The main regret was that only 40 people attended. It was felt that a more central location could have attracted people from all over London. As it was, we welcomed several visitors from outside Brent, some of whom we now welcome as new readers of this newsletter. 

We are most grateful to the speakers and St Martin's Church for making this debate possible. 

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.

Road closures in Wembley and Kingsbury for North London Half Marathon - Sunday March 12th

The Vitality North London Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 12th March passing through Brent  an Barnet with about 10,000 runners expected.

This will mean road closures from early morning on the Sunday:

Olympic Way (from 4.45am)
Wembley Park Boulevard (4.45am)
Royal Route (4.45am)
Perimeter Way (4.45am)
Engineers Way (6.45am)
Fulton Road (6.45am)
Brook Avenue (4.45am - between Olympic Sq access gate and Bridge Road)
Bridge Road (4.45am between Brook Avenue and Forty Lane)
Forty Lane  (7am)
The Paddocks (7am)
Fryent Way (7am)
Valley Drive (7am)
Kingsbury Road (7am between Valley Drive and Roe Green)
Roe Green (7am)
Hay Lane (7am)
Edgware Road (8.545am between Hay Lane and Colindale Avenue)
Slough Lane (7am between Kingsbury Road and Salmon Street)
Salmon Street (7am between Slough Lane and the Paddocks)

The race will start at 8am and a 'dynamic reopening schedule' will operate to ensure roads are open as soon as possible once runners have completed each section of the route and when it is safe and feasible to do so. Roads will beging to re-open from 10.15am and most will be re-opened by 12.45pm. Brook Avenue and Bridge Road will be the final roads to re-open at 1.45pm.

WEBSITE

Mass civil disobedience Fossil Fuel Divestment Event and Rally Sat 4th March. Kings College on the Strand 11am

Arrests Fines and Suspensions and now a Hunger Strike at King’s College London – the fossil fuel divestment campaign
The campaign for total divestment from Fossil Fuels Heats Up. We urgently need your support!

Mass civil disobedience Event and Rally Sat 4th March. Kings College on the Strand 11am.

From King's College Climate Emergency

In developments not seen for decades King’s College London has engaged in a policy chaotic repression in the face of peaceful civil disobedience by students and alumni demanding total divestment from fossil fuels. Campaign group King’s College Climate Emergency was set up to make clear we are out of time on climate change. We need total divestment from all oil and gas corporations to have any chance of avoiding catastrophe. We stand in solidarity with the main poor and marginalised communities all over the world being destroyed by this unchecked corporate greed. We are particularly inspired by the amazing struggle at Standing Rock and believe we have to start making similar sacrifices in this country to make the progress we all want to see.

96% of students in a recent survey support total divestment which is also supported by the vast majority of staff. However the college council is dominated by corporate place people – the vice principal Chris Mottershead, for instance. is ex BP executive. This capturing of our public universities by corporate power has to be challenged by direct action. We have not allowed ourselves to be intimidated by arrests, suspensions, fines, and threats of prosecution by top management but instead upped our escalation with a hunger strike by one student and fasts by others. And we plan to have the biggest collective act so far of civil disobedience for divestment – a celebration of life over death - decorating the dull frontage of Kings with flowers, balloons, statements, teddy bears, and colourful poster paints at 11am Saturday 4th March.

If you could come to the event yourself that would be great (it is an hour before the NHS demo which starts only 15 minutes walk away). Or people can email the top guys to tell them to do the right thing:

The Principal Edward Byrne: Principal@kcl.ac.uk

The Vice Principal Chris Mottershead: Chris.Motershead@kcl.ac.uk

See our latest video which promotes the 4th March action HERE – please share as widely as you can.

For more details see the FB page: King’s College Climate Emergency.

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.

Barn Hill Residents comprehensively oppose Wembley Stadium planning application

This is the submission made by the Chair of Barn Hill Residents Association (BHRA) to the Planning Department on the Spurs bid  to hold more events and lift the capacity cap at Wembley Stadium:

Planning Application ref: 17/0368

Wembley Stadium

We wish to make the following comments on this Application:

Proposed variation of Condition 3

Condition 3 of the original Wembley Stadium Planning Consent has not yet been fully complied with.  This Condition restricts the number of full capacity events at the Stadium until various transport improvements have been put in place. These include the upgrade of one section of road within the Wembley Industrial Estate which requires the purchase of a significant amount of land. This purchase has not yet taken place, despite Wembley Stadium having given Brent Council millions of pounds to facilitate these works.

