Old Oak and Park Royal Mayoral Development Corporation proposed

The boundary of the Old Oak Mayoral Development Corporation

The Mayor of London is inviting comments on the creation of a new mayoral development corporation covering Old Oak and Park Royal. It would cover a substantial area of south Brent.

This consultation will run for 14 weeks from 18 June to 24 September 2014, following which the Mayor will review all comments received and will consider how best to proceed with setting up the new Mayoral Development Corporation.

You can provide your comments via this link or alternatively you can directly email OldOakMDC@london.gov.uk with your comments and/or questions.

 

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 The aims of the MDC:

“Deliver the physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal. To secure maximum benefits from the newly planned transport improvements. To plan for the transformational change at Old Oak and at the same time work to protect and regenerate the industrial areas of Park Royal. A central objective of the Corporation would be to secure high-quality sustainable development and investment for the benefit of the area and the communities that surround it.”

What powers would a Mayoral Development Corporation have?

The Corporation would be responsible for planning the regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal comprising powers relating to infrastructure, regeneration, land acquisitions including Compulsory Purchase Orders, streets, business and financial assistance, preparing local plans (including Community Infrastructure Levy) and determining large planning applications.

The London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham would continue to perform all other functions, including services related to: environment, health, social services, housing, leisure, culture, community, childcare, crime prevention, safety, education, highways, business and job support, licences, town centre management, Council Tax, student benefits and grants

When responding please indicate if you would like to be contacted about the preparation of future

plans for Old Oak and Park Royal and also provide your preferred contact details.

Brent Council spends £15m on temporary staff & £5m on interims & consultants

In the light of discussion on this blog over the payment and conditions of service of 'interim' Brent council staff, readers may be interested in the Council response to an FoI request:

Agency workers are recruited via our managed vendor Reed Global Limited.In the last financial year (01/04/13 to 31/03/14), expenditure on agency temporary staff was £15million.

In the same financial year, expenditure on interims or consultants was £5million. At 31st March 2014, we had 44 interims / consultants and an average of 308 agency workers. Depending on the role’s requirements and the skill-set of the interim or consultant, the average daily rate was £414.

The details of monthly expenditure of over £500 are regularly published on
the Council’s website, at the following link:

[1]http://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/tra...

Group of 8 decide Brent's future

The small size of Brent Council's main decision making group was brought home last night when the Cabinet met for the first time: 8 councillors flanked by officers.

There was more discussion than usual in the Executive with new deputy leader Michael Pavey asking exploratory questions of other Cabinet members but unfortunately their comments were often inaudible. Contributions emphasised the need for provision of school places to be the responsibility of the whole education community and the LA to be the champion of all children and young people whatever the type of school they attend.

Christine Gilbert emphasised the need for the Council to be in close collaboration with schools rather than schools feeling that thatwere having things doen to them by the Council.

 The 34 recommendations of the Education Commission were noted and the report will go to Scrutiny in August - unfortunately when schools, teachers and parents are on holiday. An action plan on implementing the recommendations will then be devised.

New arrangements for helping rough sleepers were approved with much of the work being undertaken by Ashford Place with other partners. Cllr Krupesh Hirani said that he was pleased that the Council were working with the UK Border Agency. He remarked that some Eastern Europeans ended up rough sleeping when they found they could not earn enough here and wanted to return home: 'It is better to work cooperatively with them to help them go home rather than have something like the racist "Go Home" van.'

I would like to have heard more about how this help would avoid coercion or harassment.

The Cabinet approved plans to let two of the Civic Centre's 8 adminstraive office floors to a commercial company with whom they are in negotiations.

British Empire Exhibition at Wembley: An Imperial celebration or an urgent makeover? Talk on Tuesday.

Historian Denis Judd will give a talk on this subject at Wembley Library tomorrow (June 17th) from 6.30pm until 7.30pm.

Denis Judd is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Professor Emeritus of History at London Metropolitan University, and currently Professor of History at New York University in London.
He has reviewed and written extensively in the national and international press as well as writing several programmes for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.

He is also an occasional adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is often interviewed for national and international television and radio, including BBC TV's 'Newsnight'.

His published work includes over 25 books covering a variety of historical and military subjects, stories for children, and two novels. Among his most recent books is the highly praised and best selling Empire: the British Imperial Experience from 1765 to the Present (new edition 2011), which will provide the focus for this talk.