A £1m opportunity and challenge for Wembley Central

The £1m plus grant to improve the Wembey Central area is good news.  Attempts at reviving the area have had only limited success with the Cooperative Society closing its new Central Square store only a short time after its opening.

There are are now a number of closed shops and much office accommodation remains unoccupied with more to come when Brent council buildings are vacated next year. Current vacant spaces in the Wembley area can be seen on the Coming Soon website HERE

As a teacher in the area though, I was most aware of the poor and over-crowded housing with some of the worse short-term accommodation above the shops on the High Road.

The £1m comes from the Big Local programme funded by the national lottery and managed by Local Trust

The local focus of the project is premised on local involvement and a key issue will be how the priorities of local residents will be ascertained. Campaigning in the area during elections and by-elections I often found residents uninterested in local issues with the transient nature of the population a limiting factor. It will be a real challenge to get a representative level of involvement and a viable vehicle to share and prioritise ideas but the promise of tangible pay-offs should help.

This is what Big Local sets out about how the programme works:

What is Big Local?

Big Local is an exciting opportunity for residents in 150 areas around England to use at least £1m to make a massive and lasting positive difference to their communities. It’s about bringing together all the local talent, ambitions, skills and energy from individuals, groups and organisations who want to make their area an even better place to live.

Big Local is being run by Local Trust, which is working with £200m from the Big Lottery Fund and a range of partners providing expert advice and support for residents.

The four programme outcomes for Big Local are:

1. Communities will be better able to identify local needs and take action in response to them.
2. People will have increased skills and confidence, so that they continue to identify and respond to needs in the future.
3. The community will make a difference to the needs it prioritises.
4. People will feel that their area is an even better place to live.

What’s it not about?

It’s NOT about your local authority, the government or a national organisation telling you what to do.

It’s NOT about individual groups fixing their favourite problem without talking to a wide range of different people who live and work in the community.

It’s NOT about short-term thinking – you’ve got 10 years or more to plan and deliver the best options for your area.

Help 'animate' the new Civic Centre with art and culture

Brent Council has put out a call  to schools, colleges, art groups, artists, voluntary organisations and others to help them 'animate' the new Civic Centre when it opens in Summer 2013. Unfortunately it is a tight deadline for those institutions that will be closed over the Christmas holiday - particularly schools and colleges.:

Brent Council is looking for individuals, arts organisations and community groups who are interested in participating in an arts and culture programme for the new Brent Civic Centre.

The programme is being developed to animate the civic centre, due to open in summer 2013, and make it a welcoming place to visit for everyone.

The first season of activities and events will run from June to December 2013, and we are interested to hear from artists and organisations of all disciplines including:

• carnival
• music
• dance
• theatre
• spoken word
• circus
• fashion
• architecture
• design
• visual arts
• digital arts
• film.

We would also like to hear from schools colleges, community groups and voluntary organisations.

View more information on this call out and how to apply

Deadline for expressions of interest: 12 noon, Monday 21 January 2013

Willesden Town Square Enquiry adjourned until February 2013

Cllr Muhammed Butt addresses 100 Days Of Peace Rally in the Town Square

 The Public Enquiry into the application to register the space outside Willesden Green Library as a Town Square  has been adjourned until February 2013 on the grounds that the applicant was not given enough time to prepare the case.

A preliminary hearing will be still be held on Monday December 17th, 10am Studio 2, Willesden Green Library Centre. This will hear directions from the Inspector to the parties concerned. The meeting is open to the public.

The delay has implications for the timetable for the planning application for redevelopment of the site and the building of 95 homes as the developer's plans involves building on the Town Square.

Evidence of the use of the Town Square can therefore continue to be sent to Martin Redston mredston@compuserve.com as signed PDFs with any photographic evidence. The Inspector will be seeking to establish that:

i. A significant number of inhabitants of any locality, or any neighbourhod within locality, indulges as of right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years; and
ii. They continue to do so at the time of application


Comments are also still possible on the planning application and can be sent to andy.bates@brent.gov.uk (Reference 12/2924 12/2925)

WE DEMAND A BILL FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET, NOT FOR POLLUTING PROFITEERS

                     EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION

Wednesday 19th December 2012
5.30pm-7pm
Parliament Square
   
The Government is trying to sneak its disastrous Energy Bill through Parliament before Christmas with minimal attention.

Don't let them get away with it!

Come to Parliament Square on the day the Bill is debated to MAKE A NOISE for an energy system that serves people and planet.

Bring instruments, bring chants, bring Energy Bill-themed Christmas songs...

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/515534771803540/

WE DEMAND A BILL FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET, NOT FOR POLLUTING PROFITEERS

We are groups and individuals who have come together to highlight the deep flaws in the Energy Bill now going through Parliament. The Bill as written will take us further away from the urgent tasks of cutting down greenhouse gas emissions and helping people to heat and power their homes affordably.

The past year has revealed the dangers of climate change resulting from rising greenhouse gas emissions, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels. A series of extreme weather events and a melting Arctic point to the future catastrophe we face as a result of a drastically changing climate, caused by the failure to control rising emissions.

Sections of the media and some politicians have framed the Bill as a threat to increase our energy bills to pay for low carbon renewable energy, but this argument is deeply flawed.

The Energy Bill in its current form would lock us into future dependence on fossil fuels - by encouraging a new dash for gas. Our energy bills would continue to shoot up as gas prices increase and we turn to environmentally-destructive fracking. 

The lack of a 2030 electricity decarbonisation target in the Bill makes this future dependence on fossil fuels more probable. This frightening omission only serves to line the pockets of Big Energy, instead of making the planet habitable for future generations. We should be empowering communities and individuals to generate their own renewable energy locally, and investing in energy efficiency and storage, to make energy bills affordable for struggling householders.

We call for an emergency demonstration outside Parliament at the second reading of the Bill, and will work to build a further demonstration and rally outside Parliament at the third reading of the Bill. 

We need an energy system that serves people and the planet, not Cameron and his cronies.

http://www.climatebloc.wordpress.com/