We believe that until such time as these works are completed in their entirety, this Application should be refused.

It is not at all clear why the Stadium feels the need to increase the number of full capacity Event Days. There is no restriction on the number of events using only the lower and middle tiers of the Stadium which can accommodate up to a total of 51,000 spectators. 

The pretext for increasing the number of Event Days is that Tottenham Hotspur will be using the Stadium from 1^st August 2017 until 31^st July 2018 while their own stadium is being rebuilt.

However, Tottenham’s current average home attendance of 36,824 falls well short of the capacity figure of 51,000 for normal Event Days. The 31 additional planned events could therefore go ahead without any variation to the existing planning consent.

Although this proposal purports to be a temporary arrangement to accommodate Tottenham, we strongly suspect that, if approved, it would pave the way for Chelsea Football Club to use the

Stadium for a further three years while their stadium is also being rebuilt.

Proposed removal of Condition 33

We do not agree with the lifting of this Condition as we believe that many fans of Tottenham will travel to Wembley via the North Circular Road despite it already being heavily used and subject to constant traffic jams.

Other issues

We believe that Brent Council is not fully taking into account the detrimental impact that approving this Application would have on the local environment and residents. Even without any increase in the frequency of matches and the numbers of spectators, it is evident that Police resources are totally inadequate when it comes to enforcing the law on match days. 

In flagrant disregard of the regulations in the local Controlled Drinking Zone, there is widespread and excessive consumption of alcohol in the streets, especially when large numbers of fans are turned out of the local hostelries one hour before kick-off, while Police officers look on, apparently powerless to act.

This inevitably leads to the public nuisance of widespread urination not just in the streets but also in residents’ gardens, or even behind the Civic Centre.

The other unwelcome by-product of match days is the sea of litter left behind in the streets.  Fans discard food packaging with impunity, an offence which in other circumstances might attract a fine of £80. Sadly, Veolia (Brent Council’s contractor) are failing to maintain their previous standards of rubbish collection.   

This is to say nothing of the massive disruption suffered by local residents in many other ways on Event Days, what with overcrowded buses and trains making normal travel by public transport very difficult, and parking restrictions inconveniencing family and social events in residents’ own homes. 

Any increase in Event Days would seriously impact the right of residents to the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their properties.  In addition, other local activities would increasingly have to be curtailed at short notice, with venues such as church halls suffering a serious loss of income.

I believe that, before attracting ever larger crowds to Wembley on match days, measures should be taken to alleviate existing problems, whether that involves a large increase in Police resources or perhaps the Council reviewing the licences of local pubs.

Local residents suspect that designating many more match days as full Event Days when this is not warranted by the likely numbers attending, is a kind of 'Trojan Horse' strategy to increase the full Event Days to 68 on a long-term basis, to continue long after Chelsea and Tottenham have returned to their rebuilt stadiums.

If, as we have been told, the local Police already have insufficient resources to enforce the widely-flouted ban on drinking in the streets around the Stadium, what hope is there that they would be able to cope with extra Event Days?

Even if there were to be no increase in Event Days, we strongly believe that extra Policing is essential and suggest that the costs should be borne jointly by Wembley Stadium and the clubs involved.

For the reasons given above, we strongly object to this Application.

UPDATE: Army at scene of WW2 bomb alert in Brondesbury Park - info for residents affected

Photo by Aparna Maladkar (via Twitter)

Photo  (Brent Council)

From Brent Council

2nd March 2017 

Brent Council are advising people who live within the cordon above to not return home. List of addresses affected HERE  Rest Centre St Martin's Church on Mortimer Road. Helpline 020 8937 5788

UPDATE 2 March 2017 19.22 Work in the area is likely to go on until at least Friday afternoon.

 

UPDATE 2 March 2017 - 17.25pm: The army have now arrived on the scene. We will update you as soon as they finish making their assessments. #brentalerts

Emergency services have been called to 3-6 The Avenue in Brondesbury Park NW6, near the junction of Willesden Lane, to a suspected unexploded WWII bomb. Officers from the Police, Fire Brigade and Council are all on the scene.

A 200 metre cordon is in place and two schools within the area - Malorees Junior School and Marylebone Boys' School – have been evacuated.

There are road closures in the area which are causing disruption and residents are advised to avoid the area.

Due to the nature of the bomb, only the army are trained to deal with it and a team is currently on their way to the site.

The council's emergency planning team have set up a rest centre at St Martin’s Church on Mortimer Road, Kensal Green, with buses ready to transport residents should it be required once the army has evaluated the situation.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, says:

Council officers are currently making arrangements for our residents in the Willesden Lane area to make their way to a rest centre where they will be looked after until it is safe to return to their homes.

I would like to thank these residents who have shown great patience during this time. We will continue to provide updates on the situation as soon as they come through.

Search #brentalerts onTwitter for updates

Cllr Duffy's view on Spurs Wembley Stadium application

Back in December 2016 Cllr John Duffy warned fellow councillors about the Wembley Stadium planning application that would increase the number of events and lift the capacity cap.

All Brent Councillors,

I am very concerned that the Wembley Stadium and Spurs planning application is being guided and manipulated by both officers and Cabinet members.It would seem they seek a solution, that will not fully benefit Brent residents . 

All Councillors are Independent on this issue and Councillors should not be influenced by either Cabinet members or officers on a pre-agreed application and should seek to ensure and maximised the benefits for Brent.

Firstly you have to consider does Brent want Wembley Stadium to be a home ground for a Premier League Club and do we want the extra congestion, nuisance and general disruption. Unless we get real investment  from the FA, Premier League and Spurs, I believe the answer is NO.

It is clear that the Cabinet are unaware of the potential of ensuring the investment to alleviate the problems caused by Wembley hosting Spurs and have not negotiated a reasonable deal for the residents…..I am tired of Brent residents being short changed, therefore I  believe Councillors should oppose the application as it stands.

Earlier Duffy had written to Labour Group councillors in more detail:

As it is 99% definite,Tottenham Hotspur will be moving to Wembley and its also likely that Chelsea (they may go to Twickenham)will moving in the following year.Its time we sorted out a strategy to protect and improve our Environment, Sports Education , parking ,community and employment strategy, together with compensation for Brent  residents.

As Chair of planning when we knocked down the old Wembley stadium and a member of the Task force for Wembley Stadium regeneration I have seen negotiations close up with the FA and they will be tough and we need a clear strategy.

From memory Wembley were allowed 22 sporting advents and they were no envisaged to be the home venue for any football club.Therefore at this point I would advise not to accept a season long deal but to treat every game as a FA cup Final and expect resources to reflect this .There Are many safeguards we  need for residents.I will outline the basics without the detail.

(1) Environmental improvement.
I would expect extra resources( to many options to go into) plus investment into plant. I have not looked at other Boroughs but I am aware of some who get a massively enhanced service for match day.

(2) Parking.
Increased protection/enforcement of the neighbouring area.

(3) Sports Education.
Ensure Investment in equipment and sports teaching in our schools including visits from football stars.Its important both the FA and PremierLeague show their commitment to grass roots football.

(4) Community Support .
Financial support for community activities,including , local R/As ,St Patricks day,Eid and Navratri and maybe support for local group who participate in the Notting Hill Carnival.

(5) Employment strategy.
Ensure that Brent residents get their fair share of any new jobs/ training arising from  the extra games. Also local firms should get a fair share of the increased supply chain for contracts

(6) Compensation for local Business and residents.
Whereas the some businesses will benefit many other will lose (who would travel to Wembley to shop on a match day) so its important we look at high street improvements. The new games coming to Wembley will not only be on a Saturday they will included Sundays and weekdays at various kick off times.

There are many ways to negotiate and you should not look at only the time the football club is there, you should seek a 2/3 year deal on things like sports education and community support.I think you should have a local councillor on the negotiations ( seems unlikely as the leadership reject a task force for Kilburn Regeneration and now all decisions are made by the Lead member ) so local input will be represented.In my opinion we should not over engage in the - presentations- Vol-au-Vonts  and vanity projects system which some members of the Cabinet prefer. We should also not going in asking for jobs at LLW ( getting employers to pay LLW is a failure ) we should be looking better jobs in supervision and management training. Finally do not over rely on Officers who will seek a deal that suits them as administrators.

It would seem that some of the cabinet wish to treat the FA, The Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur  as " partners" whereas I see them them as people who wish to make a lot of money while using the facilities of  Brent which I have no problem with. However I believe this should be reflected in how we support our residents.So hopefully the cabinet have an agreed strategy about what we need from the richest sport in the world and the most famous football venue in the world.

    And Brent should not be short changed for all the inconvenience 

Wembley Stadium events consultation deadline extended to March 9th

Brent Council appear to be trawling through submissions on their Planning Portal to correct those clearly against the Wembley Stadium increase in event days and removal of capacity cap, but that have been classifed by the software as 'Neutral'. LINK

There are now 108 on-line submissions.

Many residents have encountered problems posting their comments on line (This is the LINK).  The deadline has now been extended to March 9th, 2016.

As an alternative comments can be sent by email  to alice.lester@brent.gov.uk quoting 'Comment on 17/0368'. Remember to state clearly your position (Support/Object/Neutral) on proposed variation of Condition 3 and removal of Condition 33. Postal comments can be sent to Alice Lester, Planning Department, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, HA9 0FJ.

Details from the Planning Application:

 CONDITION 3 OF THE WEMBLEY STADIUM PLANNING CONSENT – THE CURRENT EVENT CAP

This condition restricts the number of full capacity events (up to 90,000 people) held at the stadium each year to 37 until certain transport improvements* have been completed. There is no restriction on the number of events that can be held that only use the lower and middle tier of the stadium (up to a capacity of  approximately 51,000). The current restriction allows 22 sporting events and 15 non-sporting events (although 3 additional sporting events can be held provided the number of non-sporting events is reduced by2 for each additional sporting event).

* This restriction falls away once certain public transport and highway works are completed.Most of the works have been completed, including an increase in the capacity of Wembley Park Station and significant road improvements within the Wembley Industrial Estate. However, the upgrading of one element of road within the industrial estate required the purchase of a significant amount of land and this was not completed.

PROPOSED VARIATION OF CONDITION 3 – THE PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE EVENT CAP

The applicant proposes that this condition is varied to allow up to 31 additional full capacity major Tottenham Hotspur Football Club sporting events between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018 (events with a capacity of between 51,000 and 90,000 people).

(NOTE: These additional events could take place without any variation to the planning consent, under the existing cap, where capacity would be limited to up to a maximum of approximately 51,000 people).

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF CONDITION 33

Condition 33 restricts the number of times that traffic management measures can be implemented each year, with specific reference to North Circular Road traffic flow. The applicant proposes that this condition is removed, specifying that TfL consider the traffic management measures to have a positive impact on trafficflow within the North Circular Road.

 

Demonstrate for #OurNHS on Saturday - we have too much to lose if it goes

Unfortunately I will be unable to attend this demonstration as I am currently unwell but I  hope as many Wembley Matters readers as possible will attend. Our NHS is worth saving.

My current illness has enabled me to see the NHS at first hand as my condition was investigated. Doctors, nurses and auxillary staff in Northwick Park A&E, Ambulatory care, Ultra Sound and CT departments have been amazing. They take care to ensure that procedures are as painless as possible and they gave full explanations of what they were doing, giving me a chance to ask questions.   Appointments were made quickly and communication between the deparrttments and with my GP was excellent.

All  this is under threat, not just from funding cuts and closures, and privatisation, but from the impact of Brexit.  Northwick Park has an extremely diverse staff who work smoothly together as a team.

The i reports a TUC analysis today that one 4.5% (54, 985) NHS workers are from the European Economic Area (EAA) while 90,200 (7%) of adult care workers are from the EAA. In London  9.8% of NHS staff and 18% of the adult social care workforce are from the EAA.

TUC General Secretary, Frances O'Grady, condemned the uncertaintly being created by the government:

It's a terrible way to treat dedicated public servants. And if Brexit means they have to leave our health and social care services will struggle to cope.

She called on the Prime Minster to guarantee EU citizens living and working in Britain  the right to remain and to do soe ahead of negotiations.

Unfortunately there is no Metropolitan Line services between Baker Street and Aldgate and no Hammersmith and City Line service between Edgware  Road and Barking on Saturday.

'Foster carers are already professionals, it's time they were treated as such,' GMB union tells select committee

GMB Foster carers who are members of the GMB union met with MPs today to demand proper recognition for dedicated members who look after vulnerable children.

Rachel Harrison, GMB lead officer on Foster Care, gave evidence to the Fostering Inquiry at a Select Committee.

The delegation of carers also met Labour MPs following the hearing, including Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

Disturbing new figures show just 42% of foster carers felt their allowance met the full cost of looking after fostered children.

This compares to 80% in 2014, showing huge cuts in local government funding are badly hurting our foster carers.

GMB foster carers made the following demands:

· Nationwide standards and funding

Foster carers have vastly different experiences across the country - there needs to be a more consistent approach to foster care

· Professional recognition and respect

A lot is expected of foster carers, with increasing demand and fewer local government resources. Only a third (32%) felt that children's social workers treated them as equal.

· A national register of foster carers

This would allow for foster carers to look after children from other areas, cut red tape, remove local barriers, provide greater stability and save on costs of private care.

Figures from the Fostering Network show 49% of foster carers did not have an agreed training plan for the next year and 75% of those who had taken a child from outside their approval range received no additional training or support.

Rachel Harrison, GMB Lead Officer for Foster Carers said:

We're proud to be the union to represent foster carers. 

These people give their all to look after the most vulnerable children in society and it was vital we got across to MPs today the challenges faced by our members and how we can work with others to push for improvements in the foster care system, for the benefit of both the children and carers.

Colleen Callaghan, Foster Carer and GMB member, said:

It was fantastic to see MPs listening to our trade union really represent foster carers and give us the opportunity to tell it like it is - explaining to politicians what's needed to improve foster care in this country, for us and the children we care for. 

It was a welcome opportunity to see how politics can actually relate to us and hopefully change things for the better.

Rubbishy aftermath of Sunday's Spurs match at Wembley Stadium

This is published with the permission of the author who outlined the impact of the recent Tottenham match.  First published the website NextDoor:

This morning after Sunday's event I got my picker stick out, didn't need a carrier bag as one had thoughtfully been left in my hedge and started picking up the rubbish left by yesterdays fans. I had 3 beer cans, three coffee cups, Lucozade bottle, 2 cigarette packets, a half eaten sandwich, half a kebab left in it's box and a half filled plastic beer mug. 

All this was strewn alongside my hedge or in my front garden. I also had a large black plastic bag half filled with beer cans left on the corner of my property, which I suppose is better than being left individually. So from 2 events in one week I've collected two carrier bags full of rubbish and a black plastic bag full of beer cans. Living on a corner I've collected all this just from the front and alongside my property. And this is only outside one house a stone's throw away from the stadium. So much for Brent's extra rubbish collections on event days!

PS I don't get this usually from American football fans or concert goers, only football supporters.

PPS No I don't dislike football, I support a club, it's just football attracts the worst fans and sadly it's football fans that are going to be coming to all these extra events.

Maybe if this is going to be the norm I should ask Brent Council to supply me with plastic bags.

 

Confusion over Brent Tory groups merger

Responding to jibes from Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt about the two Conservative groups on the Council and which one was the true Conservative, Cllr Kansagra, deputy leader of the Conservative Group, admitted that the public and councillors were 'fed up' with the existence of two groups and the extra time and resources this took up.

He said that councillors and the public might be pleased to hear that there were proposals in the pipeline that there may be one Conservative Group in the future. Turning to Labour councillors he said, 'You will be happy with this - we will tolerate it!'

The Conservative Group currently has four members and the Brent Conservatie Group two members. Labour has 56 councillors and there is one Independent.

However it appears things are not that straightforward. Responding to a query from me earlier today, Cllr Warren said: 'That statement from Cllr Kansagra was as much a surpise to me as it was to you!'

He went on, 'Politics is very unpredictable....but as of today nothing has been put forward to me about mergers.'

A merger would makes things more straighforward for the Conservatives when it comes to selecting candidates for the 2018 local  election.

Dodgy goings on with Spurs application to increase events & capacity at Wembley Stadium?

Residents have been in contact about two aspects of the on-line consulation on removal of the cap on the number of events held at Wembley Stadium and more full capacity events LINK.

The first is the fact that on at least two occasions the link has been unavailable clearly affecting the public's ability to comment.

The second is puzzlement that submissions by the public that clearly object to the proposal are classifed as 'Neutral' - see below:

Please see comments below one of which suggest that if you do not choose Support, Object, or Neutral when submitting a comment online the system defaults to Neutral to the Neutral category. If this has happened to your comment it might be worth contacting the Planning Officer to state your position.

4 Park Lane, Wembley, HA9 7RZ (Neutral)

I strongly object to the proposals. It would add to the traffic gridlocks, sometimes hooting of horns late in the evening - not to mention increased air pollution! And difficulty using public transport. Also, residents having the nuisance of having to plan theirs lives around the events. The behaviour of hooligans is also unbearable - I came home once to find a brick had been thrown through my bathroom window! A small tree got broken in half once on an event day - and then there is urinating everywhere. And parking becomes impossible of corse. - As the stadium is a national stadium it should not be used for anything else. - I therefore strongly object to the variation of condition 3 and the removal of condition 33 of 17/0368.

8 Village Mews, London, NW9 8SZ (Neutral)

I strongly object to this and don't think residents have been taken into consideration here.

Roads are already highly congested and Brent should be thinking about minimizing this instead of making matters worse. Whether I drive or take public transport on an event day my journey time is doubled sometimes tripled. I am unable therefore to travel within the local vicinity on event days.

Looking at other comments it is clear there is strong opposition, so it is hoped you take these concerns into consideration and think again of the impact this will have to residents, roads, traffic and the environment.

15 Hillside Drive, Edgware, HA8 7PF (Neutral)

We live and work very near to Stanmore and Cannons Park Underground Station, the A41 and the M1 Edgware exit. Whenever there is any event on at Wembley Stadium, the whole area grinds to a halt. The roads become impassable and journeys around this area almost impossible. There is just not enough space for the amount of cars on the road to travel or the availability of parking places. Together with the noise and nuisance levels of hundreds of various football or rugby fans, the request for additional events is unacceptable for the residents living anywhere near Stanmore or Cannons Park Underground stations or the M1/A41 or A1. If there are visiting fans from the North of England, then the additional traffic on the M1 turns the area to one large car park - absolutely nothing moves and a 10 minute journey can turn into an hour.

We already have to contend with additional traffic and congestion when there are any events on at Allianz Park in Copthall Stadium Mill Hill and any events at The Hive in Edgware.

Therefore we strongly object to any additional usage of Wembley Stadium and to any football club having their games held there or having a residency there.

68 Beverley Gardens, Wembley, HA9 9RA (Neutral)

'Condition 3' was put in place for a reason - to prevent local residents from suffering the great disruption and inconveniences caused to local residents when up to 91,000 people descend on Wembley Stadium. Yet it is now proposed that an extra 31 such events are allowed to take place. And not just any events, but football matches, with their supporters, some of whom have a tendency towards rowdiness, drunkenness and anti-social behaviour.

WNSL has tried to say that it will try to mitigate any problems by 'working closely' with TfL and the Met Police etc. But with a large football crowd those problems can only be 'managed' not removed completely. On match days, residents will still have problems getting home (or leaving it) by train or car, problems picking up their children from school, problems accessing the Civic Centre, or be unable to have friends round.

I therefore object to this application. At the very least, THFC matches should be restricted to 50,000 seats. After all, their existing stadium only accommodates 36,800 and their new one will only be a 61,000 seater.

I also feel that by allowing this application for THFC to use the Stadium, a precedent will have been set that will allow future applications to be 'nodded through'.

49 Linden Avenue, Wembley, HA9 8BB (Neutral)

I feel that the application is not pragmatic to the overall functions of Wembley. I believe that the current situation is bad enough and does not need to be exacerbated any further. There is enough congestion in Wembley on event days. We as residents of Wembley do not feel any benefit from the stadium events. We feel that we are made to surrender our parking spaces to people who do not live in Wembley. We cannot have visitors around because of the congestion. Life in Wembley is already bordering on depressing. Please do not make it worse. I strongly object!

99 Grasmere Avenue, Wembley, HA9 8TG (Neutral)

This area is already very busy and too much traffic.

I object.

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS THURSDAY MARCH 2ND

Brent Council to decide on 3.99% Council Tax rise and £2.3m cuts tonight

Brent Council will vote on the 2017-18 budget tonight.  The proposal is for a rise in council tax of 3.99% (2% adult social care and 1.99% general increase) along with cuts of £2.3m in 2017-18 and another £2.1m in 2018-19.

Full details on Council agenda HERE

The meeting is at 7pm at Brent Civic Centre

Brent Council to debate US travel ban this evening

A cross party motion on the US travel ban is to be debated at tonight's meeting of full Council. The motion reads:

FULL COUNCIL – 27 FEBRUARY 2017 CROSS-PARTY MOTION
BRENT COUNCIL CONDEMNS US TRAVEL BAN 

This Council unanimously condemns recent unjustified and inhumane efforts by President Donald Trump to ban the men, women and children of predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, and objects in the strongest terms to the principle of any nation imposing arbitrary, discriminatory travel bans. 

This Council holds that racism and xenophobia, for which there can be no place in civilised society, be challenged at every turn, and that the politics of hate and fear must always be robustly confronted and comprehensively rejected. 

This Council draws attention to the recent commemoration of Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day and implores President Trump to heed urgent warnings against allowing the catastrophic mistakes of our collective past to be repeated. 

This Council celebrates our borough’s proud diversity and is testament to the immense and invaluable contribution afforded by the universal human right of global migration. 

While recognising the need to prioritise national security, this Council calls on the UK government to continuing setting an international example of enlightened compassion, ensuring that our words are more than matched by our actions via a guarantee that this country will always be as much a place of sanctuary as it is a land of opportunity.

Stanmore meeting on air quality with Caroline Russell

West London stands up to racism - Tuesday 28th February

From West London Stand Up to Racism

West London Stand Up to Racism have organised a Public Meeting in Ealing on Tuesday 28 February at 7.30pm with a fantastic line up of speakers.

We have a stall at this meeting.

PUBLIC MEETING TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY, 7.30pm

WEST LONDON STANDS UP TO RACISM

Speakers:

Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton

Sabby Dhalu, Co-convenor Stand Up to Racism

Mohammed Kozbar, Vice President Muslim Association of Britain

David Rosenberg, Jewish Socialist Group

Dr Shahrar Ali, Home Affairs Spokesperson, Green Party

Venue:
Ealing Town Hall (Liz Cantell Hall), New Broadway, W5 2HL

Brent group launched to promote a London National Park City

A North Brent Residents Assocation and Parks  Group Forum was set up this week to further cause of making London a National Park City. The move has been supported by ward councllors in Barnhill, Northwick Park, Kenton and Kensal Green with John Billam Tenterden Parks and Neighbourhood Group taking the lead.  The initiative has been supported by Cllr Southwood, lead member for the environment. More endorsements by wards councillors are required to set up London as a National Park City.  It requires all councillors in a ward to support the application.

National Parks are special places where people work together to protect natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. As well as looking after these things, National Parks promote the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities by both residents and visitors. They also create new business opportunities in hospitality, travel and other sectors. Making London a National Park City would be to apply these same principles to all communities and areas in London.

A declaration to make London a National Park City is a belief in Londoners working together to:

1.      Make London greener 

✔ Improving the richness, connective and biodiversity of London’s habitats 

✔ Improving London’s air and water quality, year on year

2.      Make more of London’s outdoor heritage 

✔ Improving health and connecting 100% of London’s children to nature 

✔ Ensuring 100% of Londoners have free and easy access to high quality green space

3.      Make a new National Park City identity for London 

✔ Inspiring new business activities 

✔ Promoting London as a Green World City

Sir Terry Farrell has described the idea as being “one vision to inspire a million projects”. It is a large-scale and long-term vision that is achievable through lots of small and everyday actions. Many of these things are already happening, but there is the potential for so much more. What makes a National Park City very different from a rural National Park is the number of people who live in the capital. Every Londoner has the potential not only to enjoy London as a National Park City, but actually contribute to making it a success.

A National Park City would be privately and commercially funded. No public sector funding is needed. It will not cost the council anything, but the council will be able to leverage the National Park City to attract new investment. A National Park City status would not mean restrictions for planning permissions. A National Park City would want to conserve London’s ability to grow, develop and remain the dynamic city it is.

London can become a National Park City once two-thirds of councillor teams (436 of 654) have declared their support. So far 218 teams have already declared their support.

You can add your indidivual support HERE

Greens: Cressida Dick appointment will erode trust between communities and police

The Green Party has criticised the appointment of Cressida Dick as the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Shahrar Ali, Green Party Home Affairs spokesperson, said:

The appointment of the new commissioner by Amber Rudd is an insult to the memory of de Jean Charles de Menezes and adds further injury to the still grieving family.

It’s vital that the officer heading up the Met is trusted by Londoners – and we’re deeply concerned that Cressida Dick’s role in the shooting of De Menezes will further erode trust between local communities and the police.

Far from exonerating her the IPCC report of 2007 criticised her actions in failing to clarify the meaning of her STOP order to armed police. Dick will struggle to command the confidence of the citizens she would serve whilst the campaign for her accountability remains unaddressed.

Sian Berry, Green London Assembly member, said:

This is a very controversial choice. Assembly members will want questions answered about the lessons the new Commissioner learned after the Jean Charles De Menezes shooting.

This was the most serious and shocking single mistake the Met has made in the last 20 years. For the Mayor to appoint the officer in charge on that day to run the whole of the Met when community cohesion is his priority for London does potentially put this at risk.

Londoners must have complete confidence in their police force and its leaders – I will be questioning the Mayor about this appointment.

I, Daniel Blake, Community showing, Saturday 25th February

Community screening of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake in Kilburn 2pm Sat 25 February

Kingsgate Community Centre, 107 Kingsgate Rd, London NW6 2JH

Fully wheelchair accessible Entry by donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.   All welcome. Refreshments available.

Please arrive early if possible to make sure you get a seat.

Camden Momentum is organising this community screening, which follows the vigil on 25th January for Lawrence Bond. LINK

Disabled People Against Cuts, Gill Thompson and WinVisible will be speaking, followed by discussion.

CNWL lecturers threaten action to achieve an independent investigation into college fraud

University and College Union (UCU) members at the College of North West London are calling on the college's Governing Body to put into abeyance public consultation on the possible merger with Westminster College, pending an independent inquiry into a fraud carried out at the college by a subcontractor and the publication of its findings. LINK

The union has given notice that if guarantees are not forthcoming by Thursday March 2nd they will seek Regional Office support for the declaration of a trade dispute with the college.  The branch express the hope that if a trade dispute is declared that it could be resolved through negotiations without having to resort to lawful indistrial action.

Backing the unanimous decision of his branch members for an independent inquiry, Indro Sen, suspended Branch Secretary, said.

When students are 10 minutes late, managers instruct the class teachers to monitor their attendance. When teachers do not dot the "t) and "i" in their marked work, they are monitored by their managers and some end up under capability procedures, but when a fraud as large as £356K can take place under the very nose of SFA auditors, borough police chief, Governors and senior management teams, who monitors their performance?

Only an independent public enquiry can get to the bottom of this. Can any students' life chances be said to be in safe hands unless each and every sub-contractor is thoroughly checked out on the Government declared Sub contractor list and those checks are made public for students to see what they are getting into. Until such time, Mr. Boles should consider putting the levy scheme into abeyance.

Sen, a popular maths teacher awaits a decision of the dismissal panel into his fate. Two of his students had this to say about him and are  attending the Public meeting on Friday 24 February 2017 at Willesden Library at 6pm. Speakers include Hank Roberts the Copland High School whistleblower:

Hello Sen,

I am sorry to hear that you have suspended for helping others. You are great teacher and we are with you on this difficult moment. I will be coming to the meeting on Friday and also my colleagues are coming as well. I will see there .
With kind regards
FH

Hi Sen,

You probably dont remember me, your classes were always so rammed with students! But I certainly remember you and your teaching style, you helped me make sense of so many concepts that surpassed my understanding in school. I was in your weekly evening adult maths classes almost 4 years ago, you gave me a chance to retake my maths GCSE when most other collages turned me away. I passed because of your teaching. And due to that; I'm now a specials needs teacher in Harrow. I love what I do, and I'm eternally grateful to those that helped me get here - you being one of them.

I'll be there to support you on Friday, I stand by what your doing and respect the fact that you refuse to back down. It must feel like it'd be so easy to give up the fight - but don't. The world needs teachers like you.

My thoughts are with you

NN

I can reveal that the sub contractor concerned. Keyrail,  also had contracts with Focus Training and Development of over £100K  but my enquiries came to dead end when it turned out they had gone into voluntary liquidation on November 29th 2016.  It appears that there is no way to find out if a similar fraud was perpetrated on them. This puts the spotlight on the SFA, who holds all records, and could investigate any potential fraud.